20 Things You Didn't Know About Gears Of War
6. Speight Got His Voice Role From A Superbowl Advert
Lester "Mighty Rasta" Speight was a former American football player who moved onto acting after an ill-fated signing in the bust USFL. In 2003, he landed a role in a Super Bowl Reebok commercial playing a football player named "Terry Tate" tackling office workers to enforce office policies. You'll probably most recognise his viral hit tackling Donald Trump during the 2016 Presidential Race.
It turns out this OTT persona is exactly why Epic Games cast Lester Speight, with Cliff saying, "We were like 'I'd go to war with that guy.'" Epic Games initially slated Cole as a redshirt to be killed off, but the developers promoted Cole to one of the main characters after Speight's casting.
What's more, Speight confirmed in the Art of Gear of Wars book that he based much of Cole's character on his Terry Tate persona.