Peter Jason, the voice of Fallout 2's famous drill sergeant and Dizzy in the Gear of War games, has died

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Jason had a long career as a character actor in film and television and frequently collaborated with John Carpenter, but to us he'll always be Sergeant Dornan.

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 14: Peter Jason attends the "Deadwood" Movie Premiere on May 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

A Variety report says character actor Peter Jason, known to gamers as the gruff, put-upon Drill Sergeant Dornan in Fallout 2 and Dizzy in the Gears of War series, has died.

Jason was a well-known "that guy" in films and television, with more than 260 credits going back to the 1960s, according to IMDB. He had memorable roles in 48 Hrs, Prince of Darkness, and a long run as Con Stapleton in HBO's Deadwood series, but he appeared in pretty much everything: Other credits include Heartbreak Ridge, The Karate Kid, The Golden Girls, Knots Landing, Marked for Death, Castle, The New Woody Woodpecker Show, Mortal Kombat (the good one), Mommy Dearest, Starsky and Hutch, and dozens of others. The guy got around.

(Image credit: Elias Toufexis (Twitter))

He was also a frequent collaborator with famed horror director John Carpenter, appearing in films including They Live, Prince of Darkness, In the Mouth of Madness, Village of the Damned, and Escape from LA.

"Peter Jason, one of the great character actors in cinema, has died," Carpenter wrote in a farewell message. "His first movie was Howard Hawks' Rio Lobo. He was a dear friend and I'll miss him terribly."

(Image credit: John Carpenter (Twitter))

Aside from being a prolific character actor, Jason also contributed to a handful of videogames. He served up a memorable turn as Dizzy Wallin in Gears of War 2 and 3—the official Gears account described Jason as "a legend" in its own tribute to the actor.

(Image credit: Gears of War (Twitter))

For me, though, his best work in games came in the role of Arch Dornan, the Enclave drill sergeant who got very tired of your nonsense in Fallout 2. It wasn't a huge role, but it was memorable enough that Obsidian name-checked him 12 years later in Fallout: New Vegas.

The Variety report says the cause of death was cancer. Peter Jason was 80 years old.

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.