The Albert Chessa Network

Barry J. Kelly is an American animation director, storyboard artist and editor best known for his work at Titmouse and for helping shape the visual identity of Star Trek: Lower Decks. Originally from Nebraska, Kelly has spent nearly two decades working across television animation, short-form storytelling and franchise projects, developing a career that has moved from editorial and storyboarding into directing and supervising large animation teams. His credits include The Venture Bros., Son of Zorn and Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures, the Lucasfilm series of animated shorts that reinterpreted iconic moments from across the Star Wars saga for a new generation. Kelly later became supervising director and producer on Star Trek: Lower Decks, guiding its combination of fast-paced comedy, expressive character animation and unusually detailed recreations of the wider Star Trek universe across the series’ five-season run. An Emmy Award-winning artist, he has also continued directing commercial and short-form animation for Titmouse. Across his work, Kelly has built a career around visual storytelling, comic timing, character performance and translating established fictional worlds into distinctive animation.

Tommie Earl Jenkins is an American actor, voice artist, musician and performance-capture performer best known for bringing Die-Hardman to life in Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding and returning to the world of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach as Charlie and Die-Hardman. Born in Ohio, Jenkins built an unusually varied international career across stage, television, film, music and voice performance, spending nearly three decades living and working in the United Kingdom and appearing on both the West End and Broadway. His stage career includes originating the role of Barry Belson in Jersey Boys, while younger audiences know his voice as Ubercorn in the BBC animated series Go Jetters. On screen, he has appeared as Mayor Noble Walker in Netflix’s Wednesday, while his extensive interactive work includes Jacob Kane in Gotham Knights, Azandar Al-Cybiades in The Elder Scrolls Online, Aaron Scott in Starfield, Gulu in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and roles across Fallout 76, Bayonetta 3, Avowed and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. Across mediums, Jenkins has built a career defined by theatricality, vocal range and commanding character performances.

Darren Jacobs is a British actor, voice artist, writer and performance-capture performer best known for bringing Heartman to life in Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, Jacobs began his career in the performing arts before developing a wide-ranging body of work across stage, film, television, animation and games. As Heartman, whose appearance is based on filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, Jacobs provided the character’s distinctive voice and performance, becoming part of one of modern gaming’s most unusual ensembles. His interactive work also includes Stratos in Starfield, Varros in Game of Thrones: Kingsroad and John Constantine in DC: Dark Legion, while his screen and voice credits extend to Castlevania: Nocturne, Rebel Moon, Ford v Ferrari and numerous ADR performances. Across mediums, Jacobs has built a career around character, physicality and an unusually versatile command of voice.

Daniel Roebuck is an American actor, writer, director and producer best known for a remarkably varied career across film, television and games, including The Fugitive, Lost and the Star Wars Jedi series. After emerging as the troubled Samson in River’s Edge, Roebuck became a prolific character actor, playing Deputy Marshal Robert Biggs alongside Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive and reprising the role in U.S. Marshals. His television work ranges from Matlock and his acclaimed portrayal of Jay Leno in The Late Shift to Dr. Leslie Arzt, the memorably ill-fated science teacher of Lost. Roebuck has also become closely associated with horror through repeated collaborations with Rob Zombie and Don Coscarelli. More recently, he brought warmth, humour and irascible charm to Greez Dritus in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor. Across four decades, Roebuck has built a career around distinctive supporting characters whose personalities often extend far beyond their screen time.

Alexander O. Smith is a writer, translator and localization director best known for shaping the English-language voices of acclaimed Japanese games including Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. After studying classical Japanese literature at Harvard, Smith joined Square’s emerging localization team, developing an approach that treated translation as creative adaptation rather than literal substitution. He later established Kajiya Productions with fellow translator Joseph Reeder, extending his work across games, novels, manga and song lyrics. From the theatrical language of Ivalice to the humour and wordplay of Ace Attorney, Smith’s scripts preserve the character of their originals while allowing them to live naturally in English. Through translation, voice direction and narrative design, he has become one of the medium’s most distinctive interpreters of language, culture and authored worlds.

Nick Suttner is a writer, podcaster and game-industry advocate best known for his thoughtful work on distinctive, auteur-driven games, including Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian: An Extraordinary Story. Beginning as a games journalist at EGM and 1UP.com, Suttner later worked in developer relations at PlayStation, helping champion independent creators and unusual projects. His books combine close observation, interviews and personal reflection, treating games as authored works shaped by design, place and feeling. From his Boss Fight Books study of Shadow of the Colossus to his work on Future Press’s extensive Last Guardian companion, Suttner has repeatedly returned to Fumito Ueda’s worlds and their creative histories. Through writing, podcasting and advocacy, he has become a distinctive interpreter of games as interactive art, craft and deeply lived experience.

Randall Lobb is a Canadian writer, director and producer best known for his deeply researched pop-culture documentaries through Definitive Film, including Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Power of Grayskull. Based in Ontario, Lobb developed an approach rooted in research, intimate interviews and fan-led storytelling, treating comics, cinema and fantasy worlds as cultural history. His projects range from A Riddle of Steel, exploring Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, to The Crystal Calls, his behind-the-scenes film on Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Across these works, he foregrounds the artists, writers, performers and collectors who sustain beloved franchises. Through curiosity, depth and an instinct for the human stories beneath nostalgia, Lobb has become a distinctive chronicler of modern fandom and popular mythology.

Richey Beckett is a Welsh artist, illustrator and designer best known for his richly ornamental monochrome work and long-running collaborations with bands including Mastodon, Deftones and Baroness. Raised in Wales, Beckett developed a distinctive visual language rooted in mythology, medieval engraving, folklore, sacred iconography and Art Nouveau draftsmanship, producing artwork that feels simultaneously ancient, ceremonial and intensely modern. Working across album packaging, posters, publishing, apparel and fine art, his compositions are recognised for their dense linework, symbolic precision and immersive worldbuilding. Beyond music, Beckett’s practice extends into gallery work, literary illustration and independent printmaking, with an emphasis on craftsmanship and traditional ink techniques. Through meticulous detail and a deeply mythic sensibility, he has become one of the most recognisable and influential visual artists working within contemporary heavy music culture.

Skinner is an American artist, illustrator and animator best known for his vividly detailed “psychedelic nightmare” imagery and collaborations with bands like Mastodon. Born in California, he left his job during the 2008 economic downturn to pursue art full-time, using the moment as a test of resilience that quickly evolved into a prolific, multidisciplinary career spanning painting, sculpture, installations and international exhibitions. Expanding beyond static imagery, Skinner has collaborated with filmmaker Phil Tippett and directed music videos for Mastodon, alongside work in live animation, writing and production. With a practice rooted in exploration and collaboration, he continues to build immersive, surreal worlds that feel both deeply personal and unmistakably singular within contemporary art and animation.

Myles Langlois is a Canadian animator, writer, voice actor and director best known as the creator of Apollo Gauntlet. Born in Winnipeg, he first developed the cult series as an independent web project for the Rug Burn YouTube channel before adapting it into an Adult Swim original in 2017. Known for his offbeat humour, retro-inspired visuals and distinctive voice work, Langlois has built a reputation for creating strange, inventive animated worlds that feel both handmade and deeply original. His work blends deadpan comedy, surreal fantasy and a strong DIY sensibility that has made him a distinctive voice in contemporary animation.