Ron Perlman was paid "$40 and a sandwich" for his iconic Fallout line

"War. War never changes."

That's how the Fallout games begin, and perhaps you haven't given it much thought beyond that. But the voice actor behind the phrase is actually Ron Perlman. He has made countless appearances in video games over the years, but is of course best known as an actor in films such as Hellboy and series such as Sons of Anarchy.

In The Joe Vulpis Podcast, he now talks about how he made history and recorded this iconic line. He was younger and not quite as famous at the time, so the pay probably wasn't what you'd expect:

"They invited me to do the very first Fallout back in the '90s, I think. They gave me $40 and a sandwich. And a year and a half later, I get a call: 'Hey, you remember Fallout?'

"'No.'

"'Well, there's a second one.' I go, 'Why?' 'Because the first one went through the fucking roof.' I go, 'Really? Cool.' Do the second one, and then a year later the third, fourth, and now it's like a whole brand. I didn't see that coming."

Apparently, Perlman is not a gamer, and just like the actors in the Fallout series, he has not enjoyed the games himself, explaining:

"I'm not a gamer. I wouldn't know how to put a game... I wouldn't know which game goes into which piece of hardware. I've never played any of the games. The whole Fallout thing is a mystery to me."

Despite his legendary line, Perlman has never had a major role in the games, but he doesn't seem sorry about that, saying only:

"I've never been in the game. I just did a couple lines and, you know, got my $40 and my sandwich and went home."

We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll hear him again when Fallout 5 is released one fine day, but at Bethesda's current pace, we probably shouldn't hope for that before 2035.