Who are the Critical Role cast and their characters? These incredible actors and roleplayers shot to stardom through playing Dungeons and Dragons on camera, but you may not know them by sight. Read on for a full Critical Role cast list, and the characters they play in each of the game’s three campaigns.
The eight core cast members (including forever DM Matthew Mercer) also various Vox Machina characters in Critical Role’s Amazon Prime animated series based on the group’s very first actual play campaign. The show’s third series is out now – you can find full details in our Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 release schedule.
The core Critical Role cast members and characters are:
- Matthew Mercer
- Laura Bailey
- Taliesin Jaffe
- Ashley Johnson
- Liam O’Brien
- Marisha Ray
- Sam Riegel
- Travis Willingham
Matthew Mercer
Celebrity DM Matthew Mercer is the Dungeon Master for all three of Critical Role’s main campaigns. He created the DnD setting of Exandria, and was one of the lead designers on the Tal’Dorei Campaign setting reborn book, which can now be found on DnD Beyond.
As Chief Creative Officer for Critical Role Productions, Mercer has played a key role in growing and shaping the company.
Like the rest of the Critical Role cast, Mercer has a background in voice acting, both in videogames and anime dubs. Mercer voiced Levi in the dubbed version of Attack on Titan, and recently played Minsc in Baldur’s Gate 3.
As Dungeon Master, Mercer also plays a number of memorable returning NPCs across the Critical Role campaigns, some of whom also appear in The Legend of Vox Machina – including:
- Shaun Gilmore – a human Sorcerer and magical merchant who acts as the party’s main sponsor.
- Allura Vysoren – a human Wizard and world-famous magical adventurer who acts as an important, high ranking quest-giver.
- Lady Kima – a heroic halfling Paladin of Bahamut, and friend and ally to the Vox Machina party.
Laura Bailey
| Campaign 1 (Vox Machina) character | Campaign 2 character | Campaign 3 character |
| Vex’ahlia, Half-Elf Ranger/Rogue | Jester Lavorre, Tiefling Cleric | Imogen Temult, Human Sorcerer |
Laura Bailey is a BAFTA-winning voice actor, whose work spans videogames and animated shows. Her extensive list of voice-acting gigs include Gwen Stacey on Marvel’s Spiderman animated show, The Boss in Saint’s Row, and Jaina Proudmoore in World of Warcraft. She won a BAFTA for Performer in a Leading Role for her work voicing Abby in the Last of Us Part II.
In Critical Role campaigns, Bailey has chosen a different DnD class and race each time, sticking to one character throughout each campaign. She’s often taken her second choice for class, letting another cast member have her initial pick instead.
Bailey is infamous for her extensive DnD dice collection, and finding the right ‘lucky dice’ to use in each session. She’s even been known to punish errant dice in dice jails.
Taliesin Jaffe
| Campaign 1 (Vox Machina) character | Campaign 2 character | Campaign 3 character |
| Percival de Rolo, Human Fighter |
|
Ashton Greymoore, Earth Genasi Barbarian |
Both voice actor and actor, Taliesin Jaffe started his acting career as a child, before taking on voice acting roles dubbing anime. He’s voiced characters like Blanka in Streetfighter and Basil Hawkins in One Piece, as well as being a voice director on numerous projects.
In Critical Role, Jaffe has played numerous characters, in one instance (spoilers) even sacrificing a character for the sake of story. He tends to gravitate towards characters that create a bit of conflict, and is known for his devoted roleplaying style. Jaffe has also DM-d for several guest episodes.
Ashley Johnson
| Campaign 1 (Vox Machina) character | Campaign 2 character | Campaign 3 character |
| Pike Trickfoot, Gnome Cleric | Yasha Nydoorin, Aasamir Barbarian | Fearne Calloway, Faun Druid |
President of the Critical Role Foundation non-profit organisation, Ashley Jonhson is another actor and voice actor who started her career as a child. She starred in NBC drama Blindspot and has voice acted characters like Gwen from Ben 10 and Terra in Teen Titans.
In Critical Role campaigns, Johnson is known for creating great characters like Pike Trickfoot, and for shushing sneezers. In early seasons she was juggling Critical Role sessions with her television work, but now is back on board as a full-time member.
Liam O’Brien
| Campaign 1 (Vox Machina) character | Campaign 2 character | Campaign 3 character |
| Vax’ildan, Half-Elf Rogue/Paladin/Druid | Caleb Widogast, Wizard | Orym, Halfling Fighter |
Liam O’Brien is a voice actor and writer whose roles include Doctor Strange in a bunch of different shows and Gollum in Shadows of Mordor. He’s also voice directed for games like The Last of Us and RE5 and 6, as well as anime such as Naruto.
In Critical Role, O’Brien played Vax’ildan in Campaign One, who was Laura Bailey’s twin, and the pair worked on their back stories together. He has a deep love of Dungeons and Dragons, and has also run plenty of DnD one shots for the group.
Marisha Ray
| Campaign 1 (Vox Machina) character | Campaign 2 character | Campaign 3 character |
|
Beauregard Lionett, Human Monk | Laudna, Hollow One Sorcerer |
Marisha Ray was creative director for Geek & Sundry before Critical Role splintered off from it (and is now creative director of Critical Role Productions). She’s also a voice actor, whose work includes the role of Margaret in Persona 4, as well as roles in Metal Gear and Fire Emblem. She is married to the group’s DM Matt Mercer.
In Critical Role, Marisha has played varied characters with deep arcs like Keyleth and Beau. Her current character, the undead Laudna, has a bubbly, joyous personality that stands in contrast to her previous roles – though there’s plenty of darkness under the surface.
Sam Riegel
| Campaign 1 (Vox Machina) character | Campaign 2 character | Campaign 3 character |
|
Veth Brenatto, Halfling Rogue/Wizard | Fresh Cut Grass, Aeormaton Cleric |
Voice actor and director Sam Riegel has played many roles in his career, such as Donatello in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Phoenix Wright in the popular game series. He won an Emmy for directing work on Danger & Egg, and has voice directed Disney’s DuckTales and Fallout New Vegas.
In Critical Role, Sam Riegel’s first character Scanlan provided plenty of opportunities for 5e bard hijinks, with Riegel often improvising little jingles. Riegel was the first player to take on the mantle of a new main character, switching to Taryon Darrington.
Riegel’s somewhat the class clown of the group, known for coming up with jokes and bits, and his characters often have a silly or outlandish aspect.
Travis Willingham
| Campaign 1 (Vox Machina) character | Campaign 2 character | Campaign 3 character |
|
Fjord, Half-Orc Warlock/Paladin |
|
Travis Willingham plays a key role in the team as the CEO of Critical Role Productions. He’s yet another voice actor, one with over 300 roles to his name, including Thor in Marvel’s animated series and games, Kingpin in Spiderman Miles Morales, and Knuckles in Sonic Boom. He’s also married to fellow Critical Role member Laura Bailey.
In Critical Role, Willingham has played many different characters – twice switching during a campaign. He’s known among fans as the ‘hype man’ of the group, always encouraging and supporting the other players.
Other Critical Role team members
That’s it for the core cast you’ll see and hear adventuring on the show – but, given CR is now a major international production, there are some other key people working behind the scenes. If you’re looking to keep beady eyes on everyone associated with the Critical Role cast, you can always follow the other main team members on social media:
- Ed Lopez – Chief Operating Officer, @eddievegas on X
- Rachel Romero – SVP of Marketing, @missrachel on X
- Ben Van Der Fluit – SVP of Business Development
- Dani Carr – Lore Keeper, @ItsDaniCarr on X
Meanwhile, if all these tabletop RPG superstars have inspired you to roll up a new character of your own, we can help – keep our no-nonsense guides to all the DnD classes and the various DnD races on hand.