Rob Wiethoff | |
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 Wiethoff at thePhoenix Convention Center in 2024 | |
| Born | Robert Allen Wiethoff (1976-09-15)September 15, 1976 (age 49) Seymour, Indiana, U.S |
| Education | Indiana University Bloomington |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Rob Wiethoff discussing the auditioning process forRed Dead Redemption Recorded May 2023 | |
| Signature | |
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Robert Allen Wiethoff (born September 15, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for portrayingJohn Marston in the 2010 video gameRed Dead Redemption, itsexpansionUndead Nightmare, and the 2018 prequelRed Dead Redemption 2. Born and raised inSeymour, Indiana, Wiethoff attendedSeymour High School, and graduated fromIndiana University Bloomington in 1999. Soon afterwards, he moved toLos Angeles to pursue acting, but faced difficulty in finding roles, other than small parts in films and television advertisements. In 2008,Rockstar Games cast Wiethoff as John Marston, the lead character inRed Dead Redemption; he worked on the game for almost two years. For his role, he wonOutstanding Character Performance at the14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.
Following the release ofRed Dead Redemption, Wiethoff moved back to Seymour to focus on his family, marrying his wife Tayler, with whom he has two children. He briefly returned to acting inNew York City forUndead Nightmare, thedownloadable content pack forRed Dead Redemption, but remained in Seymour afterwards to work in construction, allowing him to spend time with his family. In 2014, Wiethoff returned to portray John Marston inRed Dead Redemption 2, a prequel to the original game. Though he was told that he would be required for about a year, he ultimately worked on the game for almost four years, as his role was expanded to become aplayable character like the first game;Red Dead Redemption 2 was released in 2018.
Robert Allen Wiethoff was born inSeymour, Indiana on September 15, 1976,[1][2][3] to Dr. Richard Allen Wiethoff and Nancy Louise Wiethoff (née Sproull), the younger brother of Kimberly.[1][4][5] Wiethoff's paternal grandfather, Clifford Allen Wiethoff (1920–2010),[6] played on the1939–40 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team.[7] When he was 17 months old in February 1978, Wiethoff cut off his left ring finger by grabbing the chain of an exercise bicycle; it was re-attached at the Jewish Hospital in Louisville, and Wiethoff became the youngest person in the world to have undergone a successful replant.[8][2] The incident was set feature on an episode ofAmerica Alive! in September 1978,[2] but later rescheduled.[9]
Wiethoff attendedSeymour High School,[10] and graduated fromIndiana University Bloomington with a degree ingeneral studies in 1999.[11][7] He had considered studying aviation atPurdue University.[7] Wiethoff felt that he "found [his] partying legs" at university, and that he did not take it seriously.[11] He worked several jobs around this time, including as abouncer in Chicago and as a recruiter forinformation technology companies.[11]
While attending Indiana University, Wiethoff dated a woman who later moved toLos Angeles. He visited there for a week and was convinced by many people that they could get him acting roles in films, and he moved shortly after; though he did not take the offers seriously, he felt that it would be more enjoyable than working construction in Indiana. The promises that were offered to him failed to come true, and Wiethoff was left working as a bartender.[11] He did not receive many jobs in acting, other than a few small roles in small films and television advertisements.[12] He ultimately lived in Los Angeles for about ten years.[11]
Wiethoff was cast as protagonistJohn Marston in the video gameRed Dead Redemption (2010) byRockstar Games. He auditioned for the role in December 2008 by folding laundry while reading his lines. He felt that the audition was a waste of time, but received the role a few days later.[11] He worked on the game for almost two years, with principal production lasting around six weeks.[13] Recording would take place over a few weeks, before taking a break of a month or two.[11] Wiethoff estimated that around 12–15 scenes were recorded each day.[13] The recording crew often referred to scenes from Rockstar'sGrand Theft Auto IV (2008) during production; Wiethoff pretended to understand before eventually admitting that he had not played the game.[11] For his role inRed Dead Redemption, Wiethoff won Outstanding Character Performance at the 14th AnnualInteractive Achievement Awards.[14] He was nominated for Best Performance by a Human Male at the 2010Spike Video Game Awards, where John was also nominated for Character of the Year.[15] In 2013,Complex named Wiethoff's performance as one of the best in a video game, praising the growth of the character.[16]
After his work onRed Dead Redemption in May 2010,[17] Wiethoff moved back to Seymour to focus on his family; he started working at an industrial supplies company.[11] About a month after moving back, he was asked to return for thedownloadable contentUndead Nightmare (2010), which was recorded inNew York City, instead of Los Angeles.[13] In November 2010, Wiethoff began working for Bob Poynter GM as part of the sales team.[17] He soon got hired in construction, which allowed him to spend time with his family.[18] Wiethoff voiced Lazarus in the interactive radio dramaCodename Cygnus in September 2013.[19][20]
In 2014, Rockstar Games asked Wiethoff to return for another game:Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), a prequel toRed Dead Redemption. He was told that he would be required for about a year; he used all of hisannual leave andsick leave from his job to work on the game. When he was eventually denied permission to take more leave, he quit his job and started working construction jobs for his brother-in-law during filming breaks. Wiethoff spent almost four years on the game, as his role was expanded to become a playable character like the first game.[18] Wiethoff looked to his own life when returning to the character; he always looked up to his older sister's male friends for approval in the same way that John looks up to the rest of the gang for validation.[21] He also took inspiration from the "pretty tough dudes" in his home town for John's personality.[22]
After the game's release, Wiethoff turned hischicken coop into a home office filled with art and gifts he has received from fans, several of which he has garnered from the conventions that he attends.[18] Wiethoff starred in an undisclosed voice role in the filmLulu and the Electric Dreamboat (2024).[23] In 2024, he started anOnlyFans account to document himself working out to "get ripped".[24][25][26]
Wiethoff married Tayler Nicole Pitchford on June 10, 2011.[3] They met in Los Angeles—where Tayler grew up—during development ofRed Dead Redemption.[11] After the game's release in May 2010,[17] the couple moved to Seymour to start a family.[11] Their twin boys were born on October 28, 2011.[27] They wereborn prematurely at approximately 28 weeks, which led to them requiring extensive medical attention following their birth; they spent about seven weeks in aneonatal intensive care unit.[11]
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 16 Blocks | Court Officer | [12] |
| 2009 | The Outside | Turk | [12] |
| 2010 | Red Dead Redemption: The Man from Blackwater | John Marston | [28] |
| 2011 | Double Tap | Detective Fitzgerald | [29] |
| 2023 | Lulu and the Electric Dreamboat | Undisclosed Voice Role | [23] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Red Dead Redemption | John Marston | Performance capture[11] |
| 2010 | Undead Nightmare | ||
| 2013 | Codename Cygnus | Lazarus | Interactive radio drama[19] |
| 2018 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | John Marston | Performance capture[21] |
| Date | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 11, 2010 | Spike Video Game Awards | Best Performance by Human Male | Red Dead Redemption | Nominated | [15] |
| February 11, 2011 | Interactive Achievement Awards | Outstanding Character Performance | Won | [14] |
