Before Naughty Dog landed on the Nathan Drake we know today in Uncharted, he could have looked very different. According to an interview with The Verge, Josh Scherr, a veteran Naughty Dog employee, revealed that Drake was originally modeled after Johnny Knoxville – best known for his role in Jackass.
The original Drake was eventually refocused to a "more traditionally handsome" version – the one we see today (like like they mostly kept the same hair). A key aspect of Drake's growth as a character was the inclusion of Nolan North as his voice.
"When Nolan came in, it was fairly clear that he was going to be the one," said Scherr. "He had that right kind of devil may care feel to his voice, but he could also get serious when he needed to. And most importantly, as we discovered, is that the guy was hilarious."
On top of North's voice, his ability to physically reenact scenes for motion capture helped breathe life into Drake.
