Haven – Interview with Ryan Highley, male Yu!

Can you introduce yourself? Can you tell us about you and your career?

Hi ! Pleased that the Haven team is back out spreading love ! I’m Ryan Highley, actor with a strong focus on voice performances, particularly in the gaming and entertainment worlds. I’ve been living in this line of work since 2018, after a long journey before actually going down this path. “Career” is a funny word, I’m not sure where this is leading but I was born into a family of amateur theatre, singing, and dance lovers, and I got involved in theatre myself from the age of six. But when it came to my studies, I kept things broad, at that point I wasn’t too sure of my career path. I chose what I felt was a neutral dscipline in sales, thinking I could market products in industries I was passionate about, like electric guitars or music XD. But sales didn’t suit me, and I found myself exploring various other fields. In 2018, I had a wake-up call and decided to drop everything to get into professional acting. I committed fully, turned my world around, and here we are today—the leap of faith paid off!

At the very beginning when you started working on Haven, what did you expect? Did you feel inspired by the original performances?

I only found out quite close to the recording date that the project I was working on was Haven. A sound studio now called Light Fader (Audio Workshop at the time) got in touch about the role. As soon as I knew, I dove into researching everything I could about it—I’m pretty passionate that way. Thanks to YouTube, playthroughs, teasers, and other content, I got a good sense of the world  and what would be expected of me. But no, I didn’t initially know it was about a romantic couple stranded on a distant planet after escaping a civilization. Learning that a core part of the characters’ experience was conveyed through intimacy really resonated with me, as I value that depth of vulnerability in my own life, not only in romantic relationships but in every interaction where people show their true selves.

For Haven, the original performances were genuinely inspiring—Janine Harouni’s interpretation of Yu and Chris Lew Kum Hoi’s take on Kay brought so much authenticity to the characters, it was both inspiring and a big challenge.

Would you say you can relate to that couple, or to your character?

Absolutely. There’s something very real and grounded about the couple’s relationship that I think many people, including myself, can relate to. The way Haven portrays intimate moments, conflicts, complaints, and healthy resolutions feels authentic, offering a balanced, healthy take on the ups and downs of couple life, which I really appreciate. Funnily enough, I actually relate a bit more to Kay’s personality in real life than to Yu’s, but there are pieces of Yu that felt like home too. There is something very balanced about the writing, the characters have such different backgrounds and still find common ground, there are several moments where they may hurt each others feelings, but resonable and mature problem solving brings them closer together. I’m glad it’s out there, somewhat giving us all a nice story to witness.

Your performance was matched with the previous recordings, did that change how you recorded in the studio?

Well, we are less and less asked to work in the same booth as our co-actors and more and more, we only get pre-recored lines. So, I do adjust to this, but it has become a broad requirement and skill. What was most unusual, is recording lines that were already set as a reference. This was a unique challenge, as there was such a strong commitment to preserving the original personality and essence of Yu—not only through the writing but also through Janine Harouni’s interpretation. It was essential that I stay true to her portrayal while bringing my own believable version. As always my shades of personality trickle through, but I believe I managed to keep the character’s intricacies and subtleties, but Janine brough a cheaky sharp tone I really liked.

Can you share a funny or memorable moment that happened during the recordings?

Wow, this does take me back a bit, there was definitely fun moments involved. The writing for these characters is genuinely funny, and the relationship between Yu and Kay naturally lends itself to playing around with certain scenes that capture those nice, everyday life moments. The recurring Appledew references, the little conflicts that turn into sweet resolutions, and the bad and good jokes all added to the joy of bringing this character to life. I think “Bloot” ended up being the main laughing factor both for myself and the studio as it came back constantly! It was an overall pleasure to work on, and those small, relatable moments made it memorable especially the cheeky ones.

Is there anything you want to share with us?

Working on this game felt incredibly real, and I truly admire the extra time and effort the developers invested into the Couple Update not knowing exactly where this journey would lead. It was a bold choice that allowed more people to connect deeply with the narration. I myself, am proud to have contributed in my own way. This is also the way Lexie Kendrick and I got to meet. We caught up for coffee a few months after recording, it was great to meet female Kay ! (haha). Since then I’ve been busy in many other games and projects, but I suppose my latest big news is a youtube series called CATS: The Conspurracy with Devora Wilde, it’s in an RPG show called Rôle’N Play, all fun and games.

I can’t wait to see what the Game Bakers will be “baking” for the future! Thank you and Happy Season of Pride !