Hazen Stuart Nester (b. April 23, 1984) is a fan audio voice actor. His on-again-off-again career spans from 2002 to the present and his roles range from one-liners to supporting characters.
In real life, Nester is starting a career in film editing, having graduated from Grand Valley State University in April, 2008. His hobbies include playing guitar, golf, and cinema.
Star Wars Fandom[]
Nester was exposed to the Classic Trilogy at a young age through VHS copies of the films taken from TV broadcasts and has watched them "innumerable times." Despite being a self-described "rabid fan" for all of his life, the release of the VHS boxed set and the Special Editions in the mid 90's further increased his enthusiasm. He considers himself to be a Prequel Trilogy apologist, believing that the films should be regarded as a saga of six as apposed to two trilogies.
Nester's main outlet for Star Wars stems from the myriad of video games he has played over the years from X-Wing to Lego Star Wars.
Voice Acting Career[]
By the time the Prequels began their run in 1999, Nester had decided to dedicate his future to filmmaking. Soon after the release of The Phantom Menace, he had discovered the fan film community on TheForce.Net. Although plans for a fan film of his own never materialized, he learned about a new project in an untapped venue: audio drama.
Second Strike[]
Auditions were well underway for Second Strike by the time Nester discovered it. Given his school at the time, he auditioned for one of several minor roles and was awarded the role of the Gunship Pilot. He intentionally modeled the voice after an airline pilot, but has since fallen out of love with the portrayal.
The Lean Period[]
Nester's first multi-line role came from Nothing Changes, the prequel to Second Strike. From there, Nester auditioned for numerous ill-fated projects that either never made it past the audition phase or fizzled out before completion. This, in conjunction with his film school studies, led him to take a break from voice acting.
Return[]
In the summer of 2007, noting the amount of "free time" he now had, Nester made a return to voice acting by securing the role of Aeron Rhade in Devin Cox's Knights of the Old Republic: Outcasts. A short time later, he was cast as Rogen Kirill in Codename: Starkeeper by fellow Outcasts castmate Jim Perry. Today, he checks the listings on the Fanworks Galactic Senate board on a regular basis, keeping his eye out for the next role he can fill.
Non-Star Wars Projects[]
Nester's film schooling at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, has brought him into contact with many young filmmakers and he has lent his services to many diverse projects from comedic shorts to a making-of documentary. His first and, to date, only feature-length film credit is as both a production assistant and a picture editor for To Live and Die in Dixie, a courtroom drama taking place in late-1980s Louisiana.
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: Second Strike (2002-3)
- Star Wars: Nothing Changes (2004)
- Knights of the Old Republic: Outcasts (2007-8)
- Star Wars: Codename: Starkeeper (2008)
External Links[]
Hazen Nester's IMDB page - Note: Does not reflect his complete filmography.
To Live and Die in Dixie - Note: Includes a trailer co-edited by Nester.