Portal 2: Money for old rope

Valve has just confirmed that Steve Merchant will star in Portal 2 as the voice of Wheatley, the English-accented personality sphere.

Wheatley is a frantic person which is performed well by Merchant due to being able to relay information quickly in his speech. Merchant was chosen for the role both because the designers were fans of British comedy and because of Merchant's role in the TV series Extras and his podcasts. Merchant was sent a package of Portal 2 material along with a request that he provide the voice of Wheatley and Merchant agreed to accept the role. Wheatley's characterisation was always designed with a British voice in mind. While they were writing Wheatley's dialogue, they had Merchant in their heads as a result of watching Extras though at the time they did not consider pursuing him for the role because they did not think that they would be able to cast him. They were instead considering Richard Ayoade until they went to Merchant's agents.

Money for old rope as Steve has often said... Guess Karl didn't take the message for him this time.