They say that sequels are never as good, but if we had to think of an exception to that rule, it is definitely Half-Life 2. The interdimensional conflict between Gordon Freeman and the Combine is burned into our minds; however, it is its secondary characters that enrich this fabulous universe, and Valve used the faces of real people for its designs. We are talking about ordinary people, some famous, and a mysterious man who has disappeared completely...
Editor's note: Massive spoilers ahead.
The current state of Half-Life canon is very clear. The events of Half-Life: Alyx gave rise to a retcon of the ending of Half-Life 2: Episode Two. Alyx Vance was recruited/kidnapped by the G-Man, Eli Vance is alive, and Gordon Freeman recovered his crowbar... more than enough to tear apart anyone who tries to prevent Alyx's rescue.
That means (almost) all main characters of the saga should return to action in a hypothetical/potential third game. Now, what do we know exactly about them? Searching their background on the wiki is easy, but as Richter Overtime explains on YouTube, Valve used a 3D wireframe scan of real people for its designs. So, whose faces belong to Half-Life 2?
One model, one person: The humans of Half-Life 2
The video begins with the quintessential character of the entire franchise: G-Man. Ally, antagonist, interdimensional bureaucrat... more than twenty years have passed and we still cannot determine who or what the G-Man is, but what we do know is that his face belongs to Frank Sheldon, who worked as a janitor at Valve's offices. After obtaining his permission, the team thought of using Frank's face for Dr. Breen, but later discovered it fit much better as the G-Man. For Breen's face, they opted for a certain Roger Guay, director of a company called Tanner Electric Cooperative, and even adopted his formal attire to reproduce it.
The case of Dr. Kleiner is striking because at first he had two designs. The first presented a much older man... until the Valve team met Ted Cohrt by accident in an elevator, and with the cry of "Oh my God, it's Dr. Kleiner!" they managed to convince him to give his face, something easy considering his children were Half-Life fans. Ted worked as an accountant on the upper floors, above Valve's offices.
The search for Alyx was undoubtedly the most delicate. Attractive, adorable, strong, sensitive, multiracial (Asian mother, African-American father)... many boxes to check, so Valve decided to do an official casting, and among hundreds of models, they ended up choosing Jamil Mullen Higley, who also contributed to the motion capture. Jamil is currently an emotional coach, advocate/spokesperson for video games (that is, the opposite of every politician trying to ban them), and mother of four children.
The video reviews iconic characters like Barney Calhoun, Father Grigori from Ravenholm, and several NPCs... but leaves Eli Vance for last. Why? First, because Half-Life would not be the same without Eli, and second... because we know nothing about him. Randy Lundeen, graphic designer at Valve, tells that he found a man asking for work on the street. Randy described this man's face as "incredible" and decided to ask if he was interested in coming to Valve's offices to give his likeness in exchange for cash. The man agreed... and his story ends there. We do not know who he was or where he came from, and more than twenty years have passed, so it is likely he is no longer among us. One of the most famous characters in video game history has the face of a stranger.
