Creator Spotlight - Darth Caul

Welcome to another Creator Spotlight! In this latest instalment we sat down and questioned the streamer of many faces, Darth Caul. Known far and wide for his impeccable impersonations, this talented privateer gives us the scoop on getting into character before getting out on the seas. Read on for more!

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[Q]: What was your introduction to the world of games?

[A]: My first introduction to the world of videogames was playing the original Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt on the old-school Nintendo Entertainment System. I was instantly hooked.

[Q]: How did you become part of the Sea of Thieves community?

[A]: I became a part of the Sea of Thieves community because I do in-character streams and my community wanted me to be Captain Jack Sparrow. I have a lot of acting and voice-over training from school and I never drop character until the stream is over, no matter who I am playing. I originally streamed Star Wars Battlefront II as Darth Maul and still do, but my community really wanted me to add Captain Jack to the mix, so I did.

I picked Sea of Thieves as the game to play because I knew it was a pirate game, even though I knew nothing else about it at the time. The concept behind my channel is to be a window into an alternate reality where the fourth wall drops, and the audience can interact with famous characters from film and TV. I treat my stream as a live show/performance and as an escape from reality. I green-screen out my chair and hide my microphone from view because I don’t want people to think they are watching a stream when they’re watching me. I always transport myself into a different background whether it be Jack Sparrow on the Black Pearl, Darth Maul in the Scimitar, Lt. Commander Data on the Starship Enterprise and so on.

I’m so happy my chat asked me to be Jack because I never would have found Sea of Thieves if not for that, and the game is truly remarkable! I have sunk countless hours into it and it has been worth every second spent.

[Q]: How did creating content become your ‘thing’?

[A]: Like I mentioned above I have a lot of performance and voice background from school, BADA (British American Dramatic Academy) and Cal Shakes, so when I scored tickets to San Diego Comic-Con in 2017, I knew I had to go in full body paint make-up as Darth Maul because I always like to do things as fully committed as possible. From there I uploaded some in-character Comic-Con interview videos to YouTube and my friends told me I should check out Twitch because they thought my acting, voiceover and make-up abilities would be a good fit there.

[Q]: How do you decide what kind of content to create?

[A]: I decide what content to create by whatever strikes my fancy or if there is a particular character my community has asked for, like Captain Jack Sparrow or Pennywise. I love being a character playing as himself, whether it’s Ghostface stalking people as Ghostface in Dead by Daylight, or Captain Jack out Slooping as Captain Jack, or Darth Maul duelling Jedi scum as Darth Maul. A lot of times I get the urge to become another character and will do it myself. Other times, my community asks for a specific character to be manifested onto the channel.

[Q]: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced while creating content?

[A]: One of the challenges I have is getting ready, because my stream preparation time can take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. Darth Maul, Pennywise, Captain Jack Sparrow and Skeleton Jack Sparrow take a particularly long time to prepare for camera. Being my own editor is also extremely time-consuming.

[Q]: What different channels do you have?

[A]: I have an Instagram and TikTok devoted to my character work and my cat, a YouTube channel for my Comic-Con interviews and gaming highlights and my Twitch channel for live streaming and gaming, which is where I make almost all of my content. Search Darth Caul on most platforms and you’ll find me.

[Q]: What’s been your most memorable Sea of Thieves moment so far?

[A]: The most memorable moment in Sea of Thieves for me was having the honour of playing with and streaming with the devs, it was so special! The crew over at Rare listened to me, like they listen to all their players, and I loved telling them what things I wanted to see added to the game when they asked me. The craziest part is they actually added some of the things that we talked about like weapon emotes!

I also enjoy when players hear my voice and ask why I sound like Captain Jack Sparrow and then they hop in my chat and see me decked out in the full regalia, complete with the real silver and gold teeth and leather baldric. My most watched video on YouTube is of a player recounting a story to his friends of meeting me, spliced together with the actual moments when we met in-game.

[Q]: What do you enjoy most about the game now, and what are you looking forward to in future?

[A]: By far my favourite thing about the game is the hot mics and the ability to directly parley with and talk to other players. I love improvising with them in character, it never gets old for me because each time it’s totally different and you never know where it will go or how people will respond. I also absolutely love tucking and chatting with the chat while steali… borrowing treasure.

I never would have imagined that Pirates of the Caribbean would collaborate with Sea of Thieves, introducing Captain Jack Sparrow into the game, but dreams really do come true! I can’t wait to have fun with the emotes, costumes and ships that get put into the Pirate Emporium during this update! I've never been as excited for a Sea of Thieves update as I was for this one, savvy?!

[Q]: How did you come up with your channel name?

[A]: I can’t reveal that well-kept secret unless you gift me one hundred thousand subs. “Pirate!”

[Q]: What’s something you’re particularly proud of accomplishing in gaming?

[A]: The two things I’m most proud of in gaming are consistently being asked by viewers what face rigs and sound boards I use when I don’t use any of that stuff, and giving viewers an outlet to escape from the stress of the real world. If I had a nickel for every time I got asked on stream if my face was CGI or if I’m a Vtuber, I’d have a lot of nickels.

[Q]: What do you like to get up to when you’re not streaming?

[A]: When I’m not streaming, I like to hang out with my co-star Tygra, my golden Siberian tank of a feline. He and I lounge around like fat cats and watch movies together all the time. No matter how rough a day I’ve had auditioning for projects in Hollywood or how many callbacks I fail to book for my agency, my cat always has positivity for me when I get back home – he’s the real MVP. I also enjoy lifting weights, jumping rope, shadow boxing/kicking and stuffing my face with delicious foods.

[Q]: What advice would you give to a new content creator?

[A]: Follow your gut and have fun. Be positive. Be original.

[Q]: What’s one thing you would advise a content creator not to do?

[A]: Don't leech off other people’s content or ideas and don’t @ them in chat when they are live asking them to stream and play with you. Don’t look at your viewer count or worry about how many subs you have. Just focus on having fun :)

[Q]: Could you give us one more random fact about yourself?

[A]: I'll give you a few. My goal is to be a better version of a character each time I do it – I'm always striving to improve from the last stream. I’ve streamed for over two years and my chat has never gotten a face reveal, despite me being on camera as more than 15 different characters, from Captain Jack Sparrow and Darth Maul to The Dread Pirate Roberts and Pennywise the Dancing Clown. I didn’t use my real voice until two years into streaming, which confused my chat because they didn’t know why I was sounding the way I was sounding when I finally talked in my regular voice. My chat thought I was Australian or British for the longest time!

That neatly brings us to the end of this Creator Spotlight, so thanks to Darth Caul for taking some time out of character to put up with our poking and prodding. We’ll definitely be taking some pointers on how to smooth talk our way into ‘borrowing’ treasure…

Keep up with all the latest from Sea of Thieves by following us on our many social channels. You can also find previous Creator Spotlights in our News section, see the latest in our new Community Hub and check out all our current Partners in the Sea of Thieves Partner Directory. Until next time!