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The first Mass Effect had a few celebrities that came in to provide voice work for peripheral characters, but no one that was involved in the main story.  With the sequel however, Bioware has rolled out the red carpet, with almost a dozen high end celebs lending their vocal talents to Mass Effect 2.

In what appears to be a major role in the sequel, President Bartlett, aka Martin Sheen, is providing the voice for “The Illusive Man”.  The Illusive Man is the head of the shadow, quasi-alliance military unit known as Cerebrus.  Returning from the first title are both Keith David (not to be confused with David Keith) as Admiral David Anderson and Seth Green as Joker.  In other roles, we also have Carrie-Anne Moss, Tricia Helfer, Yvonne Strahovski and Adam Baldwin among several other high end actors and actresses.

To get the full info on all the roles that will have celebrities attached to them, hit the jump for the full press release.  Also enjoy the new Shepard close up that was posted on the official Mass Effect 2 site.

BioWare Announces Celebrity Cast for Mass Effect 2 – The First Blockbuster of 2010

Star-Studded Cast Includes Martin Sheen, Seth Green, Yvonne Strahovski, and More

EDMONTON, Alberta, Dec 10, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — BioWare(TM), a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), today revealed the voice actors performing in Mass Effect 2, the second act of the award-winning science fiction trilogy. The game features Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor Martin Sheen (“The West Wing”, “Apocalypse Now”), 2009 Emmy Award-winner Shohreh Aghdashloo (“House of Saddam”), comedic actor Seth Green (“Austin Powers”), “Chuck” stars Yvonne Strahovski and Adam Baldwin, Keith David (“Crash”) and sci-fi favorites Michael Dorn (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”), Tricia Helfer (“Battlestar Galactica”), Michael Hogan (“Battlestar Galactica”) and Carrie-Anne Moss (“The Matrix”).

“Emotionally engaging narrative is a key design pillar for BioWare, and the top-notch voice talent in Mass Effect 2 helps drive this goal,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA. “Credible, powerful personalities are vital to delivering a compelling story experience in BioWare’s games, and we have assembled an amazing ensemble cast that surpasses the very high bar set in the original Mass Effect!”

Esteemed actor Martin Sheen stars as the mysterious Illusive Man who commands Cerberus, a secretive paramilitary organization dedicated to protecting human interests in the galaxy. Yvonne Strahovski plays deadly Cerberus operative Miranda Lawson, who has been genetically engineered for superior mental and physical traits. Returning to the cast from the original Mass Effect is Seth Green as Joker and Keith David as Admiral David Anderson. And rounding out the vocal roster are Tricia Helfer as EDI, the voice of the new Normandy; Carrie-Anne Moss as Aria T’Loak, the crime lord who rules the planet Omega; Shohreh Aghdashloo as Admiral Shala’Raan vas Tonbay; Michael Hogan as Captain Bailey; Adam Baldwin as Kal ‘Reegar; and Michael Dorn as Gatatog Uvenk.

The Mass Effect trilogy is an emotionally charged science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will once again step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding their crew of some of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, space exploration and emotionally engaging character interaction, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience.

Mass Effect 2 will be available on the Xbox 360(R) videogame and entertainment system and PC on January 26, 2010 in North America and January 29, 2010 in Europe. Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/masseffect2. For more information on Mass Effect 2, go to http://masseffect.bioware.com/.

About BioWare

BioWare develops high quality console, PC and online role-playing games, focused on rich stories, unforgettable characters and vast worlds to discover. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world’s most critically acclaimed titles, including Baldur’s Gate(TM), Neverwinter Nights(TM), Star Wars(R): Knights of the Old Republic(TM), Jade Empire(TM) and Mass Effect(TM). BioWare operates in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Montreal (Quebec) and Austin (Texas). BioWare’s announced projects include the dark heroic fantasy game Dragon Age: Origins, as well as Mass Effect 2(TM), the epic sequel to Mass Effect, and the story-driven massively multiplayer online game, Star Wars(R): The Old Republic(TM). In 2008, BioWare was acquired by Electronic Arts, a leading global interactive entertainment publisher. For more information on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com; to join the millions of fans already registered on our community, go to social.bioware.com.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA(TM), EA SPORTS(TM), EA Mobile(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

BioWare, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Jade Empire are trademarks or registered trademarks owned by EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. in the U.S. and/or other countries. EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.