Konami finally confirms that Metal Gear Solid 3’s Eva is the same actor as The Little Mermaid, who kept this “deep, dark secret” for 20 years to protect her family-friendly image
One Metal Gear Solid 3 mystery has persisted for the 20 years since the game’s release: who voices the game’s femme fatale, Eva? The actor behind the character was credited under the pseudonym Suzetta Miñet, but her true identity had never been revealed. But today, in the leadup to the remake Metal Gear Solid Delta, Konami has finally confirmed what fans have long suspected: Suzetta Miñet is in fact Jodi Benson, the voice of Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
Benson’s identity was revealed in the latest episode of Konami’s Metal Gear Solid Legacy Series on YouTube, where she appears alongside David Hayter (Snake) and Lori Alan (the Boss). Her career started on Broadway, but when she landed the lead role in 1989’s The Little Mermaid she transitioned pretty much exclusively to family-friendly fare, including numerous turns as Ariel. With that in mind, you can probably guess why she wanted to hide her role as a seductive agent in an M-rated spy thriller.
“The various projects that I am affiliated with in my career are sort of family-based, children-based, things like that,” Benson explains in the video. “It was actually Kris Zimmerman Salter, our director, that kind of sat down with me and she’s like, ‘Maybe we need to change your name.'”
The resulting pseudonym, Suzetta Miñet, was actually inspired by Benson’s childhood pet. “[Kris] asked me, ‘What was your dog’s name growing up?’ and I said, ‘Suzette Monet.’ So she’s like, ‘You know what? Let’s build on that. How about Suzetta? How about instead of Monet, like the artist, we’ll do Minet?’ and I was like, ‘Sounds like a deal.'”
While Benson’s role as Eva had never officially been revealed, fans have suspected it was her for years, to the point where they’d approach her about it at conventions. “Seven years ago, at various conventions where we meet and greet with wonderful fans, somebody slipped one of these wonderful games to my table,” Benson says. “I said, ‘Why are you bringing me that?’ and he says ‘Because you’re in it’ and I said… ‘Do you know? Do you know my deep, dark secret?’ and he said, ‘Yes, I do know!’ and I said, ‘Shh…. keep it quiet.'”
The video above includes a bit of new footage from Metal Gear Solid Delta, starting at the 9:13 mark, showing a bit more of the new Eva fighting alongside Snake in the game’s climactic escape sequence. There’s also a quick look at one of the early scenes featuring the Boss. The video confirms that while “the lion’s share” of the voice lines in the remake are the same as the original, the old actors returned to record a few new bits of dialog.