Meet the Nominees: LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year Award
It can’t be understated just how essential LGBTQ+ voice actors are to making gaming more inclusive for all, which is why we’re so excited to celebrate these performers with the LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year Award at the 2026 Gayming Awards!
During a time when queer art is under attack, these are the people literally giving voice to the marginalized, who, through each performance, offer players representation they may not have otherwise. These folks are doing so much for inclusivity in gaming all while turning out astounding performances in some of our favorite games.
Let’s take a look at each of the nominees now and learn about their amazing work, how they help fight for representation in gaming, and which has the best shot at taking home this award at the 2026 Gayming Awards!
Jay Taylor
While every voice actor tries to make their characters compelling, few can breathe life into a story like Jay Taylor.
The performer is largely known for their role as Samar in Spirit Swap; an endlessly entertaining protagonist, Samar shares Taylor’s own Queer and Black identities. This allowed Jay to truly embody the nuances of this character, with Samar showing how they manage to seamlessly imbue their marginalized identities into every role they encounter. And this isn’t the only way they offer representation to queer gamers, as their work with It Gets Better and ArrayNOW helps offer this community vital resources while fighting for inclusivity in the industry.
Jay Taylor has committed themself professionally and personally to making sure others of their identity feel seen today — it’s no wonder why they’re rightly nominated for this year’s LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year Award!
Allegra Clark
The best voice performers have the range to embody truly any kind of character — a skill that Allegra Clark has clearly devloped over their impressive career.
Clark has received widespread acclaim for their roles as Tydus in Date Everything! and Aza in The Outer Worlds 2, two extremely different characters that the artist portrays with the distinct approach each deserves. It’s a versatility that has come to define Allegra as a voice performer, with the artist matching her voice to whatever any project may need.
Not only does she push for easier access for queer performers — Allegra herself is proudly bisexual — but she also constantly calls for greater industry equity to ensure performers are receiving the respect they deserve. It’s a vital activism that creates a more accessible gaming industry for all, and with her nomination for LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year, Clark gets to bring this advocacy to a whole new audience of soon-to-be fans!
Jennifer English
Few voice performers have had as great of a year as Jennifer English, who is arriving to the 2026 Gayming Awards with a few big wins already under her belt!
She is known for her breakout role as Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a gut-wrenching performance that saw English bring out the immense fortitude of this struggling young character. Jennifer has said that her identity as a queer and neurodivergent person informed not just this performance, but her entire career; she believes that one of the best ways she can support LGBTQ+ gamers is being open about her own identities. Through streaming, using her social platforms to discuss diversity in the industry, and using each award speech to publicly call for inclusivity in gaming, this performer has truly dedicated her entire career to uplifting other LGBTQ+ gamers like her.
It’s heartwarming to see how Jennifer English’s career has helped so many LGBTQ+ players feel seen today. She’s already won multiple awards for this great work — let’s see if she’ll snag another with the LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year!
Michael Lorz
It takes true talent to combine meaningful representation with hilarious gameplay, a skill that clearly comes easy for voice performer Michael Lorz.
Many gamers will know Lorz for their work in Date Everything! as Lux, a nonbinary character who is instantly personified as a shallow, image-obsessed influencer. Yet while initially defined by those traits, Lorz drew on their own experience as a genderqueer person to voice each of their lines with realistic nuance. They still offered the hilarity Lux deserved, but also allowed them to ‘shine’ as one of the few nonbinary characters we have in modern gaming.
Along with creating multi-faceted performances like Lux, Michael cultivates an LGBTQ+-inclusive community online as a Twitch streamer to make sure their followers always have a space where they can be authentically themselves. They’ve built this welcoming community while still creating many outstanding voice performances, making them a real contender for 2026’s LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year Award!
Robyn Holdaway
Few performers have dedicated themselves to representation like Robyn Holdaway, whose entire career is centered around uplifting non-binary audiences.
Known for voice roles like Laen in Sovereign Syndicate and onscreen performances in series like Sex Education, Holdaway is a multi-talented performer whose goal is to always create representation for the queer people in their audence. They do all of this while also advocating for queer people outside of the recording booth, turning their social media channels into constant sources of nonbinary education and even establishing a consultant practice that helps creative teams make realistic depictions of nonbinary people in games.
Whether it be voice performing, acting, or consulting, Robyn Holdaway works tirelessly to foster an industry where nonbinary people are understood and welcomed. It’s what’s led to them becoming a true changemaker in LGBTQ+ gaming, and it’s what rightly earned them a nomination for LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year!
Tobias Weatherburn
Whether it be the chaos of Borderlands or the unkempt horrors of Warhammer, fans of Tobias Weatherburn know that this voice actor can deliver the exact performance his (usually terrifying) game needs!
Weatherburn has become a standout for the way he embodies his cultures withing each project; he is both pansexual and Welsh, two identities that are deeply underrepresented in modern gaming. As a leading advocate for inclusivity in digital spaces, Weatherburn works to create pathways for other performers like him to find their footing as voice actors, with this work leading to him being one of the most prominent LGBTQ+ Welsh voice performers today.
Tobias Weatherburn constantly shows his fans why nothing is more important than being proud of your identities. It’s a pride that has not only earned him an exceptional career but a whole fandom of supporters, with both of these making him a serious contender to win this year’s LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year Award!
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