Remedy’s Sam Lake Shares Max Payne Cast Photo That’s a Warm but Wistful Reunion After 22 Years

Some 22 years after it first released, the cast of Max Payne recently reunited for a strange but brilliant Alan Wake 2 moment, absent one key member.

Remedy co-founder Sam Lake captured the moment in a photo posted to X/Twitter, referring to the cast as “family and friends.” The group included Jani Niipola (Alex Balder), Carol Kiriakos (Mona Sax), Lake’s mother and father (Nicole Horne and Alfred Woden respectively), Aki Järvilehto (BB), and of course Lake himself, who was the original face of Max Payne.

Max Payne reunion 22 y later in Alan Wake 2. I invited family and friends to dance in the AW2 short film. @janiniipola (MP1 Alex Balder), @CarolKiriakos (MP1 Mona Sax), my mother (MP1 Nicole Horne), my father (MP1 Alfred Woden), @akijarvilehto (MP1 B.B.) @alanwake @remedygames pic.twitter.com/bVk7tvctdR

— Sam Lake (@SamLakeRMD) January 5, 2024

Absent from the gathering was James McCaffrey, the voice of Max Payne, who died in December. His final role was Alan Wake 2, where he played Alex Casey. Lake paid tribute to McCaffrey at the time, calling him a “lovely man and a dear friend.”

Spoilers for Alan Wake 2

The Max Payne cast was on hand for a 15-minute Finnish short film contained within Alan Wake 2 called Yötön Yö (Nightless Night). The optional sequence features a ballroom dance scene that includes the original cast of Alan Wake.

Upon seeing the photo, Alan Wake fans had fun going through the sequence to find cast members, with one poster managing to spot Lake’s mother and father.

End spoilers for Alan Wake 2

The original Max Payne was praised for its innovative implementation of bullet time mechanics, then a relatively new film device, and helped introduced Remedy to mainstream audiences. Actors like McCaffrey who featured in Max Payne would go on to appear in many more Remedy games, including Alan Wake 2.

Alan Wake 2 was praised at release for its innovative storytelling, winning Best Game Direction at the Game Awards 2023. We awarded it a 9 in our review, calling it a “superb survival horror sequel.” For more, check out our look back at the biggest games of 2023.

Blogroll photo credit: Sam Lake

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.