21 famous actors who appeared in games

The careers of many actors are not limited only to films, TV series and red carpets. Some of them (quite a lot, to be honest) make themselves and their fans happy by appearing in games.

It is unlikely that you will find at least one person who does not know Keanu Reeves. The actor is so beloved and popular that for many, his mere appearance in Cyberpunk 2077 became a reason to buy the game. In the CD Projekt RED project, he appeared as Johnny Silverhand, the frontman of the Samurai group and a criminal. In fact, Keanu appeared only in Cyberpunk, but also in several other projects.

Over the course of his career, Keanu has played characters such as Neo from The Matrix, Johnny Utah (Point Break), Johnny Mnemonic from the film of the same name, John Wick, John Constantine and many others (did you also suddenly realize that his characters often have similar names?). In addition, Reeves is a huge motorcycle fan and has his own company, Arch Motorcycle.

Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen gained great popularity after the release of the TV series Hannibal, although he had often appeared in films before that. Enough with him interesting appearance, it is not surprising that it is Mads' villainous roles that are remembered most of all.

By the way, in his youth he did gymnastics and dancing. For example, you can appreciate his dancing skills in the film «One More at a Time» (Druk). Once upon a time, Danish magazines even called him «the sexiest man in Denmark.»

In Death Stranding, the actor appeared in the role of Clifford Unger, one of the antagonists, whose story is truly capable of touching. An interesting detail is that Unger was not originally intended to be a smoking character. Hideo Kojima added this detail after he saw Mads himself smoking during breaks.

Guillermo del Toro is slightly out of our top list; he is not an actor, but a director and screenwriter. But it would be a mistake not to mention him in this article, especially since some of his films have become very popular. These include both parts of Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, The Shape of Water and Blade 2.

Guillermo also appeared in Death Stranding. He gave his appearance to a character named Deadman, a doctor at the Bridges corporation who explores not only the world of the living, but also the one in which monstrous creatures live. The character himself was raised artificially and is even ashamed of his origin, while having a rather friendly and benevolent character.

Yes, yes, we are talking about Death Stranding again. Perhaps collecting so many interesting personalities in one game was Hideo Kojima's secret plan? After all, he did not bypass Norman Reedus — the same Daryl Dixon from the series The Walking Dead and Murphy McManus from the film The Boondock Saints.

In Death Stranding, Norman Reedus appeared as the main character — Sam, a courier who connects the settlements of a destroyed post-apocalyptic world. It is around Sam that all the main events of the game unfold. And, of course, Norman Reedus will appear in Death Stranding 2.

Elliot Page, formerly Ellen Page, became famous in the gaming community after appearing in the interactive game Beyond: Two Souls, which was released in 2013. Elliott (at that time Ellen) played the role of Jodie, a girl with psychic abilities who can influence objects and the minds of people, and can also communicate with the world of the dead. Another feature of the heroine is her connection with a creature named Aiden, who greatly influences her life and not in a positive way.

Elliot Page became famous even before his «transition» with roles in such films as «Juno», «Inception», «Flatliners». His participation in the TV series «The Umbrella Academy» brought him even greater popularity.

Willem Dafoe is perhaps another one of those actors who needs no introduction. He began his acting career in 1980 and since then has played a huge number of roles, many of which were truly memorable. Here are just a few of them: FBI agent Paul Smecker from The Boondock Saints, Norman Osborn from Spider-Man, Marcus from John Wick, Thomas Wake from The Lighthouse, Sergeant Gordon Elias from the movie Platoon. Thanks to his interesting appearance and outstanding talent, Defoe is difficult not to remember.

Like Elliot Page, Willem Dafoe appeared in Beyond: Two Souls. The actor played the role of paranormal activity researcher Nathan Dawkins. Nathan helps Jodie learn to control her abilities, and is also constructing a portal connecting the world of the dead and the world of the living.

Fans of The Walking Dead know the brutal Jon Bernthal as Shane Walsh, but he also played Frank Castle (The Punisher) in the series Daredevil, and then in the separate series The Punisher. . He is also remembered for the films «Wind River», «Baby Driver» and other films.

Gamers know him as Cole Walker from Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint. And if in Wildlands Walker was your ally, then in Breakpoint he is already your enemy, and even with his own squad.

Bernthal also appeared in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare as Jim Decker, one of the playable characters in zombie mode.

Despite the fact that Rami Malek has been in the film industry relatively recently (he played his first role in 2004), he has already won several Oscars and other awards. But in addition to successful roles in films, Rami is also remembered by many for his game in the genre of interactive cinema Until Dawn, namely for the character Josh Washington. In the story, Josh gathers friends at his family's country cottage a year after his sisters disappeared (where all his friends were also). But the trip, which many thought was an opportunity to get together again, turns into a nightmare, and the lives of the guys are in danger.

In cinema, Rami Malek appeared in such films as «No Time To Die», «Bohemian Rhapsody», the «Night at the Museum» trilogy, the TV series «Mr. . Robot) and other projects.

Admittedly, Until Dawn has plenty of famous actors, and Peter Stormare was not to be missed. In Until Dawn, the Swedish actor played the role of Dr. Hill, who appears in intercut scenes between chapters. Moreover, as the plot develops, these inserts become more and more gloomy and sinister. And although Dr. Hill is not a playable character, his every appearance is memorable. Stormare has previously appeared in games, for example, in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, Prison Break: The Conspiracy and others.

If we take the actor's filmography, it is extremely extensive. Fans of the series Prison Break know him as John Abruzzi, fans of American Gods remember him as Chernobog. He also played Lucifer in the film Constantine, Colonel Lev Andropov in the film Armageddon and many other heroes — Stormare's acting career is very extensive.

And the last time we will mention Until Dawn in this article. This time for the sake of Hayden Panettiere. In the game, she plays the role of Sam, one of Joshua's friends, who also found herself in the very center of events. Her heroine is a kind, but at the same time brave girl, ready to stand up not only for herself, but also for her friends.

Hayden Panettiere is best known for her roles as Claire Bennet in the TV series Heroes and Juliet Barnes in Nashville. Her appearance also became the basis for the characters Xion and Kairi in the Kingdom Hearts series.

Ted Raimi is known, rather, to the older generation, because for many he is still Joxer from the series “Xena: Warrior Princess”. In addition, Ted starred in the TV series Ash vs. Evil Dead and other projects.

In 2022, Ted appeared in interactive game The Quarry, where he perfectly fit into the role of a cold and rather aggressive police officer named Travis Hackett. And if before Ted Raimi could rarely be seen in a serious role, then this time his character looks really scary and as unfriendly as possible, although his motives become clear as the game progresses.

Surely you have seen at least one film from the Insidious series, where Lin Shaye played a psychic named Alice, who helped a family escape from an ominous demon. Over the almost 80 years of her life, she starred in many films, and performed her first role back in 1975.

The actress also appeared in The Quarry as Constance Hackett, the mother of a police officer named Travis. Initially, her family is not evil, but rather tries to protect the heroes. But then Constance breaks down, and then the Hacketts can become a serious threat.

Shawn Ashmore has appeared in three games, but the most important ones are Quantum Break and The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan.

In Quantum Break, gamers remembered him as the main character — Jake Joyce, who, during a failed experiment, suddenly gains the ability to manipulate time and literally control it, even to the point of foreseeing upcoming events. Two more people gain the same ability. Now their goal is, no less than, to save the future.

The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is one of the parts in the The Dark Pictures series. Shawn Ashmore appears in Man of Medan as Conrad, a reckless and arrogant guy who is far from a coward and is ready to stand up not only for himself, but also for his friends. And, of course, in the best traditions of the series, it is up to the player whether Conrad survives or not.

In cinema, he is best remembered for the TV series Smallville, The Rookie, and the X-Men films.

Jack Black is an actor, comedian, musician, and just a legend! In films he appeared in comedic roles. His filmography includes such films as Tropic Thunder, Gulliver's Travels, The Holiday, School of Rock and many other comedy projects.

It would be strange if such a multifaceted and talented person did not appear in the gaming industry, right? Absolutely. And if you look at the main character Brutal Legend Eddie Riggs, you will immediately recognize him as Jack. The main character is an assistant in organizing concerts, who finds himself in a parallel world and fights demons with the help of a guitar and an ax.

In fact, to describe Brutal Legend, it would take not a single hour and not a single liter of tea (or even something stronger). The game has an incredible number of references to real musicians and musical genres, to mythology and many other things.

“Nothing is more important than family!» — just from this phrase you could understand that we are talking about Vin Diesel. The same Dominic Toretto from the Fast and the Furious film series, who went from local racing to saving the world and launching a car into space.

Actually, the game, to the character of which Diesel gave his appearance and voice, is not much different in theme from “Fast and the Furious.” The main character of Wheelman is Milo Berwick. A professional driver and undercover agent who must gain the trust of local gangsters. In Wheelman, the hero can freely move around the city on his own two feet and cause mayhem (firearms are perfect for this) or take part in races and spectacularly destroy his opponents.

Moving away from the automotive theme, Vin Diesel is known for his role as Riddick in the films Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick, as well as other films. In addition, he gave his voice to Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Bryan Dechart hasn't had any memorable film roles yet. At the moment, he has starred in a couple of TV series and films, including Step Up 3D.

But gamers remember him well for his role as the android detective Connor in Detroit: Become Human — a game in the interactive cinema genre. Connor must track down a group of deviant androids — robots who, due to a glitch, have free will. Not only the ending of the game, but also the fate of the main characters, including Connor, will depend on the player's actions.

To some extent, Brian also appeared in Cyberpunk 2077, or more precisely, he voiced the drink machine. A bit of a fun fact, especially after the success of Detroit: Become Human.

Despite his rather young age (at the time of writing, the actor is only 29 years old), Will Poulter has played in quite popular films. His works include roles in such films as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, We're the Millers, The Maze Runner Maze Runner), The Revenant and Midsommar.

As for games, the actor appeared in the interactive project The Dark Pictures: Little Hope in the role of Andrew, one of the main playable characters. Andrew is a student who, along with his curators and a couple of other guys, gets into an accident on a tour bus. There is not a soul around and the only way out is to go to the nearest town called Little Hope. However, before they even reach the city, the heroes realize that something strange is happening. Not only the ending of the story, but also the lives of the characters depend on the player's further actions.

Kevin Spacey is another actor on our top list who needs no introduction. Strictly speaking, Kevin Spacey is not only a film actor, but also a theater actor, as well as a director, producer and screenwriter. In addition, for more than ten years he was the artistic director of one of the oldest British theaters.

His list of works includes many excellent films, including Seven, K-PAX, American Beauty, and the House of Cards series. Cards). Spacey received his first acting award in 1991.

Kevin Spacey can also be seen in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare as Jonathan Irons, the main antagonist and boss of the Atlas Corporation. In general, it is worth noting that it is the roles of villains that suit Spacey best. It is difficult to imagine this actor in the role of a good neighbor and a decent family man.

A charming red-haired guy from a large family who is in a relationship with the main local bully... If this sounds familiar to you, then you've definitely seen Cameron Monaghan in the TV series Shameless, where he played Ian Gallagher. But Cameron is not known for this role alone. For example, he played Jerome Valeska, the Joker, in the TV series Gotham.

Cameron also appeared in the game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, released in 2019. He played the main role — Padawan Cal Kestis, forced to wander the Galaxy in order to save his life. Cal will have to restore the Jedi Order, but to do this he will have to fight the forces of the Empire, gain new abilities and master the skill of combat.

British actor Idris Elba is familiar to many for his roles in films such as 28 Weeks Later, RocknRolla, for his role as Heimdall in Marvel films, and so on. Idris was born in London and before he started appearing on screens, he managed to be a DJ (he performed under the name DJ Big Driis) and also worked at a Ford plant. Idris first appeared on screen in 1994 in the series “A Purely English Murder” (The Bill), and now he already has a fairly impressive filmography.

In 2023, we we'll see Idris in the Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty expansion, which was announced a few months ago. The actor will appear before players as Solomon Reed, a secret agent with whom V will collaborate to complete a mission in Dog City.

Unexpected, right? It's unlikely that anyone expected to see a Russian actor in this top, but Oleg Taktarov appeared in Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4. Naturally in the role of the Russian hero Dmitry Mayakovsky, how could it be otherwise! Dmitry is a Russian agent who initially tries to prevent an explosion in Paris. Perhaps this is one of those cases where the stereotype about “bad Russians” is broken.

As for his acting career, Oleg Taktarov appears in both Russian and foreign films (most often he plays Russians). Some of the most successful projects include films such as Predators, National Treasure and Righteous Kill. In addition, Oleg performed as a professional fighter and even became the world champion in mixed martial arts in 1995.