Video gaming is a multi-billion-dollar industry with 1000s of games being released a year. Like movies, the budgets can range massively from small indies to huge blockbuster productions (known as AAA games) whose development costs can reach the 100s of millions (per Game Rant). As the market and industry continues to grow, so do the size, scope, and ambition of some these games, with many placing particular emphasis on the storytelling, world-building, and character development, just much as the gameplay.

A good voice performance is essential to bringing these characters to life and elevating them to new planes. A wide range of emotions needs to be conveyed, with the voice alone being able to express where the character is from, their personality, and how they’re feeling. Going one step further, now thanks to motion capturing technology, an actor’s likeness and motions can be represented realistically in the game, if the developers choose to do so. It’s also no secret that having a big-name actor attached to a project can often increase its appeal. Over the years, dozens of actors, from Ricky Gervais to Liam Neeson, have lent their voices (and sometimes their likeness and acting abilities) to video games — below are 8 of the most noteworthy.

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8 Keanu Reeves — Cyberpunk 2077

     CD Projekt Red

The 2022 dystopian role playing game (RPG), Cyberpunk 2077, was one of the most ambitious and expensive games ever created, and the developers needed to really pull a few tricks out of the hat to get the sales it needed in order to make back the money and turn a profit. Enter: Keanu Reeves — one of Hollywood’s best known and most beloved actors. Reeves lent his voice and his likeness to the game, playing the uber cool, rebellious Johnny Silverhand. Sadly, despite all the ambition and Reeves’ role in the game, it failed to create the waves it had intended to, with early iterations being plagued with bugs and glitches and appearing unfinished in places. Fortunately, thanks to several improvements being implemented in follow-up patches and updates, the game is steadily amassing a cult following.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

7 Kristen Bell — Assassin’s Creed

     Ubisoft

Since the release of the first game in 2007, Assassin’s Creed has become one of gaming’s most successful franchises comprising numerous sequels and spin-off games, as well as comics, novels, and even a movie. The story and lore has grown deep and complex over the years, but there has remained an overarching theme in which a team of people in the present day use a machine that allows one of them to travel back to various points in history, by inhabiting the body of his ancestors. In doing so, he is able to relive crucial moments and alter the events of history, potentially saving humankind in the future. Kristen Bell, known for her roles in Frozen, Forgetting Sarah Marshal and Gossip Girl, among others, lent her likeness and voice to play one of the present-day scientists in Assassin’s Creed, Assassin’s Creed II, and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood.

6 Norman Reedus — Death Stranding

     Sony Interactive

Norman Reedus achieved cult status with his standout performances in the Boondocks Saints and its sequel. He later became a household name thanks to his starring role in the mega successful Walking Dead series. Thanks to cutting edge motion capture technology, Reedus lent not only his voice but also his likeness to the character Sam in the thought-provoking, slow burning action game Death Stranding. More than just a celebrity cameo, Reedus stars at the main protagonists and acts in the game’s numerous cut scenes — one of which lasts over 30 minutes!

5 Elliot Page — Beyond: Two Souls

     Quantic Dream

Elliot Page garnered critical acclaim for his early roles in the revenge thriller Hard Candy and indie coming of age dramedy Juno. He has since gone on to appear in numerous high-profile movies, including Christopher Nolan’s Inception and the X-Men movies The Last Stand and Days of Future Past. Once again, thanks to motion capturing technology, Page played the main protagonist in the interactive decision-based sci-fi game Beyond: Two Souls, in which he plays a young teen coming to grips with certain unexplainable telekinetic powers. Willem Dafoe also stars, giving a heart-rending performance as the personal doctor and researcher.

4 Kevin Spacey — Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

     Sledgehammer Games

Call of Duty is a war-based first-person shooter franchise that is immensely popular and at the time of Advanced Warfare’s release, Kevin Spacey was among the most respected actors in Hollywood. With numerous critically acclaimed performances under his belt, including roles in Se7en, American Beauty and The Usual Suspects, Spacey’s appearance in the game was undoubtedly a big selling point, helping the game become the biggest seller of 2014. He plays a plays Jonathan Irons, the CEO of a private military corporation and one of the lead roles.

3 Matthew Perry — Fallout: New Vegas

     Bethesda Softworks

With Matthew Perry, known for playing the sarcastic friend Chandler Bing in the hit 90s sitcom Friends, being a huge self-professed lover of Fallout 3, could he be more obvious a choice to appear in the game’s follow-up, New Vegas? It certainly paid off, as Perry excels, and his passion is evident in his portrayal of the New Vegas Chairman Benny in this huge post-apocalyptic RPG.

2 Rami Malek — Until Dawn

     Supermassive Games

Until Dawn was somewhat ground-breaking at the time of its release: combining compelling horror storytelling with interactive decision-based gameplay, it was highly praised by audiences and critics alike and became an instant classic. Rami Malek provided his voice and motion captured acting to one of the eight playable characters whom the players are tasked with keeping alive (or killing off in gruesome ways, if they so choose). Whilst Malek’s career admittedly received a huge boost over his fantastic portrayal of Freddie Mercury in 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, he had already established himself as an accomplished actor by the time of Until Dawn’s release, having appeared in the Night At The Museum movies as well as the likes of Oldboy and Need For Speed. Recruiting known actors to voice characters in its games is a tactic Until Dawn’s developers continued, with Will Poulter starring in Little Hope and Ethan Supplee, David Arquette, Ted Raimi appearing in this year’s The Quarry.

1 Samuel L. Jackson — GTA: San Andreas

     Rockstar Games

The GTA series is unfathomably successful and as the games have grown bigger in success as well as scop, so have the voice actors. There are literally dozens of famous actors, from Dennis Hopper to Ricky Gervais, that have appeared in the series over the years, but one of the most memorable castings has to be Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable and successful actors of all time. The prolific star has well over a hundred movie acting credits under his belt, which have collectively grossed over $27 billion. Appearing in everything from political dramas and independent thrillers to huge multi-billion dollar franchises like Star Wars and The Avengers, Jackson also has done his fair share of voice acting, including playing characters in The Incredibles, Afro Samurai, and Turbo. In GTA: San Andreas, he lends his instantly recognizable voice to the borderline psychotic corrupt police officer. Expect plenty of uses of his trademark expletives.