We all love a celebrity cameo. After all, who amongst us hasn’t excitedly elbowed a friend while watching an old movie to say we recognize an actor from a modern show? Getting some stardom in games can bring them to life like nobody else can, helping them feel just as cinematic as a big-budget Hollywood action movie.
Over the years, there have been many celebrities who have taken their acting to new levels and played various characters in some of the best games out there. Here are just some of the most memorable which have proven to be very popular appearances for gamers.
Samuel L. Jackson (GTA: San Andreas)
Hollywood's ultimate comedic badman, best known for his role in Pulp Fiction and the cinematic Marvel Universe, how could Samuel L. Jackson have not made it into a video game universe!? What better place to find him than on the fictional streets of the LA-like San Andreas.
Famous for his no-nonsense style and absurdly rude language, Jackson fits right into the large roster of characters that make up the game's protagonist’s gangster paradise. His hard, gruff words do justice to Jackson’s role of Frank Tenpenny, a corrupt and violent police officer.
Kit Harington (Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare)
Practically everyone will know Kit Harington from his staggering performance as Jon Snow in the fantasy world of Game Of Thrones. Although you may have finished the final season of the series believing that Jon Snow knew nothing, the same cannot be said for his roles as the daring and ruthlessly intelligent Admiral Kotch in Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
While Kotch doesn’t quite make the list of most memorable Call of Duty characters, he’s still a fun celebrity cameo in the series. With so many important heroic and action-packed roles under this young actor's belt already we can all expect to see much more of him in the future.
Liam Neeson (Fallout 3)
Is there a more fitting universe to find the grim and determined character Liam Neeson is known for than the post-apocalyptic world of this cinematic classic RPG? Famous for his roles in action movies like Star Wars (Qui-Gon Jinn) and Batman Begins (Ra's al Ghul), one of his most notable appearances to date saw him as the vengeful father seeking to save his daughter in the Taken movie series.
After that appearance, it is no wonder he was chosen to play another desperate father in Fallout 3, released the same month as the first Taken movie.
Tony Hawk (Tony Hawk Pro Skater Series)
Over the years there have been many great video game releases based around sports, such as Madden NFL and FIFA. Another top sporting video game series in history is Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater which centers around the sport of skateboarding. Anyone who was into gaming during the PlayStation 1 era will remember this instant classic.
However, anyone who has played the series will remember the fun of watching Tony flip and spin across skateparks and cities alike all to an unforgettable soundtrack. Ollie’s, slides, and manuals are just some of the skateboarding tricks that are good for beginners to learn, which feature in the games, as well as many more difficult skateboarding tricks too!
Keanu Reeves (Cyberpunk 2077)
Anybody familiar with Neuromancer by William Gibson, the novel that birthed the Cyberpunk genre, and the very idea of the computer world of The Matrix, will understand why Keanu Reeves had to make an appearance in Cyberpunk 2077. Fans of Reeves, who played Neo, the chosen one in the Matrix movies, can see Reeves’ return to cyberpunk in a whole new way as Johnny Silverhand veteran and rock star in Cyberpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077 star Keanu Reeves says he's never actually played Cyberpunk, despite previous confirmation from CD Projekt itself that he loved playing the game. During an interview with The Verge for The Matrix Awakens, Reeves was asked if he played video games at all. He responded that he did not. When asked about Cyberpunk, Reeves said, "no, I mean I've seen demonstrations, but I've never played it."
Giancarlo Esposito (Far Cry 6)
Fans of the US drama Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, will remember Esposito as Gus Fring, the crystal meth and chicken tycoon, a ruthless criminal mastermind, and one of both series’ main antagonists. However, Esposito’s career stretches far beyond HBO, he also starred in Amazon Prime’s The Boys and The Mandalorian, which earned two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Then in October 2021, Esposito joined a cast of the dramatic and action-packed Far Cry series as yet another antagonist, this time he plays the fearless Anton Castillo and leader of the fighting force on the tropical island of Yara where the game is set. Antón Castillo, also known as El Presidente, is the main antagonist of the 2021 first-person shooter game, Far Cry 6.
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