Hollywood actors are jumping into video games

A group of actors who have built their careers in Hollywood are beginning to make their digital presence felt in video games, a once-stigmatized medium that is increasingly seen as a unique storytelling platform with the ability to reach large audiences.

Some are voice acting, relaying skills they may have honed in animated films or TV shows, while others contribute their looks through advanced motion capture technology that can mimic furrowed brows and wrinkled cheeks.

Last year, Cameron Monaghan helmed Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Megan Fox portrayed a character in Mortal Kombat 1, and Idris Elba and Keanu Reeves provided the backbone for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.

This month’s remake of the 1992 horror game Alone in the Dark stars Jodie Comer, who won an Emmy Award for “Killing Eve” and a Tony Award winner for “Prima Facie,” and David Harbour, known for his work in “Stranger Things.” “, making their own video games for the first time. They are among a group of actors who are meeting younger generations where they really are.

“I hope people will still be watching two-hour movies decades from now, but I know they will be playing video games,” Harbor said in an email.

In a behind-the-scenes video for the game publisher, Comer said working on “Free Guy,” which is set in a fictional video game, gave her a new appreciation for the industry. “It’s incredible to be able to step outside of what you normally do and explore something new, and kind of challenge yourself,” she said.

In Alone in the Dark, Comer’s character and the private investigator she hires, played by Harbor, explore a psychiatric hospital to uncover the truth behind a recent disappearance. Both are playable characters, with distinct scenes and dialogue.

Mikael Hedberg, the game’s creative director, said that when characters reunite after being separated, the player gets immediate comfort due to the actual sense of familiarity.

“Everyone has some level of parasocial relationship with celebrities, where maybe they feel like they’re your friends,” Hedberg said.

The migration to video games is occurring for a number of reasons, including technological leaps that have reduced the disconnect between real-life and digital performance.

Comfort is another factor. Filming a live-action film like Dune: Part 2 may require actors to spend weeks in the deserts of Abu Dhabi. Motion capture sessions for games can often be completed within minutes of the actor’s home in Los Angeles.

Bringing in well-known actors also enables studios to interact with people who might not otherwise be interested in their games. The indie game Open Roads, a mother-daughter road trip that will be released this month, features the voices of Keri Russell and Kaitlyn Dever.

“If you see David Harbor and Jodie Comer starring in a new horror movie called Alone in the Dark, you’ll probably go see it,” said Michael Csorex, the game’s voice and casting director.

A well-known presence can dramatically increase a game’s reach. For big-budget games, screen actors are a small vote of confidence. For indie games, it can be an all-or-nothing bet. “Having a celebrity definitely tips the scales on the budget,” Csurics said.

At last year’s Game Awards, a studio unveiled its space game Exodus by bringing Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey on stage, which he promised would be his first video game character to “have a unique relationship with each player.” Later at the event, the real-life strategy game Stormgate was introduced by Simu Liu, who had recently completed work on the “Barbie” movie.

Hollywood actors had been involved in video games before this notable trend. In 2008, Liam Neeson played the protagonist’s father in the post-apocalyptic film Fallout 3. Martin Sheen also voiced the Illusive Man, an alien paramilitary leader, in 2010’s Mass Effect 2 and its 2012 sequel.

Film and television actors who have transitioned to video games notice the similarities in performing in either medium. Karen Fukuhara has joined the cast of The Callisto Protocol, a 2022 survival horror game, a few years after playing Kimiko in The Boys, a satirical superhero series.

Fukuhara said she “imagined casting in a video game being like, ‘Okay, just act like you’re in a war zone or act like you’re shooting someone,'” but she was surprised by how much the experience felt like “a scene.”

Ultimately, acting is acting.

“I write and build a character the same way I would any role,” said Melanie Liburd, who starred on This Is Us before playing the title character in Alan Wake II last year.

Although it can be exhilarating to see the lines of representation blurred, they primarily occur in one direction. On-camera actors can easily be brought into games. But prominent video game actors like Yuri Lowenthal and Troy Baker have struggled to appear in live-action stories.

“Oh, I was in the biggest game that came out last year,” said Lowenthal, who has played Spider-Man as well as characters in the Saints Row, Diablo and Prince of Persia franchises. “But you won’t even be seen as a co-star on a TV show.”

The shift comes as movie studios and streaming services invest in gaming. Netflix has a free game library built into every subscription, and Annapurna Pictures has published several popular games, including Kentucky Route Zero and Outer Wilds. Director James Gunn, who now runs the DC Comics universe for Warner Bros., said he wanted to cast actors who could play the same role in television, movies, video games and animation.

“When you try to categorize or over-define art, it’s inherently limited and boring,” said Monaghan, who was a lead actor in 11 seasons of Shameless before wielding lightsabers in two popular Star Wars games.

Actors describe the experience of filming on a motion capture stage as somewhere between theater and movies. Surrounded by at least a dozen cameras in an empty white room with minimal sets, the actors wear tight bodysuits covered in dots that help the system capture their movements. Crew members watch from a distance and often perform in real time.

Some actors have found the experience liberating, including Shannon Woodward, who was Ellie’s girlfriend in the post-apocalyptic game The Last of Us Part II.

“I’m not worried if something is causing a bad angle to my chin,” said Woodward, who has built her career on TV shows like Raising Hope and Westworld. “I can fully focus on how to represent this story and be present in the moment.”

For young actors, video games have already become a part of their daily lives. Liu said in a video from the studio behind Stormgate that it was exciting to voice a character for developers who previously worked on StarCraft and Age of Empires, the real-time strategy games he played in the late 1990s.

The transition from video games to movies is much more difficult.

Colleen O’Shaughnessy, who has voiced Tails in the Sonic the Hedgehog games for the past decade, was the only actress to reprise her role in the live-action film in 2020. She said she didn’t know she would be participating in the 2022 sequel until it was announced publicly announced by the studio.

O’Shaughnessey said she told her agents at the time that playing Tails “would be a huge win for me, but it would be a huge win for the entire voice-over community.”

Although long-time game actors have been a challenge, many have been encouraged by the recent arrival of more famous actors in front of the camera. Lowenthal said he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do voice work on the “Afro Samurai” miniseries and movie if Samuel L. Jackson hadn’t been behind the project.

“You can look at it as if this person took my job,” Lowenthal said. “Or you can look at it as if this person gave me a job.”

Unlike other media, games turn the viewer into an active participant.

Harbor said that video games hold artistic potential, social commentary, and emotional catharsis, and that he joined Alone in the Dark because it “seemed like fertile ground for a fantasy retelling and an opportunity to really take a chance.”

Abubakar Salem, who played the Assassin’s Creed Origins game and the “Raised by Wolves” TV show, is now making his own game, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, about a shaman trying to reclaim his father’s spirit in a world inspired by Bantu traditions. . Salem wants people to go on a journey of sadness and beauty.

“The experience I wanted to provide had to be a game,” he said.