You’re used to seeing famous faces in movies, on television shows, and in magazines, but in video games? It’s more common than you might think. The biggest video games have huge budgets, so why not use some of that pile of money to get a famous face to provide their voice and likeness, and help to give the game a touch of cool and glamor? Plus, there are plenty of celebrities who just love gaming, so many will jump at the chance to appear in a video game.
Some of these appearances are obvious; you can tell straight away. Some are more subtle. In this blog, we’ll run through some of the famous faces that you’ll find in video games. Keep your eyes out!
Keanu Reeves
Is it any wonder that Keanu Reeves appears in a video game? He’s basically the coolest guy on the planet, so of course, he does! And, as you might expect, he’s in a pretty cool game, too. He lends his voice and likeness to a character in Cyberpunk 2077 named Johnny Silverhand, a war veteran and rock musician who exists as a real person at the beginning of the game, and then becomes a hologram later on.
Famous Faces from the Movies
It’s not only real-world famous faces that you’ll find in pixelated gameplay form. You’ll see plenty of fictional characters from the movie world, too. Iconic Hollywood movies lend themselves well to gameplay, so it’s no surprise that game developers use them as a source of inspiration.
If you browse casino games online, you’ll find characters that bear a striking resemblance to iconic movie characters such as James Bond, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Indiana Jones, among many others. Indeed, one way to know that a movie has earned “legendary” status is if its title character makes it into an unrelated game.
Grand Theft Auto: Many Faces/Voices
Grand Theft Auto is one of the largest game franchises in the world and has won plenty of famous fans, many of whom jumped at the chance to become a character in the franchise. There’s a long list of famous faces that appear across the series, including Ice-T, Samuel L. Jackson, Katt Williams, Kyle MacLachlan, and Ray Liotta.
Some of the characters only have small, bit-part cameos in the game, but some, such as Ray Liotta’s character Tommy Vercetti, made such a splash that it’s now considered some of their best work, including the movies that they made.
Ariana Grande
Some celebrities you just assume would be in a video game. Samuel L. Jackson is in hundreds of movies, so it’s no surprise to see him turn up in a video game. That man can’t seem to turn down a role! But with other famous faces, it’s a surprise to see them in a video game.
This is certainly the case with Ariana Grande, who appeared in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius as a fictionalized version of herself, ‘Dangerous Ariana.’ She was the first such celebrity to appear in a Final Fantasy game, but the success of her appearance led the way for others to appear in later games, including Lady Gaga.
Conan O’Brien
Conan O’Brien is known in the gaming community for, well, not knowing all that much about games. After all, he does host his very own ‘Clueless Gamer’ show, where he trials new games despite not playing video games. He takes it all in his stride with good humor and enthusiasm, however, so it’s perhaps no surprise that he was asked to appear in Halo 4 alongside his long-time sidekick Andy Richter. It’s a small cameo, but a funny one.
