Video games have been turning into a bit of an identity crisis for the last decade or so. Many parents and policymakers seem to assume that they contribute to youth obesity and shrinking attention, while other scientists and gaming supporters claim that they can enhance hand-eye coordination and offer useful brain imaging.
The other issue is that, despite games having a far wider audience than they did 20 years ago, the stereotypical player is always stereotyping as some overweight, poor college student who lives in their parent’s basement. Luckily, there are some highly popular and charismatic actors out there who identify themselves as gamers.
Only because they’re out there making movies and going to glamorous award shows does not really mean they don’t have space for a little Halo or Mortal Kombat. In reality, many of them are so in their favorite games that they have gone too long to express their support.
So here are a few big names actors who you actually didn’t know were major players.
1. Zac Efron
In his web, Zac Efron is well known for playing several video games. Back in 2007, when he organized the Halo 3 launch event in Los Angeles, he put his gamer’s side on show. Regrettably, his friend at the time, Vanessa Hudgens, wasn’t as excited about 3 midnights as his commitment to gaming and, at one point, reportedly gave him the ultimatum either to get rid of his Xbox or to remain with her. Those who’ve broken up since then, and haven’t ever been on good terms. But at least Zac is still free to have all those Halo 5 Killtaculars.
2. Michelle Rodriguez
Michelle Rodriguez is known for portraying gritty, tenacious, uncompromising women on the camera, like an intrepid pilot from Avatar or a spunky street racer from Fast and Furious. Obviously, her taste in games is no less hardcore than Call of Duty and the Halo player. She was allegedly influenced by those games while she was training for her role as a soldier in Combat Los Angeles.
3. Will Arnett
Will Arnett is a star who has no qualms in using his status to win opportunities in the gaming community. He was able to do voice work on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which is very apt given that Call of Duty is one of his favorite gaming franchises. Arnett is still so ingrained in the gaming community that he produced a web series called Game Talk, where he played Xbox with a lot of other popular gaming friends.
4. Henry Cavill
Here’s a story that’s supposed to make anyone inside a giggle with glee. Back already when Henry Cavill formally assumed the role of Superman in Man of Steel, he was really into World of Warcraft. Too much that it almost cost him a part to play.
Evidently, when Zack Snyder called to give him the part, Cavill was right in the middle of an essential WoW session and missed the call (because walking away from your computer during a mission is strictly prohibited in the WoW community). Fortunately, after signing off, he returned the call and still had the portion.
5. Rosario Dawson
Millions of people are playing Pokémon, one of the few games that haven’t lost any momentum since the first title launched 20 years ago. Still, with the incredibly childlike quality of the game, it’s hard enough to locate a regular mature adult who agrees to play some of the colorful versions of the game, let alone a celebrity. That’s why we always love Rosario Dawson.
That’s where we’ll love Rosario Dawson. She’s publicly said she’s a huge fan of Pokémon games, as well as many other Nintendo franchises, including Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda.
6. Christian Slater
Not many stars will say that they appeared in a two-hour Nintendo Commercial. But Christian Slater will do it. The Wizard has been a cult favorite since its theatre release in 1989, and definitely brings something unique to Slater’s gaming creed. And while he states that he was originally a teenager in video games, when his acting career began in the 1990s, he obviously didn’t have much time to devote to that enjoyable pastime. That’s also, until he was training for his part in the film version of the Alone in the darkest video game, and one of his co-stars got him stuck on World of Warcraft.
7. Megan Fox
Megan Fox may be better known for supplying eye candy to Michael Bay movies, but she’s still a pretty major gamer. While she didn’t really confess that she was playing video games when her career began, she has since confirmed that she’s in the Halo franchise. She’s not just a first-person shooter, though. Obviously, there are a lot of action games in her wheelhouse too — especially Mortal Kombat.
8. Michael Fassbender
Famous for playing Magneto in the X-Men movies, Michael Fassbender has played the leading role in the forthcoming Assassin’s Creed movie. And if the actors’ experience and enjoyment of the source material had any effect on their success, it could turn out to be the best video game movie ever made.
9. Daniel Craig
All know Daniel Craig as the star of the last four James bond films, but what you may not know is that it was his involvement in the James Bond video games that originally fuelled his desire to play the character. He says he’s playing video games because he feels they’re helping him get into the role. This is presumably why he was really in Halo, contributing to the release of Cowboys and Aliens.
10. Mila Kunis
In a conversation taking place at the 2012 San Diego ComiCon, Mila Kunis confessed that she was hopelessly addicted to video games, especially World of Warcraft. Call of Duty became her next fixation, and she appeared to have a lot of fun in killing Nazi zombies.
