Actors who built their careers in Hollywood are increasingly showing their digital presence in video games. Video games, once a stigmatized medium, are now increasingly attracting attention as a unique storytelling platform that can reach large audiences.
Some voice actors bring skills honed from animated films and TV shows, while others provide their likenesses through advanced motion-capture technology that can recreate furrowed eyebrows and furrowed cheeks. .
Last year, Cameron Monaghan led Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Megan Fox played a character from Mortal Kombat 1, and Idris Elba and Keanu Reeves formed the backbone of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. provided.
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 for “Prima Facier,” and Both David Harbor, known for his work on Things, will appear. He is making his video game debut. They are one of the groups of actors who meet the younger generation that they already have.
“I hope that decades from now people will still be watching a two-hour movie, but they'll be playing a video game,” Haber said in an email.
In a behind-the-scenes video from the game's publisher, Comer said working on “Free Guy,” a movie set in a fictional video game, gave him a new appreciation for the industry. “It's great to be able to step out of what you normally do and explore something new and challenge yourself,” she said.
In Alone in the Dark, Comer's character and the private investigator she hires, played by Harbour, explore a psychiatric hospital to uncover the truth behind a recent disappearance. Both are playable characters with distinct cutscenes and dialogue.
Mikael Hedberg, the game's creative director, said that when characters reunite after being separated, players can instantly feel relief from the feeling of being recognized in real life.
“Everyone has some level of parasocial relationship with celebrities, and they probably feel like they're their friends,” Hedberg said.
There are several reasons for the shift to video games, including leaps in technology that have reduced the disconnect between real-life and digital performance.
Convenience is another factor. Shooting a live-action movie like “Dune: Part 2” may require actors to spend weeks in the Abu Dhabi desert. His motion capture sessions for the game can often be completed minutes from the actor's Los Angeles home.
By bringing in big-name actors, studios can also engage people who might not otherwise be interested in their games. Open Roads, an indie game about a mother-daughter road trip released this month, features the voices of Keri Russell and Kaitlyn Deaver.
“If I found out David Harbor and Jodie Comer were in the new Alone in the Dark horror movie, I'd probably go see it,” said Game Casting Director Michael Courics. said.
Once your presence is known, your game's reach can increase significantly. For a big-budget game, movie actors are a small vote of confidence. When it comes to indie games, it can be a high-stakes gamble. “There's no doubt that using a celebrity will tip the scales in your budget,” Turicks says.
At last year's Game Awards, a studio brought Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey on stage to reveal its space-based game Exodus. Matthew McConaughey promised that his first video game character would “create a unique relationship with every player.” Later in the ceremony, his real-time strategy game Stormgate was introduced by Simu Liu, who had just finished his work on “Barbie”.
Even before these more prominent trends emerged, Hollywood actors were participating in video games. In 2008, Liam Neeson played the main character's father in the post-apocalyptic Fallout 3. Martin Sheen voiced the space militia leader Illusive Man in 2010's Mass Effect 2 and its 2012 sequel.
Film and TV actors who have branched out into video games have noted the similarities in acting in both mediums. Years after Karen Fukuhara played the role of Kimiko in the satirical superhero series “The Boys,'' she has joined the cast of the 2022 horror survival game “The Callisto Protocol.''
Fukuhara said, “I imagined video game casting would be like just acting like you're in a war zone or acting like you're shooting someone.'' He said he was surprised by how much the experience “felt real.” landscape. “
After all, acting is acting.
“I write down the character and build it, just like I do with any role,” said Melanie Rivard, who appeared on “This Is Us” before being cast as the lead in last year's “Alan Wake II.” Told.
It's sometimes refreshing to see the lines of acting blur, but it's mostly happening in one direction. Actors on camera are easily incorporated into the game. However, prominent video game actors like Yuri Lowenthal and Troy Baker have struggled to star in live-action stories.
“Oh, you were 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 series. said. “But you wouldn't even look like your co-star on a TV show.”
This shift comes as movie studios and streaming services are investing in games. Netflix includes a free game library with every subscription, and Annapurna Pictures has published several acclaimed games, including his Kentucky Route Zero and Outer Wilds. Director James Gunn, who currently oversees the DC Comics universe at Warner Bros., has said he wants to cast actors who can play the role in television, film, video games and animation.
“When you try to organize or over-define art, it becomes inherently limiting and boring,” Monaghan said. He starred in 11 seasons of Shameless and then wielded a lightsaber in two popular Star Wars games.
Actors describe the experience of filming on a motion capture stage as a cross between theater and film. In a bare white room with a simple set, the actors, surrounded by at least a dozen cameras, wear tight-fitting suits covered in dots that help the system recognize their movements. Crew members often observe from a distance and perform in real time.
Some actors have found the experience liberating, including Shannon Woodward, who played Ellie's girlfriend in the post-apocalyptic game The Last of Us Part II.
“I don't care if my jaw is at a bad angle,” said Woodward, who made her career on TV shows such as “Raising Hope” and “Westworld.” “I can completely focus on how I can tell this story and be present in this moment.”
For the young actor, video games have already become part of everyday life. In a video by Stormgate Studios, Liu said he was able to voice a character from a developer who previously worked on real-time strategy games StarCraft and Age of Empires, which he played in the late 1990s. He said he was excited.
Transitioning from video games to movies is quite difficult.
Colleen O'Shaughnessy, who has voiced Tails in the Sonic the Hedgehog games for the past decade, was the only actor to reprise the role in the 2020 live-action film. She said she didn't know until she was cast in the 2022 sequel. Published by the studio.
O'Shaughnessy told her agent at the time that playing Tails “would be a huge win for me, but it would also be a huge win for the voice acting community as a whole.”
Despite the challenges faced by long-time game actors, many encouraged the recent emergence of more famous on-camera actors. Lowenthal said that if Samuel L. Jackson had not joined the project, he would not have had the opportunity to do voice work on the “Afro Samurai” miniseries and movies.
“When you look at this, you think, oh, that's who took my job,” Lowenthal said. “Or I could think that the person gave me the job.”
Unlike other media, games transform viewers into active participants.
Haber said video games have the potential for artistry, social commentary, and emotional catharsis, and that he joined Alone in the Dark because of the “imaginative retelling and the opportunity to really take a chance.” “It seemed like fertile ground for opportunities.”
Abubakar Salim, who starred in the game Assassin's Creed Origins and the TV show Raised by Wolves, is currently working on his own game, “A Shaman,'' about a shaman who attempts to retrieve his father's soul in a world inspired by Bantu traditions. “Tales of Kensela: Zau” is currently in production. . Salim wants people to go on a journey of sadness and beauty.
“The experience I wanted to deliver had to be a game,” he said.
