It might surprise you to discover that many famous actors have lent their voices to big-name games you’ve played over the years. Next time you play see if you recognize some of the voices below.
1. Nathan Fillion
Best known for his roles in TV shows like Firefly and Castle, Nathan Fillion voiced his first video game character in Jade Empire, a 2005 Bioware game. Since then he’s gone on to perform in several Halo games as well as both Destiny games.
Despite being busy on television consistently over the last two decades, he continues to pick up video game roles and is likely to continue doing so in the future.
2. Adam Baldwin
Another Firefly alumni, Adam Baldwin can also be seen in films like Independence Day and Full Metal Jacket. It’s easy to understand why you might have missed his role in Mass Effect 2.
He plays Kal’Reegar, a Quarian that spends his life in a body suit. This distorts his voice when he speaks, but it’s him nonetheless.
3. Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman is known as an artistic chameleon for a reason. He is capable of taking on any role no matter how different it is, playing everything from the colorful Jean-Baptiste from The Fifth Element to the enigmatic George Smiley from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
In the video game world, he has a recurring role as Viktor Reznov in the Call of Duty series. Watch him demonstrate voicing the character on The Graham Norton Show here. He also plays Ignitus in The Legend of Spyro game trilogy from 2006-2008.
4. Liam Neeson
Perhaps one of the more surprising names on the list, Liam Neeson hasn’t done many roles in the video game world. But if you’ve played the ever-popular Fallout 3, you heard his voice at the beginning of the game.
His character’s name is James, though you might recognize him better as “Dad.” When you begin the game, he is the father that guides you through the introduction of the game.
5. Sean Bean
It seems like Sean Bean can’t catch a break. Best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings and Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, Sean Bean is notorious for playing characters that — spoiler alert — get killed off. Unfortunately, his video game voiceover roles are no exception.
In The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bean plays Emperor Martin Septim. And yes, he absolutely dies before the end of the game. But things seem to be looking up for Sean Bean. In 2016, he voiced the narrator in Civilization VI. It’s pretty hard to kill off a narrator.
6. Elijah Wood
Best known for playing Hobbit hero Frodo in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Elijah Wood has been voicing video games for years. In addition to playing Frodo in nearly every Lord of the Rings video game, Elijah Wood picked up the role of Spyro in The Legend of Spyro games, starring alongside Gary Oldman.
Perhaps inspired by his voice work, Wood even developed his own video game. His production company SpectreVision partnered with Ubisoft to release the thriller game Transference in 2018.
7. Martin Sheen
Another of the more surprising names on the list, few would expect to find President Bartlett from the long-running TV show The West Wing to show up in a video game.
Like Liam Neeson, he doesn’t have many video game credits to his name, but he too appeared in the Mass Effect series. He played the Illusive Man in both Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, a character whose choices change the course of the story. Sheen is so effective in the role, he’s made our list of best games featuring celebrities.
8. Seth Green
The Robot Chicken creator and Buffy the Vampire Slayer alumnus is active in film and television, but also makes time for roles in various video games. Some, like his Family Guy games, are connected to those film and television roles.
He also plays a major role in the Mass Effect series as pilot Jeff Moreau. As one of the only characters consistently in Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3, he has a large number of lines and interactions with the main character. The character design for Jeff Moreau was also modeled after Green himself.
9. Freddie Prinze Jr.
Anyone who watched teen movies in the late ’90s and early 2000s is familiar with Freddie Prinze Jr.’s filmography. He hasn’t done much on screen lately, and if you’re wondering where he is you should check out his voice acting credits over the last 10 years.
He’s done praiseworthy work with Bioware as the Iron Bull in Dragon Age: Inquisition and Lt. James Vega in Mass Effect 3. He also voices Kanan Jarrus in the animated Star Wars Rebels and has voiced the character in several games.
10. Carrie-Anne Moss
Most people know Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity from The Matrix films. And it’s true she voice Trinity in the 2003 game Enter the Matrix.
But video game fans might also recognize Moss as Aria T’Loak from the Mass Effect series. The tough-talking ruler of Omega appeared in both Mass Effect 2 and 3.
Which celebrity gaming voices are your favorites? Sound off in the comments below!
Category: Articles
