- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is one of the many video games with cameos from celebrities. Courtesy of Flickr
By William Kerwick
When the first trailer for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare leaked to the public earlier this year, fans around the world were met with an unexpected surprise: Kevin Spacey. The wildly-popular actor known for his role in “House of Cards” as the vicious Frank Underwood, was once again playing the role of a morally-questionable mastermind hell-bent on undermining democracy. This time, it was as the head of a fictional high-tech global paramilitary firm.
As the new face of Call of Duty, the megalithic gaming series that took the world by storm nearly a decade ago, Kevin Spacey boasts a hefty achievement. Many hailed his appearance in the title as a game-changer, both literally and figuratively. They promised that the presence of an A-list actor would help revitalize the franchise. Despite the hype that seemed to explode from his surprise addition to the game, many were caught off guard. Are celebrities like Spacey supposed to be in video games? Can major actors even do that? Are they not supposed to focus on movies, television, maybe the occasional Broadway show? For a long time, acting in video games was viewed as a stepping stone — a place to build personal brand, and a way to get to supposedly better roles in Hollywood and elsewhere.
But, there Spacey was. On May 1, the day the trailer was leaked, his digital likeness as the head of power-hungry Atlas sprung out at unsuspecting fans from their computer screens.
Though Spacey’s appearance in the Call of Duty franchise came as a surprise, the practice of A-list actors delving into the production and voicing of video games is not new. As video games have risen in prominence and power, so have the actors and actresses who joined them. In 2008, when critically-acclaimed wasteland thriller Fallout 3 blasted onto consoles, gamers found a friend in the form of a scientist voiced by Liam Neeson. The actor, known across the world for his persona as a vengeful father in Taken, explained that the game’s unique world and storyline drew him to take the part.
Even more notable, however, is Ellen Page’s supposed “appearance” in last year’s The Last of Us. The post-apocalyptic epic claimed more than 200 “Game of the Year” awards. Ellie, the game’s main character, bears a striking resemblance to the actress — both in her voice and in her physical features. The eerie similarities led many to theorize that Naughty Dog, the game’s developer, intentionally used her likeness in order to draw in customers familiar with movies like Inception, where she played a lead part. When the topic was broached on a Reddit Ask-Me-Anything, Page replied bluntly, “I guess I should be flattered that they ripped off my likeness — but I’m actually acting in a video game called Beyond Two Souls, so it was not appreciated.” The controversy surrounding her association with Ellie thrust her role as an actress in gaming into the spotlight; many had been unaware she was acting in Beyond Two Souls in the first place.
This year, however, saw the most recent example of a major actor in a triple-A gaming title — the highest tier when it comes to promotion, marketing and overall production costs. Peter Dinklage’s appearance in Destiny as the main character’s mechanical “Ghost” sent fans into a delighted frenzy, as the studio behind the game initiated a marketing campaign across Times Square and other major centers with giant billboards and advertisements. With an estimated price tag of $500,000,000, the game is one of the most expensive ever put to the market — and although Dinklage’s salary for the role was never disclosed, it is believed that casting him was no mean financial feat. Dinklage is well-known for his role as Tyrion Lannister in the hit series “Game of Thrones,” and has made waves across audiences on the Internet and in popular gaming, fantasy, science fiction and pop-culture spheres. Many of the audiences for these mediums often overlap, and it is safe to assume that Bungie, Destiny’s developer, put him on the cast in an attempt to connect with the broad base of science fiction and fantasy fans that currently watch the show.
While Spacey was this year’s Call of Duty’s focus, he is not the first popular actor to land a part in the series. Michael Rooker, who most fans know as Merle Dixon from AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” starred in a hefty role in Black Ops II as the protagonist’s squad-mate and close friend. “One of the producers at Activision…knew my work from my films and suggested my name,” Rooker said. “It was an absolute pleasure. I said yes without even thinking.”
Coming from an actor who held a visible role in a show that draws more than 22 million viewers, those words carry weight. His case is bolstered by evidence from Spacey, Dinklage and others: each is an A- list actor in high demand, many of whom are now counting video game appearances among their greatest accolades. With a new generation of consoles on shelves and an avalanche of games set to release in 2015, gamers should expect to see a surge in familiar faces.
