Gaming at the Oscars
Feb 22, 2008
Once considered the entertainment industry's whipping boy, video games have offered even the greatest of actors a new outlet for their artistic expression -- or at least a quick paycheck. No matter what the motivation, some of the world's most highly-regarded performers have at one point or another applied their thespian chops to our favorite hobby. And occasionally, they've even been good.
So in honor of the upcoming 80th annual Academy Awards, we take a look at ten Oscar-worthy performers and their respective contributions to the art of play. The envelope, please...
Steven Spielberg
Notable games: Boom Blox; Medal of Honor; The Dig
The blockbuster director better have a sturdy mantle -- with three Oscar wins (and a whopping 12 nominations) to his credit, Spielberg's got about 25 pounds worth of gold-plated britannium to proudly show off. We're not sure where such a busy guy has found the time to dabble in video games, but his support of this burgeoning art form dates all the way back to 1995 LucasArts adventure game The Dig, which bears his writing credit. More recently, Spielberg has teamed up with mega-publisher EA to create Boom Blox, the director's very own Wii puzzle game. And if our preview look is any indication, he might need to clear off more space on the award mantle before all is said and done.
Peter Jackson
Notable games: Peter Jackson's King Kong; Every game based on his "Lord of the Rings" films; Wingnut Interactive
Video games and Peter Jackson go together like Hobbits and pipe-weed. Having won three Oscars for "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," the New Zealander promptly set forth making his adaptation of "King Kong" come to life. The game based on that film performed so well on the Xbox 360 that it moved Microsoft to tap Jackson to take its mega-franchise Halo from the console to the screen. While that plan has been put on indefinite hold, Jackson has teamed with Microsoft to launch game development studio Wingnut Interactive. Three titles have been set in motion thus far, including the episodic Halo: Chronicles. Little is known about the game, but with this acclaimed fantasy man at the helm, it could very well be the one to rule them all.
Ben Kingsley
Notable games: Ceremony of Innocence
He's a real knight, a fake saint and hands-down one of the greatest actors who's ever lived, so the fact that Ben Kingsley once slummed it with video games is a huge boon to the medium. And while you probably never heard of the 1997 adventure/mystery game Ceremony of Innocence, the voice of 1983's Best Actor winner is right there, clear as day. Inspired by a novel, the game was produced by Peter Gabriel's Real World label and actually won several BAFTA awards. Such high pedigree didn't pay off in brand name recognition, but it's a fair shake better than Sir Ben's other flirtation with games - the role of Vampire King Kagan in Uwe Boll's abysmal big-screen adaptation of the action game Bloodrayne. Even legends make mistakes.
Louis Gosset, Jr.
Notable games: Half-Life 2; Half-Life 2: Episode 1
From the "How did they pull THAT off?" file comes this gem of a cameo. Louis Gosset Jr.'s undercover video game contributions stand in stark contrast to his aggressive, Academy-Award winning performance as Sergeant Emil Foley in "An Officer and a Gentleman." But even if you played through the whole Half-Life 2 series, chances are you missed him. That's because he was simultaneously everywhere and nowhere, providing the collective voice of the alien Vortigaunts, Gordon Freeman's unlikely allies. He was replaced by another actor in Half-Life 2: Episode 2, but for millions of first-person shooter fans, Gosset is the only alien they'll ever truly trust.
James Earl Jones
Notable games: Kingdom Hearts II; Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun; Under a Killing Moon; Everything Star Wars
He might be most famous for voicing the world's worst father figure, but Darth Jones actually earned his sole Oscar nomination for his stirring portrayal of boxer Jack Johnson in "The Great White Hope." Over the years, he's also earned a spot as one of gaming's most beloved baritones. In addition to all those Star Wars games, Jones got to play opposite another tough customer (one might even call her 'Punky') when he starred alongside Soleil Moon Frye in the P.I. adventure game Under a Killing Moon, though that was merely an appetizer for his gruff General in the live-action segments of Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. Feel bad you missed it? Don't fret - we have a feeling he'll turn up in the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed playing you-know-who.
>> Five more actors needed on the set
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When they aren't hounded by paparazzi or tanning in Antigua, some of Hollywood's finest breathe life into video game characters. Here are five more.
Dennis Hopper
Notable games:
GTA Vice City; Black Dahlia; Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller
They don't come much stranger than perennial kook Dennis Hopper, and his video game contributions have been just as bizarre as his Hollywood career. The unconventional actor has experienced cinematic highs with two Oscar nominations (Easy Rider, Hoosiers) only to scrape the bottom of the barrel by slapping on crummy prosthetics to play King Koopa in the 1993 live-action train wreck, Super Mario Bros. That kicked off Hopper's gaming career, which spanned two mediocre adventure games before culminating in the role of porn director Steve Scott in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Samuel L. Jackson
Notable games: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
The King of Cool's Oscar-nominated turn as Pulp Fiction's hitman-with-a-plan Jules Winnfield made him a household name. So convincing was his performance that it forever burned his image as a cooler-than-thou tough guy into the public consciousness, leaving little doubt who Rockstar Games would call when they needed a voice for corrupt cop Officer Tenpenny in their unflinching 2004 action extravaganza. Though he hasn't done any big-name games since, Jackson's kept up a high profile among gamers by serving as host of Spike TV's annual Video Game Award Show for three years running.
Michael Clarke Duncan
Notable games: God of War 2; Saint's Row; The Suffering: Ties That Bind; lots more
It didn't take long for this larger-than-life actor to become a go-to guy for larger-than-life video game characters. His love affair with video game voice work began shortly after scoring a Best Supporting nod for his breakout performance as a gifted criminal in The Green Mile, first as an alien warrior in Star Trek: Klingon Academy, and then as a grunt in the brutal Soldier of Fortune. Several roles followed, including the leader of the Vice Kings in Saint's Row and, fittingly, the titanic strongman Atlas in Sony's smash hit God of War II. What's next for the gentle giant? We're not sure, but it's bound to be big.
Alec Baldwin
Notable games: World in Conflict
Whether he's cracking us up as a twisted Boy Scout leader on Saturday Night Live or making us sweat as an abrasive motivator in "Glengarry Glen Ross," "30 Rock's" Emmy-winning funnyman has one of the most recognizable voices in the business. It's certainly served him well, earning the eldest Baldwin an Oscar nomination for his performance as a mean-spirited casino boss in 2003's "The Cooler." In 2007, he showed his legendary versatility when he parlayed those famous pipes into a gig as the narrator of Vivendi's hit real-time strategy game World in Conflict, the first of what we hope will be many appearances on the game screen.
Haley Joel Osment
Notable games: Kingdom Hearts (all of them)
Haley saw dead people, and the Academy saw talent, making the actor one of the youngest nominees ever when they gave him a Best Supporting nom for his ghostbusting role in "The Sixth Sense" at the tender age of eleven. Though he'd lose out to the crafty Michael Caine, Osment would quickly make a name for himself among gamers by taking on the lead role of Sora in the enormously successful Kingdom Hearts role-playing series. Having sold in excess of 11 million copies worldwide, the Disney smorgasbord has gotten the young actor more screen time than any of his subsequent films. Though another Kingdom Hearts game has yet to be formally announced, if it ever happens, we'd bet our Mickey hats that Osment once again reprises his second most famous role.
