These days, motion capture technology has allowed for video game developers to incorporate
amazing and compelling performances from actors in not only cinematics, but in gameplay itself.
So often, it shouldn’t be a surprise when you’re playing a game and a familiar face
pops up.
Or if you fall in love with a character and give them a google to find out that the actor
behind the voice looks a whole hell of a lot like the person they’re portraying.
So today, we’re taking a look at some of those actors who look like their video game
counterparts, with our list of the top 10 video game characters that look like their
voice actors.
10 Shawn Fonteno - Franklin Clinton GTA V Even though it was initially released back
in 2013, Grand Theft Auto V has proven it was longevity, and is still one of the most
popular and most played games today, largely because of its online version.
That being said, the single player mode is arguably one of the best contemporary gameplay
experiences, and one of the reasons why is because of the game’s three dynamic playable
protagonists, one of which is Franklin Clinton.
Franklin is played by Shawn Fonteno, who the character is the spitting image of.
The game made use of motion capture technology in order to record his performance, along
with the performances of Ned Luke who played Michael, and our next number-
9 Steven Ogg – Trevor Phillips GTA V Steven Ogg plays the unpredictable, homicidal
and extreme individual, Trevor Phillips.
Who just so happens to be one of the best crafted video game characters to date.
And oh boy, does Steven give us one hell of an enjoyable performance.
The actor himself looks like a more attractive and sane version of Phillips, but don’t
let that fool you – the actor has busted out his Trevor impressions from time to time,
and can definitely pull off the psychotic feels that make us love Trevor so much.
Steven has made notable appearance in real life in other fan favourite shows, like West
World and The Walking Dead.
8 Mei - Elise Zhang, Overwatch Overwatch has a pretty active fan base, and
it’s easy to see why.
The actors behind the beloved characters are also a big point of interest, and quite a
few members of the cast look quite similar to the individuals they portray.
This includes the actor who plays Mei, Elise Zhang, who also voices the character in the
Mandarin Chinese dub.
The similarities are uncanny when Elise pops on glasses similar to her character’s trademark
spectacle.
How adorable.
7 Horizon: Zero Dawn - Sylens, Lance Reddick Horizon Zero Dawn was one of 2017’s biggest
hits for the PS4.
Not only was it an unique story that was beautifully crafted – narratively and visually – it
featured an awesome female protagonist that really got people hyped.
But instead of looking at Aloy, we’re looking at another character in the game for this
number – Sylens, played by actor Lance Reddick, who the character was voiced and modeled after.
You may recognize Lance from HBO’s Oz or The Wire, or from ABC’s Lost.
And if not, perhaps you’ll recognize his voice – he was Commander Zavala in the 2014
hit Destiny.
6 Symmetra - Anjali Bhimani Another Overwatch number on this list, Anjali
looks quite similar to her kick ass counterpart, Symmetra.
Symmetra has made some news recently with the confirmation that the character is autistic
– something that Overwatch’s game director Jeff Kaplan confirmed in a letter to a fan,
stating that “she is one of our most beloved heroes and we think she does a great job of
representing just how awesome someone with autism can be.”
Mental health diversity in games has been depicting quite poorly in the past, so having
Symmetra be autistic was a big step forward for representation in video games, especially
from one as popular as Overwatch – who, to be fair, has been killing it when it comes
to representation in general.
5 Vaas Montenegro from Far Cry 3 Vaas is one of the most adored characters
in the Far Cry franchise – even though he’s an unhinged deranged antagonist.
Played by Michael Mando, who you might recognized from Orphan Black, Better Call Saul or Spider-Man
Homecoming, the actor not only did motion capture for the character with UbiSoft, but
also appeared in the live action TV miniseries the Far Cry Experience, where Mando reprised
his role as Vaas and gave us a killer performance.
Pun entirely intended.
4 Cast of LA Noire When Rockstar released L.A Noire in 2011,
it was a big deal.
Not only did it impress with its film noir plot and aesthetic, but it used a newly developed
form of motion capture called MotionScan that captured actors performances by recording
them with 32 cameras in order to get the minute details of their expressions from all angles
– a feature that really played into the game when interrogating witnesses and suspects,
and having to decipher whether or not they were lying.
It was the first video game to be shown at the Tribeca Film Festival, and these days,
it’s been re-released on current consoles, with a VR subset of the game’s cases that
was released at the end of 2017.
So it’s no surprise that the whole cast of actors involved in the game look a lot
like their characters, especially Aaron Staton, who plays protagonist Cole Phelps.
3 Kitt Harrington – COD Infinite Warfare Kitt Harrington, who most of you will know
from HBO’s hit series Game of Throne, plays Admiral Kotch in Call of Duty Infinite Warfare
– the game’s main antagonist.
There’s even an easter egg in the game that alludes to Harrington’s Game of Throne’s
character Jon Snow.
During the mission Operation Black Flag: Trap is Spring, you have the option of killing
the Admiral, and when you do, the trophy you get is called ‘You Know Nothing’, which
is a reference to the famous line that Ygritte in Game of Thrones says to Snow.
2 Troy Baker Troy Baker is one of the most well-known video
game voice actors – he was Joel in The Last of Us, Booker in BioShock Infinite, the Joker
in Batman Arkham Origins and Assault on Arkham, and Samuel Drake in Uncharted 4, to name a
few.
While Troy may not look like himself in those games, there are a few characters in others
that strike a resemblance to him; Jack Mitchell Call of Duty Advanced Warfare, Ocelot in Metal
Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain, Shadow of Mordor’s Talion, and Infamous Second Son’s Delsin.
1 Jonathan Irons - Kevin Spacey COD Perhaps one of the most noticeable actors
to ever appear in a video game is disgraced sexual predator Kevin Spacey.
Back when he made an appearance as Jonathan Irons in Call of Duty Advanced Warfare, he
was still considered one of the best male actors around, and gave quite the performance
in the game, along with his likeness, which, even to the oblivious eye is undeniably him.
There we have it friends!
Which of these performances was your favourite?
What other actors in other games have you recognized?
Tell us what your favourite is in those comments below!
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