Everyone knows when Nolan North or Troy Baker is providing the voice for a videogame character, but surprisingly, it’s the movie and TV actors and actresses who sometimes get forgotten. These eight games had famous folks from the movies, music, or TV industries, but you may not remember their performances. See if you recall all eight of these examples.
Don’t see your favorite? Tell us what it is in the comments!
Fred Durst in Fight Club
If you could manage to stick with the disappointing 2004 videogame adaptation of Fight Club to completion, you were rewarded with a new playable character: Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. Don’t look so disappointed. After all, he was going to remix a song that would have looped over the gameplay, but he convinced the devs to put him in the game instead. It’s a shame that they didn’t cast him as an enemy, because the opportunity to beat up Fred Durst might have made this game worth playing.
Quentin Tarantino and Jennifer Aniston in Steven Spielberg’s Director’s Chair
Remember back in the 90s when everyone was using full motion video (FMV) in their games and bragging about it? Steven Spielberg’s Director’s Chair was one of those games. The game walked you through creating a film using pre-recorded (and badly acted) scenes, pre-written scripts, and more. Those badly acted scenes featured Quentin Tarantino as a death row inmate and Jennifer Aniston as his girlfriend. As a bonus, you can also spot Penn & Teller in the full movie, seen above.
Phil Collins in GTA: Vice City Stories
There are a tone of Miami Vice references in GTA: Vice City, and in GTA: Vice City Stories, it was almost blatant, as Phil Collins himself re-recorded In the Air Tonight for the game, and there’s even a mission where you have to protect him from gunmen. The game even lets you plunk down the cash to go see Collins perform the song in person.
The Clintons In Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
If you wanted to see wacky characters in a wild little boxing game, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing was for you. In the second installment of the game, titled Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 and released in 2000, you could find characters named “Mr. President” and “The First Lady.” These were none other than Bill and Hillary Clinton. Hillary’s character spouted lines like, “The White House isn’t the only house I dominate!” meaning that the game still had better lines than she’s used in her 2016 campaign so far.
Ricky Gervais and Frankie Boyle in GTA IV
If you find yourself roaming through Liberty City in GTA IV, make sure you stop by the Split Side Comedy Club. You might be surprised who’s on stage. In the base game, you can sometimes catch Ricky Gervais onstage. If you own the Lost and the Damned DLC, you can also find Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle performing. These aren’t just models spouting meaningless lines – each of these comedians wrote and voiced their own performances, and they’re very entertaining, just as you’d expect.
General Petraeus in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
When Activision cast General David Patraeus in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, they were likely looking to add to the prestige and credibility of the game. Unfortunately, that plan got upended when news of Patraeus’ affair with his biographer hit just a week before the game launched. Luckily for Activision, it didn’t affect the sales of the game, as it grossed over $500 million in the first 24 hours.
Steve Carell in Outlaw Golf
Everyone knows Steve Carell now, but back when he was just a reporter on The Daily Show, he took on the job as announcer for Outlaw Golf, a mid-range golf title that featured characters such as a hippie, a stripper, and a biker, just to name a few. Carell managed to make a script filled with questionably funny lines actually sound amusing.
Michael Fassbender in Fable 3
Fable 3’s cast was chock-full of talent, sporting names like John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Simon Pegg, and Ben Kingsley. So if you don’t remember that Michael Fassbender made an appearance, you’ can be excused. As the evil King Logan, Fassbender embodies the role of a tyrant, although we later learn it was for what he believed was a good cause. Although it was really more than a cameo, I’m constantly surprised by how many people don’t realize Fassbender had this role.
