20 Celebs Who Starred In Popular Video Games And You Didn't Even Know It

If you were looking for a sign to buy more video games, this is it.

These are actors who are mainly known for their work in TV and movies, but how many did you know starred in video games?

1. Keanu Reeves (Cyberpunk 2077)

Robyn Beck / Getty Images / CD Projekt

Keanu Reeves plays a rock musician and veteran named Johnny Silverhand in the Cyberpunk universe, who later exists as an "engram" where his personality and memories exist in a holographic form.

The game's protagonist, V, has the choice to either let him take over their body or let them remain an engram. Either way, it's a tough decision to make.

Watch the game trailer here.

2. Kristen Bell (Assassin's Creed)

Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images / Ubisoft

She's Anna in Frozen, Eleanor Shellstrop in The Good Place, and Veronica Mars in the titular show Veronica Mars. But did you know Kristen Bell is also Lucy Stillman in the Assassin's Creed game series?

In the series, she plays a genetic memory researcher who was born into a historic order of assassins and uses a unique device that allows people to relive the memories of their ancestors.

(I low-key wish this actually existed.)

Watch the game trailer here.

3. Rami Malek (Until Dawn)

George Pimentel / Getty Images / Sony Computer Entertainment

Rami Malek plays Josh in the adaptive horror game Until Dawn. Josh invites eight friends to a lodge on Blackwood Mountain, where his sisters disappeared a year ago, and they end up being trapped ✨until dawn✨ .

The game also has an all-star cast including Jordan Fisher, Hayden Panetierre, and Nichole Sakura.

So get ready for some jump scares, lots of running, and some casual slashing.

Watch the game trailer here.

4. Rosario Dawson (Dishonored 2)

Amy Sussman / Getty Images / Bethesda Softworks

In Dishonored 2 and Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Rosario Dawson replaces Kristy Wu as the voice actor for Billie Lurk, a woman who, after being abused by her alcoholic mother, sets out to become a thief and assassin.

Rosario also starred in the hit games Ratchet & Clank and NBA 2K20, so she's clearly a woman of taste.

Watch the game trailer here.

5. Norman Reedus (Death Stranding)

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Stringer / Getty Images / Kojima Productions

Death Stranding is set in a post-apocalyptic United States where creatures threaten human life. Norman Reedus plays Sam, a porter who is tasked with reconnecting isolated communities across the country while also taking care of an unborn fetus named Lou.

What could go wrong?

He also stars alongside Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, and director Guillermo del Toro.

Watch the game trailer here.

6. Mads Mikkelsen (Death Stranding)

Daniele Venturelli / Getty Images / Kojima Productions

Speaking of Mads Mikkelsen, he plays Captain Clifford Unger, an Army Special Forces Captain who attempts to save his newborn son from scientists who want to experiment on the boy.

Who is his newborn son? Sam (aka Norman Reedus). It's a family affair.

7. Tayla Parx (Telltale's The Walking Dead: The Final Season)

Steve Granitz / Getty Images / Skybound Games

In the finale game of the series, Tayla Parx voices Alvin "AJ" Jr., a young boy who grows up in the middle of a zombie apocalypse under the care of a young girl named Clementine.

In case her name doesn't ring a bell, you've definitely heard her work before. She's a wildly talented singer-songwriter who co-wrote "Love Lies," "High Hopes," and multiple songs on Ariana Grande's albums Thank U, Next and Positions.

Talk about a triple threat.

Watch the game trailer here.

8. Jesse Williams (Detroit: Become Human)

Kevin Winter / Getty Images / Quantic Dream

Jesse plays Markus, an android who is falsely accused of killing a famed artist under his care and later organizes a massive revolt against the human race because of how poorly they're treated.

Clancy Brown (also known as Mr. Krabs in SpongeBob SquarePants) and Lance Henriksen also star in the game.

It's honestly wild from start to finish, and no two games are alike.

Watch the game trailer here.

9. Ashley Johnson (The Last of Us series)

NBC / Getty Images / Naughty Dog

Ashley Johnson plays Ellie, a teenager who's immune to the mutant Cordyceps fungus infection that's turning people into the "Infected."

She was so good as Ellie that she won not one but TWO BAFTA Games Awards for "Best Performer."

Watch the game trailer here.

10. Kit Harington (Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare)

Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images / Activision

While he's most famous for his role in Game of Thrones, Kit Harington plays Salen Kotch, the main antagonist in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, who leads a force set on taking over the solar system.

Imagine trying to literally take over space?

Watch the game trailer here.

11. Arden Cho (Tomb Raider)

Phillip Faraone / Getty Images / Square Enix

Even Lara Croft needs a friend sometimes. Arden Cho plays Samantha Nishimura, a director/filmmaker in the Tomb Raider reboot.

She meets Lara in their first semester of college, and they travel around the world together. She also gets possessed by the Sun Goddess at one point? Just a casual friendship.

Watch the game trailer here.

12. Liam Neeson (Fallout 3)

Bravo / Getty Images / Bethesda Softworks

Fallout 3 is yet another post-apocalyptic game, set in the year 2277, years after nuclear warfare nearly wiped out the entire planet. (A very real fear of mine, might I add.)

Liam Neeson plays James, a scientist and doctor who, after spending 19 years in an underground vault with his child (the protagonist), leaves in search of a piece of technology that is needed to rebuild civilization.

Take a wild guess who has to go searching for them.

Watch the game trailer here.

13. Samuel L. Jackson (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)

Axelle / Bauer-Griffin / Getty Images / Rockstar Games

Samuel L. Jackson plays corrupt cop Officer Tenpenny in the wildly popular game series Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. He and other cops in the game are members of C.R.A.S.H., a police unit under the LAPD aimed at targeting gang members.

But the wildest part? This unit was very real, very corrupt, and was dissolved in 2000.

Watch the game trailer here.

14. Linda Hunt (God of War series)

CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images / Santa Monica Studio

Gaia, the mother of all titans/the actual Earth, in God of War is voiced by none other than Linda Hunt. She also narrates the earlier games in the series, so you really feel ✨immersed✨ in the experience.

How often do you get to put "Operations Manager" and "being the Earth" on your résumé?

Watch the game trailer here.

15. Elliot Page (Beyond: Two Souls)

Geoff Robins / Getty Images / Quantic Dream

In Beyond: Two Souls, Elliot plays Jodie, a character who has been tied to a supernatural entity named Aiden since birth. But after an incident where Aiden almost causes Jodie to kill someone, they're left under the care of doctors Nathan Dawkins (played by Willem Dafoe) and Cole Freeman (played by Kadeem Hardison).

The choices you make for Jodie and Aiden can alter how the game ends so...make good choices. Simple.

Watch the game trailer here.

16. Kelly Hu (Mortal Kombat series)

JC Olivera / Getty Images / Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment

In both Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11, Kelly Hu plays antagonist D'Vorah, an insectoid who joins forces with Kronika, the "keeper of time," to protect her kind's survival.

While that sounds nice, her kind (the Kytinn) is known to be immoral, untrustworthy, and is plotting for world domination. So...there's that.

Watch the game trailer here.

17. Carrie-Anne Moss (Mass Effect series)

Jason Davis / Getty Images / Electronic Arts

You may be old like me and only associate Carrie-Anne Moss with her role as Trinity in the Matrix trilogy. But she also plays Aria T'Loak in the Mass Effect game series.

Aria T'Loak, also known as the "Pirate Queen of Omega," was an exotic dancer prior to becoming the ruler of Omega and an organized crime boss.

Who doesn't love a woman in power?

Watch the game trailer here.

18. Elijah Wood (The Legend of Spyro trilogy)

Paul Archuleta / Getty Images / Activision

The Legend of Spyro trilogy is the reboot of the original Spyro series, and Elijah Wood plays the titular character.

While trilogy had mixed reviews, it had a MASSIVE cast featuring David Spade, Wayne Brady, Cree Summer, Mae Whitman, Christina Ricci, Phil LaMarr, Blair Underwood, and THE Mark Hamill.

Watch the game trailer here.

19. Giancarlo Esposito (Far Cry 6)

Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images / Ubisoft

If anyone understands the assignment when it comes to villainy, it's Giancarlo Esposito. In the newest addition to the Far Cry series, Far Cry 6, he plays "El Presidente" Antón Castillo who rules the island of Yara in the Caribbean.

The game also features Anthony Gonzalez as his son, Diego, but you may know him as Miguel from Coco!

But don't expect any singing or wholesomeness from this game.

Watch the game trailer here.

20. Gillian Anderson (Squadron 42)

Vera Anderson / Getty Images / Cloud Imperium Games

When she's not playing an FBI agent/sex therapist/prime minister, Gillian Anderson is Captain MacLaren in the space combat game Squadron 42.

It hasn't come out yet, but it has a full cast of hard hitters like Gary Oldman, Mark Strong, Damson Idris, Andy Serkis, Mark Hamill, Ben Mendelsohn, and Henry Cavill.

Watch the game trailer here.