Video Games
Actors, like Pedro Pascal, who have played video game characters
A look at some of the actors that have played famous video game characters over the years.
Pedro Pascal has garnered positive reviews for his portrayal of Joel in HBO’s television adaptation of the 2013 video game, ‘The Last of Us’.
The show has proven to be a hit amongst critics and fans, with an average critic rating of 97 percent and an audience rating of 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Unlike the game, where Joel is an arms dealer, the show has tweaked the character. Viewers who have played the game know that he’s no longer dealing weapons in the show. Instead, he’s trying to find a battery for his car so he can find Tommy.
“In the game, due to gameplay, Joel has to be extremely capable to justify all the actions you’re doing, and there’s certain things we’re doing in the game to get you to connect to him by being him,” Druckmann told Polygon.
“And that was part of the casting of Pedro Pascal as Joel. We were less looking for someone who could play a tough guy, because in some ways, that’s the easier part, and more someone that could show there’s a tortured soul inside of it.”
Pascal is just one of many actors who have played famous video game characters in their career. Here’s a look at some notable ones.
Jean-Claude Van Damme - Street Fighter
Back in 1994, video game adaptations weren’t always focused on being gritty and realistic.
Based on the video game of the same name, ‘Street Fighter’ earned over $165 million at the box office but wasn’t well-received by critics, who criticized its campy tone and unfaithfulness to the source material.
Van Damme played Major Guile, one of the original eight World Warriors from 1991′s ‘Street Fighter II’. Guile is one of the most popular games in the series, and his fight General M. Bison (played by Raul Julia in his final role before his death) is a treat for any video game fan.
Bob Hoskins - Super Mario Bros.
While Chris Pratt will lend his voice to Mario in the upcoming ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’, there has been a live-action adaptation of the Nintendo classic.
The first feature-length live-action film based on a video game, the movie featured Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi.
The duo are tasked with saving Princess Daisy from a parallel universe that is ruled by King Koopa. The movie was a critical and financial failure, though it has developed a cult following since then.
The fact Hoskins later said he didn’t even know the movie was based on a game shows how far along the genre has come since then.
“I didn’t even know it was a game,” Hoskins said. “It was my kids that told me. They said ‘What’s your next film’, and I said ‘Super Mario Bros.’”
Christopher Lambert - Mortal Kombat
Before the 2021 film ‘Mortal Kombat’, the video game franchise made its big screen debut in 1995.
Directed by Paul Anderson, the movie starred Christopher Lambert as Lord Raiden, with other famous Mortal Kombat characters like Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Shang Tsung, Scorpion and Sub-Zero all part of the film.
The film stayed true to the game’s premise, assembling a bunch of fighters in an otherworldly location that battle for the fate of the world.
Fans liked the movie more than critics, but that wasn’t enough for Lambert, who explained why he didn’t return for the 1997 sequel ‘Mortal Kombat: Annihilation’.
“I didn’t want to do it because I didn’t think the script was very good. I didn’t like it. I liked the first one,” he told Loaded.