10 Celebrities Pointlessly Cast In Video Games

Sometimes your reputation can precede you, and not in a good way.

Mortal Kombat 11 Sonya Blade Ronda Rousey
NetherRealm

Much like film and television cameos, it's always fun to rack your brains at "who the famous person is".

Hearing a familiar voice can always bolster your enthusiasm for a game, as well as draw in more potential players if there's a famous name attached. But what if it's a bit, well, naff?

What if the star appeal is a bit of a damp squib, giving performances that your average high school drama production could beat? Mortal Kombat 11 may be a corker of a game, but star draw Ronda Rousey's flat performance hasn't wowed fans with her turn at voice acting.

You'd think that having Jean Luc Picard, Oskar Schindler and Chandler Bing on your role call would be an amazing event too, or recruiting some top models and rock n' roll stars would do the trick.

Sadly, not all that glitters is gold, as some of these performances went on to show. Having the budget to hire big names doesn't always mean you'll get big talent.

So brace yourself, as we look at some of gaming's most pointlessly cast celebrities.

10. Keifer Sutherland - Metal Gear Solid V

Mortal Kombat 11 Sonya Blade Ronda Rousey
Konami

Starting with one of the most contentious choices of the most recent years, it was a safe bet to say that fans were not happy when this was announced. Changing out longtime favourite David Hayter for a seasoned actor in the name of "a more emotive performance" would have made sense... if he'd actually done that.

Given that it makes sense in the story as you're not actually Snake, but a brainwashed member of his team into thinking he is, it still didn't shake the feeling that our protagonist wasn't that invested in what was going on.

Metal Gear games are known for their vast exposition dumps and cutscenes, so when MGSV put a lot of that aside in favour of cassette tape backstory (mostly by other characters), it was seen as a complete waste of time having such a big name draw.

Go on. Try and think of your favourite - nay, any - Venom Snake line.

Impossible, right?

Contributor
Contributor

Player of games, watcher of films. Has a bad habit of buying remastered titles. Reviews games and delivers sub-par content in his spare time. Found at @GregatonBomb on Twitter/Instagram.