Actors Playing Video Game Characters
Movies and video games are two of the most popular forms of entertainment today so it’s natural that there’s some crossover. Usually it’s the release of a video game to coincide with a big money movie success but sometimes, things go the other way. There have been dozens of attempts to adapt stories from the interactive screen to the big screen and while many haven’t exactly flourished, most have stayed true to the original material. Video game fans love to see their favourite characters come to life. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular ones.
Robin Shou as Liu Kang (Mortal Kombat 1995)
Robin Shou starred as Liu Kang, the Shoaling Monk turned hero of earth in 1995’s Mortal Kombat, distributed by New Line Cinema. The video game series of the same name was a huge success for developers Midway Games, spawning more than twenty titles across platforms as well as its own comic book series developed by Malibu Comics.
Lookalike rating: 5/10
François Petit as Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat 1995)
François Petit starred as Sub-Zero, the fearsome ice-wielding warrior in the same live-action film. Sub-Zero is one of the most iconic characters in the entire franchise and Petit certainly looked the part.
Lookalike rating: 7/10
Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47 (Hitman 2007)
Hitman is a hugely popular video game franchise. Developed by IO Interactive, the series has published six standalone console games as well as a compilation game in 2007. Away from console, Square Enix Montreal developed Hitman: Sniper and online casino sites have even released its own Hitman slot game. All of this is down to the recognition of the game’s main character, Agent 47.
Timothy Olyphant played the titular character in 2007’s Hitman, the first of two live-action movies based on the games. He played it well but probably lacked a few scars.
Lookalike rating: 6/10
Mark Wahlberg as Max Payne (Max Payne 2008)
Mark Wahlberg tried his hand at a video game adaptation in 2008 with the poorly-received Max Payne. Wahlberg played the titular role of Max, a rogue cop in search of the people who killed his wife and child. The original two games were published by Remedy Entertainment while the third was taken over by Rockstar in 2012. The success of the franchise led to the 2008 movie distributed by 20th Century Fox but, unfortunately, things didn’t exactly work out despite Wahlberg’s similarity to Payne.
Lookalike rating: 7/10
Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 2010)
Prince of Persia is a hugely popular franchise which has spread across seemingly every platform ever made. The simple game was developed by American company Brøderbund but has since evolved into a massive franchise. There are almost a dozen video games, a graphic novel published by First Second Books and, of course, the 2010 film distributed by Walt Disney Studios. Jake Gyllenhaal played the central character in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a film which wasn’t exactly loved.
Lookalike rating: 4/10
Bob Hoskins as Mario (Super Mario Bros. 1993)
Oh dear, oh dear. Mario and Luigi are probably the two most iconic characters in video game history but that doesn’t mean they’ll be the same in cinema. Buena Vista Pictures found that out the hard way when they distributed the 1993 film, Super Mario Bros. The movie was terribly received despite the worldwide success of the game series. Bob Hoskins starred as Mario and later called it “the worst thing I ever did.”
Lookalike rating: 2/10
Ian Anthony Dale as Kazuya (Tekken 2010)
If Super Mario is an iconic series then this one is too. Tekken is one of the most beloved arcade games of all time with ten main games, five spin-offs and half a dozen other titles on various consoles. The classic fighting game even led to a 2009 manga series published by Shueisha and the 2009 live-action film distributed by Warner Bros. The movie featured some great lookalikes but perhaps none more so than Ian Anthony Dale as Kazuya, the one-time head of the Mishima Financial Group.
Lookalike rating: 8/10
Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 2001)
Lara Croft is one of the most beloved video game characters of all time so it was great to see her on the big screen. The star of the Tomb Raider series, initially developed by Core Design, was played by Angelina Jolie in two live-action movies in 2001 and 2003. The former was certainly more popular with Jolie looking identical to the early versions of Lara Croft.
Lookalike rating: 8/10
Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft (Tomb Raider 2018)
Tomb Raider has changed a lot in the last decade as a video game franchise and it will soon change as a movie series too. Alicia Vikander is set to play Lara Croft in the upcoming reboot of the beloved video game series. Croft has changed a lot down the years and while Vikander looks completely different to Angelina Jolie, the Swedish actress is the spitting image of Croft in the film’s released production stills.
Lookalike rating: 10/10
Robin Shou as Liu Kang (Mortal Kombat 1995)
Robin Shou starred as Liu Kang, the Shoaling Monk turned hero of earth in 1995’s Mortal Kombat, distributed by New Line Cinema. The video game series of the same name was a huge success for developers Midway Games, spawning more than twenty titles across platforms as well as its own comic book series developed by Malibu Comics.
Lookalike rating: 5/10
François Petit as Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat 1995)
François Petit starred as Sub-Zero, the fearsome ice-wielding warrior in the same live-action film. Sub-Zero is one of the most iconic characters in the entire franchise and Petit certainly looked the part.
Lookalike rating: 7/10
Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47 (Hitman 2007)
Hitman is a hugely popular video game franchise. Developed by IO Interactive, the series has published six standalone console games as well as a compilation game in 2007. Away from console, Square Enix Montreal developed Hitman: Sniper and online casino sites have even released its own Hitman slot game. All of this is down to the recognition of the game’s main character, Agent 47.
Timothy Olyphant played the titular character in 2007’s Hitman, the first of two live-action movies based on the games. He played it well but probably lacked a few scars.
Lookalike rating: 6/10
Mark Wahlberg as Max Payne (Max Payne 2008)
Mark Wahlberg tried his hand at a video game adaptation in 2008 with the poorly-received Max Payne. Wahlberg played the titular role of Max, a rogue cop in search of the people who killed his wife and child. The original two games were published by Remedy Entertainment while the third was taken over by Rockstar in 2012. The success of the franchise led to the 2008 movie distributed by 20th Century Fox but, unfortunately, things didn’t exactly work out despite Wahlberg’s similarity to Payne.
Lookalike rating: 7/10
Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 2010)
Prince of Persia is a hugely popular franchise which has spread across seemingly every platform ever made. The simple game was developed by American company Brøderbund but has since evolved into a massive franchise. There are almost a dozen video games, a graphic novel published by First Second Books and, of course, the 2010 film distributed by Walt Disney Studios. Jake Gyllenhaal played the central character in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a film which wasn’t exactly loved.
Lookalike rating: 4/10
Bob Hoskins as Mario (Super Mario Bros. 1993)
Oh dear, oh dear. Mario and Luigi are probably the two most iconic characters in video game history but that doesn’t mean they’ll be the same in cinema. Buena Vista Pictures found that out the hard way when they distributed the 1993 film, Super Mario Bros. The movie was terribly received despite the worldwide success of the game series. Bob Hoskins starred as Mario and later called it “the worst thing I ever did.”
Lookalike rating: 2/10
Ian Anthony Dale as Kazuya (Tekken 2010)
If Super Mario is an iconic series then this one is too. Tekken is one of the most beloved arcade games of all time with ten main games, five spin-offs and half a dozen other titles on various consoles. The classic fighting game even led to a 2009 manga series published by Shueisha and the 2009 live-action film distributed by Warner Bros. The movie featured some great lookalikes but perhaps none more so than Ian Anthony Dale as Kazuya, the one-time head of the Mishima Financial Group.
Lookalike rating: 8/10
Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 2001)
Lara Croft is one of the most beloved video game characters of all time so it was great to see her on the big screen. The star of the Tomb Raider series, initially developed by Core Design, was played by Angelina Jolie in two live-action movies in 2001 and 2003. The former was certainly more popular with Jolie looking identical to the early versions of Lara Croft.
Lookalike rating: 8/10
Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft (Tomb Raider 2018)
Tomb Raider has changed a lot in the last decade as a video game franchise and it will soon change as a movie series too. Alicia Vikander is set to play Lara Croft in the upcoming reboot of the beloved video game series. Croft has changed a lot down the years and while Vikander looks completely different to Angelina Jolie, the Swedish actress is the spitting image of Croft in the film’s released production stills.
Lookalike rating: 10/10
