Videogame Actors Who Have Won Oscars

Which Academy Award Winning Actors Have Performed in Videogames?

Despite the fact that the videogame industry is larger than its film, television, music, and sports counterparts, and will boast an estimated 3.24 billion gamers worldwide by 2023, some still downplay the burgeoning medium as an inferior form of entertainment in comparison to its more respected competitors in the media landscape.

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However, despite the aspersions of the ever-shrinking number naysayers, many of the biggest names in Hollywood are increasingly embracing videogames as a valuable medium to tell stories and perform their craft. In fact, some of those who have attained acting immortality by winning Academy Awards for their work in film have lent their talents to videogames. This article will highlight Oscar-winning actors, who have performed or voice acted in videogames listed alphabetically, including the games they worked on, and the years and films they received Academy Awards for. Note: This article will not include actors who only appeared in videogames through archival voice acting and footage.

Mahershala Ali

Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor (2017) – Moonlight, Best Supporting Actor (2019) – Green Book

Videogame Performance: Madden 18 (Story Mode)

Christian Bale

Academy Award: Best Supporting Actor (2011) – The Fighter

Videogame Performance: Batman Begins

Marlon Brando

Academy Awards: Best Actor (1954) – On the Waterfront, Best Actor (1972) – The Godfather

Videogame Performance: The Godfather (cameo)

Related: Videogame Actresses Who Have Won Oscars

Adrien Brody

Academy Award: Best Actor (2002) – The Pianist

Videogame Performance: Peter Jackson’s King Kong

Michael Caine

Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor (1986) – Hannah and Her Sisters, Best Supporting Actor (1999) – The Cider House Rules

Videogame Performances: Batman Begins, GivingTales

Sean Connery

Academy Award: Best Supporting Actor (1987) – The Untouchables

Videogame Performance: James Bond 007: From Russia with Love

Chris Cooper

Academy Award: Best Supporting Actor (2002) – Adaptation

Videogame Performance: Cars 3: Driven to Win

Robert Duvall

Academy Award: Best Actor (1984) – Tender Mercies

Videogame Performances: The Godfather, The Godfather II

Morgan Freeman

Academy Award: Best Supporting Actor (2004) – Million Dollar Baby

Videogame Performances: Batman Begins, Wanted: Weapons of Fate

William Hurt

Academy Award: Best Actor (1985) – Kiss of the Spider Woman

Videogame Performance: The Incredible Hulk

Ben Kingsley

Academy Award: Best Actor (1983) – Gandhi

Videogame Performances: Kiyeko and the Lost Night, Ceremony of Innocence, Fable III

Related: Best Movies Based on Videogames – According to Critics

Kevin Kline

Academy Award: Best Supporting Actor (1989) – A Fish Called Wanda

Videogame Performance: Disney’s Animated Storybook: The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Rami Malek

Academy Award: Best Actor (2018) – Bohemian Rhapsody

Videogame Performances: Halo 2, The Legend of Korra, Until Dawn

Paul Newman

Academy Award: Best Actor (1987) – The Color of Money

Videogame Performance: Cars

Gary Oldman

Academy Award: Best Actor (2018) – Darkest Hour

Videogame Performances: Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Fifth Element, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault – Spearhead, True Crime: Streets of LA, The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night, The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Lego Dimensions

Christopher Plummer

Academy Award: Best Supporting Actor (2012) – Beginners

Videogame Performances: Star Trek: Klingon Academy, Up, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure

Eddie Redmayne

Academy Award: Best Actor (2015) – The Theory of Everything

Videogame Performance: Lego Dimensions

Sam Rockwell

Academy Award: Best Supporting Actor (2017) – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Videogame Performances: G-Force, Dishonored 2

J.K. Simmons

Academy Award: Best Supporting Actor (2014) – Whiplash

Videogame Performances: M&M’s The Lost Formulas, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, Portal 2, Generator Rex: Agent of Providence, The Legend of Korra, Lego Dimensions, Aperture Desk Job

Kevin Spacey

Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor (1995) – The Usual Suspects, Best Actor (1999) – American Beauty

Videogame Performances: Superman Returns, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Christopher Walken

Academy Award: Best Supporting Actor (1978) – The Deer Hunter

Videogame Performances: Ripper, Privateer 2: The Darkening, True Crime: Streets of LA, True Crime: New York City

Forest Whitaker

Academy Award: Best Actor (2006) – The Last King of Scotland

Videogame Performance: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Grant Testa

Grant Testa is a writer at Prima Games, who specializes in achievement hunting and horror gaming. He is also an avid comic book reader/collector, fantasy footballer, and rock music fanatic. Thousands who have been defeated by Grant in online multiplayer games have cried to themselves, wondering, "How did he get so good?! Why can't I be a gaming demigod like him?" They would probably be surprised to learn that Grant actually inherited his elite gaming skills from his mom, Joann Hansen, one of the speediest stenographers/typists in the nation, (and probably the world). Fun fact: he is also the son of the world’s first “let’s player” and comedy legend, Tim Testa.

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