Curated playlist

American male video game actors

Rob PaulsenRob Paulsen was the voice in the first Got Milk? radio spot in 1993. The joke had a man's mouth full of peanut butter.
Christopher WalkenTo look gaunt for The Deer Hunter, Christopher Walken ate only bananas, water and rice for a month.
Brian T. DelaneyBrian T. Delaney voiced Scarecrow on Batman Unlimited and the male Sole Survivor in Fallout 4.
Fred TatascioreAs of March 2, 2017, no one had voiced more superhero video game characters than Fred Tatasciore.
Greg EaglesGreg Eagles voiced Death as a Jamaican-accented scythe-carrier named Grim. He began in 2001 on Grim and Evil.
Christian BaleChristian Bale once lived on black coffee, an apple and a can of tuna each day. The English actor began that regimen with nothing but cigarettes and whiskey. By the end he had lost 63 lb and weighed 121 lb. The script for the psychological…
Travis WillinghamAt six feet four inches, Travis Willingham kept losing on-camera acting parts. His agent steered him back to voice work.
Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. Jackson learned to cope with a childhood stutter by pretending to be other people.
Harrison FordHarrison Ford got Han Solo after reading lines for other actors' auditions. George Lucas slowly decided he wanted Ford.
Nicolas CageNicolas Cage was 15 years old when he told his uncle, the director Francis Ford Coppola, "I'll show you acting." He wanted a screen test. What he got was silence in the car. His uncle had already directed Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Gene…
Denzel WashingtonIn 2025, on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the actor Denzel Washington said that the emphasis in his first name belongs on the first syllable. His mother had moved it to the second syllable so that young Denzel would answer to her call and not his…
Sam RockwellSam Rockwell won an Oscar for playing a racist, bullying police deputy. He delivered burritos by bicycle first.
Bruce WillisBruce Willis received the 2,321st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the 16th of October 2006. It sits at 6915 Hollywood Boulevard. At the reception, he told the crowd he used to come down and look at the stars. Then came the…
Daniel CraigIn 2021, the English actor Daniel Craig was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It sits at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard, an address that winks at the code number 007. Two days later his final film as that famous spy opened in the…
Hulk HoganHulk Hogan held the World Wrestling Federation championship for 1,474 days during his first reign. That is the third-longest run in the history of the title. The man under the bandana and the blond moustache was born Terry Gene Bollea.…
50 Cent50 Cent was shot nine times in 2000, then blacklisted by the music industry. He built his comeback on mixtapes.
J. K. SimmonsFor decades, audiences knew J. K. Simmons's face and voice but could not name him. Whiplash in 2014 changed that.
Pierce BrosnanPierce Brosnan once lost the part of James Bond because his television show was too popular to cancel. In 1986, NBC ended his detective series Remington Steele. Then the producers of the Bond films offered him the role of 007. News of the…
Timothy OlyphantTimothy Olyphant once turned down the lead in a film that its studio was ready to approve if he said yes. The producer Neal H. Moritz recalled the studio's position this way: "If you can get Timothy Olyphant to play that role we will…
James FrancoFor five weeks, James Franco spent twelve hours a day in a gully built as a film set, and he left it only to use the lavatory. Between takes he read books, including academic textbooks, just to keep busy. The American actor and filmmaker…
Bryan CranstonIn 1968, a 12-year-old Bryan Cranston was riding horses with his cousin at Spahn Ranch when he met Charles Manson. About a year later, Manson ordered the Tate-LaBianca murders. Cranston grew up to become an American actor and filmmaker…
Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger broke into a locked gym on weekends as a teenager. He later became California's governor.
Jon BernthalJon Bernthal was studying acting in Russia when he also won a place as a catcher for a Russian professional baseball team. Few American actors can say the same. That pairing of stage training and a ballfield, far from home, sets the tone…
Gene SimmonsGene Simmons was born Chaim Witz in Haifa, Israel, on the 25th of August 1949. He grew up to become the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss, where he plays a stage character called the Demon. Rock stardom has a reputation…
Ice CubeIce Cube, born O'Shea Jackson, started writing raps in ninth grade because a friend challenged him in typewriting class. The friend, nicknamed Kiddo, lost the contest. The class was at George Washington Preparatory High School in Los…
Rami MalekRami Malek watched a single concert video, the Live Aid performance of 1985, at least 1,500 times before he played Freddie Mercury. He did it on YouTube, while preparing for a role he would later call precious beyond anything else in his…
Kevin SpaceyLate in the 1995 thriller Se7en, Kevin Spacey walks into the story as the serial killer John Doe, and most of the audience had no idea he was coming. His name was missing from the opening credits. It was missing from the film's…
Ice-TIce-T got his stage name when friends heard him recite novels by Iceberg Slim.
Kelsey GrammerKelsey Grammer was meant to play Frasier Crane for only six episodes. He kept the role for 20 years across two shows.
Mark HamillMark Hamill voiced Ukraine's air raid alert app as Luke Skywalker. Each alert ended with "May the Force be with you".
Oscar IsaacOscar Isaac wrote his first play in fifth grade, a Noah's Ark story with a doubtful platypus.
Sean LennonSteve Jobs once brought Sean Lennon an early Macintosh for his ninth birthday.
Michael J. FoxMichael J. Fox once worked two months of days that began with rehearsals at 10 a.m. and ended with filming at 2:30 the next morning. Those were the hours of 1985. By day he rehearsed the sitcom Family Ties. By night he rushed to the set of…
David HayterDavid Hayter gave up half his paycheck so the Metal Gear Solid voice cast could return. It was for a 2004 remake.
Joe RomersaJoe Romersa was a homeless 19-year-old drummer in New Jersey after a tragic early tour.
Norman ReedusDaryl Dixon on The Walking Dead began as an audition for a different role.
Billy Dee WilliamsBilly Dee Williams became an actor only to pay for paints. He had wanted to be a painter.
Jeff GoldblumIn July 2018, a statue of Jeff Goldblum stood 25 feet tall beside London's Tower Bridge. It was a temporary installation, built to mark 25 years since the release of Jurassic Park. Goldblum, born Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum on the 22nd of…