Video Game Characters Modeled After Famous Celebrities

The evolution of video games has come a long way over the years. With everything from Atari to virtual reality, we've seen games become more and more lifelike. New technology called motion capture allows actors and actresses to perform the written script just as they would like in actual film. And because of their performances, their characters are modeled after them. Here are ten video game characters modeled after famous celebrities.

The resemblance between Beyond: Two Souls' character Nathan Dawkins and actor Willem Dafoe is striking. That's because it's based on Dafoe who also voices the character himself. The Oscar-nominated actor plays Dawkins, a scientist specializing in paranormal activity. In order to capture the realistic human features, multiple tiny cameras were attached to Dafoe's face as he performed the written script for the game behind a green screen. The same motion capture technique used in Beyond: Two Souls was used with the infamous voice actor, Andy Serkis forHeavenly Sword. In a time when video games are featuring more detailed storylines, this new method of video game performances is becoming more of a craft.

According to Serkis, motion capture allows actors to put more soul into their character and performance. Instead of sitting at a microphone, reading lines in a studio, these actors are able to get a better feel for the character. With more video game characters modeled after famous celebrities, Serkis portrays King Bohan with the same vigorous creativity as his other acting roles like Gollum in Lord of the Rings.

Camilla Luddington as Lara Croft in 'Tomb Raider'

Though Swedish actress Alicia Vikander was given the role of Lara Croft in the latest film adaptation, the character was modeled after Camilla Luddington for the game version. Luddington also provided the voice and performance for the other Lara Croft game,Rise of the Tomb Raider, which coincidentally provided inspiration for the latest film.

One of the most intriguing video game characters modeled after famous celebrities comes from the Unchartedseries. It may seem like a stretch to picture Jackass star Johnny Knoxville as a modern Indiana Jones type of character, but game creators modeled Nathan Drake after Knoxville. Ultimately, the character of Drake's appearance was slightly changed to seem more athletic than the thin, frail Knoxville.

Jean-Claude Van Damme as Johnny Cage in 'Mortal Kombat'

This one is obvious. Game developers Ed Boon and John Tobias approached Jean-Claude Van Damme when creating Mortal Kombat but Van Damme couldn't commit to the game. That didn't stop Boon and Tobias, who based their character Johnny Cage on Van Damme's likeness. The direct inspiration came from Van Damme's role in the film, Bloodsport. This character was one of the 20 characters that defined Mortal Kombat.

This classic fighting game is one of the oldest to feature video game characters modeled after famous celebrities. In America, the boxing character was named Balrog. But in the Japanese version, the boxing character was named Mike Byson. Along with the almost identical name, Byson's appearance also resembles Tyson's demeanor and physique.

This character in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare looks exactly like Kevin Spacey. That's because Spacey performed the game's script in the same fashion as Dafoe and Page in Beyond: Two Souls. It's just one of those Call of Duty facts every die-hard fan should know. We've seen Spacey portray both the hero and villain in various films and shows so it's always great to see his character go off the rails. And he doesn't disappoint as businessman Jonathan Irons in Call of Duty.

Beyond: Two Souls features more video game characters modeled after famous celebrities. The character Jodie Holmes was modeled entirely on actress Ellen Page. She acted out multiple scenes with Dafoe with camera attachments to give a more realistic feeling and capture her facial expressions. Page was also the inspiration for Ellie in the game The Last of Us, but the actress was not involved. She later accused the developers of The Last of Us for ripping off her likeness. Oh well. At least The Last of Us turned out to be one of the best PlayStation 4 adventure games to play.

When Sonic was first introduced by Sega in 1991, one of the earliest designs of the villain, Dr. Eggman or Dr. Robotnik, was of former U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt in pajamas. From his long, bushy mustache, round glasses and rotund physique, the character of Dr. Eggman bears a striking, if not exaggerated resemblance of Roosevelt. The connection with the former President helped with sales in America.

Fresh off his first Oscar nomination for Birdman, Michael Keaton was modeled after and voiced the character, James Hudson in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. The Call of Duty series frequently has video game characters modeled after famous celebrities, including The Walking Dead star Michael Rooker as Mike Harper. The role of James Hudson was previously voiced by another acting legend, Ed Harris in an earlier installment of the game.