In the 21st century, video gaming is a huge global entertainment industry. Games and gaming have become one of the key tech trends of the decades, with popular gaming IP inspiring everything from novels to TV shows, movies, and everything else in between. As the profile of the industry has risen, so too has its popularity among vast swathes of the global population, including one or two familiar faces.
Yes, in the digital era, many celebrities are unashamed gaming fans. We know that movie stars and leading actors are only human, no matter how many six-figure sums they pull in, and, just like the rest of us, they’re not immune from the allure of digital gaming. If you fancy checking out the video games that are adored by your favorite celebrity, keep on reading!
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World of Warcraft
This iconic massively multiplayer online role-playing game changed the state of play in the industry when it was first released in 2004. It’s since become one of the most enduring and influential staples in the genre and pulls in over 130 million players regularly. It may surprise you to learn that quite a few celebrities regularly enter the world of Azeroth to indulge in immersive cooperative and competitive gameplay.
Henry Cavill has made the headlines recently for his shock exit from the serialized adaptation of The Witcher, but his geek credits can’t be brought into question. Naturally, he’s a fan of the Witcher games, but he’s also known to be a big, big WoW gamer too. Legend has it that he even learned of his casting in Superman during a World of Warcraft session.
Online Poker
Poker is a classic card game that needs no introduction! Sure, this centuries-old game is a casino staple, but it’s also evolved into a thrilling digital game where players test their skills and strategies against opponents from all over the world in high-stakes matches. Thanks to online resources like poker cheat sheet articles, anyone anywhere can learn to play poker online. So, it’s not hard to imagine that poker-loving celebrities are also getting stuck into online tourneys in their PJs!
Poker has long been an attraction for celebrity gamers: movie stars like Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Jennifer Tilly have all enjoyed successful pro poker careers. Meanwhile, funnyman Kevin Hart has participated in several high-profile poker tournaments and even partnered with a leading online poker operator to promote digital poker gaming at the end of the 2010s. Seinfeld legend Jason Alexander is also a dedicated player, having been a fixture in televised poker shows during the early 2000s, and reportedly continues to play online and in private games even in 2023.
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a blockbuster video game franchise that has come to epitomize the first-person shooter genre. While its design is certainly cinematic, CoD is a franchise enjoyed by more than just the armchair action hero. It’s widely played on the eSports circuit and has quite the celebrity fan base,
Chuck actor Zachary Levi, for instance, is an avid Call of Duty gamer, as is Bojack Horseman’s Will Arnett and, of course, Vin Diesel. Ahsoka Tana star Rosario Dawson, meanwhile, isn’t just a regular CoD player; she also played a key role in the promotion of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, which featured a female character option for the first time in the franchise.
Perhaps the most unexpected Call of Duty fan is the seemingly superhuman Michael Phelps. The decorated Olympian even spent thirty hours a week playing the first installment in the series back in 2012.
