The explosive growth of the gaming industry in recent years has attracted many of the world’s top movie stars, bringing them new, unique experiences, and even huge salaries. again.

Just acting in movies is not enough, many movie and television stars are now turning to “acting in games”, which are all new blockbuster games.

On June 9, 2019, at Microsoft Theater (Los Angeles, USA), thousands of gamers burst into tears when Keanu Reeves suddenly appeared in the flesh on the stage introducing CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077.

 Not only is he an honored guest, Keanu also officially confirmed that he will participate in this blockbuster game as an NPC to guide missions as well as accompany players.

 Immediately, this created a terrible fever on major social networks. The name Keanu Reeves is already famous, but is now hotter than ever, constantly reaching the top trends worldwide.

Not only does it satisfy fans, Keanu’s appearance in Cyberpunk 2077 also marks an important transformation of gaming – the smokeless industry is currently worth more than 43 billion USD. Game studios are now ready to spend heavily to invite superstars and A-list actors to participate in their projects.

Besides Keanu, Norman Reedus, a male actor famous for his dusty, weathered appearance, the No. 1 superstar of the popular series The Walking Dead, is also no exception to this fun. Previously, Norman had participated in a number of game projects, but only as a character voice. 

Yet now, besides killing zombies on the small screen, he also plays the role of a “friendly shipper” in the game Death Stranding – a new masterpiece by Hideo Kojima, released on September 8. Last November 2019.

Norman Reedus’s appearance in the blockbuster game Death Stranding.

Norman shared that when he received Hideo’s invitation, he was quite hesitant and had to consult with his friend Guillermo del Toro, the legendary director who won the 2017 Oscar.

Almost immediately, Guillermo confirmed sure as hell: ” Accept immediately.

” Just trust me, you won’t regret it .” Norman said: ” I never thought I would wear a motion-capture suit and play the main character in a game. 

But from the first days of collaborating with Hideo, I knew for sure that Death Stranding would be a real hit .

While Norman can be considered the “new ghost” of gaming, many other Hollywood stars have followed, and wished to join this industry for many years.

 For example, Jeremy Davies, a veteran actor who has participated in many classic blockbusters such as Saving Private Ryan, Lost or Justified. 

After nearly 3 decades on set, Jeremy had his first opportunity to participate in a major game project – God of War, playing the impressive role of Stranger/Baldur. 

God of War then convincingly won Game of the Year 2018, Jeremy also won the BAFTA award for Best Performance in a Game. The 50-year-old actor shared: “ It’s a dream come true. I have always wanted to join the gaming industry for many years .”

Not only participating in movie blockbusters, A-list stars are now also taking part in gaming blockbusters.

Above are just 3 of the many famous names that have participated in global blockbuster games. So what created this new trend?

First reason: The script and plot are invested, have depth, and have many branches.

Still appearing on the small screen, still playing the role of unrealistic characters, but participating in a game will bring truly different emotions and opportunities for actors.

 Michael Blank, CAA special agent said: “ Motion-capture technology has now developed to a comprehensive level. Actors not only voice their voices, but they also directly embody the characters in the game .

Angela Sarafyan, Westworld actress, who participated in the game project Telling Lies, shared: ” I became an actress because I really like different stories. But when I joined the gaming industry, it was truly a new horizon for me.

 When watching a movie, the audience simply enjoys what happens on the screen. When playing the game, the audience will both watch and participate in the plot themselves .

The scripts of story-rich games are just as interesting as movies, sometimes even more surprising and plot twisty. (In the photo is the game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt).

She also emphasized that Telling Lies was the first game she participated in, with a script up to 220 pages long. But this is not strange at all. Most games with storylines today take at least 10 hours of gameplay for gamers.

 There are games with up to 80 hours of gameplay, like Red Dead Redemption 2, with more than 500,000 lines of dialogue.

Director Emily Schweber, who is in charge of casting actors for many films and TV series, has now also expanded into the field of casting actors for video games, with names such as Star Wars Battlefront II, Call of Duty : Infinite Warfare and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. S

he said that in recent years, actors have tended to dominate the gaming market thanks to extremely attractive and creative game scripts: ” About 5 or 6 years ago, I was always trying to convince customers about how potential this field is, although many people are skeptical.

 But now, the actors are constantly praising the profound game scripts, and are extremely excited to participate in that game .

Reason 2: Flexible “filming” schedule with modern technology system.

The “game filming” schedule is also quite flexible and depends on each project.

 Troy Baker, who has participated in many big games like The Last of Us or Metal Gear Solid, shared: “Every month you only need to come to shoot 1-2 times, each time taking about 2-3 days within 2 years. finished”. 

However, with big names like Red Dead Redemption or Death Stranding, this number usually lasts about 3 – 5 years.

Professional actors are used to camera lenses, but working in an environment with up to 800 cameras around is a truly new experience for them.

The “game filming” process usually takes place on spacious studios in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and London. The difference is that this studio will be equipped with many cameras at many different angles. 

The actors themselves also have to wear a special costume with many other small cameras attached to capture all their movements. Jon Bernthal, who participated in the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint project, shared: ” You will have to shoot a long one-shot perfectly in a room with up to 800 different cameras .”

Reason 3: Money!

According to statistics at the end of July 2019 from SAG-AFTRA, on average each actor will pocket about 3,150 USD/week when participating in a game project, a quite attractive number compared to 5,258 USD/week. for a 30-minute TV program, 8,413 USD/week for a 1-hour TV program.

(Of course, big stars are able to negotiate higher prices). For television movies, this number ranges from 125 USD/day – 1,005 USD/day depending on the project and the popularity of the movie.

Actor Clancy Brown said: “ I think the attractive salaries really attract a lot of stars to the gaming industry. Producers will have to spend a lot of money to invite big names to participate in their projects .

Customers don’t hesitate to spend millions of dong to buy games, and manufacturers don’t mind spending millions of dollars to hire big stars.

Meanwhile, young people today are spending more and more to own the games they love. According to The Hollywood Reporter, millennials – Gen Y (born 1981 – 1996) spend a large amount of money each month to buy games and subscribe to gaming services, far ahead of Gen X (1965). – 1979) and Gen Z (1997 – 2012).