You might think that celebrities only act in or lend their voices to video games. However, there are some celebrities who are avid gamers just like you and me. And I don’t just mean Hollywood stars — there are also musicians, athletes, and even UFC fighters that share a love for gaming.
Some of these stars have even dwelled so long in the world of gaming that they’ve missed out on life-changing opportunities. (We’re looking at you, Henry Cavill.) And one celebrity on this list has even injured himself because of gaming. Don’t believe me? Here’s a list of 10 celebrities you didn’t know were addicted to video games.
Megan Fox
Game of Choice: Halo Reach
Yes! You read that right. Transformers actress Megan Fox is a hardcore gamer. She hasn’t been very vocal about her love for gaming — but in an interview with Collider during the making of Transformers 3 Fox stated that she is addicted to playing Halo online:
“I have Halo: Reach. I have a complete addiction to that game. It is sick. I play online mostly and (other gamers) have no idea. They make fun of my gamer tag too because it is funny. They are all a bunch of guys and it is clear that I am a girl so they make fun of my name, and they have no idea they are making fun of me.”
So if you dwell in the online shooter that is Halo: Reach, there is a chance you might have played with Megan Fox. So next time, if you come across a girl in Halo, you may want to tread lightly — that girl could be the actress herself.
Jessica Alba
Game of Choice: Wii Sports
Playing as the Invisible Woman in the Fantastic Four series, Jessica Alba has made quite a name for herself in the world of video games — so much so that in the Fantastic Fourvideo game, the Invisible Woman’s character was modeled to look like her.
It seems like the love goes both ways, as Jessica Alba herself is fond of video games. In an interview, she admitted that she spends most of her free time playing Wii Sports on her Nintendo Wii:
“I grew up playing Bomber Man and Pac-Man and Super Mario Brothers and Zelda, where you had just this little guy who could barely walk and the music was like doot… doot… doot. I think the physicality of the Wii gets people off the couch. Sometimes you can just sit there playing a video game for hours and never move and your brain is just zapped from playing the game. With the Wii, you’re up on your feet and moving around.”
Will Arnett
Game of Choice: Call of Duty
The the voice of LEGO’s Batman has been involved in the world of gaming for quite some time.Back in 2012, the now-defunct Call of Duty Elite released an official web series where Will Arnett, along with a few other famous celebrities, were brought to life in Modern Warfare 3.
And his love for gaming didn’t stop there. Will went on to making a few other gaming series on YouTube like Xbox’s “GameChat” and Microsoft’s “Will Arnett with friends”, where he sat around with a couple of gamers and played all sorts of different video games.
“I think from a bunch of different channels, yeah. But just because I’m a legit gamer and Xbox is sort of my console of choice. Call of Duty is great for what it is, and if that’s what you want—you know, I play a lot of MP with my buddies, and that’s great”
Mila Kunis
Games of Choice: CoD and WoW
Over the years, World of Warcraft has ruined the social lives of millions with its highly addictive gameplay mechanics. That being said, it has now come to my attention that there are a few celebrities out there that too affected by this addiction.
Mila Kunis has been a fan favorite since her role in the TV series, That 70’s Show. However, what most of you don’t know is that she is addicted to playing World of Warcraft. Over the years, the actress has talked about her immense love for the game and how it affected her lifestyle.
Eventually, she had to force herself to stop playing WoW, as it was getting in the way of her career. However, once a gamer always a gamer. Mila Kunis quickly rebounded back into the world of online gaming when she came across Call of Duty.
“COD is like really, REALLY fun! Once you get through Call of Duty’s first person, then you unlock the Nazi zombies and your whole purpose becomes just to kill these Nazi zombies and you know, you kill them a lot! You board up the windows and you kill zombies and maybe I’m not really good at it but that’s not for lack of trying!”
Henry Cavill
Game of Choice: World of Warcraft
Like Mila Kunis, Henry Cavill shares the same obsession for World of Warcraft. But in his case, things got a little more damaging — as he nearly lost himself the role of Superman in Man of Steel because of his addiction.
Cavill was so engrossed in raiding the world of Azeroth that he decided to ignore the first call from Zack Synder. This would have cost him the role of Clark Kent/Superman, but thankfully the director called back to offer him the role.
“I was playing World of Warcraft, and I had my priorities straight.”
DeadMau5
Games of Choice: CoD, CS:GO, Rocket League
Joel Thomas Zimmerman — aka “Deadmau5” — isn’t just a musician. He has been seen dwelling in the world of video games as well. Apart from constructing aural pieces of heaven, Deadmau5 has live streamed himself playing numerous games like Call of Duty, CS:GO and Rocket League.
When asked about his inspiration behind his musical style, he stated that his love for gaming has sort of influenced his music. So if you are a fan of DeadMau5 and love listening to his incredible tracks, just remember — those beats are swayed by his love for gaming. Who says video games don’t help succeed in life?
“I’m a video game enthusiast. I love video games! They were a huge part of my upbringing in their early form when I was all about Dig Dug and River Raid. As they evolved, so did my music-making, and we just kind of grew up together like cool friends! It’s something I do still to this day. When I’m working on something and need to take a little break, I’ll go down and play some video games. It’s just a good time-sink to take your mind off shit.”
Rhonda Rousey
Game of Choice: Pokemon
Being the Women’s Bantamweight UFC Champion, you might not believe it when I say that Rhonda Rousey loves to play video games. And the minority of you who do believe me will probably think that I’m talking about games like UFC, WWE, or Call of Duty — something that relates to carnage, brawling or even killing. But you could not be any more wrong.
Rhonda Rousey is addicted to Pokemon and all of its popular titles. The UFC champion, on countless occasions, has shown off her love for the franchise — so much so that even Reddit, the hardest community to please, was impressed by her knowledge of Pokemon and its lore.
“I’ve gotten every single version of every single generation of the game. So like when Blue came out, I didn’t just get Blue and wait for Silver, no. I got Blue, I beat Blue, I got Red, I beat Red, I got Yellow, I beat Yellow. And then when Gold, Silver, and Platinum came out, I got all three of those and beat those. Just that first game that I have alone, that one cartridge, had 200 hours on it. I’ve since done every single generation and every single Pokemon since. The Platinum, the White, the Black, the X, the Y, X2, Y2, Pokemon Stadium, and Pokemon Stadium 2.”
And Pokemon isn’t where her love for gaming stops. Rhonda also loves to play World of Warcraft every now and then. In a past interview, she stated that she plays a Mage named Randa on TaichiPanda.
Olivia Munn
Genre of Choice: FPS
You might have seen Olivia Munn wreaking havoc on the sets of X-Men. But off-screen, this incredible actress is one of the most passionate gamers out there. Before becoming a Hollywood actress, Olivia Munn was co-hosting the very popular gaming show, Attack of the Show.
You might think that after gaining a vast popularity in Hollywood, she would have controlled her addiction to video games. But once a gamer, always a gamer. Olivia Munn still considers video games as her “weak point”, stating that at the end of the day all she looks forward to sitting back and playing her favorite game.
“I get so addicted to videos games. I get really focused in on it and I cannot live the rest of my life. So If I get into any kind of first person shooter game, I’m done and you won’t see me. I’ll skip meetings and stuff to sit in and work on my video games.”
Michael Phelps
Genre of Choice: Sports Games
Apart from stacking up on his Olympic gold medals, swimmer Michael Phelps loves to spend his time out of the water, playing video games. In 2011, the swimmer even released his own swimming game titled Michael Phelps: Push The Limit.
Though the game didn’t do that well on the market, it showed just how much Michael Phelps is into video games. According to a few interviews, Michael Phelps has been a gamer since a very young age and still loves to play sports-related games during his time off.
“I probably play two or three days a week. It’s mostly just sports games like FIFA, Tiger Woods, Madden and NCAA Football. I’ve always loved the sporting games. Every now and then we’ll play Halo online, but I just get destroyed every time and it’s not really that fun.”
So next time, you see Michael Phelps dominating the pool and setting records. Just remember, he is a gamer just like you, just with better swimming skills.
Matthew Perry
Game of Choice: Fallout 3
There is one celebrity who, in his pursuit of giving his all for a video game, seriously injured himself. And that person is Matthew Perry. Yes! Chandler from Friends.
You might have thought that Matthew was only reading his lines when he was talking about how much he loved video games in the show. But that’s not true. Matthew Perry has accumulated hundreds of hours in Fallout 3, which resulted in him developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
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These are just some of the celebrities who have publicly announced their love for gaming. I’m pretty sure there are hundreds more who still haven’t disclosed their love for gaming. Maybe, just maybe, with the gaming world getting more and more popular, we will come across even more famous personalities who share a love for video games.
