7 Video Game Characters That Look Just Like Their Actors

Camilla Luddington – Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)

As Lara Croft evolved and expanded as a character over the years, she transitioned from polygonal eye candy into the more realistic and likeable person she has become today. Sure, there will always be the loyalists who cry ‘big booby 32-bit Lara or nothing’, but they’re fighting for a dying cause, and more often than not, shouting that will get them kicked out of the movie theater.

That isn’t to say that Lara isn’t still stunning, she’s just different, and that is due in no small part to the vocal talents of Camilla Luddington, her de facto voice actress since the 2013 reboot. Taking a look at the two side by side long enough will reveal a few similarities, particularly in facial structure.

In a Game Informer interview, Brian Horton, senior art director of Crystal Dynamics, described their vision when redesigning the iconic heroine, stating that, “we wanted to have empathy for Lara, and at the same time show the inner strength that made clear she was going to become a hero”. For our money, they certainly succeeded in that regard.

Nolan North – Remy Duvall (Mafia III)

The obvious direction to take here would be to compare Nolan North to his most notorious role; Nathan Drake of Uncharted fame. It wouldn’t be too much of a reach, considering that he has the same cheeky, boisterous demeanour as his on-screen counterpart, and he even does a significant amount of motion capture for the part.

However, if you want a real Nolan North facsimile, you need look no further than Remy Duvall. He’s definitely a lot less likeable, as a white supremacist who is not above having undesirables whacked in a brutal fashion. North lends an energy to Duvall that perfectly encapsulates his duplicitous nature; outwardly charming and charismatic, with a sinister rage that dwells within him.

It should come as no surprise, of course – Nolan North is a versatile master of his craft. Check out his Mickey Mouse take if you ever get the chance.

Steven Ogg – Trevor Philips (GTA V)

Alright, so this one isn’t exactly the most flattering of comparisons, but in the defence of the talented Mr. Ogg, Trevor mostly represents a worst case scenario. Like Steven Ogg on a really bad week, after he made a few poor choices, and just stopped caring. If Trevor Philips passed you in the street, you could feasibly do a double take, before declaring to your friend, “is that Steven Ogg? God, he looks terrible.”

The psychotic Trevor required an incredible effort to convey effectively, and Ogg knocked it out of the park, creating a portrayal that places the character firmly near the top of most GTA rankings. Ogg himself obviously seemed to dig it, as he even played a live action interpretation of the homicidal maniac at one point. Please note before you click that link, that a) it is loaded to the gills with swearing and violence, and b) Steven Ogg is intimidatingly buff. That second aspect is actually more jarring, quite frankly.

Karen Dyer – Sheva Alomar (Resident Evil 5)

Loyal, passionate and brave, Sheva Alomar was a crucial member of the BSAA initiative out in West Africa. Bioterrorism is a nasty issue to deal with at the best of times, but in the Resident Evil universe, that effectively translates to flesh-eating zombies – and as such, is even worse. You’ll need to use your brain to survive in that kind of mess, or else they’ll be happy to take it off you in a matter most violent.

Sheva was brought to life by Karen Dyer, who worked tirelessly to maintain the integrity of the character’s complex multicultural background. If you think it’s tough pulling off one accent, try nailing one that also has elements of a completely different one underneath it. That’s Sheva, and it’s your duty to keep her alive, if you please.

Dyer herself has the same striking eyes as Sheva, and you can draw a few parallels between the two. Sheva never seems to be quite as chirpy as her voice actress, who has one of the most warming smiles you’ll ever see, but that could be due in part to the aforementioned zombies she has to contend with. That’s bound to ruin your day.

Bryan Dechart – Connor (Detroit: Become Human)

Connor may never be a real human, but he could certainly do a lot worse in the facial department, so he’s got that going for him. His appearance was modelled via motion capture to reflect that of his voice actor, the youthful Bryan Dechart. It’s a more subtle adaptation than some of the others that have occurred in gaming (stay tuned), but not any less spectacular. Connor is a truly sympathetic figure, and a large degree of that is due to the look of concern in his eyes when he is processing things. You feel like you can listen to him, trust him.

Alas, nine times out of ten you can’t trust Connor, as he’s just telling you what you want to hear until his objective is reached, at which point some sniper is probably going to snuff you out, but if the last thing you ever see is those boyish good looks, then you will at least die with a smile on your face.

Kevin Spacey – Jonathan Irons (Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare)

Well, shucks, of course you knew about this one, but we’d be remiss to exclude it, considering the nature of this piece. Bear with us, and we’ll surely dazzle you with our prose.

Writing about Kevin Spacey nowadays is an icky bit of business, unless you have a clear agenda or a very crude sense of humor, but back when he first signed on as the antagonist for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare in 2014, it was a big deal. Big-name actors had appeared in video games in the past, but this was no mere cameo. Spacey was so intrinsically linked to the character, his visage would become synonymous with the title forevermore.

So there’s no prizes for cottoning on that Jonathan Irons was designed to look like Kevin Spacey. But the remarkable thing here is the detail that went into this recreation, and it is impeccable. You could show the back cover of Advanced Warfare to someone who had never played a video game in all their life, ask them to take one look at Jonathan Irons, and they would immediately be able to identify that it was Kevin Spacey. Unless they didn’t know who he was either, in which case, why are you showing them this game? They’ll probably think it’s some form of witchcraft.

Norman Reedus – Any character voiced by Norman Reedus (Norman Reedus)

In the same vein as Spacey, Norman Reedus’ face has become one of the most recognisable in modern gaming, despite the fact that it belongs to two titles that have yet to (and in one case, never will) be released.

The assassination of Silent Hills is still a sore subject, so we won’t dally there for longer than we have to, but the mighty trinity formed by Reedus, Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro showed such obscene promise when they horrified the world with what was dubbed the ‘Playable Trailer’, that it was easy to get onboard. Obviously, Kojima’s departure from Konami would put the kibosh on that remarkable dream/nightmare, but they would resurface soon after with what would later become known as Death Stranding, aka Huh? the Video Game.

The meticulous craftsmanship that has gone into these models is a true testament to how far technology has come over the years. This looks so much like Norman, you practically expect him to Reedus a story.