2019-11-13 The Hollywood Reporter

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 44 NOVEMBER 13, 2019

SAR

AFY

AN:

DIM

ITR

IOS

KA

MB

OU

RIS

/GE

TTY

IMA

GES

. RE
EVE

S:^ M

ARK

RA

LST

ON

/AF

P/G

ETT

Y^ IM

AGE

S.

Illustration by Dalbert B. Vilarino

Analysis

The Business

C

rowded into the Microsoft

Theater in Los Angeles on

June 9, thousands of video

game fans erupted into applause

when Polish studio CD Projekt

Red debuted a trailer for its new

title, Cyberpunk 2077. That recep-

tion was just a preamble, however,

for a starrier reveal: Keanu

Reeves. The actor quickly became

a trending topic across social

media after a digital version of

his scruffy visage appeared on the

screens surrounding the stage.

Not to be outdone by his virtual

doppelganger, Reeves himself

emerged onstage to cheers amid a

cloud of smoke.

The moment may mark a

notable shift in gaming, a com-

ing out for an already $43 billion

industry that is challenging

established media genres like

film and television by attracting

A-list talent. The John Wick actor

is far from alone.

“I never dreamed that I would

be wearing a motion-capture

suit with Velcro all over me,” says

Norman Reedus, best known

for AMC’s mega-hit The Walking

Dead. Reedus has worked in

games before, voicing the role he

made famous on TV in various

projects, but his work in vener-

able game director Hideo Kojima’s

latest offering, Death Stranding

(released Nov. 8), is different.

Reedus’ friend, Oscar winner

Guillermo del Toro, first tipped

him off to expect a call from

Kojima. “Trust me, just say yes,”

Reedus recalls the filmmaker

telling him. The actor accepted

Kojima’s offer (which at the time

was for an entirely different proj-

ect, a reimagining of the horror

franchise Silent Hill) and has been

shooting footage on soundstages

Stars in Games: It’s More Than a Paycheck

Better scripts, nuanced characters and realistic performance-capture techniques are drawing more actors toward the

$43 billion-plus industry: ‘There are increasingly blurred lines between what is a film and what is a game’

around the world while wearing a

skintight Lycra suit adorned with

rubber balls for the past three

years. “I knew it was going to be a

home run right from the get-go,”

he says.

Reedus had reason to be confi-

dent. Death Stranding is perhaps

the most anticipated game of

the year, the first

title released under

Kojima’s own produc-

tion banner, Kojima

Productions, follow-

ing a divorce from

Japanese game company Konami

in 2015. That partnership proved

fruitful, as Kojima’s Metal Gear

franchise (published by Konami)

has sold more than 49 million

copies since its debut in 1987,

making a star out of its creator

and establishing him as one of

the most enigmatic minds in the

gaming industry.

While Reedus is “not a big

gamer,” other Hollywood stars

have had their sights set on the

industry for years. “I’d been try-

ing to get into games for a long

time,” says Jeremy Davies, who

won a BAFTA Games award this

April for his performance in

2018’s God of War. The adventure

title, which won the top prize at

last year’s Game Awards, was

Davies’ first foray into gaming

after nearly three decades of

amassing credits in Hollywood

projects such as Saving Private

Ryan, Lost and Justified.

The opportunity to por-

tray complex, fleshed out

characters is relatively new

to stars fielding video game

pitches. “Performance-capture

DIGITAL | PATRICK SHANLEY

PAT R ICK SHA N L E Y is the gaming

writer at The Hollywood Reporter.

technology has gotten to the

point that they’re not just voicing

the character, they’re playing

the role in a video game. That’s

really important from the talent

perspective,” notes CAA agent

Michael Blank.

“I became an actress because

I love storytelling,” adds Angela

Sarafyan, known for play-

ing Clementine on Westworl d.

She stars in narrative mystery

game Telling Lies from creator

Sam Barlow and Annapurna

Interactive. “I thought this was a

brand-new thing, and it involves

the audience member to not just

experience this but be an active

member.” The actress adds that

she “never had the opportunity”

to work in games before Barlow’s

script (which was more than 220

pages, a significant bump from

traditional screenplays) came

across her desk.

The Te l l i n g Li e s script is not

unusual in its length. Games

typically top 10 hours of con-

tent, with some ballooning to 80

hours or more (such as 2018’s Red

Keanu Reeves’ reveal at E3 on June 9

for Cyberpunk 2077.

Sarafyan