Over the years, Call of Duty has featured some of the biggest Hollywood actors to play characters in their games. Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris, and Troy Baker are arguably some of the most well-known actors that have been immortalized in the game. The latest in the series, Call of Duty WW2 heads back to the historic battles of the Western front, and with it brings even more star-studded cast lists including David Tennant, Elodie Yung and Ving Rhames.
In addition to these Hollywood stars, other actors have also played minor roles throughout the Call of Duty franchise so let's take a look back at 5 actors that you didn't know were in Call of Duty.
5. Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson, better known by his stage name Ice Cube, was featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops back in 2010. Ice Cube played the role of Joseph Bowman, who was an SOG operative and the right-hand man of Sergeant Frank Woods. Ice Cube played somewhat of a lengthy role in Black Ops 3 until his character’s unfortunate death at the hands of a Russian interrogator. His death was not forgotten though, as it still remains to be a part of one of the most memorable missions in Black Ops – itself one of our favorite titles in the series.
4. Stephanie Lemelin
Stephanie Lemelin was the voice actor of Abigail "Misty" Briarton who appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Zombies. Misty was a huge part of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2’s marketing and her most famous promotional poster depicts her holding a Winchester rifle on top of a pile of vanquished undead from the game's popular side-mode.
Although Stephanie had no previous experience as a voice actress in video games prior to Call of Duty, due to her role in Black Ops 2 she has since been featured in over 10 games! She's also well-known to many film fans even if you've not seen her on the screen, as an accomplished voice actress in movies such as Kung Fu Panda, and cartoons like Young Justice. Misty is still very much alive in the Zombies storyline and it would be great if we could see her again in the future, if CoD moves on from historic WW2 battles again.
3. Jason Statham
One of the biggest names that many people wouldn't know from Call of Duty is Jason Statham. Statham was in the early years of his career when he appeared in the original Call of Duty title, just three years after his breakout moment in Guy Ritchie's London mobster movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Jason's character, Sergeant Waters, didn't play a significant role in the game and he only appeared in a few missions, but his cockney tones fit the script to a tee.
Sadly, despite Waters' status at the end of the original expected to be "still alive", we didn't see Jason Statham return now that the series has decided to go back to World War II. If Call of Duty had returned to World War II sooner – before Statham became such a household name in action movies – we would expect his character to have a much bigger role. Guess we'll just have to wait for Crank 3 (make it happen).
2. Jimmy Kimmel
In Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Jimmy Kimmel actually makes an appearance… as himself! Jimmy Kimmel did not have a huge role in Black Ops 2 and he's only featured in two of the endings of the game. In one ending, Chloe Lynch insults Raul Menendez on the Jimmy Kimmel show, and the game shows Menendez smashing his own head against the TV screen in prison. In another ending, Menendez escapes from prison and Kimmel tells his audience that he tried to get him on the show, but he declined. Jimmy Kimmel's role in Black Ops 2 shows that Activision isn’t afraid to bring mainstream celebrities into their fictional world, even as themselves!
1. Idris Elba
Idris Elba has become an incredibly successful actor over the last few years and has appeared in films such as Pacific Rim, Thor, and The Avengers (we try not to talk about The Dark Tower). However, many people may be surprised to learn that Elba has also appeared in our favorite best-selling gaming franchise: Call of Duty.
Idris Elba played the character Sergeant First Class Truck in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which was a fairly big role in the campaign, and his death in the game made for one of the more dramatic scenes in the series' history. In the mission "Final Operation" Truck, Sandman and Grinch were all buried alive in a mine because of heavy damage caused by RPG fire.
Overall, Call of Duty has had huge stars participate in their games and although many of the actors featured weren’t world famous at the time, some have gone on to captivate the public eye. For those in the current game, alongside stars like David "Dr Who" Tennant and Ving "Mission: Impossible" Rhames, who knows what the future holds?