NEW YORK – A stream of actors who built their careers in Hollywood are making their digital presence felt in video games, a once stigmatised medium that is increasingly seen as a unique storytelling platform with the ability to reach large audiences.

Some are voice acting, transferring skills they may have honed in animated movies or TV shows, while others are contributing their likenesses through advanced motion-capture technology that can replicate furrowed brows and crinkled cheeks.

In the latest remake of the 1992 horror survival game Alone In The Dark, released on March 20, both British actress Jodie Comer – who won an Emmy for spy thriller series Killing Eve (2018 to 2022) – and American actor David Harbour, known for his work on horror hit Stranger Things (2015 to present), are making their video game debuts.

In Alone In The Dark, Comer’s character and the private investigator she hires, played by Harbour, explore a psychiatric hospital to uncover the truth behind a recent disappearance. Both are playable characters, with distinct cut scenes and dialogue.

“I hope that people are still watching two-hour movies decades from now, but I know they will be playing video games,” Harbour, 48, said.

In a behind-the-scenes video by the game’s publisher, Comer, 31, said that working on the Ryan Reynolds action comedy Free Guy (2021), set in a fictionalised video game, gave her a newfound appreciation of the industry.

“It’s so incredible to be able to kind of step out of what you usually do and explore something new, and kind of challenge yourself,” she said.

The migration to video games is happening for several reasons, including leaps in technology that have reduced the disconnect between real-life and digital performances.

Convenience is another factor. Filming a live-action feature like Dune: Part Two (2024) can require actors to spend weeks in the deserts of Abu Dhabi.

Motion-capture sessions for games can often be completed minutes away from an actor’s Los Angeles home.

Bringing in known actors also enables studios to engage with people who might not otherwise be interested in their games.

The indie game Open Roads, a mother-daughter road trip that will be released on March 28, features the voices of American actresses Keri Russell and Kaitlyn Dever.

A known presence can drastically increase a game’s reach. For big-budget games, screen actors are a small vote of confidence. For indie games, they can be an all-or-nothing bet.

At 2023’s Game Awards, one studio revealed its space-faring game Exodus by bringing onstage Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey, who promised that his first video game character would “have a unique relationship with every player”.

Later in the ceremony, the real-time strategy game Stormgate was introduced by Simu Liu, fresh off his work in Barbie (2023).

Hollywood actors have participated in video games before this more noticeable trend.

In 2008, Liam Neeson portrayed the protagonist’s father in the post-apocalyptic Fallout 3. Martin Sheen voiced the Illusive Man, a space paramilitary leader, in 2010’s Mass Effect 2 and its 2012 sequel.

Movie and TV actors who have crossed over into video games note the similarities of performing in either medium.

Karen Fukuhara joined the cast of The Callisto Protocol, a 2022 horror survival game, a few years after starring as Kimiko in The Boys (2019 to present), a satirical superhero series.

The American actress, 32, said that she had imagined a video game casting to be like “acting you’re in a war zone or act like you’re shooting at someone”, but that she was surprised how much the experience “felt like a scene”.

Ultimately, acting is acting.

“I write down, and I build a character in the same way as I would in any role,” said British actress Melanie Liburd, 36, who was on the Emmy-winning drama series This Is Us (2016 to 2022) before being cast as a main character in last year’s video game Alan Wake II.

Although it can be exhilarating to see the acting lines blur, it is primarily happening in one direction. On-camera actors are easily slotted into games.

But prominent video game actors like Yuri Lowenthal and Troy Baker have struggled to be cast in live-action stories.

“Oh, you were in the, you know, the biggest game that came out last year,” said Lowenthal, 53.

The American voice actor has played Spider-Man as well as characters in the Saints Row, Diablo and Prince Of Persia game series. “But you won’t even be seen for a co-star on a TV show.”

Transitioning from video games to movies is considerably harder.

Colleen O’Shaughnessey, who has voiced Tails in Sonic The Hedgehog games for the past decade, was the only actor to reprise her role for the live-action movie in 2020.

The American voice actress said she did not know she was cast for the 2022 sequel until it was publicly announced by the studio.

O’Shaughnessey, 52, said she told her agents at the time that playing Tails “would be a huge win for me, but this would be an enormous win for the entire voice-over community”.

Despite the challenge long-time game actors face, many encouraged the recent arrival of more famous on-camera actors.

Lowenthal said he would not have had the opportunity to do voice work on the Afro Samurai miniseries (2007) and 2009 movie if American actor Samuel L. Jackson had not been behind the project.

“You can look at it like, oh, that person took my job,” Lowenthal said. “Or you could look at it as that person gave me a job.” NYTIMES