Hollywood squares
Vin Diesel
Who? - Picture a heavily anesthetised, flesh-coloured bowling ball. Et Voila: Vin Diesel. Best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise and Riddick in the, er, Riddick series, Big Vin has also lent his considerable talents/bassy whale noises to Guardians of the Galaxy and The Iron Giant.
Gaming street cred - According to the big man himself, Diesel's geekery began with tabletop gaming, an activity into which he admits pouring countless hours. Next came video games, including a small but significant number of his own creations, including the critically acclaimed Xbox shooter Escape From Butcher Bay. Diesel's Tigon Studios has since worked on three more titles, including the underwhelming Wheelman, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (released alongside an updated Butcher Bay) and a Riddick iOS adventure, before shutting down and later recommencing work in September of 2013.
Favourite games? - While Vin's D&D obsession is well documented, the man's video gaming habits remain something of a mystery. That being said, we do know that Diesel plays World of Warcraft, having released a video of himself roaming the lands of Azeroth alongside the late Paul Walker.
Ronda Rousey
Who? - The dominant power in women's MMA, Rousey remains best known for her unusual fight celebrations, which typically involve pulling someone's arm off and then using it to high five everyone in attendance. She's also appeared in a number of big budget Hollywood action movies, including Furious 7 and The Expendables 3.
Gaming street cred - Rousey has spoken at length regarding her obsessive love of Pokmon games, having owned every iteration of the franchise to date, including titles hailing from the same generation, i.e. both Red and Blue. Speaking of Blue, Rousey's first dip into the Pokmon series currently logs well over 200 hours of gameplay, just for that one title alone. Multiply that by 24 mainline and dozens more spin-off titles and you have one truly hardcore gamer.
Favourite games? - Anything vaguely Pokmon, with the exception of Pokmon Pinball.
Daniel Craig
Who? - A man so fantastically British he even has the White Cliffs of Dover for a face, sort of. Craggy, weather worn and yet somehow massively enchanting, Craig portrays the current iteration of James 'the STI conveyor belt' Bond.
Gaming street cred - In between stints of saving Britain, hitting the gym and/or inspiring mass hysteria down at the beach, Craig admits to wiling away the hours within a number of expansive and narrative-heavy video games. Action titles are also fair game, though somewhat quicker to outstay their welcome. "Those ultra-violent ones I can play for half-an-hour and then I feel dirty. Vice City, for example - I think, Oh yes, all right, Ive stolen 18 cars. Ive had enough now". What a guy.
Favourite games? - Halo, Red Dead Redemption, Guitar Hero
Henry Cavill
Who? - Kal-El, son of Jor-El, hails from the planet Krypton. His hobbies include flying, costume design and violent chiropractic medicine. Sorry, Zod.
Gaming street cred - Cavill's love of gaming is probably best expressed by the following Superman-related anecdote. Having already auditioned for the role, Cavill was nervously awaiting news of his casting when director Zack Snyder called up at an inopportune moment. I saw it was him [on the line] but the thing is, you cant save World of Warcraft, you cant pause it. Its live". Suffice to say that Cavill opted to carry on playing, only returning the call and accepting the job offer of a lifetime later that day. Hats off to you Henry.
Favourite games? - World or Warcraft, Skyrim
Snoop Dogg
Who? - An advanced human-pooch hybrid, capable of laconic, laid back rap. Snoop currently heads up the Feisman institute for lingual research, where he is presently engaged in the 10-year development of a suitable rhyme for 'orange'.
Gaming street cred - The 'D-O-double-G' has been skirting the player/player divide for a long old time, having even attempted to get his own GTA clone - aka Fear & Respect - off the ground back in the mid-2000s. Snoop has also appeared in a range of other games, including True Crime: Streets of New York, Def Jam: Fight for NY and as a special announcer in 2013's Call of Duty: Ghosts. What's more, the iconic Californian-born rapper even started up his own musicians-only games tournament - the Hip-Hop Gaming League - hosting the last such event in 2007.
Favourite games? - Madden, NBA2K, FIFA
Will Arnett
Who? - Prolific comedy actor best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in Arrested Development and as the voice of Batman in The Lego Movie. Founding member of the Magician's Alliance.
Gaming street cred - Unlike the vast majority of the preening celebrity pitch men brought in to shill video games, Will Arnett is an actual bona fide gamer. So much so in fact that the man's short-lived XBL comedy series 'Game Chat' was actually dreamed up by Arnett himself. The show's core concept - that of 3 friends hanging out and playing brand new video games (Xbox marketing's contribution) - was partially inspired by the actor's own experiences of playing online. So, just who does a man like Will Arnett choose to party up with - well, just about anyone really, as the comic admits he's never once been outed online. More regular teammates include fellow actors Jason Bateman, Jerry O'Connell, and Justin Theroux.
Favourite games? - Call of Duty, Zoo Tycoon, Forza Motorsport
Danny Wallace
Who? - Spiky-haired humourist Danny Wallace is best known for his imaginative and high-concept comedy ideas. What Danny won't tell you is that he actually nabbed these designs from the future and has in fact been following his own version of Biff Tannen's Sports Almanac all along. Concepts include Are You Dave Gorman - in which Wallace and his titular buddy attempts to track down men of the same name, Join Me - following the author's attempts to inspire random acts of kindness, which of course resulted in a cult, and Yes Man - in which Wallace forced himself to accept to every request made of him. Hollywood later turned this project into an unremarkable Jim Carrey picture of the same name.
Gaming street cred - Back in the 90s Wallace wrote for a succession of gaming publications, including Sega Power, GamesMaster and Superplay. Later, he appeared as a character in the Assassin's Creed series, playing the role of Shaun Hastings in 6 successive sequels. Wallace also provided the voice of the narrator in the 2012 indie hit Thomas Was Alone - a part for which he later received a British Academy Game Award.
Favourite games? - Hide & Seek, apparently.
Dara Briain
Who? - An ebullient Irish comic, Briain also hosts the long running TV panel show Mock the Week. A household name in the United Kingdom, Briain once tried to translate the dreary, mathematical, non-exploding bits of high school science into mainstream TV. He failed, or err... succeeded, depending on how you look at it.
Gaming street cred - Briain hosted the British Academy Game Awards for a whopping six years in a row, and has admitted that his familiarity with the medium often surprised organisers more used to dealing with less involved hosts. Not only that, but the celebrated stand up has also incorporated many game-related jokes into his regular comic routines, discussing everything from 'video game logic' to outdated views on the hobby.
Favourite games? - Metal Gear Solid, Mass Effect 2, Skyrim, Portal, FIFA
Mila Kunis
Who? - Mila Kunis may sound like the name of a bizarre Eastern European delicacy, probably composed of some old spinach, cow's eyes and gruel, but she's actually a female human - who acts! Yes, Mila has appeared in all sorts of fare over the years, from light-hearted comedies, to the occasional sci-fi mega flop. Oh and she's also responsible for voicing Meg Griffin in Family Guy. Lucky girl.
Gaming street cred - Technically speaking, Kunis may well fall into the 'lapsed gamer' category, though given the dates involved, it's clear that the actress was still playing away up until a relatively short time ago. This was no Candy Crush addiction either, Kunis was a big time World of Warcraft enthusiast, oftentimes engaging in all-day play sessions. Sadly, it seems that over time many of Kunis' friends moved on from the title, eventually gutting the fun factor and forcing Mila to bid her adieus to Azeroth.
Favourite games? - World of Warcraft, Settlers of Catan
Jack Black
Who? - The archetypal slacker made good, Jack Black divides his time between acting, comedy and music making, combining all three in the character of Jables, lead singer for the comic rock band Tenacious D.
Gaming street cred - Jack Black may well be the least surprising entrant on this list, what with his working relationship with Double Fine Studios and general 'gamer guy' vibe. Black asserts that his interest in gaming began with the original Space Invaders and continued on until at least the time of the original Xbox - though given his involvement in the industry these days, it's entirely possible he's playing as hard as ever. He once sent a picture of himself 'flipping the bird' to the good folks at Bizarre Creations while standing next to an expert mode completion screen. His reasoning: "[Project Gotham Racing] was so fucking hard to conquer on expert mode, to get all Platinum medals in all the events. I was so angry at them for making something so hard that when I conquered it I took a picture [] that proved I conquered it. Now who hasnt thought about doing that?
Favourite games? - Project Gotham Racing, Scramble, Marble Madness
Dave Chappelle
Who? - An enormously successful stand up comedian and star of the cult hit sketch show that bears his name. Chappelle's 'Tyrone Biggums' remains the Internet's number one choice in famished crackhead meme making.
Gaming street cred - Chappelle has been known to make reference to video games as part of his stand up comedy routine, and has also parodied the medium on Chappelle's Show. Most notable is his on-point pastiche of the ultra-violent world of Grand Theft Auto, complete with erratic animations and everyday car-jacking antics.
Favourite games? - World of Warcraft, Grand Theft Auto
Seth Rollins
Who? - An evil, leather-clad, play-fighting champion. Rollins refers to himself as 'the future of the WWE' and maintains a strong, if entirely scripted contempt for The Daily Show's Jon Stewart. Styles himself after Pep Le Pew.
Gaming street cred - Rollins recently appeared on fellow pro-wrestler Xavier Woods' YouTube show, sitting down to play Turtles in Time while discussing his video gaming habits. The self-proclaimed 'Architect of The Shield' - that's the tag-team, not the cop show, admitted to being something of a rage-filled perfectionist during his youth, routinely smashing TV sets after failing to maintain optimum stats within Madden. One noteworthy incident involved a young Rollins - real name Colby Lopez - violently snapping after a buddy made the mistake of mocking the defeated perfectionist. Aggressive, narcissistic, and with an obvious contempt for his friends, it's easy to see how the slimy Seth Rollins character came about.
Favourite games? - The Madden series, Turtles in Time, Batman: Arkham Knight
