The stereotypical video gamer is an immature teenager who spends all his time in his mother’s basement, has little to no social life and can become a mass shooter by being exposed to the violence in video games.
We all have that one nerdy friend who fits the above description right? Just imagine them becoming a violent criminal or mass shooter in a few years time because that’s what they will become… at least according to the media.
It’s no surprise that over the years, gaming has risen in popularity whilst other media such as film and TV has seen their peak. Here are 5 celebrities who made gaming badass:
1. Rampage Jackson
Photo Credit: Mark Richardson
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson is an MMA fighter and former UFC champion. He shows you that you can be a gamer and kickass at the same time.
Rampage has a Twitch stream where he streams for many hours at a time (sometimes more than 6 hours) and 3 days a week. Considering that he is a professional athlete AND a family man, it’s pretty incredible how he finds this much time to play games.
2. Barack Obama
It’s been widely reported that US President Barack Obama plays video games, but what most people don’t know is that he even paid for in-game advertisements for his presidential campaign.
Photo Credit: Giant Bomb
In the car racing game: Burnout Paradise, there is a billboard with Barack Obama’s face on it along with the tag ‘Paid for by Obama for President.’ EA has confirmed that it was paid advertisement for Obama, making this the first time a US president has paid for in-game advertisements.
3. Felicia Day
Photo Credit: Mingle Media TV
A beautiful actress who streams video games — certainly matches our stereotypical image of a gamer right?
Not only does Felicia stream on Twitch, but she has an entire web series (called The Guild) which is entirely based on her life as a gamer. Oh, and here’s a quote from her Twitch channel:
“I love MMOs, RPGs especially, and Indie games on Steam.”
And yes I agree, indie games are awesome.
4. Robin Williams
Photo Credit: Eva Rinaldi
Who said adults didn’t like video games? Certainly not the stand-up comedian and actor, Robin Williams. He loved both pen-and-paper role-playing games and video games — and had actually made plans to stream on Twitch with Freddie Prinze Jr. before he tragically passed away.
However, what his love for gaming drove him to do was totally badass: He named his daughter ‘Zelda’ after Legend of Zelda, one of his favorite games of all. I think I’d be in awe if I met someone with the name ‘Zelda.’
5. Vin Diesel
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore
Actor Vin Diesel made his love for video games clear when he famously called himself the ‘alpha nerd’ of Hollywood. He loved gaming so much that he even set up a video game development company called ‘Tigon Studios.’
Tigon Studios has released four games so far (with the first being Chronicles of Riddick) whilst three more are currently under development.
Do you know any other celebrities who took being a gamer to the next level? Or perhaps someone who’s had an impact on your gaming life? Share your stories or thoughts in the comments below.
