Golden Globe winner Martin Sheen. Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo. "The Matrix" siren Carrie-Anne Moss. "Chuck" star Yvonne Strahovski. Seth Green. Freddie Prinze Jr. Tricia Helfer. It's like a Who's Who of cool. But these aren't the stars of Hollywood's next blockbuster -- they're just a few of the big names lending their talents to the biggest video game release of the month, "Mass Effect 3."
Yes, forget the cinema; these days the biggest names in film are doing their best work right in your own living room -- and you're the director. And "Mass Effect 3," which arrives in stores today, is just the latest game to feature celebrity mega-wattage. Need proof? Then check out our list of the nine biggest stars to lend their voice talents to video games.
9. Michael Fassbender, 'Fable III'
Most of the folks on our list were already stars when they were tapped by the gaming crowd. Fassbender, on the other hand, was still pretty much an unknown when he provided the voice of the evil King Logan for 2010's "Fable III," having just come to people's attention for "Inglorious Basterds." Now that he's an A-list star, expect to see him command even bigger roles in the video game market. "Shame: The RPG," anyone?
8. Max von Sydow, 'The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'
2011 was the year for veteran actor Max von Sydow. First he provided both the narration for "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" as well as the voice of badass bodyguard Esbern; then he did a 180 and earned an Oscar nomination for playing a character with no voice at all in "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close." Considering he's 82 years old, we have to say he handled this new fangled video game thing pretty darn well.
7. Ray Liotta, 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'
No developer has pushed the limits of what a game can be more than Rockstar Games, and no franchise has broken more boundaries when it comes to voice acting (and everything else) than "Grand Theft Auto." Case in point: 2002's "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," which featured Ray Liotta in one of gaming's first high-profile voice acting gigs by a Hollywood star. Fans loved his character work on Tommy Vercetti so much, many of his one-liners are still widely quoted today. Just try stepping in front of our car and you'll see exactly what we mean.
6. Kiefer Sutherland, 'Call of Duty: World at War'
Thanks to his years playing hardboiled face-breaker Jack Bauer on "24," Kiefer Sutherland's signature growl has become synonymous with all-American butt-whupping. So it's only fitting that 2008's "Call of Duty: World at War" featured Sutherland as Corporal Roebuck, leader of a Marine squad tasked with rescuing your sorry ass from the Japanese during World War II. Kiefer Sutherland: making the world safe for democracy one decade at a time.
5. Mark Hamill, 'Batman: Arkham City'
Mark Hamill is best known to many as Luke Skywalker, but for an entire generation of fans, he answers to a very different but no less iconic name: The Joker. It's only natural that after 19 years providing the voice of Batman's number one villain in cartoons and video games, his final role as the Joker, in 2011's "Batman: Arkham City," is his finest yet. With apologies to the late, great Heath Ledger, nobody does that laugh like Hamill. When it comes to video games, the Force was definitely with him.
4. Andy Serkis, 'Heavenly Sword'
For the last decade, Andy Serkis has been Hollywood's go-to guy for motion capture CGI, as his acting has powered everything from "The Lord of the Rings" to "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" to "Tintin." The 2007 video game "Heavenly Sword" finally let Serkis -- not just his voice, but a rendering of the man himself -- come to the forefront as the evil King Bohan. And as you might expect, he's just as awesome as a human as he is playing a monkey or a whatever-the-hell-Gollum-is. Hey, if Hollywood won't give him his due, gamers will be happy to.
3. Liam Neeson, 'Fallout 3'
Admit it: Part of you secretly wants Liam Neeson to be your dad. It's cool. Hell, after seeing him kick righteous ass in "Taken," even your dad wants Neeson to be your dad. Well, in 2008's "Fallout 3," Neeson made your dreams come true -- as long as your dreams also included being stuck in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Right from the opening scene, Neeson's soothing, familiar voice pulled you into the game. And getting to fight mutant zombie killers with Neeson watching your back? Sorry, Dad, but this Father's Day, we're sending our cards to Liam.
2. Samuel L. Jackson, 'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'
Samuel L. Jackson has one of the most recognizable voices in Hollywood -- a voice that, even at its best, is full of barely contained menace. And all of that menace came bubbling out to awesome effect in 2004's "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," with Jackson playing one of the most memorable villains in video game history, the crooked cop known as Sergeant Frank Tenpenny. From secretly dealing crack to murdering his fellow cops to extorting protection money from street gangs, there was nothing too low for Tenpenny, and the fact that he did it all with Jackson's inimitable voice made it all the more chilling.
1. Martin Sheen, 'Mass Effect 2'
Is he a good guy doing what is necessary? Or a bad guy using the player to further his own secret agenda? Or do notions of good and bad not matter when you're dealing with the shady power broker known as The Illusive Man? Whatever your view of Martin Sheen's instantly iconic character from 2010 "Mass Effect 2," one thing is certain: It ranks up there as one of Sheen's best performances, no small feat for a guy who has "Apocalypse Now" and "West Wing" on his resume. Add in the fact that the video game medium allowed the artists to portray Sheen not as he is now, but as he was 30 years ago in his prime, and you have a performance that opens up a whole new second career act for countless Hollywood greats. We can't wait to see how he tops himself in "Mass Effect 3."
