Top 10 Times Actors FAILED Playing Video Game Characters

“House of the Dead 2” (2005)



In “The House of the Dead” games, Dr. Roy Curien goes from genius to insane after creating a zombie virus. During his cutscenes, the mad scientist presents himself as intimidating, confident and driven. Those characteristics were absent when Sid Haig’s played Curien in “House of the Dead 2”. Instead of being intimidating, the doctor’s weird physicality and exaggerated facial expressions make him come off like an awkward creep. Haig doesn’t help matters by delivering dialogue like he’s saying it for the first time. Ironically, his worst line readings are the ones that were clearly recorded after the movie was shot. Haig was only onscreen for a few minutes, yet still left a sour impression in an already terrible film.

“BloodRayne” (2005)



Uwe Boll’s second disaster work on this list. “BloodRayne” saw vampire-huntress Rayne in a time period that doesn’t even show up in the game. While Loken is far from the worst performer in the film, her reserved performance was at odds with the character’s badass reputation. She repeatedly lacked the energy and confidence to back up her tough performance, made even worse with her rather sloppy fight choreography. Her video game counterpart radiated confidence and could intimidate people with just one look. Rayne was a one woman army, and her style was near flawless. This version of Rayne; started with her caged up in a carnival sideshow. This was doomed from the start.

“Tekken” (2009)



Jin Kazama is one of the most serious protagonists you'll ever meet. He’s a stoic and powerful fighter who’s completely focused on bringing down his evil family. Between his intense schedule of fighting and brooding, Jin rarely has time to crack a smile. So when we saw him grin on the silver screen, we knew something was wrong. In addition to being more laid back, Jon Foo plays Jin like he’s a whiny teenager. If he wasn’t complaining, he was 100% focused on his mission...to hook up with girls. While Foo fight choreography is decent, it doesn’t make up for his melodramatic performance. His portrayal turned the edgy warrior we loved into an angsty fighter we rooted against.

“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” (2010)



It was already bad enough that Hollywood chose to whitewash the role of the Persian prince by casting Jake Gyllenhaal. But his performance solidified that his casting was the wrong choice. In the games, the prince has always been a flawed character. But his pride and sense of honor always balanced out his negative qualities. When Gyllenhaal took on the role, his obnoxious tendencies outweighed his noble qualities. He constantly talks down to princess Tamina and even jokes around when he’s in a deadly duel with his brother. Although Gyllenhaal may have been going for a lighthearted approach, he just makes the prince seem like a jerk, though Jake has since admitted he wasn’t right for the role.

“Alone in the Dark” (2005)



After Professor Aline Cedric is brought to a dangerous island in “Alone In The Dark: The New Nightmare”, she’s separated from her partner. She takes on dangerous forces with wit, sarcasm and a headstrong personality. The only thing Tara Reid got right about the character in the movie adaptation was her name. Most of Reid’s line reads are devoid of emotion. Whether she was angry, scared or sad about a coworker that was recently murdered, her tone barely changed. Reid’s clumsy line delivery also made it hard for us to believe she was really a professor. Her poor portrayal of Aline’s character was rough enough to earn Reid a razzie award for worst actress.

“Super Mario Bros.” (1993)



We’ll give the late Dennis Hopper some credit. Even after reading the awful “Super Mario Bros” script, he still committed to delivering each and every line. Unfortunately, Hopper’s bizarre approach made him stand out as the worst of the cast. He exaggerates every sentence, makes ridiculous acting choices and chews every bit of scenery he can find. Although the original Bowser is also dramatic, he can also be legitimately threatening when he wants to be. The only time Hopper scares us is when he tries to seduce women. We’re sorry Mr. Hopper, but the Bowser performance we were looking for is in another castle.

“Max Payne” (2008)



The “Max Payne” franchise produced two exceptional noir characters. There was Max, a hardened vigilante with a bitter sense of humor and Mona Sax, a cold-hearted and unflappable assassin. Unfortunately, both characters were horribly miscast. Mark Wahlberg's Max feels no different than any other generic Wahlberg character, he doesn’t even try to replicate his namesake’s trademark workplay. His bland performance makes Max look disinterested in everyone and everything. On the opposite end, Mila Kunis gave Mona more vulnerability. While her approach was understandable, it wasn’t true to the cold nature of her videogame counterpart. Although both actors normally nail their roles, their misguided interpretations of these noir characters really missed the mark.

“Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” (2009)



Kristin Kreuk’s uninspired performance as the fierce Chun-li was bad. (**xref) The inconsistent Irish accent Neal McDonagh brought to the legendary M. bison was worse. (***xref) But even they were overshadowed by Chris Klein’s “take” on Charlie Nash. In the games, Nash is a cool and calm fighter with a strong sense of justice. Klein loses his cool as soon as he walks onscreen. From that point on, every line he delivers is obnoxious and over-the-top. The performance is so out there that it feels like he’s a completely different film than his co-stars. In a cast full of lackluster street fighters, Klein is the most deserving of a game over screen.

“Street Fighter” (1994)



Just in case the double American flag tattoos didn’t tip you off, “Street Fighter’s” Guile is meant to be the patriotic all-American warrior. While he’s also known as a disciplined military man who never loses sight of his mission, his American patriotism has always been key to his character. So which American actor did they get to portray him? The...Belgian Jean-Claude Van Damme? Van Damme’s thick accent and stilted line delivery makes it impossible for us to buy that he’s American. To make matters worse, he plays Guile as a cocky and unprofessional military colonel. He even hits on Chun-Li while he’s on duty! Van Damme’s terrible acting choices didn’t come close to justifying his baffling casting.



Before we delete our top pick from our memories, here’s a dishonorable mention.



Byron Mann as Ryu

“Street Fighter” (1994)

Freddie Prince Jr. as Lt. Christopher "Maverick" Blair
“Wing Commander” (1999)



Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47
“Hitman” (2007)

“Mortal Kombat Annihilation” (1997)



Our top pick butchered her character within seconds. Musetta Vander was supposed to introduce Sindel with a bone-chilling taunt. But the incredibly over-the-top way she delivered her first line made Sindel an instant joke. When Vander wasn’t devouring the scenery with her exaggerated performance, she struggled to give us convincing fight scenes or emotions. Her take on Sindel doesn’t come close to doing the vicious, complex and powerful “Mortal Kombat” character justice. While Brian Thompson’s performance Shao Khan was also rather hammey, he at least captured the intimidating physical presence of the character. Vander’s failure to portray even one aspect of her video game counterpart correctly did more damage to Sindel than a brutal fatality ever could.