10 Video Game Characters with Famous Doppelgangers

Tom Burke as Solid Snake

Metal Gear Series (1987-)

Were starting off with this one as its not the most famous on our list, but it is one of the more recent, with fans requesting Tom Burke even play Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid movie. This comparison gained significant popularity after Tom Burke appeared in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and Hideo Kojima (the writer and creator behind Metal Gear) gave hints to his desire to see Tom Burke as Snake in the upcoming movie. Obviously, when it comes to casting Snake, Kojima rarely gets what he wants. He couldnt get Kurt Russel for MGS3, and he couldnt get Tom Burke for the MGS movie. Suck eggs, Kojima, and also I love you.

Cameron Diaz as Mariay

Silent Hill 2 (2001)

Silent Hill 2 dropped in 2001, 3 years after Cameron Diaz starred in Theres Something About Mary, and a year after the pop culture explosion that was Charlies Angels. In the late 90s and early 2000s, Cameron Diaz was more popular than John Lennon. Which is why it makes sense that the funner, easy going, and sexually adventurous alter-ego to James Sunderland's Mary was possibly made to resemble her. Its not a direct rip, but the similarities between Maria and Cameron are undeniable.

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Bill Rizer & Sylvester Stallone as Lance Bean

Contra (1987)

I like my lists to maximize their efficiency, so technically these fellas could be different entries, but why not make the most of this list. Contra starred two protagonists, just to give player two a chance at stardom. And with it being the late 80s, there was a good chunk of action heroes to model characters off. But looking at the cover art, the modelling is a little egregious. Its almost too spot on making Bill Rizer look like an era-accurate Arnie, and modelling Lance Bean to a Rambo copy, complete with red bandana.

Conan O'Brien as Gabriel Knight

Gabriel Knight: Sins of Our Father (1993)

Likeness is one thing, but when an artist spends time with an image and it comes out looking exactly like their Dad, you know they had a model in mind. Perhaps the visual artist for Gabriel Knight: Sins of Our Father was a big late night fan. This is an interesting one, because its only REALLY one particular illustration of Gabriel Knight that looks like Conan. The character model and some other moments dont reflect him as well, but this one is pretty wild. Look at this guy! Its just sexy Conan.

Bruce Willis as Bruno Delinger

Project X Zone (2012)

Bruno Delinger leaves absolutely no room for doubt: this character is meant to be Bruce Willis. Hes the spitting image of John McClane from Die Hard, and thats no coincidence. Bruno was originally in Segas Dynamite Cop, the follow-up to Die Hard Arcade, and yes, he was intentionally modeled after McClane. Its odd for Bruce Willis to be at the front of action designers minds in 2012, but were all babies of the 90s, and Willis aint never gonna die.

Robert Pattinson as Gustav

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (2025)

Heres our newest official entry, and boy howdy is it a doozy. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a brand new and dope game, and from the moment Gustav was introduced to the world, players have been assuming that this was Robert Pattinson doing the mocap, as the resemblance is really close. Put Gustav and Pattinson (in the Lighthouse) side by side, and we have a mirror talking to itself Is that the saying? Whatever, the guy looks like the guy, shut up.

Sam Elliot as Landon Ricketts

Red Dead Redemption (2010)

Often a character's resemblance to a real-life person comes down to more than the look. Sometimes its just the way that a character carries themselves. And in the case of Landon Ricketts from Red Dead Redemption, its this attitude that resembles Sam Elliot even more-so than the look... Though the look is pretty spot on too. If a Red Dead Redemption movie ever comes into existence, can we put forward a recommendation for the legendary gunslingers casting?

Nathan Fillion as Nathan Drake

Uncharted: Drakes Fortune (2007)

Dammit, I shouldnt have used my example of a character's vibe being as comparable as the look in the last entry, because this is the peak example for this theory. You know Nathan Fillion has a striking resemblance in look and personality with Nathan Drake when a fan-made film was released with that exact casting. Nathan Drake may not have been directly modelled off Nathan Fillion, but the whole character may not have ever existed if Fillion hadnt popularised the snarky handsome gunslinger trope.

Hugh Laurie as Gordon Freeman

Half-Life (1998)

People may not remember a time before Hugh Laurie was compared to Gordon Freeman, because its become such a popular comparison today. But there were 6 long years after Half-Life was released before House skyrocketed Hugh Laurie to worldwide stardom. Now his model wasnt really popularised until 2004, the same year House dropped, but it would probably be safe to say that the Godron Freeman character model had been well and truly decided on well before this year. Unless Valve watched episode 1 of House and said QUICK! CHANGE EVERYTHING!!

Elliot Page as Ellie

The Last of Us (2013)

It's honestly uncanny how much this character resembles actor Elliot Page. With Beyond: Two Souls releasing in the same year, the resemblance actually caused even more confusion with gamers assuming this was the Elliot Page game. We're not alone in thinking this, either. Elliot Page himself expressed frustration with Naughty Dog, accusing them of borrowing his likeness for Ellie. Even after Naughty Dog made design changes during development, its still pretty damn close, and its an attitude thing as well, yknow? Its like Juno meets Zombies.