As the gap between cinema and videogames closes, actors and directors are migrating towards the platform as a way of telling stories in a new way. With Guillermo Del Toro working on the upcoming Silent Hills alongside Norman Reedus, it's becoming more commonplace to see big-name talent involved in gaming.

Here's a quick rundown of some of the biggest names that have been involved in gaming.

 

7. FABLE III - Michael Fassbender

Yes, the Bender of Fasses dipped his toe into the world of gaming when he voiced the role of Logan, the crown Prince of Albion. Fable III boasted a formidable cast of British talent, including Simon Pegg, John Cleese, Naomie Harris, Bernard Hill, Nicholas Hoult and even Ben Kingsley. It's just a shame the game was pants and the voice-acting was... well, just take a look.

 

 

 

6. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 3 - Idris Elba

Much like Fable III, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 had a similarly well-known cast of actors in key voice roles. Star Trek's Bruce Greenwood played the role of Overlord, the officer in charge of sending you around the globe while Timothy Olyphant, Idris Elba and William Fichtner voiced your squadmates. That's right, you were fighting alongside Stringer Bell, Raylan Givens and the banker guy from The Dark Knight. Amazing.

 

 

5. OBLIVION - Sean Bean

From the very start, Oblivion's world was about one thing - immersion. And by casting veteran thesps such as Patrick Stewart, Sean Bean and Terence Stamp in key roles meant that the whole game became a much more textured and layered experience. Stamp, who previously worked on Halo 3, played villain Mankor Camoran. Sean Bean, who worked on touchstone Lord of the Rings, voiced Martin Septim, one of the key characters in the story. Interesting tidbit - Lynda Carter, who played the original Wonder Woman in the TV series, voiced a number of smaller roles in the game. Her husband's one of the top brass at Bethesda.

 

 

 

4. METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN - Kiefer Sutherland

Kiefer Sutherland's had some experience playing an ex-military badass when he played Jack Bauer on 24 for several years. However, Sutherland replaced fan favourite David Hayter - who, FYI, wrote the first X-Men film all the way back in 2000 and has scripted several other blockbusters - as the voice of Solid Snake. Sutherland's gruff tones were heard over the trailer for Phantom Pain and will be used in-game.

 

 

 

3. GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS - Samuel L. Jackson

From its humble beginnings as a top-down racing / RPG game, GTA was about bringing forth the influence of cinema and film. When GTA 3 changed it to a 3D sandbox, it became even more cinematic - and had the voice cast to back it up. Vice City had a cast that included such names as Dennis Hopper, Gary Busey, Ray Liotta, BURT REYNOLDS, Debbie Harry, Tom Sizemore and Luis Guzman. The follow-up, San Andreas, boasted an equally impressive cast. Peter Fonda, Samuel L. Jackson, Sean Penn, Ice T, Charlie Murphy, Frank Vincent and James Woods all voiced major roles throughout the game.

 

2. APOCALYPSE - Bruce Willis

When Apocalypse for the PS2 was first announced, a huge song and dance was made about Bruce Willis' involvement in the game. Keep in mind that this was all the way back in 1998. Willis was still a hot property in Hollywood and commanded million dollar fees for starring in movies, never mind videogames. By all accounts, Apocalypse was the first game to truly harness the potential of using a big-name actor to hype a videogame. It's too bad Apocalypse was pretty crap.

 

1. FALLOUT - Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson's emotive, nuanced performance as the father for the playable character is considered the benchmark for voice-acting in videogames. Neeson cited his experience performing in radio plays for BBC and RTE at the start of his career as one of the reasons he signed on and, indeed, explains why he excelled in his role. Who didn't choke up when he explained why he left the vault?