From The Last of Us to Tomb Raider: The Best (and Worst) Video Game Casting Choices Ever
For as long as Hollywood has been adapting video games, casting has been the most revealing decision in the process, causing stirs, controversies, long-standing conversations, and, in some cases, disagreements. Does a studio actually understand the character it’s adapting, or is this going to be a disaster?
Needless to say, they’ve been both, and recent casting news has once again put that tension front and centre. Amazon recently revealed Ryan Hurst as their live-action Kratos as well as the first look at Sophie Turner as Lara Croft.
Let’s take a look at how the past has measured up…
Good: Pedro Pascal as Joel (The Last of Us, 2023-Present)
Pedro Pascal’s casting as Joel in The Last of Us- a television adaptation of Naughty Dog’s game of the same name, one of the most awarded games of all time- raised a few eyebrows. At the time, Pascal was relatively unknown. Sure, he had a small recurring role in Game of Thrones, was a regular on Netflix’s Narcos, and appeared under a mask in The Mandalorian, but even for those in the know, Pascal didn’t scream grizzled, hyper-masculine apocalypse survivor.
It soon became clear though that Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann, and HBO had made the right call. Pascal captured Joel’s stoicism, emotional exhaustion, years of suppressed grief, moral compromise, and quiet menace without feeling like a caricature. Unfortunately, is co-star Bella Ramsey wasn’t met with the same unanimous praise as Joel’s travel companion and surrogate daughter Ellie, but we’ll put that down as an honourable mention (on the good side!).
Bad: Tom Holland as Nathan Drake (Uncharted, 2022)
Tom Holland is a very capable actor- not many will dispute that. From his debut at 16 years old in the biographical disaster movie The Impossible to worldwide recognition as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the MCU. His casting as Nathan Drake though was controversial not because of his talent, but because of how the character was presented. Drake in Naughty Dog’s long-running PlayStation series is a seasoned adventurer who is charming, worn, and shaped by experience. The movie for some reason decided to go down the prequel route- resulting in a young Nathan Drake who was not quite the character we know.
The film itself isn’t bad- it’s a perfectly watchable adventure, and Holland is fine in the role- but there are several far better movies that have unintentionally captured the Uncharted spirit more effectively than Uncharted itself.
Good: Henry Cavill as Geralt (The Witcher 2019-2023)
Henry Cavill’s portrayal of Geralt of Rivia is often cited as evidence that respect for the source material matters just as much as talent. While Netflix’s The Witcher series is technically adapted from novels, it was the video games that shaped our visual understanding of the world, story, characters and our expectations of them. Cavill is a known and proud gamer, and so it was important to him not just as an actor but as a fan to represent Geralt accurately. His physical stillness, gravelly delivery, and restrained emotionality felt lifted directly from The Witcher 3.
Even as the show’s writing and direction faltered, Cavill’s casting continued to earn goodwill from fans. He was replaced by Liam Hemsworth from season 4, who garnered praise for his seamless transition into the character, but the series received criticism for deviating from the books- much the reason for Cavill’s departure.
Bad: Kevin Hart as Roland (Borderlands, 2024)
Kevin Hart’s casting as Roland in Borderlands immediately raised red flags because it directly contradicted the character and his purpose. In the games, Roland is a grounded, disciplined soldier who serves as the emotional anchor in an absurd and frightening world. Hart, on the other hand, is a high-energy comedian.
The issue wasn’t Hart’s ability as a performer, but the decision to prioritise star power and inject unnecessary comedic relief in a franchise that already has plenty of humour. It’s a classic example of Hollywood casting to sell tickets rather than make something to be proud of- and this one came post-The Last of Us, post-Fallout and post-Twisted Metal- a time where we thought video game adaptations were unanimously on their way up. Eli Roth was also kind of a weird choice to direct.
Good: Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft (Tomb Raider, 2001-2003)
Angelina Jolie’s turn as Lara Croft remains one of the most culturally successful video game castings ever, and one that fully embraced the character’s early identity. Croft was already a cultural icon thanks to her adventures on the PlayStation 1, and her first live-action outing followed suit to become iconic in its own right.
To this day, when we think of Lara Croft, we think of Angelina Jolie (you were great too, Alicia Vikander!). Jolie’s Lara was confident, hyper-competent, and unapologetically larger than life- a perfect reflection of how Lara Croft existed in the public imagination at the time.
Bad: Mark Wahlberg as Max Payne (Max Payne, 2008)
Similarly, Remedy and Rockstar’s Max Payne is a character built on internal suffering. The games rely heavily on noir narration, introspection, and a sense of emotional paralysis. Mark Wahlberg’s portrayal stripped all that away in favour of a generic action-hero performance, resulting in a character who felt hollow and disconnected from the source material. This Max Payne was someone reacting to events, rather than someone haunted by them. The film did succeed somewhat in recreating the mood and atmosphere of the games but it was messy, failed as a gripping narrative and lent too far into the supernatural elements that had no place in the original story.
Ultimately, casting is the first and clearest message an adaptation sends, and history shows that success depends on whether the casting aligns with the character’s purpose.
For Ryan Hurst as Kratos in God of War, the character is far more than brute force and bloodthirsty revenge. Kratos carries serious weight beneath the armour and hacking-and-slashing. For Sophie Turner, Lara Croft’s existing legacy on the big screen is impossible to ignore. Jolie’s version represented an era when Lara was a mythic action hero; Turner’s version will probably be much more human- perhaps taking notes from the 2013 reboot and its sequels, but the first look is unapologetically classic- sunglasses and all- so we’ll have to wait and see.
If the true essence of the characters are honoured, fans will at least be excited to show up. When it doesn’t, no amount of CGI can save it (unless you’re Sonic the Hedgehog).
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