Death Stranding received a pretty sizeable showing during this year's Gamescom convention which ended in a surprise reveal that The Game Awards host, Geoff Keighley would be playing a character in the game, or at least his likeness would be. Keighley's reveal isn't the first time a known personality has joined the cast and he's not the first person that won't be voicing their character.
Death Stranding's vast and ever-increasing list of A-list actors and known personalities is easily one of the most interesting things about Hideo Kojima's latest creation. From Norman Reedus to Troy Baker to Geoff Keighley, here's every actor confirmed to be in Death Stranding so far and what they're known for!
Norman Reedus
Best known for portraying the role of Daryl Dixon in AMC's The Walking Dead, Norman Reedus is the voice and face of the main protagonist, Sam Porter Bridges. Kojima first collaborated with Reedus on the reboot of Silent Hills prior to falling out with Konami in late 2015. Both Kojima and Reedus expressed their intent to collaborate on a new project immediately following the game's cancellation, officially announcing Death Stranding in a concept trailer during E3 2016.
Sam Bridges is the primary playable protagonist in Death Stranding, who works as a delivery man for Bridges, a company formed to reconnect the fractured society of the United States. Throughout Sam's journey, he is shown taking care of a Bridge Baby which he can use to access the "other-side" to temporarily see BT's, the game's primary enemies. He also has a weird urination mechanic that can be used as an attack or to grow mushrooms.
Mads Mikkelsen
Mads Mikkelsen plays the role of Cliff, a military commander and primary antagonist to Sam in Death Stranding. Mikkelsen is best known for roles in Casino Royale, Doctor Strange, Rogue One, and as the leading role in the Hannibal TV series. Kojima has been an unapologetic long-time fan of Mikkelsen's work, revealing his role during The Game Awards 2016. Cliff has been shown commanding a group of WWII-like paratrooper soldiers, leading an army of undead BT's, and calming a Bridge Baby similar to Sam's by saying, “I’ll always be with you.”
Léa Seydoux
Léa Seydoux makes her video game debut in Death Stranding as Fragile, an executive at the company Fragile Express that can be seen offering Sam a job, one that he turns down by saying "he's just a delivery person." Léa Seydoux is a French actress known for her roles in Inglourious Basterds, Midnight in Paris, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and French films Belle Épine and Farewell, My Queen.
Margaret Qualley
Margaret Qualley made a name for herself after playing the role of Jill in the HBO series, The Leftovers. She's also played major roles in films such as The Nice Guys, Netflix live-action adaptation of Death Note, and most notably in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood earlier this year. Qualley plays the role of Mama, an affiliate of Bridges that's trapped in one of their compounds after her daughter was born on the "other side."
Tommie Earl Jenkins
Tommie Earl Jenkins plays the role of Die-Hardman, the commander of Bridges, the same company that the game's protagonist Sam works for. Jenkins has had quite a prolific career with credits in film, TV, theatre and video games. Most notably, he played the Genie in the Aladdin musical alongside Ian McKellen, as the voice of Ubercorn on the TV series Go Jetters, and for various voice roles in Fallout 76, Pillers of Eternity II, and Guild Wars II.
Troy Baker
Perhaps one of the most well-known voice actors in video games today, Troy Baker has played leading roles in The Last Of Us, Bioshock Infinite, Metal Gear Solid V, and the upcoming Marvel's Avengers to name a few. Baker plays the role of Higgs, better known as the "Man in the Golden Mask." While not an antagonist himself, Higgs is an antagonistic character seen manifesting a large four-legged creature that attacks Sam. Higgs is closely affiliated with a military group called Homo Demens and like Cliff, has black goo dripping from his eyes.
Emily O'Brien
This is where the bizarre world of Death Stranding starts to move into the game's cast as well. A number of the cast members are either only lending their likeness or only lending their voice. Emily O'Brien was confirmed to be playing an unspecified role back in 2018, which is believed to be the role of Amelie, a character that is visually based on Lindsay Wagner. O'Brien is known for portraying the roles of Gamora in Telltale's Guardian's of the Galaxy, Special Agent Iman Avesta in Batman: The Enemy Within, and Y'Shtola in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
Lindsay Wagner
As mentioned above, Lindsay Wagner is playing the role of Amelie in likeness only. The now 70-year-old actress made a name for herself by playing the role of Jamie Sommers in the 1976 series, The Bionic Woman. While Wagner provided motion capture and 3D scannings for the role, Amelie is based on a younger version of the actress as the character is unable to age in Death Stranding. Amelie is an official in the United Cities of America, intended to become the next President, that is currently being held as insurance by the Homo Demens.
Guillermo del Toro
Before the infamous fallout with Konami, Academy Award-winning director, Guillermo del Toro was originally a co-director on Kojima's Silent Hills reboot, having directed films such as Pan's Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, and The Shape of Water. Del Toro will be lending his likeness to the role of Deadman, one of the main characters in Death Stranding and an affiliate of Bridges. Deadman's character will be voiced by Jesse Corti, known for roles in TV series like 24 and Heroes, and voice-work in Red Dead Redemption 2, Just Cause 4, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
Nicolas Winding Refn
Nicolas Winding Refn is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer that will be lending his likeness to the character of Heartman, a member of Bridges whose hearts stops every 21 minutes. The director of 2011's Drive and 2013's Only God Forgives will be voiced by Darren Jacobs, whose credits include Dragon Age: Inquisition, Men In Black: International, and Captain Marvel.
Geoff Keighley
Lastly, we have Geoff Keighley and Matthew Mercer. Geoff Keighley is a video game journalist that's made a name for himself for hosting The Game Awards. Keighley's likeness appears as a cameo found in Death Stranding's open-world as a holographic character and delivery recipient called the Ludens Fan. Ludens Fan is being voiced by Matthew Mercer, an actor, and director known for his work on the TV series Critical Role, as the voice of McCree in Overwatch, and Yusuke Kitagawa in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Personal 5: The Royal.
Death Stranding's Japanese voice cast also features a number of high-profile voice actors that will appease long-time fans of Kojima's work. Kenjiro Tsuda, best known for the roles of Seto Kaiba in Yu-Gi-Oh! and Hannes in Attack on Titan will be playing Reedus' role as the protagonist Sam Porter Bridges. And Metal Gear Solid veterans Akio Ōtsuka, Kikuko Inoue, Nana Mizuki, Satoshi Mikami have joined the cast as Die-Hardman, Amelie, Fragile, and Higgs respectively.
With the release of Death Stranding sitting a little over two months away, we've compiled a complete guide to the various pre-order bonuses and Collector's Editions available!
Death Stranding releases on PlayStation 4 on November 8, 2019.