Famous D&D players

[maquiscat]

In research for answering a question on Quora I ran across this list of famous people who play Dungeons and Dragons.

List of notable D&D players​

The following public figures have stated that they play, or have played, Dungeons & Dragons, indicating the game's broad appeal to a diverse range of talented individuals.[2]

• Sherman Alexie, poet, novelist and young adult author
  Bill Amend, cartoonist
  Kevin J. Anderson, author
  Lee Arenberg, actor
  Mark Barrowcliffe, author
  Drew Barrymore, actress
  David Benioff, screenwriter
  Chester Bennington, musician
  Big Show, professional wrestler and actor
  Jim Butcher, author
  Ta-Nehisi Coates, author, senior editor of The Atlantic
  Stephen Colbert, Emmy Award winning comedian
  Anderson Cooper, Emmy Award television personality, news anchor author and author
  Terry Crews, actor and former football player
  Rivers Cuomo, musician
  Felicia Day, actress
  Judi Dench, actress
  Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and short story writer
  Vin Diesel, actor
  Cory Doctorow, blogger, journalist, novelist, co-editor of the blog Boing Boing
  Lexa Doig, actor
  Tim Duncan, former NBA basketball player and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
  Jon Favreau, actor, screenwriter and director
  James Franco, actor, author, director
  Ethan Gilsdorf, author, poet, teacher and journalist
  Michael Gove, conservative politician, journalist and author
  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, actor
  Matt Groening, Emmy Award-winning cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer
  James Gunn, film director and screenwriter
  Chris Hardwick, actor, writer and comedian
  Tim Harford, economist and journalist
  Brent Hartinger, author and playwright
  Dan Harmon, writer, performer and producer
  Dwayne Johnson, actor and professional wrestler
  Kimberly Kane, pornographic actress and director
  Paul S. Kemp, author
  Taran Killam, actor
  Stephen King, author
  Matthew Lillard, actor
  David Lindsay-Abaire, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and lyricist
  Michelle Malkin, conservative columnist
  Joe Manganiello, actor
  Marilyn Manson, musician
  Robert MacNaughton, actor
  George R. R. Martin, novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and television producer
  Sharon McCrumb, novelist
  China Miéville, author
  John J. Miller, political reporter
  David Mitchell, novelist
  Moby, musician
  Tom Morello, musician
  Elon Musk, entrepreneur, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors
  Mike Myers, actor
  Kumail Nanjiani, actor
  Steven Novella, podcast host, writer
  Alexis Ohanian, entrepreneur, investor
  Patton Oswalt, actor and comedian
  Trey Parker, co-creator of South Park
  Aubrey Plaza, actress
  Brian Posehn, actor and comedian
  Bruce Reyes-Chow, Presbyterian minister, writer
  John C. Reilly, theater actor, singer, and comedian
  Ed Robertson, musician
  R.A. Salvatore, fantasy novelist
  Curt Schilling, baseball player, sports broadcaster
  Kevin Smith, actor and director
  Zak Smith, artist and alternative porn star
  Steven Spielberg, film director, producer, screenwriter
  Dylan Sprouse, actor
  Martin Starr, actor
  Scott Stossel, editor of The Atlantic, author
  Rider Strong, actor
  Paul F. Tompkins, comedian and actor
  Mark Tremonti, musician
  Karl Urban, actor
  Vince Vaughn, actor
  Pendleton Ward, animator and screenwriter
  Gerard Way, musician
  D. B. Weiss, screenwriter
  Chris Weitz, producer, writer, director and actor
  Wil Wheaton, actor
  Joss Whedon, writer and director
  Robin Williams, Grammy, Emmy, and Academy Award-winning actor and comedian
  Daniel H. Wilson, author, television host, and robotics engineer
  Rainn Wilson, actor
  Deborah Ann Woll, actress
  Andrew Yang, entrepreneur, philanthropist and 2020 presidential candidate
  John Yuan, actor
  Matthew Yuan, actor

Any surprises for anyone? I'm pretty sure that some conservatives will be surprised by some of the people on this list.

 

[PoS]

In research for answering a question on Quora I ran across this list of famous people who play Dungeons and Dragons.



Any surprises for anyone? I'm pretty sure that some conservatives will be surprised by some of the people on this list.

Why would it be a surprise? People from all walks of life play tabletop RPGs. I would love to do it again, but I cant find a gaming group where Im at.

 

[maquiscat]

Why would it be a surprise? People from all walks of life play tabletop RPGs. I would love to do it again, but I cant find a gaming group where Im at.

In your case then you might be surprised at how many are looking at RPG's, and really other board games and such, as something adults don't do, not counting the uber Christians who dismiss it as Eeeeevil!

 

[PoS]

In your case then you might be surprised at how many are looking at RPG's, and really other board games and such, as something adults don't do, not counting the uber Christians who dismiss it as Eeeeevil!

The so-called Satanist controversy is overblown, imo. As a kid in the 80s, I grew up in a hardcore Christian household, and my grandma never batted an eye when I asked her for a few bucks to buy the latest D&D supplement. You can say the same thing about heavy metal too.

 

[maquiscat]

The so-called Satanist controversy is overblown, imo. As a kid in the 80s, I grew up in a hardcore Christian household, and my grandma never batted an eye when I asked her for a few bucks to buy the latest D&D supplement. You can say the same thing about heavy metal too.

As noted I was dismissing them. But there is still a lot of people I encounter who dismiss RPG's as childish or nerd/geek, and couldn't imagine such cool people like The Rock and Vin Diesel playing. A lot less nowadays though, I have to admit. Pretty much it's come down to the song "I'm The One That's Cool" by Felicia Day and the cast of The Guild.

 

[justabubba]

as with licorice candy, D&D strikes me as one of those things one either enjoys and abhors as an individual
not a whole lot of middle ground, other than acknowledging the other side has a strong opinion, too
my son, and to a lesser degree, his wife, many of their friends, and only recently my youngest grandson, spend a lot of time playing, painting/collecting figurines dice, etc
the rest of the family runs away when it is suggested we join their game

it is a very unique tribe. that cohort tends to be willing to dare to be different and imaginative; a couple of traits i suspect most of us lose as we grow into adulthood and beyond

 

[Felis Leo]

In research for answering a question on Quora I ran across this list of famous people who play Dungeons and Dragons.



Any surprises for anyone? I'm pretty sure that some conservatives will be surprised by some of the people on this list.

First, I am not surprised if only because I had seen similar lists in the past. Second, most D&D Players I know are politically conservative. Tabletop Fantasy Adventure Roleplaying Games appeal to everyone of all political stripes. It's not unlike any other pastime. Both liberals and conservatives love sports, for example.

 

[Geoist]

In your case then you might be surprised at how many are looking at RPG's, and really other board games and such, as something adults don't do, not counting the uber Christians who dismiss it as Eeeeevil!

The so-called Satanist controversy is overblown, imo. As a kid in the 80s, I grew up in a hardcore Christian household, and my grandma never batted an eye when I asked her for a few bucks to buy the latest D&D supplement. You can say the same thing about heavy metal too.

I grew up in a conservative Christian house and had to hide my Magic: the Gathering cards (especially from my dad). They insisted MTG and D&D led to contact with demons and shit. I'm still sore about it because I know I could've had quite a valuable collection. Some of those cards are now worth hundreds or even thousands each.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Why would it be a surprise? People from all walks of life play tabletop RPGs. I would love to do it again, but I cant find a gaming group where Im at.

In the 80s D&D was viewed as the work of the devil by many Christian groups in the US..

Magic, demons, false gods, monsters etc


Heck the Salvation Army does not like Harry Potter

 

[jmotivator]

Why would it be a surprise? People from all walks of life play tabletop RPGs. I would love to do it again, but I cant find a gaming group where Im at.

If I had to guess, I'd say that a confluence of the show STRANGER THINGS, and the forced isolation of COVID are both feeding the revival of shared experience, and board games and table top RPGs are just a fantastic way to spend time with friends.

I've been working recently on developing an RPG of my own since I re-acquired the table top bug. It's been an interesting learning experience.

 

[jmotivator]

In the 80s D&D was viewed as the work of the devil by many Christian groups in the US..

Magic, demons, false gods, monsters etc


Heck the Salvation Army does not like Harry Potter

I would challenge the "many". There was an overhyped minority that the news and Hollywood sensationalized. Hell, Tom Hanks famously starred in a TV movie about the evils of D&D called "Mazes and Monsters" and t had nothin to do with Christianity...

"Mazes and Monsters" was written by the Culture reporter for Cosmo!

I grew up Catholic, and all my friends families were devout Christians of various faiths and we all played D&D and nobody from any side ever said a thing. We all laughed at the media attempts to demonize the hobby.

 

[BitterPill]

In research for answering a question on Quora I ran across this list of famous people who play Dungeons and Dragons.



Any surprises for anyone? I'm pretty sure that some conservatives will be surprised by some of the people on this list.

I know Curt Schilling is big into ASL, played him several times, and he never once mentioned D&D, so I'll be sure to ask him next time we play.

MAGA.

 

[Gordy327]

Why would it be a surprise? People from all walks of life play tabletop RPGs. I would love to do it again, but I cant find a gaming group where Im at.

D&D is awesome. But you are correct in that finding a group large enough to play is difficult. Have you seen the fan made D&D web series by 1 For All on Youtube?

 

[maquiscat]

D&D is awesome. But you are correct in that finding a group large enough to play is difficult. Have you seen the fan made D&D web series by 1 For All on Youtube?

That is hilarious. I put it right up there with The Guild and Red vs Blue. Not exactly covering the same genres, but geek enough for me

 

[Gordy327]

That is hilarious. I put it right up there with The Guild and Red vs Blue. Not exactly covering the same genres, but geek enough for me

For a fan work, the quality is quite good. Definitely entertaining.

 

[Gordy327]

That is hilarious. I put it right up there with The Guild and Red vs Blue. Not exactly covering the same genres, but geek enough for me

If you like that, look up the "crap guide to D&D" on YouTube.

 

[WorldWatcher]

Actually going to see Season 2 of The Legends of Vox Machina tonight (episodes 1-3) in the theater.

WW

 

[maquiscat]

If you like that, look up the "crap guide to D&D" on YouTube.

My husband watches that regularly, so I am constantly listening to them.

 

[Gordy327]

My husband watches that regularly, so I am constantly listening to them.

They are both funny and creative.

 

[Lycanthrope]

The so-called Satanist controversy is overblown, imo. As a kid in the 80s, I grew up in a hardcore Christian household, and my grandma never batted an eye when I asked her for a few bucks to buy the latest D&D supplement. You can say the same thing about heavy metal too.

You had a very different experience than mine. My Southern Baptist mother never outright forbade my playing AD&D, but she was wholly convinced I was playing footsie with demons the entire time.

 

[PoS]

D&D is awesome. But you are correct in that finding a group large enough to play is difficult. Have you seen the fan made D&D web series by 1 For All on Youtube?

TBH, D&D was never our game of choice. That game usually needed a large group to be effective, and we could only gather around 3 players on a regular basis. We tended to play Top Secret, Gamma World, Marvel Superheroes, etc. a lot more than D&D.

I'll check out the series on YT though. Always good to see some fans on it.

You had a very different experience than mine. My Southern Baptist mother never outright forbade my playing AD&D, but she was wholly convinced I was playing footsie with demons the entire time.

Well Im not saying that never happened, I just felt it wasnt as widespread as many claimed. Then again, parents censor all sorts of things from their kids. I forbade my son from watching anything with explicit gore and violence until he turned 10.

 

[maquiscat]

TBH, D&D was never our game of choice. That game usually needed a large group to be effective, and we could only gather around 3 players on a regular basis. We tended to play Top Secret, Gamma World, Marvel Superheroes, etc. a lot more than D&D.

That wasn't the game that made it ineffective, but the DM. Now that can be an experience thing, so that comment was not to belittle the DM you had. But a good DM can run a campaign for a single player. We have done games for as little as 5 It was me, two of my shipmates, and our wives (2. the other guy was single). Us guys all had DM experience, so we did round robin DM'ing, each taking a individual adventure. Right now, my husband's dad is running a game for us and we have 9 players altogether. And that is about my, and his, limit. I would not want too big a group.

 

[PoS]

That wasn't the game that made it ineffective, but the DM. Now that can be an experience thing, so that comment was not to belittle the DM you had. But a good DM can run a campaign for a single player. We have done games for as little as 5 It was me, two of my shipmates, and our wives (2. the other guy was single). Us guys all had DM experience, so we did round robin DM'ing, each taking a individual adventure. Right now, my husband's dad is running a game for us and we have 9 players altogether. And that is about my, and his, limit. I would not want too big a group.

We were kids, and I wasnt really into fantasy anyway. We preferred guns and stuff, which was why the Top Secret RPG was very popular in our group.

 

[maquiscat]

We were kids, and I wasnt really into fantasy anyway. We preferred guns and stuff, which was why the Top Secret RPG was very popular in our group.

Yes genre can be very important. I remember playing the original Dr. Who RPG back in the day.

 

[joluoto]

Then there is of course the bunch of nerdy ass voice actors that play (almost) every week and turned it into a show, and probably started the 5e boom.