God Of War star Christopher Judge on breaking the glass ceiling: ‘Society told me I was ugly, too big and too black’
Christopher Judge is on a winning streak, after taking home the top performer prizes at The Game Awards in LA (gaming’s equivalent of the Oscars) in December and the best lead performer at the BAFTA Games Awards in London this week. But his success hasn’t been easily won.
Speaking to Sky News on the BAFTA red carpet, the God Of War and Stargate SG-1 star admits: “I grew up looking in the mirror and society told me I was ugly, told me I was too big, too black.”
Kratos. Pic: God Of War
He says the day that changed, was the day he got the role of vengeful demigod Kratos in PlayStation action epic God Of War, the highest-rated PlayStation 4 game for the majority of 2018.
Based loosely on Norse mythology, the second era of God Of War has been the big winner at both The Game Awards and the BAFTA Games Awards, dominating each ceremony.
Judge says it’s a role he never expected to get: “I’ll be 60 next year and to get this when I thought my career would be winding down, it’s a dream come true. I waited 35 years for this part and it almost seems unfair that I’m getting gifts because I got a gift of this part.”
A college football player, he moved from sport to showbiz after graduating, winning early roles in shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, 21 Jump Street and MacGyver.
He also starred in Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises and as regular character Teal’c of Chulak in military science fiction TV series Stargate SG-1.
But after 10 years and over 200 episodes, Stargate was cancelled in 2007. Judge found himself once again searching for work. And with the sci-fi and fantasy genres not known for their proliferation of black leading characters, it was an uphill struggle.
But after finding success in God Of War, it’s a struggle Judge is determined to lessen for future generations of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) performers.
Judge in Stargate SG-1
Last year, Judge hosted a panel titled Elevating Black Voices in Sci-Fi, speaking to a multi-generational group of African-American creatives about the fight for representation in the genre.
He explains: “Change always happens slower than we want it to, but I think it’s so important to always call it out, to stay the course and to give young people [opportunities]. Like, we’re taking you to the door to finally make these changes. So, hopefully, we have set the stage, if it’s not done in our careers, they can continue the journey through.”
He credits Santa Monica Studio – the video game developers behind the God Of War series – with being part of that change: “I have to say the leader of our studio is an Asian woman [PlayStation dev Yumi Yang]. And we do have producers that are of colour and our diversity as far as women and the LGBTQ+ community… I would like to say is probably unrivalled and we are all so proud of that. But it’s still a meritocracy. We hire the people that deserve to be there.”
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Referring to a small but vocal negative fan reaction to the casting of his God Of War Ragnarok co-star Laya DeLeon Hayes, he said: “Our producers… they took a lot of s**t for hiring Laya to play Angrboda [known as the “mother of monsters” in Norse mythology], but they never wavered.
“They never once thought, ‘Well, maybe we should do…’ No, she was the best person for the job and she got it. And that’s who Sony Santa Monica is from top to bottom. And I’m so proud to be a part of that.”
In addition to impressing her colleagues, DeLeon Hayes has swiftly proved her detractors wrong by adding to God Of War’s BAFTA haul, and taking home best performer in a supporting role.
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But despite leading the charge for change, Judge admits he’s only recently felt confident enough as a performer to speak out.
“Still in my mind, I waited too long,” he says. “So, I’m paddling upstream, I’m trying to make up for lost ground for all the years that I had success and didn’t say s**t, I was afraid of losing my position.
“But that’s the insidious thing about this ceiling – you live in fear of losing what you’ve achieved. And now that I live without fear, I have no excuse to not be a leading voice in it.”
A family man (Judge has a son, Cameron, who is a Canadian football linebacker in the Canadian Football League), Kratos’s story in the most recent game has deepened from two-dimensional to a touching depiction of fatherhood, as well as being a son.
Norse gods and giant monsters. Pic: Game Of War
Judge says in some ways the role has helped him get more in touch with himself and look past previous traumas to appreciate just how much he has achieved: “The difference with Ragnarok 2018 was more about my kids and from within me. This one was truly my story.
“I grew up looking in the mirror and society told me I was ugly, told me I was too big, too black, too whatever. So, I felt that I didn’t deserve love, which made me incapable of loving others.
“I literally got this job right after the first time I looked in the mirror and said, ‘I love you’. And it’s truly been just blessings ever since.”
So, now he’s at the top of his career, and receiving accolades and awards to prove it, where does he put all his trophies?
It’s a question Judge already thought about: “I’m actually redesigning my office… I’m having a little case made for this incredible run [of award wins],” adding with a smile, “so it will be prominently displayed at all my Zooms now.”
The BAFTA Games Awards is part of the London Games Festival, which runs until Saturday 8 April.
Drummer Zak Starkey has said he is “surprised and saddened” after parting ways with The Who following recent charity shows at the Royal Albert Hall.
The musician, who is the son of The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and his first wife, Maureen Starkey, had been with the band since 1996, when he joined for their Quadrophenia tour.
He was introduced to drumming as a child by “Uncle Keith” – The Who drummer and family friend Keith Moon, who died in 1978.
Pic: Carsten Koall/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Earlier this week, the band issued a statement saying a “collective decision” had been made about his departure. It came after their Teenage Cancer Trust shows in March.
A review of one gig, published in the Metro, suggested frontman Roger Daltrey – who launched the annual gig series for the charity in 2000 – was “frustrated” with the drumming during some tracks.
Now, Starkey has issued a statement to Rolling Stone, saying he is “very proud” of his near 30 years with The Who.
“Filling the shoes of my Godfather, ‘Uncle Keith’ has been the biggest honour and I remain their biggest fan,” he said. “They’ve been like family to me.”
In January, Starkey suffered a blood clot in his right leg and a performance with his other band Mantra Of The Cosmos – which also features Shaun Ryder and Bez from Happy Mondays, and Andy Bell of Ride and Oasis – was cancelled.
Referencing this in his statement to Rolling Stone, Starkey said: “I suffered a serious medical emergency with blood clots in my right bass drum calf. This is now completely healed and does not affect my drumming or running.”
He continued: “After playing those songs with the band for so many decades, I’m surprised and saddened anyone would have an issue with my performance that night, but what can you do?”
Starkey said he planned to “take some much needed time off with my family” and focus on the release of Mantra Of The Cosmos single Domino Bones, which features Noel Gallagher, as well as his autobiography.
“Twenty-nine years at any job is a good old run, and I wish them the best,” he added.
Starkey has also previously played with Oasis, Lightning Seeds and Johnny Marr.
While Daltrey starts a solo tour at the weekend, The Who have two shows planned for Italy in July but no full tour. Details of a replacement for Starkey have not been announced.
Entertainment
Muscles from Brussels Jean-Claude Van Damme sends ‘big kiss’ to Putin with ambassadorial job request
Jean Claude Van Damme appears to have told Vladimir Putin that he wants to come to Russia as an ‘”ambassador of peace”.
In a bizarre video posted on Telegram by a pro-Russian journalist from Ukraine, a man purporting to be the Hollywood action hero said he would be “honoured” to take on such a role.
Addressing the Kremlin leader directly, he said: “We want to come to Russia. We’ll try to do this the way you want to do this – to be an ambassador of peace.”
It would not be the first time the man nicknamed “The Muscles from Brussels” has visited Russia.
In 2010, he enjoyed ringside seats alongside Putin at a mixed martial arts event in Sochi.
The Belgian-born former bodybuilder shares a love of fighting with the Russian president, who is himself a judo black belt, and they are said to have known each other for years.
Tiptoeing around the topic of Russia’s war in Ukraine and its ongoing stand-off with the West, Van Damme promised to talk “only about peace, sport and happiness” and not politics, before signing off the video with a “big kiss for Putin”.
Most celebrities have turned their back on Vladimir Putin since he launched his invasion in February 2022 but a handful continue to defend him. Of those, American actor Steven Seagal is the most high profile.
The Under Siege star, who holds a Russian passport and is a frequent visitor to the country, acts as Moscow’s special representative for Russian-US humanitarian ties.
But when we caught up with him at Putin’s latest presidential inauguration last year, he refused to say why he supports the Kremlin leader…
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Steven Seagal calls Sky’s question about Putin ‘stupid’
Entertainment
Gossip Girl and Buffy star Michelle Trachtenberg died as a result of complications from diabetes, medical examiner says
Gossip Girl actress Michelle Trachtenberg died as a result of complications from diabetes, New York City’s medical examiner has said.
The 39-year-old, who was also known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harriet the Spy, was found dead at her home in New York City after officers responded to a 911 call on 26 February.
According to a source quoted by Sky News’ US partner network NBC, she had recently received a liver transplant.
At the time of her death, officials said no foul play was suspected, and the medical examiner’s office had listed her death as “undetermined”.
Trachtenberg’s family had objected to a post-mortem, which the medical examiner’s office honoured because there was no evidence of criminality.
But the medical examiner’s office said in a statement on Thursday it amended the cause and manner of death for the actress following a review of laboratory test results.
Trachtenberg was best known for her role as Dawn Summers in Buffy, the younger sister of the title character played by Sarah Michelle Gellar between 2000 and 2003.
Michelle Trachtenberg. Pic: AP
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Between 2008 and 2012, she played Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl – the malevolent rival of Blake Lively’s Serena van der Woodsen and Leighton Meester’s Blair Waldorf.
She also starred in the movie 17 Again, where she portrayed daughter Maggie O’Donnell, comedy film Eurotrip and the 2005 teen film Ice Princess.
In 2001, she received a Daytime Emmy nomination for hosting Discovery’s Truth or Scare.
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