God Of War star Christopher Judge on breaking the glass ceiling: ‘Society told me I was ugly, too big and too black’

Published

1 year ago

April 2, 2023

admin

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.”

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.

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.”

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.

Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts

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.

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.

Entertainment

Tom Brady vows to be ‘better parent’ after Netflix roast tore into divorce

Published

17 hours ago

May 16, 2024

admin

Tom Brady vows to be 'better parent' after Netflix roast tore into divorce

Tom Brady has promised to be “a better parent” after a Netflix comedy special poked fun at his divorce.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion appeared on The Roast Of Tom Brady, where comedians like Kevin Hart tore into his split from Gisele Bundchen in 2022 after 13 years.

While the 46-year-old said he “loved when the jokes were about me,” Brady told The Pivot Podcast that he “didn’t like the way it affected my kids”.

“It’s the hardest part about, like the bittersweet aspect of when you do something that you think is one way and then all of a sudden you realise ‘I wouldn’t do that again’ because of the way that it affected, actually, the people I care about the most in the world,” he said.

“It makes you, in some ways, a better parent going through it ’cause again sometimes you are naive. You don’t know, or you get a little like, ‘oh shit’.”

Brady has two children – Benjamin, 14, and Vivian, 11 – with Bundchen. He also is a father to a third child, 16-year-old John, with actress Bridget Moynahan, who he dated until 2006.

‘Single life is what you deserve’

Hart, who hosted the Netflix special, kicked off proceedings by referencing their split, saying: “Single life is what you deserve because you had no choice.

“Gisele gave you an ultimatum. Gisele said ‘you retire or we’re done’. That’s what she said to you, Tom. ‘You retire, or we’re done’.

“Let me tell you something. When you got a chance to go eight, nine, and all it will cost is your wife and your kids, you gotta do what the f*** you gotta do.”

Nikki Glaser also fired jabs at Brady’s divorce, saying: “Five-time Super Bowl MVP, most career wins, most career touchdowns.

“You have seven rings. Well, eight, now that Gisele gave hers back.”

‘Roast taught me a good lesson’

Brady also told the podcast that as a parent, “you just don’t see the full picture all the time,” and added the roast taught him “a good lesson”.

“I’m going to be a better parent as I go forward because of it,” he added. “And at the same time, I’m happy everyone who was there had a lot of fun.”

Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, David Beckham shared he texted Brady to check on him after the roast aired, saying: “I know Tom well and I must admit, I did fire him a message just to check if he was okay.

“He’s more than okay, but yeah, it was hard to watch.”

Brady, who is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback ever, played 20 regular seasons with the New England Patriots and three regular seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, during which he won the Super Bowl seven times and was a three-time runner up.

Entertainment

Stars say Kevin Spacey should return to acting after ‘seven years of exile’

Published

1 day ago

May 16, 2024

admin

Stars say Kevin Spacey should return to acting after 'seven years of exile'

Hollywood stars have begun campaigning for Kevin Spacey to resume his acting career “after seven years of exile”.

Sharon Stone, Liam Neeson and Stephen Fry are among the names speaking up for the Oscar-winner following the release of a Channel 4 documentary levelling fresh allegations against 64-year-old Spacey, which he denies.

The Oscar-winning actor was one of Hollywood’s biggest names when allegations of sexual misconduct were made in 2017, leading Netflix to cut all ties with him at the height of his House of Cards fame.

Despite being acquitted of numerous sexual offences after a trial in London, and winning a US civil lawsuit in which he was accused of making an unwanted sexual advance, Spacey said he still feels ostracised from the industry.

Basic Instinct star Stone told the Telegraph: “I can’t wait to see Kevin back at work. He is a genius. He is so elegant and fun, generous to a fault, and knows more about our craft than most of us ever will.”

The 66-year-old said it was clear aspiring actors had “wanted and want to be around him”.

She added: “It’s terrible that they are blaming him for not being able to come to terms with themselves for using him and negotiating with themselves because they didn’t get their secret agendas.”

Taken and Star Wars actor Neeson, 71, told the paper: “Kevin is a good man and a man of character. Personally speaking, our industry needs him and misses him greatly.”

British actor and writer Fry said Spacey had been both “clumsy and inappropriate” on many occasions, but to “devote a whole documentary to accusations that simply do not add up to crimes… how can that be considered proportionate and justified?”

The 66-year-old said Spacey’s reputation had been “wrecked”, adding: “Surely it is wrong to continue to batter a reputation on the strength of assertion and rhetoric rather than evidence and proof?

“Unless I’m missing something, I think he has paid the price.”

A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: “Spacey Unmasked is an important film exploring the balance of power and inappropriate behaviour in a work environment, aiming to give a voice to those who have previously been unable to speak out.”

Spacey won two Academy Awards as best supporting actor for The Usual Suspects in 1996 and best actor in 2000 for American Beauty, which also scored him a BAFTA for leading actor.

Last year, Spacey was found not guilty by a jury of nine sexual offences alleged by four men between 2001 and 2013 after a trial in London.

He also won a US civil lawsuit in October 2022, after being accused of an unwanted sexual advance at a party in 1986.

Spacey says he has struggled to get work despite his acquittals, branding his experience a “life sentence”.

Entertainment

Rust weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez appeals against conviction over fatal shooting on Alec Baldwin film set

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2024

admin

Rust weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez appeals against conviction over fatal shooting on Alec Baldwin film set

The weapons supervisor for the Western film Rust is appealing against her conviction for involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on set, according to court documents.

Hannah Gutierrez was jailed in April after being found guilty by jurors following a trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the US.

She was in charge of weapons during the production of the film in October 2021, when a Colt 45 revolver fired by actor and co-producer Alec Baldwin went off during a rehearsal.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died, while director Joel Souza was injured.

A defence lawyer for Gutierrez, who is serving an 18-month sentence at a prison for women in New Mexico, filed a shortly worded appeal notice on Monday.

Her legal team has 30 days to submit detailed arguments. They previously requested a new trial following the verdict.

Gutierrez’s trial was told she unwittingly brought live ammunition to the set, where it was expressly prohibited, and failed to follow basic gun safety protocols.

During her sentencing hearing, she told the court she had tried to do her best while working on the production, despite not having “proper time, resources and staffing”.

Alec Baldwin case latest

Baldwin, who was a producer for the film as well as its star, has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

He maintains he pulled back the gun’s hammer – but not the trigger – before it fired, and is set to face trial in July. He denies any wrongdoing.

The 66-year-old was originally charged in January 2023, more than a year after the shooting, but those charges were dropped a few months later. He was charged again in January this year.

His legal team has filed a motion calling for the charges to be dropped. Prosecutors responded with a 32-page document claiming that footage of the star on set shows he had “absolutely no control of his own emotions” and “no concern for how his conduct” affected those around him.

Assistant director David Halls, who also faced charges, entered a plea bargain for negligent use of a deadly weapon last year, receiving a six-month suspended sentence.

Filming of Rust resumed last year in Montana – with Baldwin reprising his role as the main character – after an agreement made Ms Hutchins’s widower an executive producer.