There's Much More To Christopher Judge Than Just God Of War

A heartfelt and emotional acceptance speech given during The Game Awards on Dec. 8 clued the world in on one undeniable fact: there's much more to Christopher Judge than meets the eye. Judge won Best Performance for the work he did to bring Kratos to life via voice acting and motion capture. During his tearjerker of a speech, Judge walked the audience through many emotions — joy, sadness, etc. — as he discussed his journey bringing "God of War: Ragnarok" to life.

This award may be one of the biggest accomplishments of Judge's career, but it's far from his only notable one. The veteran actor has led an incredible life. The many twists and turns that have come Judge's way over the years have clearly helped mold him into the star he is today. 

Even in the world of video games, the two latest installments to the "God of War" series were far from Judge's only acting experiences. In fact, only a few years prior to "God of War: Ragnarok," Judge played the role of a Marvel superhero in "Marvel's Avengers." Here are some things every fan should know about Christopher Judge.

Outside of his role as Kratos in both 2018's "God of War" and 2022's "God of War: Ragnarok," perhaps the biggest highlight of Judge's video game career was his time spent voicing T'Challa, aka Black Panther, the Marvel king and protector of the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda. Judge took on the role in a DLC addition to 2020's "Marvel's Avengers," according to the actor's IMDB page. In addition to that role, Judge has lent his voice to games such as "World of Warcraft," "Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void," "Stargate SG-1: Unleashed," and "Turok."

Perhaps more notable than any of those roles, however, was Judge's performance as D-Mob in the "Def Jam" series of professional wrestling video games. In "Def Jam Vendetta," the player faces off with D-Mob in the ring, and Judge's deep voiced gravitas adds to the overall mood of the fight. You can watch Judge's performance during one of the game's cutscenes here. 

Judge's work extends far beyond the world of video games, however. He's also appeared in a number of films and television shows. For instance, according to the actor's IMBD page, he's made a number of small appearances in many top television shows and movies, including "The Dark Knight Rises," "The Mentalist," "NCIS: Los Angeles," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," and "21 Jump Street." 

Noteworthy among these credits was Judge's appearance on an episode of "MacGuyver." During his time on this show, Judge worked alongside actor Richard Dean Anderson. The two would later work together on "Stargate: SG-1," a show where Judge had a much more prominent role — he appeared as "Teal'c" in 213 episodes of the series. 

In addition to "SG-1," Judge was featured prominently in "Stargate: Atlantis" (where he reprised his role as Teal'c) and the animated television show "X-Men: Evolution," where he voiced one of Marvel's most prominent supervillains, Magneto. 

Interestingly, Judge was a star long before he ever entered the world of acting. During his time in college, the one-day "God of War" lead was a star football player. Notably, the actor didn't just play for some middling team in the middle of America. Rather, he played for the Pac-10's Oregon Ducks. 

According to IMBD, Judge went to Oregon on a football scholarship, led the team in various statistical categories in the 1983-1984 season, and won the Casanova Award, essentially a newcomer of the year award, in 1982. He also played in the 1985 Hula Bowl game, was a Pac-10 Conference Selection in 1984, and, during his football career, was a three-time All-American.

According to Sports Reference, in 1983, Judge (then known as Doug Judge) ranked 8th in the Pac-10 for number of kickoff returns and 5th for number of kickoff return yards (262). In the 1984 season, Judge ranked 6th in the Pac-10 in interceptions, snagging four over the course of the season.

Perhaps the most startling stop in Judge's journey was during the few years between 2018's "God of War" and 2022's "God of War: Ragnarok." Apparently, the latter was delayed after Judge suffered a catastrophic injury preventing him from even being able to walk. Judge explained the whole experience in a series of tweets posted on Sept. 29. According to Judge, the game was pushed back because he needed to have a series of surgeries. 

"I couldn't walk. Had to have back surgery, both hips replaced, and, knee surgery. They waited for me too rehab..." Judge wrote. Apparently, Sony Santa Monica Studios had Judge's back the whole time. He was eternally grateful for that. 

"No threats, no,' who do you think you are?' Nothing but love and support. And @SonySantaMonica has never said a word about the delay, and what caused it," Judge wrote. "[T]his company from top to bottom, should give us hope."

It appears that quite a bit of blood, sweat, and tears went into the creation of "God of War: Ragnarok." Given how well the game has been received, it seems that all of that work paid off. Hopefully, a return to the character of Kratos awaits Judge in the near future.