For many people, being a nerd used to be a significant threat. Nerd stereotypes have always been the same: they’re socially inept, strange, and don’t have many friends. However, the days when being a nerd was considered “uncool” are long gone. Nerd culture has now infiltrated forms of popular culture.
Many celebrities have come out in force in past few years to declare their passion of video games and comic books. Part of this is due to the recent influx of comic book movies and TV shows, which has attracted comic book fans both behind and in front of the camera. Here are 7 popular actors who are real-life nerds:
1. Kevin Smith is a Grade-A nerd
Kevin Smith is a screenwriter, director, actor, and comedian who can be deemed as one of the decade’s finest nerds. He rose to popularity with the small-scale comedy Clerks, which features many sort of semi-philisophical Star Wars quotes, and has since established himself as the world’s leading director of nerdy films. He is a well-known comic book artist and the proprietor of Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, a comic book shop. Smith presents AMC’s Comic Book Men, a reality TV show based inside his comic book shop, and co-hosts multiple weekly podcasts. He is most recognised for his performance as Silent Bob in films. You’d be hard-pressed to find a celebrity who is more nerdy and at ease in his own skin.
2. Jaimie Alexander is a big-time nerd
The stunning Jaimie Alexander plays Sif in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as we all know. She portrayed the part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Thor (2011), Thor: The Dark World (2013), and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. That does not, however necessarily imply that she is a comic book lover, primarily because she does not appear to be one. She is, though! Jaimie famously dressed up as Sif in her spare time to visit a children’s hospital, and she recently declared a very controversial fondness for Marvel’s biggest rivals in a recent interview. “I always had a cape,” she continued, “but shhhh, it was a Superman cape, don’t say anything, I’m a fan of DC comics.”
3. Game of Thrones famed Maisie Williams is a geek
Maisie Williams is an English actress who rose to prominence after winning her debut acting job in 2011’s Game of Thrones as the young Arya Stark. Williams has a lot of supporters in the geek and comic book world as the tomboy turned legendary assassin, mainly after she joined Doctor Who as Ashildr in 2015. Williams is also a big comic book lover, and her favourite character as a kid was Spider-Man. She claims to have Spider-Man posters on her walls and to have attended the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con wearing a Spider-Man disguise. She also donned a garment made entirely of recycled comic books to the same Comic-Con, thus proving that she loves comic books to the extent of wearing them.
4. Mila Kunis is an addicted video gamer
Mila Kunis, who starred in the film Black Swan, is a long-time gaming-enthusiast who has spoken openly about her obsession with World of Warcraft in several interviews. She played as Captainpicard, a magical character. She was an active participant of an online group of the game and named her World of Warcraft avatar after Patrick Stewart from Star Trek: Next Generation. Kunis also persuaded a number of her pals to sign up for World of Warcraft. The passion eventually became rather compulsive, and Kunis decided to stop playing in 2012 as it was clogging up too much of her schedule. Kunis also regularly plays the board game Settlers of Catan, which she enjoys with actress Elizabeth Banks.
5. Dame Judi Dench is no less than her younger co-star nerds.
Vin Diesel‘s passion for dungeons and dragons has become so well known thhat he isn’t a closet nerd anymore. However, his dungeon master on the sets of the Chronicles of Riddick may amaze you: it’s none other than… wait for it… Dame Judi Dench. Now contrary to common belief, Diesel did not teach Denny how to play. She already knew it because she is in contact with her grandchildren on a constant basis. One can only imagine how much fun it must be to play D&D with such a talented performer as the narrator. Dench’s nerdy pursuits, however, extend beyond tabletop role-playing games. She unabashedly asked her murder on the orient express co-star Daisey Ridley to divulge spoilers for the last jedi in a video on Josh Gad’s instagram.
6. The late, great Robin Williams was a big nerd
Countless people will always remember the eternally witty, brilliant, and flamboyant actor Robin Williams. It’s was impossible not to admire the late actor, whether he was portraying a tragic role, a skilled voiceover artist, or a funny crossdresser. Williams was hooked on to video games when he was at the peak of his stardom. He claimed to have engaged in the gaming community from the early days of Nintendo, and even named his daughter Zelda after the Legend of Zelda franchise. He was a tremendous D&D aficionado, a comic book collector, a Call of Duty player, anime fan, and a Warhammer miniature collector. Anything Williams touched, whether nerdy or not, just became trendy, and that was his power.
7. Huge part of the nerds culture: Freddie Prinze Jr.
Freddie Prinze Jr. has starred in a slew of popular films, including I Know What You Did Last Summer, She’s All That, and two Scooby-Doo films, thanks to his endearing handsomeness. He’s also been on Friends, Boston Legal, and his own show, Freddie, on television. In 2010, he joined FOX’s 24 and voiced Kanan Jarrus on Star Wars Rebels. In a revelation, Freddie claimed that he is a one of the biggest comic book nerds, admitting that comic books taught him how to read and that he reads more comic books than magazines. He also said that he owns a collection of rare and limited edition comic books, and most interestingly, he appeared alongside Betty Ross and Hulk in The Ultimates.
