Celebrities Talk Video Games
LOS ANGELES, May 22, 2006 -- -- ABCNEWS.com has been telling you about the bevy of celebrities who came out to promote games, products and themselves at the biggest video game trade show in the world, the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
Some, like Steven Spielberg, just came to play and were in and out before most of the show's 60,000 attendees even knew they were there.
Others, like Paris Hilton, made scheduled appearances, and even though not all showed up on time -- Hilton was reportedly an hour-and-a-half late to promote her own game -- they still drew large crowds and flashing cameras.
Both on the show floor and at the many red carpet parties surrounding the event, celebrities used to talking about movies, TV shows, music and sports, spent the week talking about one of America's favorite pastimes: video games.
50 Cent
Rap superstar, film actor and all-around huggable teddy bear, 50 Cent made an appearance at E3 to promote Gamer Graffix, a company that makes skins to personalize video game consoles and handhelds.
No stranger to video games, 50 has his own title, "50 Cent: Bulletproof" available for current generation consoles.
Though he admits he's not as skilled a gamer as he is a rapper, he says he has powerful means of persuasion that help him end up on top when he plays.
Click here to see ABCNEWS.com's E3 interview with 50 Cent.
Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk has a hugely popular series of skateboarding games available for virtually every conceivable video game console and handheld on the market, but with all the other celebrities around, you still might think his presence at E3 would go almost unnoticed. But the 38-year-old father of three drew some of the biggest crowds at the show -- especially when he was shredding up the half-pipe Activision had set up for him and a few other pro-skaters and BMXers.
Surrounded by cameras and microphones, Hawk spoke about how his sons love playing his games, but mostly because they get to control their father, making him wear ridiculous costumes and falling down -- in the games of course.
Click here to listen to ABCNews.com's E3 interview with Tony Hawk.
Jenny McCarthy
Gaming geeks can rest comfortably knowing that there were not only hordes of women gamers at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, but that the beautiful Jenny McCarthy was one of them.
The blonde bombshell was on hand at Xbox's booth to play online with gamers on the Xbox 360 and to undoubtedly swat down marriage proposals.
McCarthy says that not only is she a gamer, but that she's so hardcore she's gone through a number of Xboxes over the years.
Click here to see ABCNews.com's E3 interview with Jenny McCarthy.
David Krumholtz
Though now appearing in the CBS show "Numb3rs," Krumholtz is a veteran actor and can be seen in both indy films like "The Slums of Beverly Hills," and blockbusters like the Oscar-award winning "Ray."
At E3 to promote a new expansion for the computer game "The Movies," the actor explained how the game is opening up doors in Tinseltown by letting players create movies from the ground up.
In "The Movies," gamers use actors, sets, sound effects, music and other features found in films, to create their own films. Krumholtz says it's essentially a very powerful storyboarding tool that allows wannabe filmmakers to make their films from the comfort of their computer chair, before trying to beat down doors in Hollywood.
Click here to see ABCNews.com's E3 interview with David Krumholtz.
Hal Sparks
The former "Queer as Folk" star and comedian showed off a flashy Kiss sweatshirt before heading into an exclusive party at the House of Blues on Sunset Blvd., clearly ready to get his game on.
Sparks says he's proud of his gaming abilities and seems to think that games have a leg up on movies in terms of value.
He says that when you buy a DVD, you may watch it a few times, but when you buy a game -- a good one at least -- you're offering up 30+ hours to the gaming gods and that entices people to throw their money at games over movies.
Click here to see ABCNews.com's E3 interview with Hal Sparks.
Antonio Gates
As a tight-end for the San Diego Chargers, Gates confesses his skills with a football far surpass his skills with a video game controller, but he says he's still underrated.
Gates holds the distinction of being the only NFL player to be a unanimous choice for the Associated Press' 2005 All-Pro team.
He was out at a red carpet event at the House of Blues in Hollywood, to get his hands on some of the latest and greatest sports games, like the boxing simulator "Fight Night Round 3" and the latest in Electronic Arts' Madden Football series.
Click here to see ABCNews.com's interview with Antonio Gates.
JC Chasez
One of the five members of pop sensation *Nsync, Chasez says he lives and breathes in the war-torn sci-fi world of Microsoft's "Halo."
Despite perceptions that he's a fashionable Hollywood insider who spends most of his time behind various velvet ropes, the singer says he's a geek at heart and proud of it.
At a party at L.A.'s trendy House of Blues on Sunset, the drinks flowed and the games were the stars of the show. Chasez says it's proof that nowadays it's cool to be a geek -- at least when it comes to video games.