Williams, Fator among celebrity gamers

Zac Efron of "High School Musical" and other young stars have told me about their video game habits. But the average age group of gamers is 30-something. So it's not surprising most stars who chat with me about games are older and more established.

Robin Williams is such a hard-core gamer that he named a daughter Zelda. He's accustomed to playing "Call of Duty" games online anonymously and hearing kids curse him, not knowing who he is.

"When you play it multiplayer, it is insane, given that it is a 12-year-old doing the sniping, and capping your ass, and slowly but surely ascending the ranks. Or, you're up against a 10-year-old who's a five-star general going, 'Shut up, (expletive). ... I own you!'"

"It's basically cyber crank," Williams says of games. "You are hooked in a way that is very similar to the same rush as a meth addict, except you get to keep your teeth."

Another hard-core gamer is Terry Fator, the singing ventriloquist who turned victory on "America's Got Talent" into a $100 million contract at The Mirage in Las Vegas. Fator briefly gave up games to make time to write his book, "Who's the Dummy Now?"

"I swore off video games for eight months" to write "Dummy," he says. "It was like giving up crack. I've never taken any drugs in my life. But people who have taken crack have told me it's difficult, giving it up. Well, I had to give up video games."

Fator, an ex-game store worker, liked the "Halo" series, but his favorites have been platforms and fantasy adventure series that he can play in his spare time, such as "Final Fantasy VII," "Zelda," "Ratchet & Clank," "Mario" and, now, "Animal Crossing" for Wii.

"I like going around and collecting stupid stuff, and blowing stuff up, and big bosses," Fator says excitedly.

Billy Bob Thornton isn't a hard-core gamer, but he relaxes with "Golden Tee" golf when he goes on tour with his band, The Boxmasters.

"I got hooked on it on the bus," he says. "As a matter of fact, I've got an itch to play it right now, but we've got to go play a show."

Other celebrities merely make money off games. Neil Patrick Harris of "How I Met Your Mother" performed a voice-over for a character in 2008's bloody shooter, "Saints Row 2," but he hasn't played it.

"It's a few hours with a water bottle" in a recording studio, he says.

Jay Mohr of "Gary Unmarried" has done voice-overs in "Blitz: The League II" and "Scarface." Both he and his wife, Nikki Cox, do voice-overs in the upcoming "Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust."

"You record in a recording booth. They have a seat for you and a bottle of water. And you just read what's in front of you about three times, each. Then turn the page. It takes about four hours. It's pretty amazing work if you can get it," Mohr says.

Was Mohr's voice-over paycheck big enough to buy him another mansion?

"No, it won't get me another mansion," he jokes. "It might get me some (car tire) rims, though."

("Call of Duty: World at War" by Activision retails for $60 for Xbox 360 and PS 3; $50 for Wii; $40 for PS 2; $30 for DS -- Plays as great fun, online and offline. Challenging. Rated "M" for blood, gore, intense violence, strong language. Four stars out of four.)

What do you think about all this? Write your thoughts on my blog (reviewjournal.com/elfman) or e-mail me (delfman@reviewjournal.com), and I'll post them. My column runs Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. See you then.