Ryan Hurst has been cast to play Kratos in the upcoming God of War TV show from Amazon Prime, it's been confirmed.
Following roles in Sons of Anarchy (Opie Winston), The Walking Dead (Beta), and Remember the Titans (Gerry Bertier), it will be Hurst that plays Kratos in the live-action adaptation. This is not actually the actor's first appearance in the series, however, as Hurst voiced Thor in God of War Ragnarok.
The TV series is based on the storyline from the two more recent God of War entries, and here's the official story setup:
Father and son Kratos and Atreus embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye. Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.
Amazon has already committed to two seasons of the TV show, and filming is expected to begin in the next couple of months.
On social media, the official Santa Monica Studio account said: "We're excited to see his take on Kratos as he joins the legendary ranks of T.C. Carson and Christopher Judge who have each shaped this character in unforgettable ways."
Familiar to anyone who has played the games, Kratos in the TV adaptation is described as a "Spartan by birth, and a god by nature. Raised in a martial culture, he rose to command armies in service of his homeland until one day he made a fateful deal with Ares, the Greek God of War and lost his soul in exchange for being victorious in battle."
Ryan Hurst has also starred in movies, including Saving Private Ryan (Paratrooper Michaelson) and Superman: Man of Tomorrow (Lobo). He also has a role in The Odyssey, the next Christopher Nolan film. For TV, he's also played the main role of Milligan in The Mysterious Benedict Society from Disney.
Do you like this casting? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
[source variety.com]
Comments 45
It does feel a bit sus that they have 2 black voice actors as Kratos, and a black body model as Kratos, but they go with a white dude for the Bezos funded show. He’s just as Spartan as Shad Gaspard was.
Hmmm, wouldn’t have been my pick but… I was pretty stumped tbh. Weird that they cast God of War’s Thor as Kratos… didn’t see that coming.
I was hoping it was going to be Graham McTavish but Ryan Hurst is a good choice too. Certainly a lot better then going for someone like The Rock or Dave Baustia.
I'm glad that their doing the Norse era because there's far more story to work with that suited for adaptation. The greek game's stories can be told in a tweet if we're being honest.
We shall see how this goes👀
Very strange casting choice imo
I love Kratos' beard in that image. Looks like plastic on an action figure.
@nessisonett in fairness the Greek/Spartan heritage isn’t black. They may have had black voice actors do the do for the games but that never meant Kratos was Black… or White for that matter. If we’re being culturally accurate, he should be Mediterranean ie olive-skinned, dark hair and brown eyes.
The new games are good and all but skipping over the Greek Arc entirely kinda annoys me.
I'm sure there will be references to it and maybe some flashbacks but damn, those games had a scale of epicness to them the Norse games certainly didn't have.
Idk who could pull it off but can you imagine the opening to GoW3 in live action? That'd be insanity lol
uhh I think there's been a bit of a mix-up here fellas XD
On a serious note though, while Hurst certainly looks the part of Norse-era Kratos and is a great actor in his own right (as evident by his performance as Thor in Ragnarok), it really doesn't sit right with me that Kratos is being played by a white man in live-action. I understand that he's gonna be grey-skinned at pretty much all times but Kratos has always been a tanned Greek underneath so choosing Hurst feels like a strange move (even if, again, he'll probably play the role perfectly fine).
@graymamba Kinda reminds me of how they casted Johnny Yong Bosch (best known for playing Nero) as Dante in Netflix Devil May Cry 😅
Are you big and beardy?
✔️
Then welcome aboard!
It will be mediocre and won't have the spectacle of games anyway. So I don't care a lot.
Fortunately they decided to cancel Horizon tv series and doing it a blockbuster as it should be.
@Tobimune That would need a budget of like $200m to do GoW on that scale, which is never going to happen for a TV show, it's why I think Norse is the right choice.
Not who i expected but i'm happy with his casting.
I'm not familiar with the actor works beside he's Thor VA (and mocap?) in GoW Ragnarok. But it's kinda funny and also interesting to cast actor from the game who did Thor but as Kratos in live action.
Curious how he gonna looks after he shave his head, pale skin paint, and the red tattoo.
Oh for f**ks sake.
Why ignore the original story line, and jump to the reboot? We all know how this will go, as there will be the typical tv show "soap opera" crap, between father and son. There will be 50 minutes of drama and then something spectacular finally happen, in the last 2-3 minutes, leaving us with a cliffhanger, that will quickly be solved in the opening 3 minutes of the next episode. Rinse and repeat.
This needed to be a big budget blockbuster movie, where they have the budget to really deliver the goods....
As a Swede, I'm so damn tired of the north mythology being milked over and over again.
The Ancient Greece setting, would have made it much more epic.
Ryan Hurst is a great choice for Kratos. He can play the big tough guy while also showing emotion during softer moments.
Just watch him as Opie in Sons of Anarchy. He was one of the best parts of that show which is considered one of the best biker/action crime shows of the mid 2000's. Charlie Hunnam was the lead in the show as well.
Ryan can definitely handle Kratos and this might be his breakout performance to be honest. He's also in the Odyssey(which has everyone in it lol).
@AdamNovice Some "fan" you turn out to be. Have you not even played those games?
@nessisonett Well Kratos isn't black even before the ash was applied to his skin. Its also most likely easier applying the white make up to a white actor as well without it looking odd.
@Exerion76 Reboot? The Norse games are sequels not reboots. Also Greek Kratos would never work outside of the games without changing him massively.
If they’re doing 2 seasons to match up 1 to each game then call me when the 2nd season airs.
Opie was the best character in SoA and everyone is in the Odyssey, just like @QBgaming12 said. 👍
I think he's a good choice. I don't really see the point in making a big deal about whether he's white or black considering you never actually see the color of the body model's skin, nor is the character black.
What should matter is whether the actor chosen will do a good job, and from what I've seen of his work (plus his work as Thor), I think he will.
@Fizza @nessisonett So what's your opinion on the little mermaid live action casting? Did that feel sus or sit right?
Ohhh ok ok ok. I’m into this choice!
Im absolutely onboard with this. Anyone unsure should check him in sons of anarchy. Man will definitely carry himself well as kratos
Regardless of who plays him, the character of Kratos is going to need fleshing out a bit. He was hard work after a while (sorry Kratos fans)
@graymamba This guy is just as ethnically Greek as African Americans are. As in he isn’t Greek. It’s a weird choice, Kratos has literally only been portrayed by a black man.
@Gunbeld Didn’t watch it. Looked rubbish and devoid of creativity like literally all other Disney live action remakes. Plus that was years ago, who gives a crap?
@nessisonett I get where you're coming from, but casting a black actor just to cover him in white body paint is a minefield I don't think anyone wants to step in.
This role was going to be whitewashed one way or another. At least this choice has some reasoning behind it.
@nessisonett I never said that he was. You misinterpret my pushing-back against your stance as standing-up for the casting… which I wasn’t. Try reading what people actually write instead of interpreting it to fit your own narrative… could change your life.
I was hoping that Adam Sandler would be casted for Kratos
Genuinely really funny they used an action figure of Kratos for this reveal instead of a really nice render.
You seem like a calm and reasonable person are you a calm and reasonable person
Hes a decent actor everything i seen him in he does a good performance
@nessisonett Well since it's just a fictional character from a video game it shouldn't really matter should it? I just think it's weird that you think it is sus. He looks the part and he's a good actor and you're sounding a bit self-righteous to me. Did you whinge about Leonidas in 300 as well?
@nessisonett not as suss as a Jamaican Anne boleyn or an Indian isaac newton though
Solid choice, really good actor in Sons of Anarchy and has the build and gruff voice.
@nessisonett don't you think casting a black actor and then painting him white would be a bit of an issue?
@Gunbeld Yes, Gerard Butler can’t act.
@Dream-CasterX Yes I played them all multiple times thank you very much. Don't know why my opinion invalidates that.
@Exerion76 It's painfully obvious you didn't play gow 2018 lol
I'm glad it's someone who already has a connection to the series, at least he's already experienced the world and the characters in some way.
If they bring Thor in played by Christopher Judge that would be freaking hilarious.
@nessisonett yes, because Kratos is the blackest character ever.
Interesting we will see how it goes.word up son
I was hoping for Danny DeVito. KraVitos would have been an epic choice for the ages.
@babek still a chance he'll play mimir lol
@nessisonett I didn't know Kratos has black origin.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...