It’s not just Robin Williams and Henry Cavill who play or paint Warhammer; the number of celebrities who are into the hobby may surprise you!
From Trey Parker to Vin Diesel, Brian May to Ansel Elgort, and the late Robin Williams to Ed Sheeran, all these famous personalities have shown their passion for Warhammer. It proves that the game is not just for a specific type of person, but anyone can enjoy it, regardless of their status. Check out this list of celebrities who have (probably) dabbled in tabletop wargaming and Warhammer.
List of Celebrities Who Play Warhammer:
Trey Parker, Co-Creator of South Park
Trey with miniatures painted by White Metal Games
While it’s unclear if he’s into the Warhammer scene, it appears from an old article from White Metal Games that Trey Parker is definitely into the Tabletop Hobby in general.
He contracted a local studio here in North Carolina to paint up some figures and a Darth Vader for him. Caleb even whipped up a custom Man Bear Pig model for Mr. Parker as well.
Then, in 2023, he put Warhammer 40k into South Park!
There are quite a few things to unpack here. First, it looks like they took pictures of their own or friends’ miniatures and put them right into the show! The game is Raven Guard vs Sisters of Battle, and they even talk about hit modifiers, wounds, and saves!
They also add some great little details like the Red Bulls, chips, and soda all over the place. Lastly, Randy (Stan’s dad) is quite confused by why the boys are playing, but we’ve all had that family member quite confused about the game, and especially why we’re so into it! He wants them to chase some chicks for Spring Break, but they choose Warhammer.
Vin Diesel Supposedly Plays Warhammer 40k Blood Angels
Keeping what you kill may not work in 40k
Always rumored to be into the Warhammer scene via his Dungeons and Dragons roots, it has never been “proven” that he plays. However, one Dakka Dakka user offered this story a few years ago about the Fast and Furious actor:
He asked the [Games Workshop store] in a mall to close so he could have an uninterrupted game, was refused, so [he] bought some Blood Angels assault marines and left.
While he’s never personally come out and said he plays Warhammer and all we have to go off of is someone’s story….It seems totally believable that he’d roll with the Blood Angels.
Brian May of Queen
Brian May is a massive superstar, and he visited the GW design studio way back in 1990 with his son! There was even an excerpt from a White Dwarf from back then about how he tried to sculpt an Ork head, how his son plays and paints, and how Brian used to hobby back in his teens!
Peter Cushing & H.G. Wells
Peter Cushing (best known for his horror roles and Star Wars) was really into painting and modeling toy soldiers! He would play with them using rules written by H.G. Wells, who obviously was also quite the hobbyist to make rules for their soldiers! Also, the game had to be pretty intense if it took 9 hours to complete!
Just look at this extensive collection of miniatures. Enough to make even the most seasoned hobbyist jealous.
Ansel Elgort Paints Games Workshop Figures
The professional DJ from the Divergent series told Conan in an interview that he paints Warhammer figures, and there’s a whole monologue that goes along with it over on Team COCO.
Did the Late Robin Williams Get Other Celebs Into the Hobby?
You will be missed, Robin
A gamer since the 1980s, as far as anyone can tell, he confirmed he was into Warhammer in a 2013 Reddit AMA. He was also rumored to have gotten a ton of other celebrities into Warhammer through movie interactions as well.
Some of those may have included Billy Crystal, Kirsten Dunst, Bill Murray, and even Dustin Hoffman.
Edward Woodward (Original Wicker Man)
He was very into wargaming and even had a TV series back in the late ’70s called Battleground, where players would play out the battles using minis and then talk about what really happened in the real battle. It only lasted six episodes, but watching some older gaming footage is pretty cool. Check out this cool intro clip from the first episode!
These were basically the pre-curser-to-streamed battle reports that we all enjoy now!
Celebrities who play Warhammer: Jordan from Axis of Awesome (Think Four Cords Song)
Jordan pictured middle
When interviewed about their “Awesomeness,” the group let slip that Jordan was into 40k:
Benny is serious about his crossword puzzles, Lee is serious about saving the lives of baby birds in his local area, and Jordan is serious about his Warhammer 40,000 miniature collection. So we’re all seriously cool.
In what might be the funniest pop culture cross-over video ever for our hobby, the group showcases their adventures in Los Angeles for work and play. It turns out the real reason for the group’s visit may have been for Jordan to meet up with Carl from the Independent Characters podcast to play a game of 40k!
The Four Chords song is a yearly singalong in our 11-hour trips to Adepticon; best of all, it seems as if the song gets longer every year with the new pop hits they add to it!
Celebrities Who Play Warhammer: Ed Sheeran
In a dressing room pic, Ed Sheeran posted him building up some Space Marines. He also mentions it makes him feel nine years old again, so that must mean he’s been hobbying for a really long time! He didn’t say much else, but hey, no one can ever be mad at someone hitting up the hobby after a long hiatus.
Jason Mewes (Jay from Jay & Silent Bob)
While he says he doesn’t actually play the game, he does mention that he paints them in the video below. Jump to the 3:30 mark if you want to hear him talk about it.
He comes from the age of pewter minis, so you know you really have to like modeling if you’re willing to do it on those!
It’s interesting to see how Warhammer has attracted a diverse range of celebrities over the years. From Trey Parker of South Park to Vin Diesel, Brian May of Queen, and even the late Robin Williams, it’s clear that tabletop wargaming has a broad appeal. Send this to someone who says tabletop gaming isn’t cool, and show them just how many celebs play!
WWE Wrestler Shayna Baszler
Shayna Baszler’s Dark Angels Gear brought a spotlight to Warhammer 40k with her gear during Monday Night Raw- check it out! After winning her match and advancing to the semifinals of the Queen’s Crown tournament, she posted her walkout gear over on her Instagram. She isn’t the only fighter or wrestler who loves nerdy stuff either; it looks like nerds are pretty good at the sport!
View this post on Instagram
Since this outfit, she’s done many more, and most recently broke out an Imperial Fists outfit! Shayna originally got her start in MMA, and if you don’t know, her coach, Josh Barnett, is also quite the hobbyist himself as well! He even got his nickname (well second nickname), the Warmaster, from Warhammer!
Henry Cavill… Yeah, You Know He Loves Warhammer!
And, of course, Henry Cavill set the internet on fire with his Instagram post:
He broke out his Custodes on Instagram and is putting some gold on a helmet. It turns out he’s been in the hobby for a while. Check out how clean that paint job is. You can see some subtle gold highlights at the sharpest edges of the bit. Which, believe it or not, takes a long time if you’re not just going to be aggressive and drybrush a slightly lighter gold over it all.
He’s also heading up the new Amazon and Games Workshop collab and has talked about Warhammer non-stop recently. We’ve covered a ton of it, so check out everything he’s doing with Warhammer! It is also rumored that Spiderman actor Tom Holland is also a celebrity Warhammer hobbyist as well!
In conclusion, Warhammer is not just a hobby for everyday people, as many celebrities have shown their love for the tabletop wargaming game. Seeing different personalities come together and share their passion for the game is exciting. It’s a positive sign that Warhammer can bring people from different backgrounds together and create a sense of community.
Check out more articles on Warhammer going mainstream below!
Click Here to See the Latest On the Cavill Amazon Project!
What do you think about the list of celebrities who play Warhammer?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group or our new Discord server. Make sure to enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today!
Click Here To Follow Us On Google News
Get ad-free access to our hobby videos and a monthly crate of miniatures. Plus, support some of the best creators out there for as little as $6 a month on Patreon!
Click Here For All the Hobby Products & Tools We Swear By
About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
