In recent years, Penn Badgley has seen great success as an actor. The twenty-three-year-old is best known for his role as one of the leading heartthrobs on the CW’s hit show Gossip Girl. He also just starred in a remake of the popular late 80s horror flick, The Stepfather. So how did Badgley start out in the entertainment industry, you ask? Well video games, of course!
Born in Baltimore, Penn spent much of his childhood in Seattle, Washington where he took a stab at doing voice-over work for local radio stations. This turned into a much bigger opportunity in 1999, where at 12 years old he provided voice-over work for Nintendo and Camelot’s soon-to-be popular golf sim, Mario Golf 64.
Mario Golf 64 Credits
During that time he also began working as an actor, getting appearances on TV programs Will & Grace and The Brothers Garcia.
In 2000, Nintendo wanted Badgley back in action, subsequently hired to provide voice-work for their Mario Tennis 64 title. His name even appeared second in the cast credits, right after “Mario” himself, Charles Martinet.
Mario Tennis 64 Credits
Since then, his acting career has taken off, putting voice-over work on the back burner to some impressive acting gigs. If it wasn’t for the acting bug, could Badgley have been Nintendo’s go-to guy for voice work for many of the company’s post Tennis offerings?
The world may never know…
