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Christopher Judge is an American actor. He is best known for playing Teal'c in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, and for being the second actor to portray Kratos in the God of War video game series, playing the role in God of War (2018) and its sequel God of War Ragnarök (2022). He attended the University of Oregon on a football scholarship and was a Pacific-10 Conference player.
Judge wanted to be an actor from an early age, and studied drama in high school.[2] "The television set was my babysitter growing up. I can remember wanting to invoke the feelings that I was getting from television—I wanted to be the one who was the catalyst for those feelings in other people. Performing was something I've always known I was going to do."[1] He always knew that sports would be a stepping stone to an acting career.[3]
Judge received a scholarship from the University of Oregon and played defensive back and safety for the Ducks from 1982 to 1985. He led in kickoff return yardage for 1983-84 and interceptions in 1984, and won the Casanova Award in 1982,[4] awarded to the freshman or newcomer of the year. While at Oregon, Judge was a Pacific-10 Conference Selection in 1984 and played in the 1985 Hula Bowl.[4]
Judge won a contest to host a radio show in Oregon, and in his senior year he won a regional contest to host the West Coast FOX KLSR Morning Show,[5] an "MTV talk show type thing"; he used this experience to get an agent and move back to Los Angeles.[6]
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Acting
In 1989 Judge began studying at the Howard Fine Studio in Los Angeles.[6] His early roles in the 1990s included Bird on a Wire, Cadence, Neon Rider and MacGyver with future Stargate SG-1 star Richard Dean Anderson. In the ensuing years, Judge had small parts in various television shows and films such as 21 Jump Street (with future SG-1 director Peter DeLuise), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and House Party 2, and as a regular on Sirens from 1994 to 1995.
Judge's largest role came in 1997 with Stargate SG-1. While at a friend's house, he saw his friend's roommate practicing for an audition for the show and was intrigued. While the roommate was away, Judge looked at the audition notes, called his agent, and insisted he get him an audition or lose him as a client.[7] At the audition, there were three actors trying out for each of the other principal roles, but eight or ten for the role of Teal'c. Judge was confident that he had acquired the part when they dismissed everyone who had read for the part except him.[1]
Judge's subsequent work includes guest spots on Andromeda, Stargate Atlantis, The Mentalist, the television film Personal Effects, and the films Snow Dogs and A Dog's Breakfast, the latter written and directed by fellow Stargate actor David Hewlett. Judge appeared in "Anonymous", the October 26, 2010 episode of NCIS: Los Angeles, and as one of Bane's henchmen in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises.
Writing
Judge wrote four Stargate SG-1 episodes: season five's "The Warrior", season six's "The Changeling", season seven's "Birthright", and season eight's "Sacrifices".[citation needed]
After Stargate SG-1 was cancelled, Judge began writing a script for a show called Rage of Angels that would have enabled him to play "the lead in an hour formatted show and prove that a black lead can be commercially viable and sustainable in overseas markets."[8] The script was marketed as a two-hour, backdoor pilot with MGM,[8] but is now apparently with Direct TV and Starz Media.[9]
Voice work
Judge has also done voice acting for animated series and video games, including Magneto on X-Men: Evolution, and the canceled Stargate SG-1: The Alliance.
In the season eight episode, "Avatar", Teal'c informs SG-1 that he plays Def Jam Vendetta, alluding to the fact that Judge had provided the voice of D-Mob, the main antagonist in that game. He once again appeared as D-Mob in the sequel, Def Jam: Fight for NY. He voiced Jericho in Turok.[citation needed]
Judge provided the voice of Zodak on the 2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon as well as Coach Grey in the Action Man CGI series from 2000.[citation needed]
On June 14, 2016, Judge confirmed he was the voice actor for Kratos in the 2018 God of War, replacing longtime voice actor Terrence C. Carson.[10] He reprised the role in God of War Ragnarök.[11]
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Judge is involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada and is an avid golfer.[12]
His son, Cameron, is a professional Canadian football linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders; Cameron played college football for UCLA and was drafted 2nd overall in the 2017 CFL Draft.[13] His other son, Christopher Jordan, played college football for Cal Poly and was drafted 71st overall in the 2019 CFL Draft.[14]
According to tweets from Judge, he could not walk in 2019, and he had to undergo surgery to have both his hips replaced, alongside back and knee surgery.[15]
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In 2002, Judge was nominated for a Saturn Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series for his work on Stargate SG-1.[16]
On February 13, 2019 at the 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, Judge accepted the award for Outstanding Achievement in Character for his performance as Kratos in God of War.[17][18] During 2023's 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, Judge again accepted the award for Outstanding Achievement in Character as Kratos in God of War Ragnarök.[19]
In 2019, Judge was nominated for the British Academy Games Award for Performer at the 15th British Academy Games Awards, but he lost to his co-star Jeremy Davies.[20] He was subsequently nominated for and won the Performer in a Leading Role at the 19th British Academy Games Awards in 2023.[21]
In 2022, Judge won the award for Best Performance at Game Awards 2022 for his role in God of War Ragnarök as Kratos.[22]
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Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Bird on a Wire | Cop at Cafe | Credited as Doug Judge |
| Cadence | Psych. Ward M.P. #1 | Credited as Douglas Judge | |
| 1991 | House Party 2 | Miles | Credited as D. Christopher Judge |
| 1997 | Stargate: Children of the Gods | Teal'c | Direct-to-video |
| 2001 | Out of Line | Alfonso James | |
| 2002 | Snow Dogs | Dr. Brooks | |
| Romantic Comedy 101 | Nigel | Television film | |
| 2005 | Personal Effects | Nate Wall | |
| 2007 | A Dog's Breakfast | Chris | |
| 2008 | Stargate: The Ark of Truth | Teal'c | Direct-to-video |
| Stargate: Continuum | |||
| Max Steel: Bio Crisis | Jefferson (voice)[23] | ||
| 2010 | Paradox | Captain Papillo | |
| 2011 | Dead Space: Aftermath | Nickolas Kuttner | Voice; direct-to-video[23] |
| Rehab | Charles | ||
| 2012 | The Dark Knight Rises | Mercenary Assassin | |
| Clash of the Empires | Amthar | Direct-to-video | |
| 2013 | Smokin' | Jim | Short |
| 2014 | Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark | Jack Turner | |
| A Tiger's Tail | Joe Camp | ||
| Knock 'em Dead | Freddy | ||
| To Have and to Hold | Sampson | ||
| Wraith | Wraith | Voice; short | |
| The Underground Railroad | Bear | ||
| Reaper | Officer Banks | ||
| LA Apocalypse (Doomed Planet) | Lt. Grisham | ||
| Lowlifes | Commander Randall | ||
| Nobility | Admiral Nev | ||
| 2015 | Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! | Secret Service Agent | |
| 2015 | Lord of the Elves | Anthar Master of the Hunt | |
| 2018 | Minutes to Midnight | Ranger Taso |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Neon Rider | ||
| MacGyver | Deron | Episode: "Live and Learn", credited as Doug Judge | |
| 21 Jump Street | Man in Queue | Episode: "Unfinished Business", uncredited | |
| Booker | Jones/Mover | 2 episodes | |
| 1994–1995 | Sirens | Off. Richard Stiles | Recurring role, season 2 (22 episodes); credited as D. Christopher Judge |
| 1995 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Workman | Episode: "There's the Rub: Part 2", credited as D. Christopher Judge |
| 1997–2007 | Stargate SG-1 | Teal'c | Main role (211 episodes) |
| 2000 | Adventures from the Book of Virtues | Plato | Voice; main role (season 3)[23] |
| 2001 | First Wave | Xevallah | Episode: "Beneath the Black Sky" |
| Freedom | Doctor Roeg | Episode: "Mind Game" | |
| 2000–2001 | Action Man | Coach Simon Grey | Voice; recurring role (14 episodes) |
| 2002 | Just Cause | Reverend Lester Stokes | Episode: "The Wives of Christmas Past" |
| 2002–2003 | Andromeda | Hector-Resolution of Hector/Achilles Avatar | 3 episodes |
| 2000–2003 | X-Men: Evolution | Magneto | Voice; recurring role (20 episodes) |
| 2003–2004 | He-Man and the Masters of the Universe | Zodak, Zeelahr | Voice, 4 episodes; credited as Chris Judge[23] |
| 2007–2008 | Stargate: Atlantis | Teal'c | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Assan Refiq | Episode: "Anonymous" |
| 2012 | The Mentalist | Dante Holmes | Episode: "Pink Champagne on Ice" |
| 2015 | Chainsaw Sally: The Animated Series | The Baron | Voice |
| 2017 | Wacky Races | Brick Crashman, additional voices | Voice; main role[23] |
| 2019–2021 | Final Space | Oreskis | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2022 | The Guardians of Justice | President Nicholas E. Nukem |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Def Jam Vendetta | D-Mob[23] | |
| 2004 | Def Jam Fight for NY | Credited as Chris Judge | |
| World of Warcraft | Additional voices | ||
| 2008 | Turok | Jericho | Credited as Chris Judge |
| 2013 | Stargate SG-1: Unleashed | Teal'c | Voice and likeness |
| 2014 | World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor | Additional voices | |
| 2015 | StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void | ||
| 2018 | God of War | Kratos | Voice and motion capture[23] |
| World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth | Akunda / Gorak Tul / Sunwalker Ordel | ||
| 2021 | Marvel's Avengers | T'Challa / Black Panther | War for Wakanda DLC expansion |
| 2022 | God of War Ragnarök | Kratos | Voice and motion capture[23] |
| 2023 | God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla | Voice and motion capture; DLC expansion |
Writing
| Year | Title | Episode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Stargate SG-1 | "The Warrior" | Season 5, episode 18. Aired in January. |
| 2003 | "The Changeling" | Season 6, episode 19. Aired in February. | |
| "Birthright" | Season 7, episode 10. Aired in August. | ||
| 2004 | "Sacrifices" | Season 8, episode 09. Aired in September. |
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