Free Guy follows the story of an NPC in a video game that gains sentience and sets out to free his home. The film is full of Easter eggs and references designed to appeal to gamers. Most pertinently, plenty of real-life gamers make an appearance, breaking the fourth wall and bringing the world of the movie even closer to our reality.
These cameos add an air of authenticity to the story and feel like a winking love letter to gamers in the know. They aren't just there for hype, either -- they play an important role in the plot, serving as voices for the many people around the world who become invested in Guy's journey. Here's a rundown of the real-life streamers and Let's Players who lent their star power to Free Guy.
Jacksepticeye
Fans love Seán William McLoughlin, AKA Jacksepticeye, for his thick Irish accent and irrepressible energy. A YouTube star of the highest order, his Let's Play videos and commentary have been a fixture of the online gaming scene for nearly a decade. Over his long career, he's been linked to household names such as PewDiePie and Markiplier, even creating a popular clothing line called "Cloak" with the latter.
His appearance in Free Guy isn't much of a surprise, considering he's contracted under the Disney Digital Network and has even featured in a Disney XD series. Like the other Internet personalities on this list, he plays himself in the film, appearing several times to comment on the unfolding narrative in expertly-staged fake YouTube videos that look like they could have come straight from his real channel. His trademark enthusiastic style of reaction commentary and box-within-a-box visual format are recreated perfectly in these sequences. At first he's as mystified by Guy's identity and motives as everyone else, quickly growing to become a staunch supporter of the NPC's heroic rise to fame.
Ninja
This professional gamer and now full-time streamer is currently the most-followed individual on Twitch. Ninja's career began with Halo 3, quickly expanding to other games, and he's since played with such prestigious esports organizations as Cloud9 and Luminosity Gaming. Nowadays his name is synonymous with Fortnite Battle Royale, as his streams of the game have catapulted him to an unprecedented level of online fame. Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, has even acknowledged this by creating a special Ninja skin to commemorate his ties to the game and the contributions he's made to its runaway success.
In Free Guy, Ninja's elaborate streaming setup is on full display, with multiple monitors surrounding the streamer as he comments with awe on Guy's combat prowess in Free City. Of all the streamers who make cameos in the film, he's the only one whose appearance is filmed in "real life" with cinematic framing as opposed to through a diegetic screen, giving his scenes the air of a professional radio or talk show.
Pokimane
Pokimane is a household name in streaming, having hit multiple records for subscriber count. Her star began to rise in 2017 when she won the Shorty Award for her League of Legends streaming. She's been an outspoken figure on issues faced by women in gaming spaces. Recently, Pokimane made waves when she announced that she'd be putting a cap on donation amounts to her Twitch stream, promoting a healthier parasocial relationship between herself and her viewers and setting a positive example for other popular streamers.
In Free Guy, Pokimane chimes in a few times as one of the public voices reacting to Guy's actions and explosive rise to viral fame, commenting that he's made her rethink the very nature of NPCs. She also cheekily points out that he's rather cute.
DanTDM
The fact that he's pictured above face-to-face with his own wax statue at Madame Tussaud's should help illustrate the level of success Daniel Robert Middleton, aka DanTDM, has reached. "TDM" stands for "TheDiamondMinecart," the original name of Middleton's channel, where he's uploaded family-friendly content centered around games like Minecraft and Roblox since 2012. Middleton has parlayed this into career opportunities in more traditional entertainment as well -- in 2016, he authored a Minecraft graphic novel tie-in called Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal that topped bestseller lists.
Free Guy is actually the second Disney-produced film about sentient NPCs to include an appearance from DanTDM; in 2018, he played minor character eBoy in the UK version of Ralph Breaks the Internet, the sequel to Wreck-It Ralph. His part in Free Guy is similarly short but sweet, featuring his supportive reactions to Guy's endeavors and surprise at someone actually playing as a good guy in the notoriously amoral game of Free City on his Twitch stream.
LazarBeam
This Australian YouTuber, whose real name is Lannan Eacott, started off his career by blowing things up for views. When his recording equipment was stolen, he pivoted to gaming, beginning with the Madden NFL franchise and gaining huge popularity through his Fortnite Battle Royale and Minecraft content. Like Ninja, he has been honored by Epic Games with a special skin in the Fortnite Icons series.
Lazarbeam is shown streaming on Twitch in Free Guy, reacting with amazement to Guy's heroism and discussing how it changes his perception of NPCs. In one standout moment, he humorously comments that though he may or may not be responsible for approximately half of the wanton NPC slayings that take place per year, and what Guy is doing is actually making him reconsider the topic.
To see every gamer cameo in Free Guy, the movie is now in theaters.