Alcohol. Lack of work. And... surgeries?! Christopher Judge might be on top of the world as the voice of in "God of War," but he has gone through the most in his life to get to where he is.
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00:00Alcohol, lack of work, and… surgeries?
00:04Christopher Judge might be on top of the world as the voice of Kratos in God of War, but
00:08he has gone through the most in his life to get to where he is.
00:12Christopher Judge is doing well now, but he wasn't always in tip-top shape.
00:16He previously struggled with alcoholism and getting sober.
00:19Speaking on a panel of African-Americans working in sci-fi, he opened up and showed vulnerability
00:24in sharing his past challenges with the other panelists and the public.
00:28Judge revealed that his drinking became so problematic that he received two DUIs, and
00:33was ordered to enter a rehab program.
00:36This program turned out to be the best thing that could've happened for him, though.
00:39Judge explained that the DUIs ended up being a blessing in disguise, as he spent six years
00:44in what was initially meant to be 12- and then 18-month programs.
00:49After coming to terms with his drinking and with the support of one woman in the program,
00:53Judge has been gratefully sober since 2012.
00:57While his struggle with drinking marked a dark chapter in his life, confronting this
01:00issue was the turning point in Judge's life.
01:03In addition to helping him get sober, it also improved his mental health, making him, by
01:08his own admission, a much happier person, better able to give and receive love.
01:14In addition, his newfound sobriety seems to have been a major turning point for his career.
01:19Judge proudly revealed his first audition after being sober was God of War, which marked
01:23a new chapter in his personal and professional life.
01:27Around the same time Christopher Judge struggled with alcohol, he was also finding acting roles
01:31hard to come by.
01:32While he had previously been a significant part of the popular show Stargate SG-1, he
01:37discovered his acting CV didn't quite impress casting directors as much as he had hoped
01:42it would.
01:43During the same panel in which he discussed his alcoholism, he also explained that finding
01:47work after SG-1 turned out to be a real challenge.
01:51Judge said,
01:52It didn't matter I'd been on TV for 10 years, so it was back to, you know, literally auditioning
01:57for three lines.
01:59This can be seen in Judge's acting credits after his time on SG-1.
02:03Apart from appearances in other Stargate shows and movies, Judge could not land any starring
02:07roles in major shows or films.
02:09This frustration contributed to his drinking, so Judge found himself a part of a vicious
02:14cycle in the early 2010s.
02:16However, this all changed in 2018, when Judge landed the part of Kratos in God of War.
02:22Judge almost didn't take the iconic role, since he did not want to work in video games.
02:26But after being convinced that the story and characters would be treated seriously, he
02:30committed to the job, and his career has taken off since then.
02:34Read it, boy.
02:40Even after becoming Kratos, winning critical acclaim, and a nomination for Best Voice Actor
02:44at the 2018 Game Awards, Christopher Judge still had more obstacles in his path.
02:49In the summer of 2021, PlayStation had bad news for fans with an update that God of War
02:54Ragnarok would be delayed until the following year, much to the fans' disappointment.
02:59While the explanation for this delay was kept under wraps at the time, Judge later revealed
03:03he was the real reason for the sequel's holdup.
03:06It turned out that between games, Judge had experienced some health issues that required
03:10multiple surgeries.
03:12Taking to Twitter, the actor said,
03:13"...Ragnarok was delayed because of me.
03:16August 2019, I couldn't walk.
03:18Had to have back surgery, both hips replaced, and knee surgery."
03:23There was also rehab that followed these procedures.
03:26On top of the obvious pain and discomfort, it also put him out of commission for some
03:30time, and rendered him unable to record his lines or provide motion capture.
03:35Judge displayed considerable courage in revealing these hardships, and that he was responsible
03:39for delaying something gamers were excitedly waiting for.
03:43He also expressed gratitude to Santa Monica Studios for supporting him throughout this
03:47ordeal and not laying the blame on his doorstep.
03:50Despite the setback, Judge once again struggled on, recovering from his injuries and giving
03:55the performance that won him the Best Actor at the Game Awards 2022.
04:00If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please call the Substance Abuse
04:04and Mental Health Administration's 24-7 National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
04:11That's 1-800-662-4357.