‘Gears Of War’ Cole Train: Epic Games, Microsoft Allegedly Used Likeness Of Lenwood Hamilton Without Permission, Says Lawsuit

Gears of War‘s Cole Train was allegedly based on a professional athlete, says a lawsuit against Epic Games and Microsoft. Lenwood Hamilton, a former professional football player and wrestler, believes that the video game’s black protagonist used his likeness and voice, and he just discovered it in 2015.

That January, Hamilton’s son showed the game to his dad. It’s unknown if Lenwood just never got into video games, never owned an Xbox console, or never cared to get into the military shooter genre, but Gears of War is one of Microsoft’s biggest franchises alongside Halo. As a gamer, it would be difficult to miss that series if you’re an Xbox owner. In the game, Augustus “Cole” Train is a member of the squad led by Marcus Fenix, a former Gear pulled back into the action to uncover the source of the Locust.

The game’s over-the-top presentation made it an almost instant hit, possibly inspiring the sleeper hit Anarchy Reigns with its Mister Universe-level muscle-bound protagonists.

Hamilton believes that the similarities between himself and Gears of War‘s character are much too obvious, and he was never credited or paid for it, says the lawsuit reported by PC Gamer.

“The similarities of the avatar ‘Cole Train’ and Hard Rock Hamilton [Hamilton’s pro wrestling alter-ego] include that both are black (and ‘Cole Train’ is the only black avatar in the Gears of War series), they both played professional football, Cole Train’s number is 83 (same year that Hamilton played for the Philadelphia Eagles – 1983), the derby hat, wristbands, a front gold tooth, and a striking resemblance [in] both physiognomy and body build.”

Even Hamilton’s voice was compared forensically side by side with that of Cole Train, whose voice was credited to voice actor Lester Speight. The results, done in April 2016 at Hamilton’s request, proved the voices to be identical. The game may have used unauthorized clips of his voice spliced together.

It’s possible that this lawsuit won’t go anywhere, as it’s common in modern media to have legal disclaimers which state that the names and likenesses of all characters, if similar to actual people, are purely coincidental. It may be that Speight simply sounded exactly like him, or he based the voice on Hamilton. That almost dead-on similarity is part of a voice actor’s talent, being able to sound exactly like another person.

Of course, it isn’t just Hamilton’s voice which allegedly made it into Gears of War, but also his likeness, possibly pulled directly from footage of his football days.

Lawsuits over likenesses have happened before, as well. Troubled former child actress Lindsay Lohan had sued RockStar Games for using her likeness in Grand Theft Auto V. There is a mission where you have to get pictures of a woman caught in the act of something indecent, and it was allegedly based on the Mean Girls star’s less attractive years. Trying to move past those years have proven difficult, and the video game seemed to hit a bit too close to home for her.

In the case of Lenwood Hamilton, it isn’t really a negative portrayal of more humiliating years like Lindsay Lohan claimed of GTA V. The likeness used, if Microsoft and Epic Games confirms it, is of his more famous years.

Hamilton is hoping to win a percentage of the profits, punitive damages, and legal fees. Epic Games and Microsoft have yet to comment on the lawsuit. Lester Speight is a former professional football player and a big fan, specifically of the Baltimore Ravens (his hometown team), according to his Twitter feed. Like Hamilton, Lester is also a former wrestler, and allegedly planned to make a video game with him, says GameSpot. If he did, in fact, perform the voice acting for the Gears of War character, the voice may have simply been an homage to Hamilton.

The likeness, though, is still enough to raise questions.

[Featured Image by Epic Games / Microsoft]