57 Facts About James Rolfe

James Rolfe is best known for creating and starring in the comedic retrogaming web series Angry Video Game Nerd.

James Rolfe is considered a pioneer of internet gaming videos, and is noted for his widespread influence on YouTube content after the series premiered on the site in 2006.

James Rolfe was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 10,1980.

James Rolfe was raised in southern New Jersey and graduated in 1999 from Edgewood Regional High School.

James Rolfe's parents bought him an audio recorder as a Christmas present sometime in the early to mid-1980s.

James Rolfe was inspired by The Legend of Zelda and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to create adventure stories.

James Rolfe started filming shorts in 1989, continuing this hobby into the mid-1990s.

James Rolfe used Mario Paint for a few of his early films.

James Rolfe attended a special education school for seven and a half years during his childhood.

James Rolfe attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he studied filmmaking.

James Rolfe graduated with a bachelor's degree in fine arts in 2004.

James Rolfe operated and ran an annual "haunted house" Halloween attraction out of his parents' garage, utilizing a collection of several props and antiques that he later reused multiple times in his other films.

In May 1996, James Rolfe filmed A Night of Total Terror in his backyard, a horror film that he has called "the turning point of [his] life".

James Rolfe made Cinemaphobia in 2001, which follows an actor who suffers from an overload of work and begins hallucinating cameras following him.

James Rolfe has stated a preference for the shorter, ten-minute version.

James Rolfe created an hour-long comedy film titled Stoney, which is a spoof of the 1976 film Rocky.

In 2003, James Rolfe created another film, Curse of the Cat Lover's Grave, which was split into three parts to represent three different horror genres.

James Rolfe made a pilot for a planned web series entitled Jersey Odysseys: Legend of the Blue Hole, based on urban legends from the state of New Jersey.

James Rolfe's career did not gain significant momentum until May 2004, when he filmed a 5-minute short review of the Nintendo Entertainment System game Castlevania II: Simon's Quest under the title "Bad NES Games".

James Rolfe conceived the character while studying at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he attended from 1999 to 2004.

James Rolfe then produced another video, a review of the 1988 game Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which was initially intended to be the last of the series due to his intense dislike for the game.

The video introduced the running joke of The Nerd drinking alcohol in response to a particularly bad game; James Rolfe initially used Rolling Rock beer for the gag, as it was the only beer available in his refrigerator at the time, but later performed the joke with Yuengling beer, hard liquor, or even non-alcoholic hot sauce.

On September 12,2006, James Rolfe's character gained mainstream attention when his review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became popular on YouTube.

James Rolfe's videos were posted on GameTrailers and ScrewAttack, amassing 30 million views monthly.

James Rolfe was previously affiliated with ScrewAttack but left the company in 2013.

In 2014, James Rolfe partnered with Screenwave Media to assist with the editing and writing of the series, enabling him to better balance his YouTube projects and prioritize family time.

In 2007, James Rolfe began filming The Deader, the Better, a classic-style B-movie horror film that pays homage to the 1968 horror classic Night of the Living Dead.

On May 5,2006, James Rolfe released a music video that included stock footage from a trip he made to England and Scotland.

James Rolfe participated in the 48 Hour Film Project between 2004 and 2007.

James Rolfe had a cameo in a Doritos and Pepsi commercial published online in November 2010.

In 2007, James Rolfe had a cameo in the fan film Return of the Ghostbusters.

James Rolfe was featured in the 2009 documentary His Name Was Jason, in which he discusses the Friday the 13th movie series and its antagonist Jason Voorhees.

Similarly, James Rolfe appeared in a bonus feature for the 2010 documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, where he discusses the Nightmare on Elm Street NES game, a title he had previously covered as the Nerd in the 13th AVGN episode.

In 2010, it was announced that James Rolfe was set to appear in a low-budget remake of Plan 9 from Outer Space titled Plan 9, which was released via Video on Demand on February 16,2016, and later released on physical media on January 5,2017.

In early to mid-January 2013, James Rolfe had a brief role as a news reporter in an independent short film about Sonic the Hedgehog.

James Rolfe was later offered a potential cameo in Godzilla vs Kong by Wingard, but the demands of production, combined with the timing of the birth of Rolfe's second daughter, made the arrangement unfeasible.

James Rolfe appeared in the crowdfunded 1980s horror documentary In Search of Darkness.

On December 29, James Rolfe announced that 2018 would focus more on his own original projects and that he had begun writing the untitled horror film, which would be in the vein of past works such as Legend of the Blue Hole and Cinemaphobia.

On June 19,2019, James Rolfe confirmed that the script was completed, but that his commitment to video production would delay the project for the foreseeable future.

On October 18,2020, James Rolfe announced that the horror film had been postponed indefinitely due to time constraints.

On June 10,2021, James Rolfe released a video explaining the premise of the shelved "nostalgic" horror film: it would involve a man revisiting a childhood amusement park, only to become trapped there.

James Rolfe stated that the project could be revived in another medium and that he was working on another small-scale screenplay.

James Rolfe was involved in a fifteen-part series titled OverAnalyzers, where he played the role of the manager of a fictional company that overanalyzed various pop culture references.

James Rolfe has hosted Monster Madness, a series in which he reviews one horror movie for each day in October, since 2007.

James Rolfe expressed his desire to explore other Halloween-themed projects and reviews in the future but stated that Monster Madness will always live on in some form.

James Rolfe brought back Monster Madness in its original 31-episode format in 2021 with the aid of Screenwave Media.

However, James Rolfe redacted and remade the first two published videos of the 2021 series after realizing that his writer had plagiarized content from the episodes' scripts.

James Rolfe attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia from 1999 to 2004 and continued living there after graduation.

James Rolfe briefly relocated to Los Angeles while filming Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie ; however, he returned to Philadelphia upon completing the movie.

In 2004, James Rolfe was involved in a car crash when a utility trailer detached from its truck, careened across the highway, and struck him head-on.

James Rolfe sustained no physical injuries, although his Saturn Ion, which he had purchased only nine days prior, was totaled.

Later that year, James Rolfe discussed his experience in a short film, Mechanical Losses.

James Rolfe revealed in episode 7 of the Angry Video Game Nerd episode 7 "McKids" that he has attention deficit disorder.

James Rolfe met April Chmura in July 2004; she was a cinematographer on the early Nerd episodes.

James Rolfe announced at the premiere trailer for Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie in November 2012 that they were expecting their first child.

James Rolfe has not disclosed many details about his daughter, except for a few photos and expressing gratitude that his wife overcame complications during childbirth.

James Rolfe expressed gratitude to Shriners for all they did for his family during that time.