There’s no denying how poker and Hollywood have influenced each other over the decades. The card game’s potential for creating action-packed scenes alone has seen it featured in a number of successful films, from 1998’s Rounders to 2017’s Molly’s Game. In turn, Hollywood’s use of poker in storytelling has seen the game become more popular among viewers—and even the celebrities who grace the silver screen.
In fact, poker is now a major part of Hollywood culture itself. When Timothée Chalamet was nominated for an Oscar, for instance, Cartier immediately threw him a poker night that was attended by fellow celebs like Kevin Hart, Kid Cudi, Nathan Fielder—and Chalamet’s girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, who turned out to be “one of the most formidable players at the table.”
However, poker is more than just a pastime for the A-listers who are also avid players. In fact, some of the biggest names in Hollywood are known for not just being among the top faces in casual and competitive poker but also participating in charity poker events aimed to raise money for their chosen causes. Here’s a deeper dive into the world of Hollywood poker:
Poker’s top celebrity faces
Some of the most famous celebrity poker players boast close ties to films that actually feature poker. Matt Damon is the standout example here: to prepare for his role as a high-stakes poker player in Rounders, he participated in the actual World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament in 1998.
Other celebs simply like playing poker. That includes Damon’s long-time friend and collaborator, Ben Affleck, who he worked with for films like AIR. Affleck is a skilled player who’s won competitive events like the 2004 California State Poker Championship—he even qualified for the finals of the World Poker Tour (WPT) that same year.
One celebrity Affleck often played poker with in the mid-2000s was Tobey Maguire. The Spider-Man star is generally considered one of the most successful celebrity players to join competitive poker events, having played in the prestigious WSOP over three times and ranked 54th among the more than 5,000 people who participated in its main event for 2005.
However, few other celebrities have come as close to quitting acting for poker as Jennifer Tilly. Renowned for her appearances in films like Bride of Chucky, Tilly was introduced to poker by her father and taught how to play by her boyfriend. Her growing talent at and love for the game encouraged her to play professionally. In 2005 alone, Tilly won a WSOP bracelet and first place at the WPT Ladies’ Invitational, and she’s continued to play competitively since.
Star-studded charity poker tournaments
Charity poker tournaments provide win-win opportunities. They give players the chance to have fun—and, regardless of their final standing, participants can rest easy knowing that their buy-ins will finance a worthy cause. That’s probably why poker’s top celebrity players also frequently participate in charity events that feature the card game. Jennifer Tilly is one of them. Just last year, she participated in the inaugural Big Deal for One Drop Charity Poker Tournament. Held at Resorts World Las Vegas, it was emceed by WSOP Hall of Famer Phil Hellmuth, who also appears with Tilly on the PokerGO series High Stakes Poker. Tilly placed fourth overall during the tournament, which extended roughly $1.1 million toward One Drop’s goal of providing safe water to more communities across the globe.
Sometimes, celebrities even help organize these tournaments themselves. That’s what happened in 2020, when Matt Damon and Ben Affleck collaborated with the non-profit Feeding America for the celebrity poker tournament All in For America’s Charity. It was hosted by and live-streamed on America’s Card Room, one of the US’ biggest poker sites, with the aim of relieving food insecurity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament—which was eventually won by America’s Card Room ambassador Ebony Kenney—was also attended by the likes of Tobey Maguire and Sarah Silverman, with all participants helping raise over $1.75 million to restock the country’s food banks.
Another great example of a celebrity-organized charity poker tournament is Lights! Camera! Ante Up!, an annual event held by the Entertainment Community Fund. Chaired by prolific actress Annette Bening in 2024, it aims to financially support professionals in the performing arts. Here, celebs like Mekhi Phifer (8 Mile) and Andrea Savage (Step Brothers) came together to raise more than $170,000 to that end—and, of course, play a good game of poker.
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