Brett Gipson

From Morgan Hill, California, Brett Gipson built a career across film, television, and voice work after earning dual degrees in Communication and Theater Arts at California State University Fresno. A Vox Inc.-represented talent with a commanding range, his path through Hollywood gained momentum with a memorable screen role before shifting toward animation and games. Best known for voicing Jim Hopper in Stranger Things: Tales from '85, Varanis in Contra: Operation Galuga, and his on-screen turn as Gunther in Knights of Badassdom.

Brett Gipson’s Rise From Cult Fantasy to the Upside Down

Morgan Hill, California produced an actor whose physicality and vocal depth took two very different paths through Hollywood. Dual-degree training at California State University Fresno – in both Communication and Theater Arts – laid the groundwork for a career that operates equally comfortably in front of cameras and inside recording booths. The agency Vox Inc. represents Gipson on the voice side, connecting him to animation and video game projects that now define his most high-profile work.

Knights of Badassdom and the Character Work Behind It

The fantasy-action film Knights of Badassdom gave Gipson his breakout moment on screen. Cast as Gunther, a battle-hungry Viking with an outsized personality, he shared the frame with Peter Dinklage, Steve Zahn, Ryan Kwanten, and Summer Glau under director Joe Lynch. The role cemented a type – commanding, physically charged, built around committed character work – that carried directly into his voice performances.

Contra: Operation Galuga and the Jump to Video Games

The 2024 reboot Contra: Operation Galuga marked Gipson’s entry into major video game voice work. He voiced Varanis, a character Konami highlighted in a spotlight reveal ahead of launch – a signal that the role carried weight within the production. It placed him in a franchise with decades of dedicated fans and pushed his vocal range into territory that action game audiences would come to recognize.

Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 and Landing Jim Hopper

The most significant voice credit arrived in 2026. Netflix’s animated spin-off Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, produced by Flying Bark Productions and executive-produced by the Duffer Brothers, cast Gipson as Jim Hopper – one of the original series’ most beloved characters, previously embodied on screen by David Harbour. Set in the winter of 1985 between Seasons 2 and 3, the show drew an entirely new voice ensemble. Landing Hopper, the gruff but warm Hawkins police chief, put Gipson at the center of one of Netflix’s marquee franchise extensions.