James Rolfe

James D. Rolfe (born July 10, 1980) is an American YouTuber, filmmaker, and actor. He is best known for creating and starring in the comedic retro gaming web series Angry Video Game Nerd (2004–present). His spin-off projects include reviews of retro films, television series, and board games. He is considered a pioneer of online gaming content and is noted for his widespread influence on YouTube after the series premiered on the site in 2006. Rolfe began creating homemade video productions in the late 1980s and had filmed more than 270 video projects by 2004. Among these were the first Angry Video Game Nerd episodes (originally titled Bad NES Games, and later Angry Nintendo Nerd), which were released on his Cinemassacre website in 2004. Two years later, he gained mainstream attention when the series went viral after being published to YouTube. Following its success, Rolfe released a feature-length film based on the series in 2014, which received mixed reviews. He has published two books: his autobiography, A Movie Making Nerd (2022) and a horror fiction book titled Gnome Cave (2025).