James Rolfe
James Rolfe | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rolfe in character as the Nerd in 2021 | ||||||||||
| Born | James D. Rolfe July 10, 1980 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |||||||||
| Alma mater | University of the Arts (BFA) | |||||||||
| Occupations |
| |||||||||
| Years active | 1996–present | |||||||||
| Known for | Creating and hosting the retrogaming web series Angry Video Game Nerd (2004–present) | |||||||||
| Spouse |
April Chmura (m. 2007) | |||||||||
| Children | 2 | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channels | ||||||||||
| Also known as | The Nerd | |||||||||
| Created by | Mike Matei | |||||||||
| Years active | 2006–present | |||||||||
| Genres | ||||||||||
| Subscribers | 3.9 million (Cinemassacre) 491 thousand (Cinemassacre Clips) | |||||||||
| Views | 2.3 billion (Cinemassacre) 169 million (Cinemassacre Clips) | |||||||||
| Network |
| |||||||||
| Associated acts |
| |||||||||
| ||||||||||
Last updated: May 3, 2025 | ||||||||||
| An audio sample of Rolfe as The Angry Video Game Nerd | ||||||||||
| Website | cinemassacre | |||||||||
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 retrogaming 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 internet gaming videos, and is noted for his widespread influence on YouTube content after the series premiered on the site in 2006.
Rolfe began creating homemade video productions in the late 1980s, having filmed more than 270 video productions by 2004. Among these were the first Angry Video Game Nerd episodes (originally known as 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 critical reception. In 2022, Rolfe published his autobiography, A Movie Making Nerd.