Need for Speed The Run Taps Talents of Christina Hendricks and Sean Faris

Red Hot Actors Get Virtual for the Race of a Lifetime.

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced that Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) and Sean Faris (Vampire Diaries) will star in the upcoming action racing game Need for Speedâ„¢ The Run. The video game will feature the actors as lead characters in an intense race-for-your-life story taking players on a cross-country race from San Francisco to New York. Powered by Frostbiteâ„¢ 2, Black Box Studio makes its return and takes the action racing genre to new heights with stunning visuals and car physics that hug the road at insanely fast speeds. The game is the action racing blockbuster of the holiday.

“Need for Speed The Run brings unprecedented racing action into an expansive race course which encompasses a coast-to-coast race from the Golden State to the Empire State,” said Jason DeLong, Need for Speed The Run Executive Producer. “Our innovative, all-new performance capture technology pushes the boundaries of character animation allowing us to perfectly capture Christina and Sean’s likeness resulting in an engaging narrative experience coupled with top-notch racing.”

Christina Hendricks, the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actress who plays the gorgeous, bold and savvy Joan Harris (née Holloway) in the hit AMC drama Mad Men, makes her videogame debut in Need for Speed The Run as Sam Harper: a woman with ambition, street smarts and a penchant for lightning fast cars. She’s turned her lifelong passion into a lucrative livelihood, managing the best drivers in the cutthroat world of outlaw street racing. In this illicit, male-dominated racket, she’s betting on Jack, the story’s protagonist, by fronting his $250K race buy-in in hopes of winning the $25 million prize. It’s Sam that enables Jack to enter the race as she remains his eyes and ears on the course.

“It’s very exciting to be part of Need for Speed The Run. I’ve never been a video game character before so this is definitely a first for me. It’s been fantastic fun to do something so different and to show a different side of myself as well,” said Christina Hendricks.

Sean Faris (The Vampire Diaries, Never Back Down), one of Hollywood’s up-and-coming leading men, gets in the driver’s seat as Jack Rourke in Need for Speed The Run. One of the best drivers around, Jack’s cockiness and arrogance has led him into a debt he can’t repay. The mob has put a price on his head, and it’s a lofty one. He’s looking for a way out and only Sam can help. His only chance of survival is to enter and win the race to New York.

“I’ve definitely done my share of intense action scenes in movies but it’s totally different and thrilling to actually be a character and driver in Need for Speed The Run. I got a kick out of seeing myself in the game, it’s totally me! I’m a huge fan of the Need for Speed series so I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the game,” said Sean Faris.

Developed by Black Box, an EA studio, Need for Speed The Run will be available November 15, 2011 in North America and November 17, 2011 in Europe for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PC, Wii™ and Nintendo 3DS™. For more information on Need for Speed, visit http://www.needforspeed.com or become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/needforspeed and follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/needforspeed.

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