If you’ve been sitting there wondering, ‘Who is the man in the Amazon commercial?’ then you’re definitely not alone. The internet’s full of Amazon commercials with a bunch of celebrities popping up in the most everyday-looking scenes – it’s enough to drive you nuts trying to place who it is.
In recent years, the company’s creative marketing campaigns have featured quite a few celebrities, showing just how committed they are to pushing the boundaries of advertising and trying to grab your attention.
Right now, there’s not just one or two famous faces in Amazon adverts – actually, there are many. Each celebrity turns up in a different Amazon campaign, and the style of the commercial is as different as night & day.
This article is going to list every main commercial actor making an appearance in these adverts, explain which commercial they’re in, and maybe – just maybe – help you figure out who that guy is, who keeps popping up in your favourite YouTube videos.
Who’s the Guy in the Amazon commercial?
It all depends on which commercial you’re watching. Amazon’s running loads of different commercial campaigns at once – TV, YouTube, Prime Video & social media. The people you’ve probably noticed the most are:
- Benedict Cumberbatch
- Pete Davidson
- John Farley
- Richard Goodall
- Adam Driver (don’t know why some of his old ads are still floating around online though)
In January 2026, you’d find high profile actors like Benedict Cumberbatch, Pete Davidson, and Richard Goodall popping up in Amazon commercials. Each of these actors is in a separate Amazon campaign, so it’s no wonder you can’t figure out who’s in which commercial.
These advertising campaigns all share the same idea: to make it a bit easier for customers to shop on Amazon by partnering with some pretty familiar famous faces.
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Amazon ‘5-Star Theatre’ Campaign
Benedict Cumberbatch
Which advert is this? The one with Cumberbatch lounging in his armchair in front of the fire – Amazon’s “5-Star Theatre” series.
What happens in this advert?
Benedict Cumberbatch appears in Amazon’s holiday commercial campaign, “Five Star Theatre, where he’s reading real customer reviews out loud, in a dead serious way. The campaign’s got some proper funny, and often bonkers, five-star reviews being read out over the top of some pretty dramatic music – it’s all part of making real customer reviews the star of the show. Cumberbatch reads out reviews for plenty of products, from hoovers to bidets.
Why do people keep asking about him? It’s his actual voice – or rather the way he uses it to turn on its head all these everyday boring product reviews & make them sound like poetry. I mean, it’s him for sure – he’s a world-famous actor.
Why Amazon chose him They wanted to create a contrast between this over-the-top language & the everyday normal stuff on sale. Amazon’s global chief creative officer, Jo Shoesmith, said the advertising campaign is all about showing just how customer reviews can be a form of storytelling – making them sound really cool to watch. If commercials can be ever cool to watch.
Pete Davidson – The Amazon Alexa+ Commercial
Pete Davidson
Which commercial is this? The Alexa+ campaign – the one where Pete & Alexa are having a very deep conversation.
What happens in the ad?
Pete’s giving Alexa a hard time, trying to get her to change his name & making a complete mess of some home DIY repairs, and Alexa is just calm as can be – a voice of reason. Which can be hard as Alex can be very trying at times.
Why do people keep asking about him? He looks totally different in each scene, all relaxed and dressed down, so it’s no wonder you can’t work out who he really is.
Why did Amazon use him? They needed someone to talk to Alexa like a normal person – not some slick professional. Pete’s delivery is all a bit awkward, which just makes Alexa seem friendly & laid back, supposedly.
John Farley – Amazon’s ‘Your Old Room’ / ‘Home for the Holidays’ Adverts
John Farley
Which commercial is this? Your Old Room, part of the holiday advertising campaign (that one with John’s dad getting his daughter’s bedroom set up as a super home gym).
What happens in the advert?
It’s a dad, John Farley’s character, running on a treadmill in front of his daughter’s old posters & furniture, all set to a really nice bit of relaxed music. Why does he look familiar?
I’ve got a friend who is a proper actor, not just some random celebrity face you see floating around on TV. Then I found out he’s Chris Farley’s brother, which explains why people keep going all ‘that guy looks familiar’
Why Amazon chose him
They wanted someone to make it look like a normal family moment – like some crazy uncle’s birthday party rather than a cringeworthy, staged advert, and that’s exactly what John doesreally well.
Richard Goodall – Amazon “Midnight Opus” Advert
Richard Goodall
Which advert is this
? Midnight Opus. You know, the one where the theatre cleaner starts belting out What the World Needs Now Is Love like a madman.
What happens in the advert?
Some random guy cleaning the empty, dirty theatre late at night, just minding his own business, then suddenly starts singing a banger of a song and the theatre starts to come to life. And in the show, you know.
Why do people ask who he is
He doesn’t look like your run-of-the-mill actor, at all. And that’s because he didn’t start out as an actor, did he? Richard won America’s Got Talent, and that’s how Amazon came across him.
Who he is in real life
Amazon cast him for his authenticity, not his acting skills. He’s the real deal.
Adam Driver – Older Amazon Ads Still Doing the Rounds
Adam Driver
Which advert is this? The campaign is called 5-Star Theatre – it’s Adam Driver in a one man show style thing, where he’s dramatically reading out Amazon customer reviews like they’re Shakespearean monologues. Produced by Amazon’s in house creative team under the direction of global chief creative officer Jo Shoesmith, the campaign puts the spotlight on Driver as a serious actor, bringing a seriously compelling, voice worthy performance to the screen.
Driver is also known for being Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel trilogy – but I don’t know, you probably knew that already.
The ads are just him reading reviews for products like a banana slicer ( apparently that one’s famous for saving marriages) a Dutch oven, a massage gun, and just all sorts of weird stuff like the Elf on the Shelf and rubber duck collecting. These reviews are often funny, really personal, and we’ve got some top writing right there, showcasing the best of Amazon customer reviews, highlighting the quirks and advanced storytelling found in real customer feedback. Some of the reviewers even mention knocking back a glass before having a go at how things are really are.
The campaign is part of Amazon’s holiday marketing push, ahead of Black Friday week, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and they’ve got ads up on TikTok, Meta, Snapchat and Amazon’s own social media accounts. As an extension of Amazon’s ‘Joy is Shared’ initiative, the campaign is aiming to get holiday shoppers all excited and bring joy to people by putting the spot light on compelling, nuanced and voice worthy customer stories.
A recent survey found that 79% of customers bother to read reviews before making a purchase and Amazon’s got over a billion of ’em – which is quite the spread of products they’re offering. The campaign brings those customer reviews to life, elevating them with Adam Driver’s Shakespearean style and making them hilarious.
What happens in the ad?
Driver just takes the real five star reviews and gives them a Shakespearean spin and makes a right old hoot out of ’em.
Why people keep asking about him
These adverts are still floating about on YouTube and streaming sites even if they’re not top of the page anymore.
Who Is Walton Goggins?
Stop asking for Walter Goggins – there is no actor by that name in Amazon adverts. You’re probably thinking of Walton Goggins, who you might’ve seen in Justified and Fallout
He doesn’t appear in any Amazon advert, that I know of anyway. Hopefully that clears up any confusion there
Quick Identification Guide
Need to put a name to that face in seconds?
- Fireplace, serious reviews → Benedict Cumberbatch
- Talking to Alexa, awkward humour → Pete Davidson
- Dad on a treadmill in a bedroom → John Farley
- Janitor singing on a stage → Richard Goodall
- Dramatic monologue about a silly product → Adam Driver
—## Why Amazon uses faces you know and love
Amazon’s recent adverts are all about having a certain vibe going on
- We see famous actors in everyday situations – they’re not the typical Hollywood stars you normally see on telly.
- Real people getting thrown in with real celebs – that’s just confusing enough to actually work
- Humour that feels real, observational, not just trying to make you laugh at all costs
- these ads sort of catch you off guard – you’re not immediately sure if you’ve just stumbled onto a commercial