10 Actors Who Played Multiple Comic Characters
Ryan Reynolds
Comic Characters: Hannibal King (Blade Trinity), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Nick (RIPD), Wade Wilson (Deadpool)
Reynolds had a rough start of it with his first few comic book movies. Green Lantern was awful and we’re not allowed to talk about X-Men Origins: Wolverine anymore. It wasn’t until he finally got a chance to put on that skin-tight red and black suit that we got to see him in the role he was destined for. A lot of people might say that an actor was born to play a role, but Reynolds is the living embodiment of Deadpool. Just take a peek at his twitter if you don’t believe me. Seeing him on the big screen and doing justice with a character that would be really easy to screw up was a dream come true to comic fans everywhere. Here’s hoping that he keeps getting a chance to play the part for years to come.
Rosario Dawson
Comic Characters: Valerie Brown (Josie and the Pussycats), Laura Vasquez (Men in Black II), Gail (Sin City), Claire Temple (Marvel Netflix)
When researching actors for this list I was stocked to see that Rosario Dawson managed to appear as in such a wide variety of comic characters. Not only has she appeared in 4 live-action films, but she’s lent her voice to a number of animated movies as well. Dawson seems like the real deal when it comes to being a geek girl and she’s got some serious cred. She co-created a comic of her own and even speaks Klingon. I know that a lot of people are all about Felicia Day, but I wholeheartedly nominate her as Queen of the Geeks.
Karl Urban
Comic Characters: William Cooper (RED), Black Hat (Priest), Judge Dredd (Dredd), Skurge (Thor: Ragnorak), Willaim “Billy” Butcher (The Boys)
Honestly, I love me some Karl Urban and he was the first big surprise I managed to find for this list. He’s been in all sorts of comic book movies and tackled roles from hero to villain. Not only that, but he’s managed to be pretty great in all of them. Dredd has a pretty big cult following pushing to see more of Urban on either the big or small screen as the notorious Judge watching over Mega-City One. He even got a chance to appear as a villain in the film Priest which was adapted from a manga. However, audiences will probably best recognize him from 2017’s Thor: Ragnorak as the bald somewhat villainous Skurge. Now he’s appearing in the Amazon series The Boys as a man with an ax to grind with corrupt “supers.” Since I’m such a big fan of his, let’s hope that DC continues the trend and snatches him up for a role.
Josh Brolin
Comic Characters: Jonah Hex (Hex), Young Agent K (Men in Black III), Dwight (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For), Thanos (Marvel), Cable (Deadpool 2)
In recent years, Josh Brolin has been snatching up comic book roles left and right the past few years. Of course, he comes from humble beginnings having starred in the awful Hex movie. Since then though he’s worked his way up to better and better comic movies and recently hit the big screen in not just one but two roles. First, he played one of the biggest villains in the MCU, Thanos the Mad Titan in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, providing the final chapter for Marvel’s Phase 3. After that, he took a slightly more light-hearted role as Cable in Deadpool 2. Brolin has had better luck playing bad guys when it comes to comic book movies, which is great considering a hero is only as good as their villain.
Chris Evans
Comic Characters: The Human Torch (The Fantastic Four), Lucas Lee (Scott Pilgrim vs The World), Jensen (The Losers), Curtis (Snowpiercer), Captain America (Marvel)
When it comes to playing comic characters, no one holds a candle to the one time Human Torch. Chris Evans is yet another actor who got to a rocky start in comic movies. It’s not that he was the worst Human Torch, it’s just that there’s never really been a good one. He went on to redeem himself as Steve Rogers in the Marvel universe though and feels like he was born to play the role. It’s too bad that he hung up the shield for good after Avengers: EndGame. Who knows if he’ll be in another comic book movie after that, but he’s been on one hell of a roll so far. Besides, I’m sure DC could find the perfect part for him in one of their upcoming movies.
Keep in mind that this isn’t every actor who played multiple comic characters, but I tried to pick the ones that managed to have the best luck with their parts. Of course, I’d love to hear who you think is the best from this list and if there are any actors you would have wanted me to include. So be sure to leave a comment below and let me know what you think of my picks!