10

I'm fairly certain this hasn't been asked yet based on my search, but apologies if it has. I'm curious what actor has had the most unique roles as a Marvel or DC character in movie adaptations of either universe. Not limited to the MCU or DCEU explicitly, but any film adaptation of the comic books. Off the top of my head I can only think of Chris Evans who has played at least 3: Captain America, The Human Torch and Jensen (from The Losers).

Improve this question
6
  • 14
    That's easy...Stan Lee.
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Nov 12, 2017 at 8:09
  • 4
    thewrap.com/…
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Nov 12, 2017 at 8:25
  • 1
    Chris Evans also played Boyfriend No 2 in "Scott Pilgrim vs The World", also based on a comic book.
    – mzywiol
    Commented Nov 15, 2017 at 14:10
  • 1
    @Phlegon_of_Tralles - looks like Push was an original screenplay, so not based on a comic.
    – PoloHoleSet
    Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 15:04
  • 1
    @Paulie_D The popular fan theory, which seems to have been confirmed by his Guardians of the Galaxy 2 cameo, is that they're all the same character.
    – KSmarts
    Commented Nov 30, 2017 at 20:22

8 Answers 8

Reset to default
13

Assuming you can count Stan Lee out, since he makes a cameo in almost every Marvel movie, then without a doubt it's Chris Evans.

He has played 4 roles derived from comic books:

and (for the sake of completeness) 1 role in a movie which spawned a comic book:

Improve this answer
4
  • If Push spawned the Windstorm mini series (which it seems is what happened), then his character in the movie is not based on the comic books, it's vice versa, so I don't think it counts, technically, because the movie would not be an "adaptation."
    – PoloHoleSet
    Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 15:06
  • 1
    True, I just added it for completeness sake, which is why I differentiated it from the rest. But 4 roles, I believe, is the current one to beat so the answer is still correct until someone tops it.
    – Johnny Bones
    Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 15:36
  • No argument here about any of that.
    – PoloHoleSet
    Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 15:51
  • I would add one more here, Chris Evans voiced Casey Jones in the 2007 TMNT animated film. I believe he does appear in the comics as well.
    – m1gp0z
    Commented Sep 28, 2018 at 20:08
7

Lou Ferrigno has five…

…if we count different incarnations of the same character as "unique".

Hulk — Films related to The Incredible Hulk TV series

  • The Incredible Hulk (1977 pilot film)
  • The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988 made for TV film)
  • The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989 made for TV film)
  • The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990 made for TV film)

enter image description here

Security Guard — Hulk (2003)

enter image description here

Hulk (voice) — Hulk (2003)

Note that this film is not in continuity with either the TV series or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thus this is a different Hulk than than those ones.

enter image description here

Security Guard — The Incredible Hulk (2008)

While this is the second time Lou Ferrigno has played a security guard in a Marvel movie, the two films are in different continuities and are not implied to be related.

enter image description here

Hulk (voice) — Marvel Cinematic Universe films

  • The Incredible Hulk (2008)
  • The Avengers (2012)
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
  • Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Wikipedia notes that Ferrigno was credited for The Incredible Hulk, but had uncredited "voice collaborations" for the remaining films.

enter image description here

Improve this answer
2
  • 2
    I'd count this as two; Hulk, and Security Guard. However, even that is a stretch since Security Guard isn't really a MCU character.
    – Johnny Bones
    Commented Apr 17, 2018 at 12:18
  • @JohnnyBones That’s fine, you don’t have to upvote the answer. As I put in the preface, this only works if we count the same character in different continuities as unique. Regarding the Security Guard, he does have lines at least, so while he’s not a main character, I do think he’s a character for the purposes of this.
    – Thunderforge
    Commented Apr 17, 2018 at 13:20
6

Donal Logue:

  • Gotham (DC, TV) - Harvey Bullock
  • Ghost Rider (Marvel, movie) - Mack
  • Blade (Marvel, movie) - Quinn

Also, when it comes to TV & Movies, both live action and animated, there are many actors that play multiple characters and voices. Here are two that come to mind that have played MANY roles and voices.

Improve this answer
1
  • Its funny, the list keeps growing and growing. It almost seems that Marvel and DC just pass actors back and forth.
    – Keltari
    Commented Sep 20, 2018 at 21:36
5

Stan Lee, he plays a different character in every Marvel movie. Another thread already has a fairly updated list going https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/37092/actor-with-the-most-comic-book-movie-roles

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    at this point in time, this is no longer true. As of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, he is playing the same character.
    – Keltari
    Commented Apr 17, 2018 at 11:41
4

Depending on whether his role as Commissioner Gordon is up to scratch on Justice League and The Batman, J.K Simmons would have played J Jonah Jameson, a chaotic Marvel character and Jim Gordon, a more calm character.

Improve this answer
3

Besides @johnny's answer I would like to add (as a honorable mention) actor Josh Brolin who played/currently playing 3 comic book characters from both DC and Marvel:

Note: The reason I added Josh Brolin, even though he is beaten by some other actors in the other answers, is because of the importance of his characters and the size of his roles in the aforementioned movies.

Improve this answer
3

Like Chris Evans, Ryan Reynolds is now a veteran with many roles under his belt:

  1. Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity
  2. Green Lantern in Green Lantern
  3. Deadpool in Deadpool 1 & 2
  4. Nick Cruz in RIPD

Arguably, the character he played in X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a different one from Deadpool as

Deadpool shoots him in the end credits of Deadpool 2

Improve this answer
2

I'd say Alfre Woodard, who played two very different characters in the MCU alone:

Miriam Spencer, a grieving mother in "Captain America: Civil War" Miriam Spencer

and

Mariah Dillard, a shady Harlem councilwoman and a villain in Netflix series "Luke Cage", seen here with her gangster brother 'Cottonmouth' Mariah Dillard

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .