So Lebeau’s recent list of Top 10 Best Super Hero Movies made me start thinking about not just my favorite movies, but my favorite actors/actresses as superheroes.
Like Lebeau’s list, this is a list of superhero actors, not comic book characters brought to the screen. I am also not including voice actors in this, or characters that aren’t really considered a hero. So no Kevin Conroy as Batman or characters like Deadpool or Magneto who in my opinion both had some really good actors playing them. With that in mind…
10. Chris Evans – Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Fantastic Four 1/2, 2005 & 2007)
By no means was I a fan of the first movie, and I admit to only seeing parts of the second. Still, this list isn’t about great movies. Simply, actors who did a great job playing a superhero, and Chris Evans was probably the highlight of the movies for me in how he portrayed Johnny. Well, that is excluding the parts of Alba wearing nearly nothing at all…
9. Brandon Routh – Clark Kent/Superman (Superman Returns, 2006)
I know many who are not a fan of this movie (or even the fact that he isn’t Christopher Reeve), but personally I think he did a great job as the character. Especially when you look at the fact that he was portraying the continuation of the character off of Reeve’s version, and so was tasked to keeping both personas rather true to that we see in Superman: The Movie and Superman II.
8. Tobey Maguire – Peter Parker/Spiderman (Spiderman 1-3, 2002-2007)
Tobey has a really nerdy look to him. He isn’t an intimidating presence at all, but he is a great actor. Precisely why he made such a good choice for the Spiderman movies. Its almost like he was typecasted for the role.
7. Justin Hartley – Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Smallville, 2006-2011)
The only superhero from a TV show that’s getting a spot on here, and that matter for a supporting role. Either way, the series had some frequent ups and downs I think in terms of story quality, but I always thought Hartley did a great job playing Green Arrow on this series as he aided the show’s star in various ways. He played the part well no matter what the writers had him doing, and because of that I thought he deserved a spot on here.
6. Chris Hemsworth – Thor (Thor, 2011)
I’m not huge on the character Thor, but Hemsworth (and the script) really pulled this one off for me. Really though, what else can really be said besides that he WAS Thor?
5. Hugh Jackman – Logan/Wolverine (X-Men movies, 2000-2011)
First, yes I’m including his First Class cameo. Either way, despite some outcry on the casting he really made the films. Sure, he isn’t 5’3″ but he managed to otherwise nail our feral hero’s personality and rage almost perfectly on the big screen. Even my friend who was outraged at his casting walked off from the movie pleased at his work.
4. Christian Bale – Bruce Wayne/Batman (Batman Begins/Dark Knight, 2005/2008)
There have been a lot of actors to play Batman over the years, and while his voice isn’t Keven Conroy’s, I’d say he is the best actor to have captured both playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne and Batman. Possibly the only reason I didn’t put him in a better position was his voice in the costume (which was digitally altered in the second movie) could have been done a bit better – and was no match for Conroy.
3. Chris Evans – Steve Rogers/Captain America (Captain America, 2011)
I was iffy on having him take up two spots, but Evans is a good actor. His portrayal as captain America was actually pretty short, but he did a great job both as the weak Brooklyn kid and our all-American hero. I just hope he can carry that over to the upcoming Avengers movie when sharing screen time with RDJ and the others. Speaking of RDJ…
2. Robert Downy Jr. – Tony Stark/Iron Man (Iron Man 1/2, 2008/2010)
He’s a great actor, and his portrayal of billionair stark is frankly amazing. Thinking of the movie – especially the first one – not much really happened. Especially not a lot of action. Still, he completely sold the role, the movie, and really got me interested in the character Iron Man who I typically overlook.
1. Christopher Reeve – Clark Kent/Superman (Superman 1-4; 1978-1987)
For many of us when we think of Superman, our first thoughts go to this man, even despite the continued/slow decay of his Superman movies after the first. His portrayal was great for both Superman and Clark Kent, while he really was the one to kick off superhero movies in the first place and make them big.
This was a tough list for me to make. I swapped places of a few actors a couple times, and filling out that tenth spot was especially hard for me as there are a lot of good choices to have gone with. I must admit too, I’m a bit sad at myself for not having a female actor listed anywhere here. I didn’t feel safe putting in Lynda Carter as I never actually saw that old series. Female heroes really have not gotten much attention over the years though, so here is hoping DC will eventually get a Wonder Woman movie going.
Ok, here’s my list:
10.Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
9.Chris Evans (Captain America)
8.Michael Keaton (Batman)
7.Edward Norton (Hulk)
6.Chris Evans (Johnny Storm)
5.Christian Bale (Batman)
4.Robert Downey Jr. (Iron-Man)
3.Michael Chiklis (The Thing)
2.Ron Perlman (Hellboy)
1.Christopher Reeve (Superman)
Norton was nearly my #10 spot but some reason I didn’t fully like him on the list so I eventually put Evans on there twice. Two of the read/RANT bloggers suggested Perlman as Hellboy, but to me the character of Hellboy didn’t really fit the definition of superhero I was using for this list.
Not a bad list though, and the only one I really wouldn’t agree with (at least not that high in the list) is Chiklis as the Thing at your #3 spot.
Chiklis nailed the part though. If you’ve read the classic comics, he’s absolutely perfect. I realize that it’s a man-in-a-suit, and that might ruin it for some, but even more of a reason why his acting shined through. When it comes to the FF movies, most reviews mention Chiklis as the highlight. Though I do agree with you on Chris Evans too. He did a great job.
As far as Perlman goes, LeBeau allowed it, and I followed your link from LeBlog so I figured the same rules applied
Your list is also good, and the only two that I disagree with are Tobey Maguire and Justin Hartley.
Yeah, Hellboy is borderline for me. Chiklis for me was the second best thing in the movie in my books, even if the suit is a bit cheesy. That may also have been a slight bias on my part too, considering I like the character Human Torch better than the Thing.
Not a fan of Tobey though, eh? I knew my old roommate wasn’t either, so I suppose I don’t really need to ask why there. As for Hartley, I figure if anyone on my list got a rebuttal, it would be him. Still, despite the changes the show made to the character (that a lot is now cannon in the new 52), I always thought Hartley shined in the role and generally gave off that ‘for the people’ and generally got the personality that GA has right.
Yeah, the suit was a flawed effect. You can see it sqoosh up like sponge when he makes certain arm movements. They’re CG’ing him in the reboot which I’m sure will look better. I know that they were considering Chiklis to voice the part, but I doubt that will happen. My main concern with a CG Thing is whether or not they will pull off his very human nature. I know it’s possible, but we’ll see.
It’s not so much that I don’t like Tobey Maguire as an actor, but I simply don’t like his portrayal of Peter Parker. I felt that he missed it completely, and “it ruins the illusion” for me, to quote Bruce Campbell’s character in part 2.
Maybe I’m not being fair about Hartley. I saw the shows and he did a fine job. I guess I would just put him lower on the list. No real complaints, I just gave priority to others.
You have that new blog smell!
We discussed this list privately while you were making it. So I am copying and pasting the list I came up with from that discussion.
10. Yvonne Craig as Batgirl – Batgirl was created for the show. The image of Craig as Batgirl was so powerful, that DC restored Barbara Gordon to the role decades later.
9. Michael Keaton as Batman – Bale’s version is closer to the source material. But I find Keaton’s more interesting to watch. Which is especially impressive because he has nothing interesting to work with. Keaton’s got crazy eyes!
8. Bill Bixby as David Banner/Lou Ferigno as the Hulk- Bit of a cheat but I’m giving both actors dual credit for what remains the definitive take on the Hulk. Bixby gave the show its human center and Ferigno pulled off what CGI can’t with a wig and green make-up.
7. Tobey Maguire as Spiderman – He captured the “everyboy” quality of a high school kid who suddenly found he could soar above the skyline. And his chemistry with Kristen Dunst was strong.
6. Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman – Purely a visual thing. The show wasn’t good. Carter isn’t an especially great actress. But you put her in the star spangled swim suit and the image is iconic.
5. Chris Hemsworth as Thor – Both Evans and Hemsworth powered super hero movies in the summer of 2011 almost purely on their charisma. Very impressive for unknown actors.
4. Chris Evans as Captain America – I’m giving him bonus points for having played both the cocky Johnny Storm and the humble Cap and nailing them both
3. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. He should be all wrong for the part. Physically, he looks nothing like Wolverine. So it’s all that much more impressive that he pulls it off completely. Plus, who else could pull off that hair?
2. Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man – Downey is the franchise. Recast the role and it doesn’t work.
1. Christopher Reeve as Superman – He will always be Superman for me. Reeve as Superman is iconic.
Yep, I figured I may as well break this blog in as its been sitting around for half a year or so empty.
Reblogged this on lebeau's le Blog.