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Hollywood has been in the business of making movies for close to 110 years now; starting with the Silent Film Era and extending further through “Talkies” and color pictures. Picking up pace with Technicolor and the gritty Film Noir of the 40s, the world saw the birth of Hollywood’s so-called Golden Age, where stars were literally born. These stars shined as brightly as the names that their lights were up in outside movie theaters.
Everyone aspires to be famous; in fact, the 60s Pop Artist Andy Warhol once said that: “in the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” The ultimate goal for most aspiring fame hungry people was to be a movie star and despite the fact nowadays, the fame of an A-List Hollywood star is not as appealing as it was in the past, it remains a dream for many. Of course, when an industry has been going on for as long as the movie industry, things are often likely to repeat themselves. Projects will undergo many remakes, adaptations and reboots that mean that often, many people will often take the reins of an iconic or beloved movie part. That way, each actor or actress that assumes the role brings their own variety of unique breadth of talent that changes with each performance is always compared with the original performances. Let’s have a rundown of the stars that played the same role.
Lena Headey/Linda Hamilton
These two women are both cornerstones of their respective field when it comes to acting; both assuming roles in majorly successful dramas; one a TV show, the other a movie. Lena Headey shot to fame when she was cast as the cruel and scheming queen Cersei Lannister in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones; meanwhile, Linda Hamilton made her name portraying the kick ass one woman commando, Sarah Connor in The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
Although before becoming famous as the brother loving queen, Lena Headey also portrayed Sarah Connor in short lived TV series, The Sarah Connor Chronicles. There is no contest however as to who portrayed the sci-fi heroine and robot killer better out of the pair, and the award goes to Linda Hamilton.
Martin Freeman/Ian Holm
The writing of JRR Tolkien is a little too long winded for some and therefore the main introduction to his fantasy universe for most, was the Peter Jackson produced movies in the early 2000s. The Lord of the Rings films feature the epic journey of hobbit Frodo Baggins to destroy the One Ring of Power, created by the Dark Lord Sauron, to destroy his dominion over Middle-Earth. The One Ring was discovered after millennia by Frodo’s uncle, Bilbo in The Hobbit, fifty years before The Lord of the Rings, so Bilbo had to be portrayed by different actors.
Although Martin Freeman is a talented actor, Ian Holm delivered a greater depth to the tortured soul of Bilbo Baggins that had half a century of mind warping from a magical object too powerful for him.
Kate Winslet/Joan Crawford
In the 1940s, Hollywood produced a very popular range of movies based on pulp novels that told stories of crime and darkness, set against the backdrop of sultry city nights and sleazy bars. The name of the series of movies were called Film Noir; one of the most successful pictures released by this sub genre won established Hollywood actress Joan Crawford an Oscar for Best Actress.
The film in question is called Mildred Pearce and features Crawford as a middle-aged woman whose husband leaves her. After getting a job at a restaurant, Mildred works her way up to owning a chain of restaurants but is never able to satisfy her money grabbing daughter. Recently, HBO attempted a modern remake of this classic movie, rebooting it as a TV series, with Kate Winslet cast as the eponymous heroine. Although, despite Winslet’s talent as an actress, the charm of the original never caught on the TV version.
James McAvoy/Patrick Stewart
The comic book geek fandom is huge nowadays and since the turn of the 21st century, the increase in filmmaking technology, particularly CGI, meant that at last, much of the imagination invoked by the vivid minds of Marvel or DC geeks is now brought to life, thanks to Hollywood.
About a decade after Tim Burton’s first Batman movie came Marvel’s first offering, X-Men; about the human mutants shunned by society but given a home by fellow mutant Professor Charles Xavier. To match the comics and the previous animated series’ depiction of the bald man, the role was filled by Sir Patrick Stewart. But in prequels like Days of Future Past, a younger was needed in the role and in stepped fellow Brit, James McAvoy. But as a Shakespearian actor with decades of performing credentials behind him, Stewart will always go down as Charles Xavier.
Kristy Swanson/Sarah Michelle Gellar
Cult characters are always something of a hit and miss, or on the flip side, playing a cult character can result in an actor being so famous in that role that the role is all they have on their CV.
When it came to portraying vampire slayer Buffy Summers, there were two women that stepped into the sci-fi slaying role but only one stands out as being Buffy Summers. The concept of the undead killer was created by Joss Whedon and made into a camp comedy in the early 90s, with Kristy Swanson as Buffy. The flop movie soon resumed as a TV series that was more dramatic and far more successful and made Sarah Michelle Gellar a star.
Jack Huston/Charlton Heston
There are some things that just seem to fall into a pattern of getting made and remade; such as the song Unchained Melody and for over a century a total of four movie versions of Ben Hur have been produced.
First in 1907, next in 1925, for a third time in 1959 and finally in 2016. Out of the four versions that have been produced, the 1959 penultimate Ben Hur stands out as the masterpiece, winning 11 Academy Awards, a record equalled but never broken, a cornerstone of the Biblical epics known for their huge sets and even larger amount of extras – more than 2,000 on Ben Hur – but a huge star was born in Charlton Heston, remaining one of Hollywood’s greatest names for decades.
Zachary Quinto/Leonard Nimoy
Created in 1966, Star Trek became an instant sci-fi classic that spawned numerous reruns before creating a huge number of spin offs that continue to this day, over half a century later. There are also a raft of feature films, the first of which was released way back in 1979 and followed up by many sequels and Next Generation crossovers, as well as reboots with a different cast playing the beloved characters.
Placed in the role of the iconic half-human half-Vulcan Dr Spock, was former Heroes villain and American Horror Story star, Zachary Quinto, who easily carries off the cold logic of Spock’s Vulcan heritage. But fans of the original series will always hold Leonard Nimoy close to their heart as the original Spock. So much so that in the original Star Trek remake, Zachary Quinto encountered Leonard Nimoy and both portrayed Spock in different times; a nod to Nimoy’s superior acting in the role.
Michael Fassbender/Sir Ian McKellan
As important as a hero is to any action movie, so is the villain. The villain is the entire reason that heroes have to come to the rescue of the world in the first place. The villain is an exciting role for actors to play and they usually prefer being the bad guy compared to the good guys.
No one added more gravitas to being evil than when Sir Ian McKellan who played Magneto in the X-Men films. As the series time hops back and forth, the movies need a young Magneto too and in steps Michael Fassbender, an Oscar nominated actor himself, meaning it is hard to call between the talent with these two, but McKellan’s half century of acting makes him have the edge.
John Malkovich/Matt Damon
It is a common trait when making sequels that span long lengths of time, you need a different actor to play the part, even though the movie and its sequel are produced only a couple of years apart. In the 50s, the author Patricia Highsmith published a novel, The Talented Mr Ripley and followed up the original with several sequels.
Nearly 40 years later, a film adaptation of The Talented Mr Ripley, starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett was made. The sequel, Ripley’s Game, was produced several years later, set many decades after the original, starring John Malkovich as Tom Ripley. Matt Damon’s portrayal of the titular character is acted with greater skill as opposed to Malkovich’s rather distant performance in the sequel.
Robert Redford/Leonardo DiCaprio
No story embodies the glitz and glamor of the 1920s more than the seminal novel, The Great Gatsby, by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. The book chronicles the mysterious Jay Gatsby, a wealthy alcohol smuggler during Prohibition with a torrid past involving his service in World War One. He reunites with his childhood crush Daisy Buchanan, who is now married to a brute and begins a relationships.
The original adaptation starred screen legend and Sundance Film Festival founder Robert Redford, who is as just as great an actor as Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio. But as the movie remake received the trademark camp glitz of Baz Luhrmann, DiCaprio edges Redford when playing the suave and sophisticated bootlegging criminal.
Faye Dunaway/Jessica Lange
It is always hard to portray a Hollywood legend; because people have memories of the actor fixed sharply in their minds. They are captured as living memory in TV interviews, photographs and most of all, the movies that they star in.
One of the original Hollywood legends was Joan Crawford, a woman who began her acting career in the silent film era of the 20s and won an Oscar for her role in Mildred Pearce. Her life off screen was even more dramatic than her acting roles, as told by her adoptive daughter in the memoir, Mommy Dearest, made into a movie starring Faye Dunaway. Recently a real life dramatization of Crawford’s feud with fellow Hollywood legend Bette Davis had Jessica Lange starring as Joan Crawford alongside Susan Sarandon as Davis. Comparing the two performances is hard, but Dunaway’s portrayal gains the edge for the wire coat hanger scene alone.
Jason Momoa/Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sometimes breakthrough roles are not amazing, but a lot of the times they have the potential to be cult classics. Many of these films are the starting and jumping off point for those who become action heroes and one of the most famous examples of this are the Conan films.
In 1982 and 1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger made a name for himself by starring in Conan the Destroyer and Conan the Barbarian. Soon after, his role in The Terminator made him a star; the same pattern happened with Jason Momoa when he starred as Conan almost 30 years later. Momoa soon shot to fame after playing Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones, which will always be his role, but Arnie retains the title of best Conan actor.
Mel Gibson/Tom Hardy
Mel Gibson is now Hollywood royalty; having made an impact in both the world of acting and directing. He won an Oscar for portraying a Scottish freedom fighter, William Wallace in Braveheart. Before this and before the weird remarks to a police officer, Mel Gibson’s rise to superstardom had to begin somewhere, and this somewhere was with the cult movie Mad Max.
Two sequels later (one starring Tina Turner!) and 30 years later a new reboot; Mad Max: Fury Road hit the screens, with Tom Hardy taking the reins as the eponymous character. Tom Hardy is the epitome of the term “Method Actor” so gives a part his all, yet Mad Max was Gibson’s breakthrough role. Besides, it was Charlize Theron’s role as Furiosa that stole the show in the remake, so Gibson wins this one.
Margot Kidder/Teri Hatcher
Whenever or wherever a superhero exists, there is also the sweetheart of the superhero; the person that more often than not, ends up as bait when they are captured by the villain and put in a dangerous situation that the hero saves them from at the last minute. The embodiment of this love interest (and also Clark Kent’s workmate that has never been able see through his useless disguise), was Lois Lane.
When the Superman movie hit the silver screen in 1979, it was Margot Kidder that portrayed the woman Superman literally spun the Earth backwards to save, a feat that 15 years later Dean Cain couldn’t manage in TV series where he starred alongside Teri Hatcher as Lois, the role shot Hatcher to fame though.
The Joker
There have been many actors that have played and voiced The Joker, Batman’s constantly recurring arch Nemesis that regularly terrorizes Gotham City. But out of the many actors, three in particular remain fondly in the memory of Batman loving audiences and those are; Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger and Jared Leto.
Jack Nicholson starred as The Joker in the original Batman movie in 1989 Tim Burton directed film, alongside Michael Keaton’s Batman. Heath Ledger assumed the part in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, where both he and Christian Bale bring plenty of darkness to the hero and villain. Leto was The Joker in Suicide Squad, and each of the three brought their own brand of insanity to villain. But as Heath Ledger won an Oscar for the role (only the second actor to win one after their death), his portrayal is the most widely applauded version.
Lynda Carter/Gal Gadot
It took a fairly long time for the DC Universe to once again resurrect the comic brand’s leading female hero, Wonder Woman, but after introducing her in the well-hyped flop movie, Batman Versus Superman, a movie was sure to follow and it did.
The last time Wonder Woman was seen on screen was the television series that starred Lynda Carter that ran from 1975 to 1979 and was a camp attempt at a superhero depiction straight out of the kitsch book of 60s Batman. Most people still have a soft spot for Lynda Carter, although Gal Gadot, the former Miss Israel and Israeli Army medic, brought a far more gritty and action packed edge to the superhero that banished the original TV series.
Alicia Vikander/Angelina Jolie
One of the major pillars that lifted gaming into the mainstream, becoming a true example of an icon and somewhat of a weird crush for many adolescent boys, was Lara Croft. The game in question was Tomb Raider and eventually the popularity resulted in a movie and sequel made of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, starring Oscar winning weirdo, Angelina Jolie.
In the grand tradition of movies adapted from video games, the films were not overly successful but were kind of the best of what the genre offers. On the other hand, the new reboot, starring Mrs Fassbender (Alicia Vikander) looks a little more gritty than the previous offering. However, because Angelina Jolie is a better actress, makes her acting skill more suited to making the movie good.
James Bond
Written as a series of novels originally by Ian Fleming; James Bond first made its cinematic debut in 1962 with Dr No, starring a little known actor and former bodybuilder from Scotland called Sean Connery. After appearing in five more films as 007 – with one film in between starring George Lazenby – Roger Moore took the mantle of the suave British Secret Agent, starring in seven Bond films. Since then, Timothy Dalton played Bond twice, Pierce Brosnan four times and Daniel Craig set up for a fifth turn as 007.
Since the creation of Dr No, and since Roger Moore played Bond, the debate has raged as to who played Bond better. Although Daniel Craig’s performance as a darker Bond puts him as an outsider for the best MI6 agent, the argument over Connery/Moore rages on in a stalemate.
Batman
There have been many more people acting as Batman than as James Bond; a character appearing on the big and small screen since 1943, but it was only Adam West that really got the Caped Crusader mainstream attention, despite it being a cringe celebration of camp.
Though once the bizarre director, Tim Burton, got his hands on the franchise, the dark neo-noir elements came home to roost like a bat! The first silver screen iteration of Batman – Michael Keaton – did a good job of playing the superhero, yet the following actors: Val Kilmer, George Clooney and most recently, Ben Affleck, have not done well. But as Heath Ledger did the best turn as The Joker, many consider Christian Bale as the stand out Batman.
Ewan McGregor/Sir Alec Guinness
Star Wars is massive sci-fi movie saga franchise, especially now that it has become part of the Disney family. Despite the truly forgettable prequel movies in the early 2000s and the mixed critical success of the new Disney sequels, Star Wars is still universally loved due to the original trilogy being pure escapism gold.
In the original film, Luke Skywalker’s quiet life suddenly becomes one that is more than exciting. He gets thrust into turmoil, when he becomes embroiled in the struggle with The Empire and the evil Darth Vader (his father) who slays the kindly Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Acting legend, Sir Alec Guinness is one of the greatest actors ever and added gravitas to the role, whereas Ewan McGregor in the sequels – despite being a great actor – does not stand out from the prequel’s mediocrity.
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