The following question asks about the actor that has appeared in the most comic book movies:

Stack Exchange question: Actor with the most comic-book movie roles?

I'd like to know, which actor has portrayed the highest number of distinct superhero/superhuman characters in their career.

To qualify for a "superhuman", the character should have some level of skill/ability/etc that goes beyond what a normal human could achieve. However, the character does not necessarily have to be based on a comic book property, or even be billed as/identified as a "superhero". I'm just looking for characters that have special abilities.

For example, Chris Evans has portrayed three such characters:

Chris Evans as Captain America

Chris Evans as the Human Torch

Chris Evans in Push

Those are: Captain America from the Marvel Captain America and Avengers movies; Human Torch from the Fantastic Four movies, and Nick Grant from Push. (Nick Grant has mutant telekinetic powers, according to Wikipedia.)

On the other hand, Robert Downey Junior would only have one - Iron Man's super-powered suit qualifies, but Sherlock Holmes having extremely high, but still human-level, intelligence would not.

Similarly, Will Smith as Hancock counts, but his characters in M.I.B, and I Am Legend have no special powers or abilities.

Note, the argument has been made that Robert Downey as Iron Man is not necessarily a super hero (by none other than Thor as a matter of fact).

Captain America: Big man in a suit of armor. Take that away then what are you? Iron Man: A Genius Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist.*

However, for purposes of this question, I would accept such a character provided it truly is in the nature of a superhero venue as opposed to an example that generically all (or many) soldiers have some type of powered in the story (e.g. Starship Troopers, Edge of Tomorrow).

Finally, the actors should have characters which are live action. In case of a tie between actors that have the same number of live action characters, I am willing to consider voiceover characters. But, the focus is on live action first.

Thank you.

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    Yes. There exists an actor. Or are you asking how many? Who has the most? I'm not really getting your question. – FuzzyBoots May 17 '15 at 15:14
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    I edited your question to actually, you know, be a question. Please feel free to fix any mistake in interpretation I have made. – KutuluMike May 17 '15 at 16:08
  • @Sean. Thank you for the feedback. Apologies for the confusion. I am asking which actor has portrayed the most characters. I have edited the question to hopefully make this clearer. – beichst May 17 '15 at 16:09
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    Chris Evans was also Lucas Lee in Scott Pilgrim. He skated the most extreme rail in all of Toronto and exploded into coins - sounds pretty supernatural to me. – user20155 May 18 '15 at 2:34
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    But Will Smith's character from "I, Robot" was a cyborg with a super strong robotic arm. If you're counting Iron Man but not that, then I'm not sure I'm clear on your criteria. – Zimul8r May 18 '15 at 13:01

Chris Evans with an arguable 6, maybe 7.

  • Johnny Storm/Human Torch from the Fantastic Four
  • Casey Jones in TMNT (2007).
  • Lucas Lee in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
  • Steve Rogers/Captain America
  • Nick Grant from Push

Also notable mentions:

  • Loki - in Thor: The Dark World (as Loki in disguise as Captain America).
  • Cpt. Jake Jensen in The Losers (2010) - based on the Comic of the same name, Jake Jensen is a special forces operative. Not a 'superhero' but "spec-ops" people are usually shown as being far tougher than your average person in comics.
  • 2
    I think this answer is neat simply for pointing out the 60 seconds that Evans had to play Loki when Loki was mocking Thor. – Ellesedil May 18 '15 at 14:27
  • Going to accept on this as the Most Live Action characters. Thanks to everyone that contributed. – beichst Jun 7 '15 at 11:45
  • Snowpiercer was based on a comic as well - if you expand to comics films in general, you could add that. – VBartilucci Apr 26 '18 at 18:22

If you allow TV voice actors, then one of these prolific cartoon voice folks is probably gonna take it. Kevin Michael Richardson, for instance, played:

Ego the Living Planet

Frankenstein's Monster


The Shredder(TMNT)

Ulik (Avengers Assemble)

Trigon (Teen Titans Go!)

Captain Cold and

Gorilla Grodd (Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League)


Brick (Green Arrow)

Black Manta

Solomon Grundy

War Machine (Mad)

Bulkhead (Transformers Prime)

Batman (Riddler)


J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter (Young Justice)

John Stewart/Green Lantern (Young Justice)

Nabu/Dr Fate (Young Justice)

Panthro (Thundercats)

Dark Laser (The Fairly OddParents)

B'wana Beast (Batman: The Brave and the Bold)

Mr. Mxyzptlk (Batman: The Brave and the Bold)

Despero (Batman: The Brave and the Bold)


Santa (Hey, the guy's got skilz. Just sayin')

Skipjack (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)

Rampage (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)



Omega Supreme


Antauri (Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!)


Mammoth (Teen Titans)

Dark Hulk

That's 36, and I got tired and skipped over a bunch of Ben 10 and Star Wars and some other odds and ends that were questionable "supers".

Also, Phil LaMarr only has 319 credits, but he may have more hero roles for all I know. Looks like a research project for someone with more free time/patience than me...

  • Thank you for the detailed listing of the voiceover characters for Mr. Richardson. It is amazing to see the breadth of the characters he has portrayed. However, in the spirit of the my original question, I am really seeking live action characters. E.g. why I selected Chris Evans as an example. As per my comment to DuckTapeal, I am willing to consider voiceover work as a tiebreaker between actors that have the same number of live action characters. But, not as a replacement for such characters. I have edited the question to reflect this. Thanks. – beichst May 19 '15 at 3:20

Hugo Weaving beats Chris Evans, having played V in V for Vendetta, Agent Smith in The Matrix and sequels, Elrond in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies and the Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger. He also provided the voice for Megatron in Transformers, and perhaps some other voice roles might also count. So that's four, or five+ if you count voice-only roles.

  • 1
    does V count as "super-powered"? – KutuluMike May 17 '15 at 16:17
  • I would have to agree with Michael on this one. Not sure that V would be considered having superhero abilities. But, I do agree with Mike that voice-only roles should count as well. – beichst May 17 '15 at 16:18
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    Quote from the V for Vendetta comic: "You're right, Dominic. Or knock out a thirteen stone train driver by touching him lightly on the neck. Normal people can't do things like that." V acquired superhuman powers of some kind when he was experimented upon at the Larkhill "resettlement camp". – Mike Scott May 17 '15 at 16:45
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    @Zimul8r Indeed it would, and that's why it's the second role mentioned in my answer. – Mike Scott May 18 '15 at 13:49
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    @MikeScott Huh. Sorry. Eyes must be playing tricks this morning. Time for more coffee. – Zimul8r May 18 '15 at 14:05

Also, Christopher Lee. Frankenstein's monster (The Curse of Frankenstein), Dracula (assorted Hammer Horror films), Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (I, Monster), Saruman (The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films) and Count Dooku (Star Wars II & III). That makes five.

  • ...and he (perfectly) voiced Death in the TV adaptation of Terry Pratchett's 'The Colour of Magic'. – DaveP May 18 '15 at 17:12

Ryan Reynolds:

  1. Green Lantern (space cop with alien superpowers)
  2. Nick from RIPD (afterlife police officer with supernatural abilities)
  3. Turbo (a snail with superhuman speed)
  4. Captain Excellence from Paper Man (an imaginary superhero friend)
  5. Wade Wilson / Deadpool (mutant powers and superhuman fighting abilities)
  6. Hannibal King from Blade: Trinity (in the movie, he's just a former vampire with badass fighting abilities, but in the comics his vampire-sourced powers are definitely superhuman)

Chris Evans:

  1. Captain America (super soldier)
  2. Lucas Lee from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (fictional Jason Lee doppleganger with super strength and athletic ability)
  3. Jake Jensen from the Losers (not technically "super", just unrealistically good at hacking, so I'd only count him as having special ability if you consider Batman or people like Hawkeye)
  4. Nick from Push (telekinesis)
  5. Human Torch (pyrokinesis)

Ray Park:

  1. Toad from X-Men franchise (mutant toad-like abilities)
  2. Rugal from King of Fighters (typical King of Fighters supernatural fighting abilities/powers)
  3. Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe franchise (also only "super" in a Batman/Hawkeye/Iron Man sort of way)
  4. Raptor in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (reptilian race with shapeshifting and other abilities)
  5. Baraka in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (a demon-Outworlder hybrid with superhuman fighting abilities)
  6. Darth Maul in Star Wars Eps. I (Dark Lord of the Sith with powerful Force abilities)
  7. Max in Hellbinders (warrior in a supernatural fight between good and evil)
  8. Gabriel in Jinn (an Angel with various supernatural abilities including telekinesis)
  9. If TV counts, then he's also played another character in the Mortal Kombat X: Generations series as well as Edgar in Heroes.

If you're counting voice acting, then the anime and American animation voice acting communities likely have quite a few popular actors who've portrayed dozens of characters with special abilities.

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