Actors and their signature characters (1 Viewer)

[Brett_M]

I was looking at the new Dirty Harry DVDs the other day and it occurred to me that Eastwood is one of only a handful of actors who have more than one popular or beloved film character -- a defining character, in other words.

Who are the actors with more than one signature role to their credit?

-Clint Eastwood has Harry Callahan and The Man with No Name.

-Sylvester Stallone has Rocky Balboa and John Rambo.

-Harrison Ford has Indiana Jones, Jack Ryan, Rick Deckard and Han Solo.

-Arnold Schwarzenegger has The Terminator and Conan the Barbarian.

Who has the most? I was thinking in terms of action/adventure characters but I guess any genre will do. Is Ford the king?

EDIT: Asked another way, which actors have had the good fortune to spawn multiple movie series with new characters?

 

[Brent M]

I'd definitely say Ford. Between Han Solo, Indy, Jack Ryan, Deckard, The President of the United States and Richard Kimble(The Fugitive) I'd say it has to be him.

 

[Brett_M]

Agreed.

What about Kurt Russell? Snake Plissken, RJ MacReady, & Jack Burton. Is he too "small?"

 

[Nick Martin]

Brett and Brent M.

For a second I thought this was a one person conversation before noticing the different avatars.

Michael Keaton has Batman and Beetlejuice.

Samuel L. Jackson has Jules Winnfield, Zeus Carver and Mace Windu, though I don't think Windu is a beloved character.

Robert DeNiro has Travis Bickle, Jake LaMotta, Vito Corleone, Neil McCauley and Jack Byrnes.

 

[PatW]

Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky and Martin Riggs.

 

[Henry Gale]

Jack Black has raising his brows and bugging his eyes out.

Oh, you asked about actors. I got nothin'.

 

[Malcolm R]

If you're defining this as actors in movie "series", then Ford's Deckard wouldn't really count as Blade Runner was a single film.

The LOTR trilogy allowed many actors to add another signature character to their resumes:

Hugo Weaving: Elrond & Agent Smith (Matrix)
Christopher Lee: Saruman & Dracula & Count Dooku (Star Wars)
Ian McKellen: Gandalf & Magneto
Cate Blanchett: Galadriel & Elizabeth I
Orlando Bloom: Legolas & Will Turner (Pirates...)
John Rhys-Davies: Gimli & Sallah (Indiana Jones...)

Others:
Keanu Reeves: Neo (Matrix) & Ted (Bill & Ted...)
Patrick Stewart: Captain Picard & Professor Xavier

 

[JohnRice]

A truly sad sign of the times if ever I've seen one that these are the roles McKellen is thought of.

 

[Brent M]

You forgot my all-time favorite: Jimmy Conway(GoodFellas). There's also Max Cady(Cape Fear), Ace Rothstein(Casino) and Al Capone(The Untouchables). However, while DeNiro is clearly the superior actor to Harrison Ford, I still think Ford has more "signature characters" in his repertoire.

 

[DavidPla]

Maybe for Magneto, but Gandalf earned him an Oscar nomination and is truly an astounding performance especially Fellowship of the Ring.

 

[Brett_M]

Yes! Add William Wallace, too.

 

[Brett_M]

Great list. I had second thoughts about Deckard as soon as I wrote it. I'm glad you brought that up. It is an iconic character, though.

 

[Steve_Pannell]

Sean Connery: James Bond
Roger Moore: James Bond

No matter which one you favor, you have to hand it to both of them in the context of this thread.

 

[dany]

And i still consider Alec Baldwin Jack Ryan, not Ford but that's just me.

 

[Raasean Asaad]

Jack Nicholson as Himself in every movie he makes

 

[EricW]

in the more infamous category:
Ed O'Neill for Al Bundy
William Atherton for Walter Peck (Ghostbusters)
Jeffrey Jones for Principal Rooney

 

[Brett_M]

See post #1 -- we're looking for multiple signature roles here.

 

[Douglas Monce]

Basil Rathbone........Sherlock Holmes/Sir Guy of Gisbourne

Marlon Brando........Don Vito Corleone/Stanley Kowalski

Al Pacino...............Michael Corleone/Frank Serpico

Roddy McDowall......Cornelius/Caesar(Planet of the Apes)

George Sanders.......Simon Templar, aka The Saint/ Shere Khan

Jack Nicholson.........J.J. Gittes/Col. Nathan R. Jessep


All I can think of off the top of my head. Not all multiple movies for each charicter, but signature roles none the less.

Doug

 

[Brett_M]

Again...see post #1 -- we're looking for multiple signature roles here.

 

[Douglas Monce]

yeah I realized it after I posted....I edited it so check again.

Doug