10 Movie Characters They Couldn't Stop Recasting

Universal's original Frankenstein franchise ran from 1931 to 1948 and saw eight movies released, with a grand total of four actors donning the prosthetics to play Frankenstein's Monster.

First and most famously, of course, the great Boris Karloff played the Monster in the original trilogy - Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, and Son of Frankenstein, as remain the most revered entries into the series.

After that, Lon Chaney Jr. took up the mantle for The Ghost of Frankenstein, and then the legendary Bela Lugosi - who was originally offered the role before Boris Karloff - took over for Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.

And finally, Glenn Strange played the Monster for the bookending trilogy, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Frankenstein's Monster is admittedly a bit of a Hamlet character - even in movies that exist within the same continuity, he's so much more than any one actor, and so recasting isn't nearly as troubling as it might be for other characters more firmly intertwined with the actor playing them.

That said, Karloff's take on the Monster is certainly the one that most best remember and is therefore generally considered the "definitive" portrayal.