9 Actors Who Played Both Iconic Super Heroes And Villains
Conan is King, but Mr. Freeze left us cold.
The danger with an actor portraying an iconic superhero is that it can dominate their whole career. Just look at Michael Keaton, a great actor who spent nearly two decades playing supporting roles because people had a hard time seeing him as anyone other than Batman. The same thing happened with Christopher Reeve and even poor Brandon Routh, so the success of these movies can be a real double-edged sword.
A good way for an actor to break away from hero typecasting is to play a nasty villain and show off their range a little, which also shows they can have a little fun too. The most adventurous performers also like to explore both sides of the comic book coin, by playing both a conflicted hero – or anti-hero – and a villain, just to switch things up.
It’s still a surprisingly small list of actors who’ve attempted this double duty throughout their careers, though, but for those who have it can be fascinating to compare and contrast their good and evil turns within the same genre. Sometimes they excel in both roles, but a few should have stuck to what they're good at.
9. Terrence Stamp - Stick / General Zod
Terrence Stamp lends immediate gravitas to any role he plays, and he even managed to shine in a complete dog of a film like Elektra. He played Stick, the blind martial arts master who trained Daredevil in the comics. Stick is the mentor to Elektra throughout the movie, appearing to give sage advice before vanishing again since they only paid Stamp to work for a few days; he still gives the character a charming edge, though.
He’s the most memorable thing about a very forgettable film, but comic fans will always kneel before Stamp thanks to the role of Zod in Superman I and II. Even with the silly outfit Stamp radiates menace and avoids going the ham route many other actors would have taken. Stamp’s Zod ranks as one of the best comic book movie villains of all time, and while Michael Shannon was a worthy successor, Stamp is still the man to beat.
He left a major Stamp on the role if you will (sorry).