12 Arrowverse Actors You’ve Seen In The DC Universe Before

Who could have predicted back in 2012 that Arrow would eventually spawn not one, not two but three equally successful TV series? In 2014, we got The Flash and then both Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl came along in 2015. That's not to mention the kind of related Constantine and animated miniseries Vixen. It's so big now, in fact, that this corner of the DC world has become its own mini-franchise - dubbed the Arrowverse. It might have created a vast, sprawling universe of its own, then, but that doesn't mean it doesn't pay homage to the DC TV shows that have come before it. The filmmakers of the different Arrowverse series seem proud of the long heritage of DC comics adaptations that have led up it, as they frequently cast stars who have previously appeared in DC projects - be it live-action TV, animated series or even movies. Sometimes they're small cameos, other times they're recurring roles, and a couple of them have even found regular status in the Arrowverse. Ever watched an episode and thought "hey, I know them from some other DC thingy?" Well, we're here to put your mind at ease, as we've put together a list of several actors from the Arrowverse who can also be seen in other DC projects. Give it a read on the next page and as always, be sure to let us know if we've missed anyone. 12) The Flash (1990) Supporting Cast - Amanda Pays, Alex Desert, Vito D'Ambrosio Arrowverse Role: The Flash as Dr. Tina McGee (Pays), The Flash as Captain Mendez (Desert), The Flash as Mayor Bellows (D'Ambrosio) Other DC Universe Roles: The Flash (1990) as Dr. Tina McGee (Pays), The Flash as Julio Mendez (Desert), The Flash as Anthony Bellows (D'Ambrosio) As you may know, The CW's The Flash is the second live-action show to star the Scarlet Speedster and as such, it frequently pays homage to its predecessor. As well as two major stars that we'll get to later on, three of the 1990 series' supporting cast have turned up for cameos in the modern show. They even all played slightly different versions of their original characters. Tina McGee was Barry Allen's scientist love interest in 1990 and is the head of Mercury Labs in 2014. Julio Mendez was effectively the Cisco of the 1990 show and then turned up in the modern Flash as the captain of CCPD in the Flashpoint universe. Finally, cop Tony Bellowes was re-imagined as the mayor of Central City for the modern series. 11) Laura Vandervoort Arrowverse Role: Supergirl as Indigo Other DC Universe Roles: Smallville as Kara Kent/Supergirl Laura Vandervoort first entered the DC universe when she landed the role of Clark Kent's Kryptonian cousin Kara in Superman prequel Smallville. She was a regular on the show for season 7 and then appeared in a couple of guest spots over the next few seasons. When CBS' Supergirl TV show came along, Vandervoort was given a recurring role in the show's first season, as a nod to her prior ties to the character. She played the villainous Indigo, an android member of the Brainiac family who became the joint big bad for the season when she teamed up with Kara's evil uncle Non. 10) Michael Jai White Arrowverse Role: Arrow as Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger Other DC Universe Roles: Justice League/Justice League Unlimited as Doomsday, Static Shock as Osebo, Justice League Heroes as Green Lantern/John Stewart, The Dark Knight as Gambol, Batman: The Brave and the Bold as Tattooed Man Michael Jai White's most notable comic book role has to be his turn as the titular Spawn in the cult 1990s movie based on Todd McFarlane's comic. However, he's also notched up a bunch of DC-related parts in the years since. Amongst others, he played Superman's nemesis Doomsday on the Justice League animated series, he voiced Green Lantern in video game Justice League Heroes and, most famously, the mob boss Gambol in The Dark Knight. You know, the one the Joker murders in the "Why so serious?" scene. It's only fitting, then, that the Arrowverse found a place for him, too. He turned up for three episodes in Arrow season 2 as Bronze Tiger, a member of the Suicide Squad. 9) Neal McDonough Arrowverse Role: Arrow/The Flash/Legends of Tomorrow as Damien Darhk Other DC Universe Roles: Green Arrow as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam as Green Arrow, Injustice: Gods Among Us as The Flash/Nightwing, Batman: Assault on Arkham as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot Marvel fans might know Neal McDonough for his role as Dum-Dum Dugan in Captain America: The First Avenger, or maybe for his starring role in The Incredible Hulk animated series, but he's also played a variety of DC characters, too. Before he turned up as Damien Darhk, big bad of both Arrow season 4 and Legends of Tomorrow season 3, he actually played the Emerald Archer himself in two animated short films. He then voiced two more superheroes in the Injustice video game and, finally, the anti-hero Deadshot in the animated movie Assault on Arkham. 8) Clancy Brown Arrowverse Role: The Flash as General Wade Eiling Other DC Universe Roles Include: Superman as Lex Luthor, Justice League/Justice League Unlimited as Lex Luthor, The Batman as Lex Luthor/Mr. Freeze/Bane, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies as Lex Luthor Clancy Brown's voice is known the world over as Mr. Krabs on Spongebob Squarepants, but DC anoraks will know and love (to hate) him as Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor across various productions over the past twenty years. Meanwhile, in live-action acting jobs, Brown usually plays gruff authority figures - and he happened to play one, General Wade Eiling, in four episodes of the first season of The Flash. 7) Teri Hatcher Arrowverse Role: Supergirl as Queen Rhea Other DC Universe Roles: Lois & Clark: The New Superman Adventures as Lois Lane, Smallville as Ella Lane To many fans of a certain age, Teri Hatcher is Lois Lane, thanks to her winning portrayal of Superman's girlfriend in classic 1990s show Lois & Clark. It's no surprise, then, that the next generation of DC shows have found roles for her to play. First, she appeared as the mother of Erica Durance's Lois on Smallville and she's currently starring as the evil alien queen Rhea on Supergirl season 2. It looks likely that she'll shape up to be the season's big bad, as well. 6) John Wesley Shipp Arrowverse Role: The Flash as Henry Allen/Jay Garrick Other DC Universe Roles: The Flash (1990) as Barry Allen/The Flash, Batman: The Brave and the Bold as Professor Zoom 1990s' The Flash TV show is pretty goofy by modern superhero television standards, but John Wesley Shipp still acquits himself very well as the titular hero. The first live-action portrayal of Barry Allen, Shipp felt like he stepped right out of the comic books. Despite a solid career in the decades since, then, Shipp will forever be synonymous with the Scarlet Speedster. In a fun twist, he turned up in an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold as The Flash's enemy Professor Zoom. More notably, though, he featured in the recurring - and symbolically-heavy - role as Barry's father on 2014's The Flash for its first two seasons. For season 3, he got to don The Flash mantle again - this time as Earth-3's resident speedster, Jay Garrick. 5) Helen Slater Arrowverse Role: Supergirl as Eliza Danvers Other DC Universe Roles: Supergirl (1984) as Kara Zor-El/Linda Lee/Supergirl, Batman: The Animated Series as Talia al Ghul, Smallville as Lara-El, DC Super Hero Girls as Martha Kent It's hard to deny that 1984's Supergirl movie isn't anything special - in fact, it's actually pretty terrible - but leading lady Helen Slater gave it her best shot and delivered a pretty charming performance as the Girl of Steel. Even if the movie was a flop, the actress must have struck a chord with fans, as she's featured in several DC productions since. In a couple of these, she swapped being Superman's cousin for his mother - she played Kal-El's biological mother, Lara, in Smallville and then his adoptive one, Martha Kent, in DC Super Hero Girls. Though it wasn't Superman-related, she also turned up as femme fatale Talia al Ghul on Batman: The Animated Series. Currently, she's starring in Supergirl as Eliza Danvers, adoptive mother of Supergirl. Her on-screen husband is also no stranger to the DC universe... 4) Dean Cain Arrowverse Role: Supergirl as Jeremiah Danvers Other DC Universe Roles: Lois & Clark: The New Superman Adventures as Clark Kent/Superman, Smallvile as Dr. Curtis Knox You don't get to play Superman for 87 episodes of television and not be embraced into the DC family with open arms. Dean Cain became a generation of TV viewers' preferred Man of Steel during the 1990s for Lois & Clark, and he's since followed that up by a couple of welcome guest spots on Superman-related shows. He turned up in an episode of Smallville as Dr. Curtis Knox, a loose version of Vandal Savage (renamed to allude to Cain's past role as Clark Kent), and he's currently on Supergirl as the Danvers' missing patriarch Jeremiah, who Kara and Alex are continually trying to rescue from Cadmus. 3) Mark Hamill Arrowverse Role: The Flash as James Jesse/The Trickster Other DC Universe Roles Include: The Flash (1990) as The Trickster, Batman: The Animated Series as The Joker, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm as The Joker, Justice League as The Joker, Justice League Unlimited as The Trickster, Birds of Prey as The Joker, Batman: Arkham Asylum as The Joker, Batman: The Killing Joke as The Joker, Justice League Action as The Joker Sci-fi fans might know him as Star Wars' Luke Skywalker, but DC fans will always know Mark Hamill as the definitive voice of The Joker. Hamill has played the Clown Prince of Crime for over twenty years now, across TV shows, movies and video games. Before The Joker, though, Hamill played the nemesis of another DC hero - The Trickster on The Flash (1990). Fast forward to 2014, and The CW version couldn't resist bringing Hamill back as the same character, though this time he played it much closer to his version of The Joker. Hamill also briefly reprised the part in Justice League Unlimited. 2) Lynda Carter Arrowverse Role: Supergirl as President Olivia Marsden Other DC Universe Roles: Wonder Woman as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Smallville as Moira Sullivan Few DC TV stars are bigger than Lynda Carter. Thanks to her role as the Maid of Might in the 1975-79 Wonder Woman TV show, she's a veritable pop culture icon. Naturally, she was welcomed onto Supergirl, then, another TV series led by a DC heroine. Carter is currently turning up now and again as President Marsden, the female POTUS who's actually an alien in disguise. She also appeared in an episode of Smallville as the metahuman mother of regular character Chloe Sullivan. 1) Brandon Routh Arrowverse Role: Arrow/The Flash/Legends of Tomorrow/Vixen as Ray Palmer/The Atom Other DC Universe Roles: Superman Returns as Clark Kent/Superman, The Batman as Everywhere Man Most of the actors on this list - with the exception of semi-regular character John Wesley Shipp - are just guest stars. Brandon Routh, however, is a main character of the Arrow universe, as he's turned up as Ray Palmer/The Atom across the three central shows. Of course, as any Superman fan knows, he'd previously played the Man of Steel himself on the big screen in 2006's Superman Returns. That same year, he also lent his voice to the villain of an episode of The Batman.