9 Actors Who Have Played Both Superheroes And Supervillains

You often hear actors talk about how it is much more fun to play villains, as they get to explore different, often more intense, methods of acting than they do when portraying good guys. Meanwhile, some actors love playing the heroes. They are the main characters, after all. Then, of course, there are those that like to keep things fresh and will happily play both the greatest hero and the most menacing of villains. Given how iconic many characters in superhero movies are, it's surprising that a fair few actors have managed to shake off their good guy/bad guy image to portray someone on the other side of the fence. Here are 9 talented individuals who've done just that though, portraying both a superhero and supervillain throughout their career and doing so with respectable (for the most part) results. 9) Michael B. Jordan Michael B. Jordan’s star is still on the rise, but he’s already played a handful of superhero roles. Firstly, he starred as Steve, one of three teens who gain telekinetic powers in 2012’s found-footage superhero movie Chronicle. Jordan teamed up with director Josh Trank again for 2015’s Fantastic Four, in which the actor played his most known superhero role – Johnny Storm AKA The Human Torch. In between those two movies, he also voiced Cyborg in the Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox animated movie in 2013. It’s surprising, then, that Jordan will be swapping his superhero image to play a villain in the upcoming Marvel movie Black Panther, coming in 2018. Jordan will play Erik Killmonger. In case the name doesn’t clue you in, Killmonger is one of T’Challa’s deadliest foes in the comics. 8) Michael Keaton Michael Keaton has a special place in comic book movie fans’ hearts as it is him we have to thank for rescuing Batman from the campy excesses of the Adam West incarnation from the 1960s TV show. In Tim Burton’s Batman movies, Keaton was a brilliantly brooding and stoic Dark Knight. So influential is his turn as Batman that he ended up spoofing it in 2014’s Oscar-winning drama Birdman, about an actor most known for playing a superhero. Keaton will again be swapping his cowl for a pair of wings next year when he plays Spidey’s latest nemesis The Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming, opposite Tom Holland. The actor might never have escaped the image of him as a man dressed as a flying creature, but at least he gets to play the villain this time around. 7) Josh Brolin Though he was considered to play Batman in the DC Extended Universe, the only superhero role Josh Brolin has taken on to date is the lead in 2010’s comic book western Jonah Hex. Unfortunately, though Brolin was a good fit for the character, the movie itself was a sloppy mess. He's destined to be a much better supervillain, then, as Brolin has been playing Thanos - the big bad of the Marvel Cinematic Universe - since 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. He'll finally get his due in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War and its sequel, the first of which turns up in 2018. 6) Mickey Rourke Mickey Rourke’s two roles in comic book movies occupy completely opposing places in terms of critical reception and fan approval. His turn as the fearsome-looking yet principled Marv in 2008’s Sin City earned him much awards and acclaim. It’s also responsible for triggering a career renaissance for Rourke after years out of the limelight. On the other hand, he appeared as Ivan Vanko AKA Whiplash, one of two villains in 2010’s Iron Man. Though the mixed reception to the film and its status as one of the lesser entries into the MCU cannot be solely rested at Rourke’s feet, his wayward performance in the movie certainly didn’t help. 5) Hugo Weaving In his superhero and supervillain roles, Hugo Weaving has proven himself a dab hand at giving a great performance whilst having his face totally obscured. First he starred in 2006's V For Vendetta as V - the vigilante with a vendetta against the virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The character’s commitment to presenting himself as the spirit of the people rather than an individual meant that Weaving spent the whole film under a mask. In 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, Weaving got to show his own face occasionally, though he more often appeared in the visage of Red Skull, Captain America’s Nazi nemesis. Fans and critics loved his performance but the actor has publicly spoken about his indifference to the role. Sadly, then, we don’t expect to see him in the MCU again. 4) Scarlett Johansson ScarJo is obviously most known to superhero fans as Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow, a founding member of the Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, she has also played a supervillain, too. Only in a much less well-regarded production. 2007’s The Spirit was the directorial debut of comic legend Frank Miller, and starred two Hollywood heavyweights in Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson. However, Miller turned out to be poor choice for director and wasted his talented cast in an all-round turkey of a movie. Funnily enough, Johansson and Jackson are paired together, just as they often are in the MCU. While he plays arch-fiend The Octopus, she plays his evil henchwoman Silken Floss. The film is possibly most remembered for the tactless scene where the pair dress up in full Nazi regalia. Yeah, The Spirit is that weird. 3) Samuel L. Jackson Samuel L. Jackson might be synonymous with the man who made the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury, but he’s not always a good guy. In fact, he is unique on this list for playing multiple superhero roles and multiple supervillain parts. Firstly, Jackson played Bruce Willis’ opposite Mr. Glass in 2000’s Unbreakable. Then, he was Mr. Incredible’s pal Frozone in Pixar’s The Incredibles. After appearing in The Spirit, Jackson first turned up as the previously mentioned Mr Fury in 2008’s Iron Man. Most recently, he played another villain in 2015’s Kingsman: The Secret Service. Technically, that isn’t superhero fiction but it is based off a comic book. And Jackson’s character, Richmond Valentine, does want to wipe out humanity. I don't know about you, but that sure sounds like a supervillain to us. 2) Jim Carrey Generally speaking, those on this list have one superhero role that is more famous than the other. Not Jim Carrey, however, whose turns as superhero and supervillain are two of his most well known parts. 1994 was the year that catapulted Carrey into stardom as he starred in a trio of hits – Ace Venture, Dumb and Dumber and The Mask. The latter, based on the Dark Horse comic series, saw the actor at his rubbery-faced best as a man with all the powers of a cartoon character. Just one year later, Carrey swapped The Mask’s yellow zoot suit for form-hugging green spandex as The Riddler, who worked with Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face to bring Val Kilmer’s Dark Knight down in Batman Forever. Carrey also returned to the superhero game much more recently in 2013’s Kick-Ass 2, where he starred as the Captain America-parodying Colonel Stars and Stripes. 1) Will Smith The most recent example of an actor who has played both superhero and supervillain is Will Smith. Though both of his roles were unconventional. 2007’s Hancock was not based on a pre-exiting character but it was still firmly a superhero movie, starring Smith as a sort of alcoholic Superman who gets a PR man to rescue his public image. In 2016, Smith played Floyd Lawton AKA Deadshot, the world’s most wanted hitman who is forced to play hero as part of the Suicide Squad. In effect, both characters fill the same anti-hero role in their respective films. However, by profession, the characters are hero and villain, so Smith gets his place on this list. You could also count Smith’s role as J in the Men of Black movies. He’s not a superhero, but the films are based off a lesser-known comic book series.