Moviegoers have been treated to every kind of fictional president. There are heroic ones, the ones who take a stand for what’s right and defend the United States of America to the best of their abilities. There are the crooked ones, who actually need to be taken down by others in order to preserve the country’s sense of justice. Then there are the goofballs who occupy the Oval Office in comedies and parodies.
It will surprise no one to learn that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has an impressive roster of top-tier actors—it’s the most expansive and lucrative franchise in the 21st century. What may be surprising, though, is the number of MCU actors who have also played U.S. presidents. You can probably think of a few examples off the top of your head, but allow us to fill in the blanks with a complete list.
Powers Boothe
Yes, Powers Boothe was part of the MCU. He played Gideon Malick, a member of the World Security Council, in both The Avengers (2012) and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-20). He didn’t have a ton to do, but his commanding presence was felt whenever he walked into a room. And the same can be said when he played President Noah Daniels in the TV movie 24: Redemption (2008). The movie bridged the gap between seasons 6 and 7 of the popular thriller series.
Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges holds a special place in MCU history, as he played the villain in the original Iron Man (2008). As Obadiah Stane aka Iron Monger, he managed to strike the perfect balance between friendliness and ruthless self-interest. Bridges struck a similar balance when he played President Jackson Evans in The Contender (2000). He was so effective, in fact, that he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Josh Brolin
Josh Brolin will always be remembered as Thanos. He gave the tyrannical purple alien a tragic bent, and helped to make Avengers: Infinity War (2017) and Avengers: Endgame (2018) some of the highest-grossing blockbusters of all time. Brolin also did an excellent job playing George W. Bush in W. (2008). The film was criticized by many for presenting a sanitized version of Bush’s life, but Brolin was praised for his performance and nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Terry Crews
Maybe it’s a stretch, but Terry Crews is technically part of the MCU. He doesn’t appear in any of the films or shows, but he plays the character Centurion Tal Marik on the Guardians of the Galaxy ride in Epcot. He also plays one of the densest, most ridiculously-named presidents in screen history: Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho. Words don’t do his performance justice—just watch Idiocracy (2006) if you haven’t already.
Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas is known to an entire generation as Hank Pym, the creator of the Pym particle and the co-star of the Ant-Man trilogy (2015-23). Of course, Douglas is a screen legend, and one of his most beloved roles is Andrew Shepard in the aptly titled romantic comedy The American President (1995).
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a scene-stealer in everything she does. She’s the perfect actress to play Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) and various MCU shows. That being said, she will be more remembered as Selina Meyers on Veep (2012-19). Dreyfus won six consecutive Emmy Awards for her performance as the vice president-turned-president, which has helped her become one of the most awarded actresses in American television history.
Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx is tangentially related to the MCU. He reprised his role of Electro in the multiverse blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). He also played James W. Sawyer, a president who has to fight terrorists with the help of a Capitol police officer (Channing Tatum) in White House Down (2013). It’s not an action classic or anything, but it’s a fun time.
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is going to be a part of the MCU, even if he isn’t yet. He’s slated to play president Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in the upcoming film Captain America: Brave New World (2024). Ford, of course, has experience playing a badass president. One of his most iconic roles is James Marshall, the president who manages to save the day from terrorists in Air Force One (1997). He also gets to deliver the immortal, grumpy cool line: “Get off my plane!”
Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins played Odin in the Thor franchise, and he has the distinction of being the only actor on the list to play two presidents. Real presidents at that. He played John Quincy Adams in the 1997 drama Amistad, and Richard M. Nixon in the 1995 biographical drama Nixon. Both films received critical praise, and Hopkins even landed an Academy Award for Best Actor for the latter.
Michael Keaton
Lesser remembered perhaps, but still worth nothing: Michael Keaton played the president in First Daughter (2004), a romantic comedy in which the titular character (Katie Holmes) finds love while in college. It’s not an amazing film, but the father-daughter dynamic did prove crucial when Keaton played the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). Now that’s an amazing film.
Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley played one of the most controversial characters in MCU history: the Mandarin. Well, technically. He was supposed to be a decoy in Iron Man 3 (2013), but we were later introduced to the real thing in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). Anyway, the Oscar winner played the president in the political comedy Dave (1993) opposite Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver.
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson has made more movies than pretty much anyone, so it should come as no surprise that he played the president at one point. He occupied the Oval Office in the action thriller Big Game (2014), which remains one of the most expensive Finnish productions of all time. Not super well known, but Jackson is his usual charismatic self, so it’s worth checking out.
Christopher McDonald
Christopher McDonald is a recent MCU addition! He’s playing a crucial role as a nefarious Skrull in Secret Invasion (2023), but long before he was shape-shifting, he was the president in the comedy blockbuster Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002). He was usurped the following year, sadly, when George Clooney played the president in Spy Kids 3D: Game Over (2003).
Bill Murray
Bill Murray showed up and did his typical Bill Murray thing in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), but he was borderline unrecognizable when he played Franklin D. Roosevelt in the historical drama Hyde Park on Hudson (2012). “Playing a beloved person, that really sets a high bar for your behavior and your acting and what you project,” the actor told The Hollywood Reporter. Murray met this high bar, earning acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy, for his performance.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman got to play the president when she was only 15! At least, for a little bit. She inherits the presidency after her parents (Jack Nicholson and Glenn Close) are killed at the end of the bonkers cult classic Mars Attacks! (1996). Portman would of course go on to play Dr. Jane Foster in three of the four Thor movies.
Sam Rockwell
Sam Rockwell is absolutely delightful as the bumbling Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2 (2011). He’s one of the film’s redeeming qualities, which should come as no surprise given the actor’s propensity for scene stealing roles. He pulled a similar magic trick when he played George W. Bush in the acclaimed satirical drama Vice (2018), which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
William Sadler
William Sadler is the only guy who’s on the list for playing a president in the MCU itself. He played Matthew Ellis in Iron Man 3, and would go on to make additional appearances as Ellis in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the online series WHIH Newsfront Exclusive. He also filmed a scene for Ant-Man (2015), but it wound up on the cutting room floor.
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron is part of the MCU, lest we all forget. She made a brief and somewhat baffling cameo as Clea, the Sorcerer Supreme, at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). She also gave one of her most charming and endearing performances as presidential hopeful Charlotte Field in the rom-com Long Shot (2019).
William Hurt
William Hurt was an inaugural MCU member. He appeared as “Thunderbolt” Ross in the franchise’s second entry, The Incredible Hulk (2009), and reprised the character in a handful of Captain America and Avengers films. He’s since been recast with Ford, but don’t worry, he already got a chance to play the president in the gimmicky, albeit underrated thriller Vantage Point (2008).
Published: Jul 16, 2023 12:00 am