The Favorite Famous Roles List

Today's list comes from an idea that somehow popped into my head. There's a number of famous roles that have been played in movies (and TV) over and over again--legendary fictional and historical characters such as Dracula, Batman, Wyatt Earp, etc.

The purpose of this list is to present my pick for who was the best in a particular famous role. Simple enough--but when my great friend Joshua Kennedy (HOUSE OF THE GORGON) found out about this idea, he upped the ante by suggesting that I also pick which performer would have been great in a certain famous role. So I'm doing that here as well.

Hopefully this post will spark some discussion. If you have favorites of your own that you'd like to mention, by all means leave a comment below, or on The Hitless Wonder Facebook Page. Remember, there are no wrong answers--just goofy guys who write movie blogs.


My personal choices for:

Best Dracula: Christopher Lee
Person who would have been great in the role: Paul Henreid

Best Van Helsing: Peter Cushing
Person who would have been great in the role: Liam Neeson

Best Dr. Frankenstein: Peter Cushing
Person who would have been great in the role: Claude Rains

Best Frankenstein's Monster: Boris Karloff
Person who would have been great in the role: Chuck Connors

Best Phantom of the Opera: Lon Chaney
Person who would have been great in the role: Christopher Lee

Best Mummy: Christopher Lee
Person who would have been great in the role: Conrad Veidt

Best Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: John Barrymore
Person who would have been great in the role: Tyrone Power

Best Devil: Walter Huston
Person who would have been great in the role: Lee Van Cleef

Best Sherlock Holmes: Basil Rathbone
Person who would have been great in the role: Michael Gough

Best Batman: Adam West
Person who would have been great in the role: Clint Eastwood

Best Joker: Heath Ledger
Person who would have been great in the role: Richard Widmark

Best Superman: Christopher Reeve
Person who would have been great in the role: Gary Cooper

Best Spider-Man: Tom Holland
Person who would have been great in the role: a very young Kurt Russell

Best Hercule Poirot: Albert Finney
Person who would have been great in the role: George Pastell

Best Miss Marple: Joan Hickson
Person who would have been great in the role: Dame May Whitty

Best Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee
Person who would have been great in the role: Lionel Jeffries

Best James Bond: Sean Connery
Person who would have been great in the role: Patrick McGoohan

Best Felix Leiter: Jack Lord
Person who would have been great in the role: James Drury

Best Jack Ryan: Alec Baldwin
Person who would have been great in the role: Rod Taylor

Best Robin Hood: Errol Flynn
Person who would have been great in the role: Ian Ogilvy

Best Davy Crockett: John Wayne
Person who would have been great in the role: Robert Ryan

Best Captain Nemo: James Mason
Person who would have been great in the role: Louis Jourdan

Best Quatermass: Brian Donlevy
Person who would have been great in the role: Peter Cushing

Best Long John Silver: Robert Newton
Person who would have been great in the role: Oliver Reed

Best Abraham Lincoln: Henry Fonda
Person who would have been great in the role: John Barrymore

Best Napoleon: Rod Steiger
Person who would have been great in the role: Peter Lorre

Best Queen Elizabeth I: Flora Robson
Person who would have been great in the role: Barbara Stanwyck

Best King Henry VIII: Charles Laughton
Person who would have been great in the role: Oliver Reed

Best Richard III: Basil Rathbone
Person who would have been great in the role: Peter Cushing

Best Cleopatra: Claudette Colbert
Person who would have been great in the role: Martine Beswicke

Best Julius Caesar: Warren William
Person who would have been great in the role: Basil Rathbone

Best Al Capone: Robert DeNiro
Person who would have been great in the role: Lon Chaney

Best Adolf Hitler: Bruno Ganz
Person who would have been great in the role: Donald Pleasence

Best Winston Churchill: Gary Oldman
Person who would have been great in the role: Charles Lloyd Pack

Best Wyatt Earp: Kurt Russell
Person who would have been great in the role: Burt Reynolds

Best Doc Holliday: Val Kilmer
Person who would have been great in the role: Jack Nicholson