Serious Actors Who Took Comic Book Roles
Jared Leto is joining the ranks of serious actors who took comic book roles. After an impressive performance in Dallas Buyers Club, Leto has been cast in the role of the Joker in the upcoming Suicide Squad.
photo: WENN
It appears the days of career damaging comic roles such as Ben Affleck in Daredevil or George Clooney in Batman & Robin are gone. Hit the jump and take a look at the actors who boosted their stock playing comic book characters.
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Photo: WENN
photo: WENN
Samuel Jackson has played his fare share of hot-tempered characters, so he was a natural fit for the role of Nick Fury in The Avengers.
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Before all that trouble with the taxman, Wesley Snipes established himself as a bona fide action star in the Blade series.
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Halle Berry pulled down comic book double duty for both Marvel and DC with her respective roles as Catwoman and Storm in the X-Men franchise.
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Given the heavy special effects, you could hardly tell Billy Crudup played Dr. Manhattan in The Watchmen.
photo: WENN
photo: WENN
Morgan Freeman was more of an advisor in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight reboots, but as the character Sloan in Wanted he was packing his piece.
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Robert Downey Jr. resurrected his career in the Iron Man franchise by filming three individual movies plus holding down Tony Starks in The Avengers.
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Heath Ledger may very well have been the best version of Batman villain the Joker.
photo: WENN
photo: WENN
As Bruce Wayne and Batman, Christian Bale was down to get buff, pull out the raspy voice but unlike Terminator Salvation, he didn’t have to bark on any crew members.
photo: WENN
photo: WENN
Ben Affleck has proven himself to be quite the director. As for his action resume? Well, the less said about Daredevil the better.
photo: WENN
photo: WENN
Ron Pearlman laid the smack down in two installments of Hellboy.
photo: WENN
photo: WENN
After leading the Spartans as Leonidas in 300, it was sad to see Gerard Butler resort to rom-coms.
photo: WENN
photo: WENN
A distinctly different interpretation, the only version of Joker that could give Heath Ledger a run was the one played by Jack Nicholson.
photo: WENN
photo: WENN
Tobey Maguire proved he could carry a big budget action franchise with three turns as the Peter Parker/Spider-Man character.
photo: WENN
photo: WENN
Jared Leto will be the first actor to play the role of the Joker since the late Heath Ledger in the upcoming DC Comics movie Suicide Squad. Will Smith, Tom Hardy and Margot Robbie will round out the cast of super villains.
