30 Actors Who Have Played Both Marvel and DC Comics Characters

Marvel and DC Comics are some of the most coveted intellectual property of the current entertainment landscape. Over the last few decades, countless actors have brought the beloved characters to life on screens big and small. 

It’s not exactly uncommon for an actor to toggle between universes, either. Christian Bale has played DC’s Batman and Marvel’s Gorr the God Butcher; Ryan Reynolds was DC’s Green Lantern before he became Marvel’s Deadpool. As Screen Rant has proven, the list is dozens long, at least.

Here are 30 performers who have pulled double-duty for Marvel and DC, from Angela Bassett to Sylvester Stallone.

1. Angela Bassett

Before Angela Bassett became part of the MCU playing T’Challa’s mother, Ramonda, in Black Panther (2018), she appeared as Dr. Amanda Waller in DC’s Green Lantern (2011).

2. Ben Affleck 

Affleck has played Batman in a handful of movies from the DCEU, including 2017’s Justice League and 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Back in 2003, he was the titular character in Marvel’s Daredevil. 

3. Colin Farrell

Colin Farrell also appeared in 2003’s Daredevil as the assassin Bullseye. On the DC side, he brought the Penguin (a.k.a. Oswald Cobblepot) to life in 2022’s The Batman.

4. Zoë Kravitz

Zoë Kravitz’s portrayal of Catwoman in 2022’s The Batman landed her in the DC universe (though she had already voiced the character in 2017’s The Lego Batman Movie). Over in Marvel land, she played the mutant Tempest (a.k.a Angel Salvadore) in 2011’s X-Men: First Class and gave voice to Mary Jane in the 2018 animated flick Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

5. Halle Berry

Kravitz isn’t the only Catwoman with a foot in the Marvel universe. Halle Berry, who played the character in 2004’s Catwoman, was also Storm in a number of X-Men movies.

6. Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Pfeiffer, whose whip-wielding Catwoman can be seen in 1992’s Batman Returns, is also Janet van Dyne—formerly the Wasp, an identity that now belongs to her daughter, Hope—in the MCU’s Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).

7. Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton was Tim Burton’s Bruce Wayne in 1989’s Batman and its 1992 sequel (not to mention the recently buried Batgirl). He’s also Marvel’s Vulture, the primary antagonist in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2019).

8. Chris Evans

It’s thanks to 2010’s The Losers, based on a DC-owned Vertigo comic book series of the same name, that a few A-listers made this list. Chris Evans is one of them: He played hacker Jake Jensen. In addition to being the MCU’s Captain America, he was also Johnny Storm in the non-MCU 2005 film Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel.

9. Idris Elba

Idris Elba starred in The Losers, too, as Captain William Roque, and as the assassin Bloodsport in DC's The Suicide Squad. His main Marvel role is Heimdall from 2011’s Thor and other MCU offerings; he also played Moreau, a character invented for 2011’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

10. Zoe Saldaña

Perhaps best known for her portrayal of Gamora in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and other MCU movies, Saldaña also appeared as the enigmatic Aisha al-Fadhil in The Losers.

11. Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster features heavily in the MCU’s Thor films (save for 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok). She’s technically played a DC character, too, as 2005’s V for Vendetta—in which she starred as Evey Hammond—is based on a DC Comics property from the 1980s.

12. Hugo Weaving

Weaving is in a similar boat: He portrayed V in V for Vendetta and Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger.

13. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje appeared in 2016’s Suicide Squad as Killer Croc; his Marvel credit comes from 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, in which he played the Dark Elf Malekith’s henchman Algrim.

14. Kelly Hu

Kelly Hu had a recurring role as the DC character China White in the CW series Arrow, and she also played the Marvel villain Lady Deathstrike in the 2003 X-Men sequel X2: X-Men United.

15. Zachary Levi

Zachary Levi had a short-lived run as the Asgardian warrior Fandral in Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. He’s also the star of DC’s Shazam! (2019) and its upcoming sequel.

16. Laurence Fishburne

Laurence Fishburne has two Marvel credits on his résumé: Bill Foster in Ant-Man and the Wasp, and the Silver Surfer (in voice only) in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. In the DCEU, he’s Perry White of The Daily Planet, first seen in 2013’s Man of Steel.

17. Dolph Lundgren

Dolph Lundgren is a DC star twice over—first as Russian crime boss Konstantin Kovar in season 5 of Arrow, and currently as King Nereus in the DCEU’s Aquaman movies. He was also Frank Castle (a.k.a. The Punisher) in 1989’s The Punisher.

18. Barry Keoghan

Irish actor Barry Keoghan fleetingly showed up as the Joker in 2022’s The Batman and played Druig in the MCU’s Eternals the year before.

19. Tilda Swinton

Tilda Swinton is best known to MCU fans as the Ancient One in 2016’s Doctor Strange (and Avengers: Endgame, briefly). She also played the Archangel Gabriel in the 2005 Keanu Reeves-starring movie Constantine, based on DC’s Hellblazer comics.

20. Rachel Weisz

Rachel Weisz also starred in Constantine as twins Angela and Isabel. Her Marvel credit comes from 2021’s Black Widow: She played Black Widow Melina Vostokoff, Natasha and Yelena’s (sort of) adoptive mother.

21. David Harbour

Natasha and Yelena’s adoptive father—the Red Guardian—was portrayed by Stranger Things star David Harbour, who also appeared as government agent Dexter Tolliver in DC’s Suicide Squad (2016). Harbour's biggest comic book movie role, however, is as Hellboy in Neil Marshall's 2019 remake, which is a different publisher altogether: Dark Horse Comics. 

22. Taika Waititi

Taika Waititi pulled double duty in Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder, both directing the films and voicing the Kronan Korg. In DC’s 2006 film Green Lantern, he’s aerospace engineer Thomas Kalmaku.

23. Morena Baccarin

In addition to playing Vanessa in 2016’s Deadpool and its 2018 sequel—both based on Marvel properties—Morena Baccarin was Dr. Leslie Thompkins in the Fox TV series Gotham.

24. Josh Brolin

Josh Brolin’s Thanos is the biggest bad in the MCU thus far, but it’s not the only time we’ve seen Brolin in a Marvel movie: He was Cable in 2018’s Deadpool 2. He also starred as the DC antihero Jonah Hex in the 2010 film of the same name.

25. Randall Park

In 2018, Randall Park played both Dr. Stephen Shin in DC’s Aquaman and FBI agent Jimmy Woo in Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp—a character he later reprised in WandaVision.

26. Florence Kasumba

Florence Kasumba has been an elite warrior in both the DCEU, where she played Acantha of the Amazon in 2017’s Wonder Woman, and the MCU, as Ayo of Wakanda's Dora Milaje in 2018’s Black Panther and beyond.

27. Adam Beach

Adam Beach briefly portrayed Slipknot in DC’s Suicide Squad (2016) and William Lonestar, father of Mirage, in Marvel’s The New Mutants (2020).

28. Djimon Hounsou

Djimon Hounsou has an impressive three DC roles to his name: Constantine’s Midnite, Aquaman’s King Ricou, and Shazam!’s Wizard. He also appeared as Korath in the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel.

29. Tao Okamoto

For Marvel, model Tao Okamoto played Mariko Yashida in 2013’s The Wolverine. For DC, she was Mercy Graves in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

30. Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone voiced King Shark in 2021’s The Suicide Squad for DC and joined the MCU as Stakar Ogord in 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.