Superhero actors who made character BETTER...

[MessiahDecoy123]

Has there been an actor who made you love a character you were "meh" about previously?

Who?

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I'll start things off with the great Christopher Reeve.

 

[honestbharani]

Chris Evans and its not even close for me.

 

[OutOfBoose]

Nearly all actors introduced their respective characters for me. I'm trying to find a character, whom I did know before I saw the film.

 

[C. Lee]

As I posted in another thread. In 1978 I was not a DC or a Superman fan. Then the first Christopher Reeve SUPERMAN movie was released....and I became a fan of the character. His performance was fantastic.

 

[Drizzle]

Robert Downey Jr. made me and a whole lot of other people care about Tony Stark a lot more. I can say the same for a great deal more of the actors in the MCU but he's the one that started it all.

 

[Iceman]

For me there have been performances like RDJ's that have made me like a character I already liked even more. Not one that's made me like a character I didn't like already.

 

[Travesty]

I used to think he was a joke, but I didn't really like Mr. Freeze until Schwarzenegger played him.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

I liked Captain America as a guest star, loved him in cartoons that are not Spider-Man shows in the 80s, nor the Superhero Squad Show. Loved the character more as an MCU star thanks to Chris Evans.

I was very much meh toward Wolverine, it was Hugh Jackman that made him a character I care about.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I never liked any incarnation of Ant-Man until the Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd versions. Pym in particular used to be the butt of jokes when it came to me. I thought he was the crummiest superhero out there.

Peter Quill is another one that went way up in my view after Chris Pratt's portrayal.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Michael Keaton as Batman.

He added so much to the character I'd never seen before. I loved Batman, but I always thought of him as a wish-fulfilment superhero. I never imagined he could be a normal-sized man, a weirdo-loner who dresses as a bat and beats up street thugs as a form of therapy.

Plus the way he acts in the costume - he says almost nothing, he just glares at his foes and occasionally whispers threats. All the other Batman actors play the role as an action hero with a mission to one degree or another, but Keaton's Batman is as disturbed as the Joker.

 

[BlackFox]

Chris Evans and its not even close for me.

By a long way. Thought Captain America was a dull and uninteresting character that would never appeal to me but Chris plays him with such humility and decency without coming across a sap that he turned out to be my favourite MCU character when I never thought that would be the case, helps that his films have turned out to be damn good of course as well.

 

[Pennywise]

Chris Evans and Captain America.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Plus the way he acts in the costume - he says almost nothing, he just glares at his foes and occasionally whispers threats. All the other Batman actors play the role as an action hero with a mission to one degree or another, but Keaton's Batman is as disturbed as the Joker.

 

[Fincher]

I'm not much of a comic reader, so it's been a common thing for me to not care about or even be aware of a character before their movie/TV appearance. On the other hand, while good performances are a part of making characters work, there are other important aspects of the execution.

I'm not sure Captain America would have worked without the sincerity and goodness that Chris Evans brought to the role, though. At least Burton Batman or Rorschach had style to fall back on and a mask to hide behind more if their performances faltered, but Steve could have been corny and bland with a weaker actor. Plus his leading man looks and muscularity helped when spending a significant amount of time fighting without the suit.

 

[BigThor]

Chris Evans as Captain America.

 

[David H.]

Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus. From just a cool gimmick to a father figured marked by tragedy but also a sense of perseverance that inspires Peter Parker further in his life.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Chris Evan's portrayal has me eating the biggest plate of crow. I really disliked his casting.

Hugh Jackman won me over too. But I won't go so far to say he improved Wolverine.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

RDJ did an incredible job. Or actually legendary.

Wesley Snipes deserves a mention. He pretty much defined and established Blade imo.

 

[Travesty]

Brandon Lee as The Crow.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Chris Evans - Captain America (the biggest surprise of all)
Ian McKellen/Michael Fassbender - Magneto
RDJ - Iron Man
SLJ - Nick Fury
Hugh Jackman - Wolverine
Paul Rudd - Ant-Man
Jason Momoa - Aquaman

None in any way increased my interest in the comics versions but they did make me interested in seeing them on film. Before I would have had zero interest in seeing these characters on the big screen.

 

[BigThor]

RDJ did an incredible job. Or actually legendary.

Wesley Snipes deserves a mention. He pretty much defined and established Blade imo.

Welsey Snipes definitely and someone said Hugh Jackman that was a great one too.

 

[LvtLeeTDK]

Robert Downey Jr

I'd say he deserved an Oscar nomination for Best Lead Actor in Oscar 2009, given that it was such a weak year. But he got much more award buzz for his supporting role in Tropic Thunder so, yeah it was such a shame

 

[Lantern Venom]

I knew who Drax was, but I don't remember him being a stand-out character in any of those particular stories. Dave Bautista made Drax a little more vital.

 

[parkerpete]

Man, I wanna give this to Chris Evans so bad. His Cap is my favorite.

But the crown belongs to RDJ. He took one of Marvel's more boring heroes and not only made him magnetic as hell... he basically gave birth to the whole earnest-but-funny tone of the MCU through a single performance of pure unstoppable charisma.