Comic book superhero movies have been dominating the worldwide box office for the last two decades and this dominance shows no signs of slowing down. Hell, in 2018 alone Marvel Studios raked in over $4 billion dollars in receipts from just three movies: Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Ant-Man and the Wasp, while Sony has taken nearly $800 million with their Marvel co-production Venom. Superhero movies are big business, which accounts for the sheer number of them being on the increase for the last few years and 2019 will see the release of nine huge films based on Marvel, DC and Dark Horse properties.

With the increased amount of these films, it stands to reason that certain actors will be cast in multiple superhero movies as different characters. There have been actors who have crossed the boundaries between Marvel and DC (Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Green Lantern, Ben Affleck as Daredevil and Batman) and also plenty who have played different Marvel characters in MCU and Sony or Fox movies. To name but a few, Josh Brolin has portrayed Thanos and Cable, Michael B. Jordan has been Erik Killmonger and the Human Torch, Chris Evans has been Johnny Storm and Captain America, and Ray Stevenson gave us The Punisher and Volstagg. The interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2018 and currently consists of 20 films, 11 television series' and five short films. A hell of a lot of characters have appeared throughout the course of all these projects, and this article will look at 20 actors and actresses who have played mutliple characters within the universe. It's more common than you might think.

20 SEAN GUNN

Everyone knows that A Star Is Born actor/director Bradley Cooper provides the voice of Rocket Racoon in the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies and Avengers: Infinity War. His sarcastic and cocky delivery perfectly suits Rocket's character. However, he is not the person on-set every day in a funky green leotard providing the performance that the motion-capture visual effects wizards then turn into Rocket.

That person is, in fact, Sean Gunn, brother of director James Gunn. An actor in his own right, he is most famous for his long-running role as Kirk Gleason on Gilmore Girls. He also played Kraglin, Yondu's second-in-command in command in the Ravagers, who had increased screen time in Vol. 2 and tugged on the audience's heartstrings.

19 ALFRE WOODARD

Alfre Woodard has enjoyed a long and storied career in film and television, as well as on-stage. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 1983 for her role in Cross Creek, and in recent years has appeared in such films as 12 Years A Slave and Annabelle. In 2016 she appeared in a small, but very important, role in Captain America: Civil War.

She played Miriam Sharpe, a woman whose son perished in the battle of Sokovia, and her conversation with Tony Stark is the catalyst for his character arc in the film. She then landed one of the main roles in Netflix' Luke Cage series: Mariah Dillard, aka Black Mariah, a Harlem councilwoman and cousin of Cornell Stokes, aka Cottonmouth. She was a regular in both seasons of the show.

18 MARTIN STARR

Silicon Valley star Martin Starr first appeared in the MCU in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it role, he played a computer geek who is bribed by Bruce Banner (with pizza) to allow him access to the Culver University computer lab. However, in the movie's novelization, he was identified as Amadeus Cho, a Korean-American boy genius who is important in the comics.

This led to whitewashing complaints from fans and then rampant speculation when Starr was later cast in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Were Marvel doubling down on their problematic casting from nine years earlier? Well, no, as it turned out, because Starr played a completely different character: Mr Harrington, Peter Parker's teacher and academic decathlon coach. Weird.

17 CLANCY BROWN

Gravelly voiced character actor Clancy Brown is best known to geeks as the voice of Lex Luthor in the '90s DC Animated Universe and as Mr Crabs in Spongebob Squarepants. But he has also had a career filled with live-action big and small screen roles, including the Kurgan in Highlander and villainous prison warden Hadley in The Shawshank Redemption.

Fittingly, his MCU roles entailed both live-action and voice acting. In two episodes of Daredevil and one episode of The Punisher he portrayed Ray Schoonover, Frank Castle's former commanding officer in the military, and in Thor: Ragnarok he provided the commanding (yet also amusing) voice of fire demon Surtur, who is responsible for destroying Asgard at the end of the film.

16 BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH

Benedict Cumberbatch has portrayed two major characters in the MCU, although casual fans might not know about the second one. He is, of course, the Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange and has starred in his own film, as well as featured in a major role in Avengers: Infinity War and a cameo in Thor: Ragnarok.

He will undoubtedly continue to be a major force in the MCU in coming years (despite turning to dust at the end of Infinity War), as it appears he holds the key to defeating Thanos. His other MCU part was more secretive: he provided the voice of Dormammu, the entity from the Dark Dimension, feeling it would make the character an evil reflection of Strange. Cumberbatch also provided motion-capture reference for the visual effects team.

15 TIM GUINEE

Tim Guinee is one of those actors whose name people mightn't know, but face they will certainly recognize from his myriad of film and television appearances over the years. He had major roles in shows like 24, Hell On Wheels, Revolution and The Good Wife and has appeared in films like Water For Elephants and Courage Under Fire.

He appeared in both Iron Man and Iron Man 2 as United States Air Force Major Allen and then went on to star in two episodes of The Punisher as Clay Wilson, the struggling father of seriously disturbed former soldier Lewis Wilson. Guinee also gets extra Marvel points as he appeared in a non-MCU movie as well: he played Dr Curtis Webb, the slimy doctor who was bitten and turned by a horrifically burned vampire in Blade.

14 LAURA HADDOCK

Laura Haddock is an English actress who has been steadily building a very reputable television and film career over the last decade or so. She has appeared in Transformers: The Last Knight and The Inbetweeners Movie, as well as TV shows such as Luther and Da Vinci's Demons. She first showed up in the MCU in Captain America: The First Avenger as an excited young woman seeking an autograph from Cap.

She then played Peter Quill's mother Meredith in the heartbreaking opening scene of Guardians Of The Galaxy, and reprised the role in flashback scenes with Kurt Russell in Vol. 2. Some fans theorized that the two characters were the same woman, who somehow didn't age between 1943 and 1980, but James Gunn quashed this idea on Twitter.

13 KENNETH CHOI

Another actor who appeared in the MCU in two very different time periods, Kenneth Choi (The Wolf Of Wall Street) was eventually theorized to be playing a grandfather and grandson. He first appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger as Jim Morita, a member of the Howling Commandos team who is liberated from the clutches of the Red Skull's forces by Cap.

He later reprised this role in an episode of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. His casting in Spider-Man: Homecoming perplexed some fans initially, but when it was revealed that he was playing Midtown High's Principal Morita, theories ran rampant. The photo of WWII-era Jim Morita in his office led many to speculate Principal Morita was his grandson, but it has never been officially confirmed by Marvel.

12 NATHAN FILLION

Beloved geek icon Nathan Fillion (Firefly) has been most extensively associated with DC Comics' Green Lantern on the small screen. He has voiced Hal Jordan in five animated movies and has a sixth due in 2019 (Reign Of The Supermen). But he has also done some work for the competition, including appearing twice in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sort of.

He had a voice cameo as a 'monstrous inmate' in the hilarious Guardians Of The Galaxy prison scene, and then appeared (in poster form) in a deleted scene from Vol. 2 as Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man. Both small MCU roles were likely facilitated due to Fillion's longtime friendship with director/writer James Gunn, and Gunn even said they were just ways to have fun on-set with one of his best pals.

11 TERRY NOTARY

Terry Notary is primarily a stunt co-ordinator and/or stunt double, but also does work in Hollywood as a movement coach. His services are often used when productions are portraying animals and other creatures. It is his job to train an actor in how to move like the animal they are playing. He has also done extensive motion-capture work on The Hobbit and Planet Of The Apes trilogies, Avatar, Kong: Skull Island and Avengers: Infinity War.

He played Cull Obsidian, a villainous member of Thanos' Black Order, in that film. His other MCU appearance came in an uncredited role as a soldier in The Incredible Hulk, but he was also Tim Roth's stunt double, a movement coach and a MoCap performer for Hulk and the Abomination on that production.

10 ENVER GJOKAJ

Enver Gjokaj first rose to fame playing Victor on Joss Whedon's cult show Dollhouse. He was a series regular on that show and appeared in all 26 episodes across two seasons, demonstrating a chameleonic aptitude for portraying all the very different character's Victor was transformed into with the insertion of new memories and personalities.

His cameo as an NYPD cop in The Avengers likely came about because he had worked for director Whedon before. He was then cast as Agent Daniel Sousa on ABC's Agent Carter, which followed the adventures of Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter as a secret agent in the male-dominated '40s. Unfortunately, just like Dollhouse, it was cancelled after two seasons, which upset its loyal fans greatly.

9 SETH GREEN

Geek's geek Seth Green has been involved in many nerd friendly productions over the years. He played everyone's favorite laconic werewolf Oz in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, has voiced Chris Griffin on Family Guy for nearly two decades, and is the main creative force behind action figure-based comedy animation Robot Chicken.

His MCU appearances began with a cameo as an excited fan at the Stark Expo in Iron Man 2, and he later returned to the MCU to voice Howard The Duck in an amusing post-credits scene from Guardians Of The Galaxy. This led to renewed interest in the character and Marvel brought him back to comics, but Green himself laughed off the idea of Howard getting another movie (after the disaster that was the 1986 film).

8 TONY CURRAN

Scottish character actor Tony Curran is no stranger to comic book movies. Before joining the MCU, the Outlaw King star appeared in two other Marvel movies: Blade II (in which he played Priest, a member of the Bloodpack) and X-Men: First Class (in which he had a strange cameo as a Man In Black agent). He also starred as Rodney Skinner, aka the Invisible Man, in the widely derided LXG: League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but the less said about that the better.

His two MCU roles were in Thor: The Dark World, where he had a cameo as Bor (Odin's father) in a flashback scene, and in Daredevil, where he played Irish gangster Finn Cooley... who was ended after a shotgun blast to the face from Frank Castle at the end of his one and only episode.

7 PATTON OSWALT

Comedian and writer Patton Oswalt holds a rare distinction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: he is the only person to have portrayed four different characters (who aren't simply background people or unnamed). Of course, he did play all four in the same show (Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and they are all identical quadruplet brothers.

Oswalt brought a nice sense of levity and likability to his performances as Eric, Billy and Sam Koenig -- all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, all with a charming affinity for video games. He also portrayed Thurston Koenig, the only brother who isn't an agent. Thurston is a slam poet activist who is extremely critical of S.H.I.E.L.D. Oswalt also starred in a live-action Marvel movie in 2004 when he played tech guy Hedges in Blade: Trinity.

6 DAMION POITIER

Damion Poitier is an actor and stuntman that has been part of the stunt team on two MCU movies, Captain America: Civil War and Thor: The Dark World. However, he also had acting roles in two MCU movies, which qualifies him for this list. He played the "memorable" character of Hero Merc #1 in Civil War (presumably a member of Crossbones' team), but his role in The Avengers was much more important: he was the original Thanos.

Due to the fact he had worked with Joss Whedon several times before on Angel, Dollhouse and Firefly, Whedon brought him in to provide motion capture and facial reference for the post-credits scene. Poitier was, of course, replaced by Josh Brolin for each appearance going forward, but he can always say he was first.

5 MCKENNA GRACE

Child actor McKenna Grace has built up an insanely impressive resume in the six years she has been acting. Her latest roles were as the young Theodora Crain on Netflix' The Haunting Of Hill House, Penny Kirkman in ABC's Designated Survivor and as the young Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. She was also nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award For Best Young Performer for her role in Gifted (alongside Captain America himself, Chris Evans).

She starred as Zoe Abel in the pilot of Most Wanted, the failed Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D spin-off starring Bobbi Morse (Mockingbird) and Lance Hunter. It didn't get picked up to series, but her second MCU appearance is sure to fare a lot better -- she will be seen in 2019 as the young Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel.

4 MATT GERALD

Matt Gerald has amassed an extensive career on film and television in the 2000s. You will mostly recognize him from playing military men, SWAT team guys or cops in projects such as Avatar, San Andreas, Rampage and The Shield. His most well-known MCU role is Melvin Potter, the savant-like craftsman who creates Matt Murdock's red costume in Daredevil.

Comics fans know Potter to be the former villain Gladiator. He has appeared in seven episodes over the show's three seasons. His other MCU role will be less known: he played the charmingly monickered 'White Power Dave' in All Hail The King, the 14-minute One-Shot short film that told the story of Ben Kingsley's Trevor Slattery, the drunken actor hired to portray the Mandarin in Iron Man 3.

3 JAMIE MCSHANE

It would take a total Jamie McShane superfan to place his two appearances in the MCU, as both parts were small and didn't add up to a lot of screentime. He played S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Jackson in Thor -- one of Phil Coulson's guys who is sent to New Mexico to investigate Mjolnir and gets beaten up by the God Of Thunder.

He also appeared a year later in The Avengers in the even smaller role of a man being interviewed as part of a "celebrating the Avengers" montage. A top notch actor, he has excelled in many television roles over the years, but is arguably most known for playing IRA leader Cameron Hayes in Sons Of Anarchy, Sergeant Terry Hill in Southland and Eric O'Bannon in all three seasons of Netflix' brilliantly dark and brooding crime drama Bloodline.

2 J.B. SMOOVE

Comedian J.B. Smoove was cast in Spider-Man: Far From Home in July 2018 in an unspecified role. The only thing Marvel has said about his character is that he will be "a lead in the ensemble". This has led to wild speculation from fans imagining any number of wisecracking villains or funny supporting characters the Curb Your Enthusiasm star could be playing.

But the strongest rumor is that he will be none-other-than J. Jonah Jameson, Peter Parker's cantankerous boss at the Daily Bugle. This would be awesome casting. Perhaps Smoove impressed Marvel with his short-but-hilarious turn in the Audi commercial which accompanied Spider-Man: Homecoming. He played Peter's driving instructor and showed superb comic chemistry with Tom Holland.

1 PAUL BETTANY

Paul Bettany provided the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony Stark's Iron Man operating system, right from the first MCU movie in 2008. He reprised that role in Iron Man 2 and 3, as well as The Avengers. Bettany said that director Jon Favreau originally approached him by saying he needed the voice of personality-less robot and immediately thought of him.

Bettany found this so funny that he said yes. He then said another quick yes when Joss Whedon asked if he wanted to play Vision in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, because he had just endured a screaming argument with a Hollywood producer who told him his career was over, despite having starred in successful films such as The Da Vinci Code, Wimbledon and The Tourist. We bet that producer feels silly now.