A whole lot of actors have had the chance to play a whole lot of superheroes over the years. Going back to Tom Tyler as the first actor to play a live-action superhero in the 1941 serial Adventures of Captain Marvel to today's movies, animated series, and TV shows that appear on every streaming service and beyond, the stories of superpowered heroes and villains - especially the DC heroes and villains - have a long history of great performances.

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But to really capture the essence of a character is very hard to pull off. Taking characters who were created for the four-color page and bringing them to life is no easy task, and while every actor has done their best, only a select few have really managed to bring these characters to life.

10 Jensen Ackles

Jensen Ackles

Jensen Ackles is best known for playing bad boy monster hunter Dean Winchester in the long-running series Supernatural, but for comic fans, he became the perfect Red Hood when he voiced the role in the 2010 animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood. Ackles perfectly captured Jason Todd's rage and loneliness in a way only a master craftsman can. For anyone who watched Batman: Under the Red Hood, it's hard to read a comic with the Red Hood in it and not hear Jensen Ackles's voice. Adding to the love fans feel for Jensen's take on the tragic hero, the actor did a photoshoot as Red Hood, letting the world know that he would be a perfect choice for a live-action take as well.

9 Margot Robbie

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in Birds Of Prey

Margot Robbie had one of the hardest jobs in comic book movies. Cast as Harley Quinn, she had to take a role that was created by Paul Dini for his friend, actress Arleen Sorkin, to voice on Batman: The Animated Series, and make it her own.

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Harley Quinn made her debut in 1992 and quickly became a fan favorite, which just put more pressure on Robbie to get it right when she brought the character to the big screen in 2016's Suicide Squad. While the movie was met with mixed reaction, everyone agreed that Robbie nailed the character, and her further exploration of Harley in 2020's Birds of Prey - and the upcoming The Suicide Squad - have shown that she has only gotten better in the role.

8 Christopher Reeve

Christopher Reeves as superman

Nearly forty actors have played Superman in various forms, from radio shows to animated shows and movies to live-action, but none have become as iconic in the role as Christopher Reeve. A relative unknown when he was cast for Richard Donner's 1978 film, Christopher Reeve somehow captured the power of the Man of Steel while finding the humanity within the character as well. While the four Superman movies Reeve made drastically drop in quality as they go on, there is no doubting that the actor gave the world's first superhero everything he had, helping cement Superman as an icon for the ages.

7 Kevin Conroy

Kevin Conroy

Anyone who has watched Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League, or Justice League Unlimited can't help but hear Kevin Conroy's voice when they read the words of the Dark Knight Detective. Along with playing the character in animated form for over 20 years, Conroy has also played Batman in video games - most notably the Arkham series - and in live action when he appeared in the Arrowverse Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event.

Conroy has walked away from the role, giving other actors a chance to voice Batman, but it will be a long time before anyone comes close to capturing the hearts and minds of viewers the way he did.

6 Mark Hamill

To some fans, Mark Hamill is the ultimate Joker.

Just as Kevin Conroy became the voice of Batman in Batman: The Animated Series, Mark Hamill became the Joker. Best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films, Mark Hamill brought such a shockingly demented and fun take to the Clown Prince of Crime that he would have audiences laughing one minute, and shaking the next.

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Like Conroy, Hamill voiced Joker for over twenty years across animated TV shows, movies, and video games. The actor's Joker laugh has sent chills down the spine of fans for decades and will continue to do so for years to come.

5 Gal Gadot

Gal Gadot Wonder Woman Warner Bros DCEU

Compared to Batman and Superman, a relative few actresses have had the chance to play Wonder Woman, and the most recent person to take on the role, Gal Gadot, has managed to quickly stand out as the best version of the character. Introduced in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman, Gadot's Wonder Woman stole just about every scene she showed up in, and her first solo movie gave the DC Extended Universe its first critical and box office success, bringing in more than $800 million worldwide. The follow-up film, Wonder Woman 1984, premiered on HBO Max, giving the fledgling streaming service a boost, but fan reaction was decidedly mixed.

4 Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser

When the live-action Doom Patrol series was first announced, seeing Brendan Fraser listed as part of the cast was a surprise. The actor, best known for his work in the Mummy series of the 1990s, had stepped back from the limelight to deal with some personal issues, and he seemed like an odd choice to join a show about DC's strangest superhero team.

As it turns out, Fraser's work as Cliff Steel - better known as Robotman - has been one of the best things on a show filled with great stuff. Fraser's voice brings so much to the character that it is hard to imagine anyone else ever taking on the role.

3 Melissa Benoist

Melissa Benoist

While her Kryptonian cousin usually hogs all of the spotlights when it comes to movies and cartoons, Supergirl has had her share of appearances outside of the comics. Her 1984 movie was a major disappointment that would keep the character out of live-action until she appeared on Smallville, but it is Melissa Benoist's take on Supergirl that has become an iconic take on the character.

Benoist has played Supergirl for six seasons, becoming a major part of the Arrowverse shows and taking Supergirl to new heights in terms of fandom. While the Supergirl series is coming to an end this year, Benoist's take on the character has set a new standard for the Girl of Steel.

2 Phil LaMarr

Phil LaMarr

One of the most talented voice actors working today, it's almost a shame to lock Phil LaMarr to one DC character, as he has voiced a number of them over the years. And while LaMarr has done fantastic work as reporter Ron Troupe, scientist Kirk Langstrom, Static, and Aquaman, it's his work as the Green Lantern John Stewart on Justice League and Justice League Unlimited that really stands out.

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LaMarr was the first actor to give a voice to John Stewart, and while other superb actors have taken on the role since then, it is LaMarr's path that they are all following.

1 Clancy Brown

Clancy Brown

It can't be easy to take a role once played by Gene Hackman and somehow do it better, but that is exactly what Clancy Brown pulled off when he began voicing Lex Luthor in Superman: The Animated Series. Brown would voice Superman's greatest rival across a number of animated series, giving the character a sense of danger that had not existed in previous versions. His deep, smooth voice made it clear that while Lex Luthor was no match for the Man of Steel when it came to muscle, he had more than enough brains to be a serious threat.

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