Actors Who Played Dual Roles
There is a weird trend going on right now, which is actors playing dual roles. Like genuinely there are a lot of examples of it happening this year. I will highlight some of those with movies that have already come out, but want to touch on the fact that there are at least two more examples of it coming later this year with Elle Fanning in ‘Predator: Badlands’ & Dylan O’Brien in the Sundance release ‘Twinless’ that should be getting a wide release later this year. This is not a new concept, with it dating back a long ways in the world of theater. It also has a long history in the world of film. Though most of my examples on this list are pretty recent (most of them are post-2000), some older examples I do want to mention are Lee Marvin winning the Oscar for Best Actor for ‘Cat Ballou’ in which he played Shellen & Strawn & many actors playing a dual role in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ though I’m not sure I’d count this due to how the story presents the dual roles as the real world vs. a dream world. This is a pretty hefty list so we should probably get moving, but I did want to set some parameters. I’m keeping the list to one actor per movie & also only one entry per actor. I’m also excluding anthology films and films like ‘Asteroid City’ in which many actors are playing both a character in a play and the actor playing the character. I am also excluding films that include a multiverse storyline such as ‘Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness,’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ or ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ Finally, I’m excluding animated roles, except for one exception. Let me issue quick SPOILER WARNING as some of the twin reveals are unexpected. Because I had a hard time narrowing it down, this is a Top 30 list, so let’s get started with the most recent example:
Michael B. Jordan as Smoke & Stack Moore in ‘Sinners’- You would be hard pressed to find an actor cool enough to play Michael B. Jordan’s twin brother. So Ryan Coogler decided the only person for that job is Michael B. Jordan (or maybe this one should be called Michael C. Jordan). And it worked brilliantly. The key to playing a dual role, especially twins or clones, is making them distinct performances, which Jordan did to a tee. If you haven’t go check out my ‘Sinners’ review for more Michael B. praises.
Robert Pattinson as Mickey 17 & Mickey 18 in ‘Mickey 17’- The other main example from this year is Robert Pattinson’s take on Mickey Barnes, a man who gets paid to die on explorations before getting cloned. The film follows the 17th & 18th iterations of Mickey who unintentionally encounter one another. Pattinson also does a great job of making the Mickeys two distinct characters and my main complaint with the film is that we didn’t get to see more silly Mickey antics.
Christian Convery as Hal & Bill Shelburn in ‘The Monkey’- The third example from this year comes from Osgood Perkins’ horror comedy ‘The Monkey’ in which the titular toy monkey kills the family of the identical twins, played by Theo James. However, James isn’t the entrant here because Christian Convery honestly plays both twins onscreen for a bigger chunk of the movie, while most of James’ scenes are over the phone or individual.
Robert De Niro as Frank Costello & Vito Genovese in ‘The Alto Knights’- This entry is a little different than we’ve seen so far, or that we’ll see on most of the rest of this list. Because these characters aren’t twins, clones, or related at all. Also another difference is that this movie kind of sucks. And ironically, since they are two characters with no relation, they feel like the same characters & performances.
Lindsay Lohan as Hallie Parker & Annie James in ‘The Parent Trap’- Listen, this 1998 film is not the first to use or popularize this concept. Heck, it’s not even the first adaptation of this specific story. But I’m calling Linsday Lohan the pioneer of this because I can. On my annual awards (the SW/S Awards) that I give out, I gave one out for 2024 called the ‘Lindsay Lohan & Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap Award’ for the performer who played a dual role, and it will be returning for next year’s awards with a full slate of nominees because there are so many people that are eligible. But when you ask someone my age or in the surrounding generations about an actor playing a dual role, this is what they will immediately go to.
Jim Carrey as Ivo & Gerald Robotnik in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’- It’s hilarious to me that when when the team behind Sonic needed an actor to play Dr. Ivo Robotnik’s grandfather in the third film, they decided the right course of action was just to have Jim Carrey do both. And honestly they weren’t wrong to do that. Carrey won the aforementioned SW/S Award & was absolutely hilarious in both roles of this film.
Nicholas Braun as Jim Henson & Andy Kaufman in ‘Saturday Night’- Another example of an actor playing two completely unrelated characters. In the SNL docu-comedy film from last year, Nicholas Braun was cast to play the role of ‘The Muppets’ creator Jim Henson. Benny Safdie was originally set to play the role of Andy Kaufman, but when Safdie had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, they decided to have Braun pull double duty, in true SNL fashion.
Armie Hammer as Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss in ‘The Social Network’- Loosely based on the founding of Facebook, in this film we see Armie Hammer play the Winklevoss Twins, who are attempting to sue Mark Zuckerburg for (allegedly) stealing their idea. Since the release of the film, the Winklevosses (Winklevossi?) have founded a cryptocurrency exchange, which totally tracks. I’m not sure what Armie Hammer has been up to though? Any word on that?
Tom Hardy as Reggie & Ron Kray in ‘Legend’- A pair of identical twins prominent in English organized crime in the 1950s-1960s, Tom Hardy plays the Krays in this film. The film follows the brothers’ rise, and eventual fall in the crime world. Hardy won various smaller association awards for his role(s).
Nicolas Cage as Charlie & Donald Kaufman in ‘Adaptation’- The credited writers on this film are Charlie & Donald Kaufman themself. However, the main catch is that Donald Kaufman is purely fictional and was created by Charlie for this film. The film follows Charlie’s writer block as he tries to write a film & how he navigates his relationship with his twin, both played by Nic Cage. Cage received an Oscar & Golden Globe nomination for his dual role.
Janelle Monáe as Helen & Andi Brand in ‘Glass Onion’- What better plot twist in a murder mystery than one of the characters being killed prior to the events of the film, only to be replaced by her twin sister. That is the avenue Rian Johnson takes in the second ‘Knives Out’ installment with Monáe taking on the task.
Leonardo DiCaprio as King Louis XIV & Philippe Bourbon in ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’- This 1998 films decides to give us a double dose of Leo, playing both the titular character (Philippe) & the villain (Louis). The film follows an older take on the four musketeers and the titular mystery. Based on a work from Alexandre Dumas and a real world mystery, this film is one of the lower lights of DiCaprio’s career, winning him the Razzie for Worst Screen Combo.
Blake Lively as Hope & Faith McLanden in ‘A Simple Favor’- Twins are always a good twist in a mystery film, with this film also using a secret twin twist. Anna Kendrick’s Stephanie befriends the elegant & enigmatic Emily. The film reveals Emily is really Hope McLanden and that she has a secret twin, Faith. The film has a sequel releasing in a couple weeks, though Lively will be returning in only one role.
Paul Dano as Paul & Eli Sunday in ‘There Will Be Blood’- Our next set of twins comes from Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 multi-Oscar nominated period drama. Paul Dano (who is one of the most underrated modern actors) takes on the roles of the twins who difficultly interact with Daniel Day-Lewis’s Daniel Plainview throughout the film.
Christian Bale as Alfred Borden & Bernard Fallon in ‘The Prestige’- From Christopher Nolan, I still am not sure I fully understand this film. But the gist of it is that Bale plays twins who often switch places. One of them is magician Alfred Borden, while the other is engineer Bernard Fallon, switching who plays which role. If that sounds confusing, then I’ve accurately described it. Bale is not the only actor from the film to play two characters, though his is the most prominent.
Hugh Jackman as Logan & X-24 in ‘Logan’- Jackman also plays a dual role in ‘The Prestige,’ but his more popular example comes from ‘Logan.’ As I mentioned in the intro, I’m excluding films like ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ in which we see multiple versions of both of the titular characters, with Jackman & Ryan Reynolds both portraying different versions of the characters. However, in what was meant to be Wolverine’s swan song Jackman plays an aged version of the character who is eventually slain by a younger, more feral clone of Logan.
Temuera Morrison as Jango Fett & Clone Troopers in ‘Star Wars’- Of course I had to include Temuera Morrison. In ‘Attack of the Clones’ we are introduced to the bounty hunter Jango Fett, played by Morrison. It is revealed later in the film that Fett was cloned, like a bunch, and we get to see all the different clones, also played by Morrison. The actor also played various clones in ‘Revenge of the Sith’ and has also taken on the role of Boba Fett on Star Wars TV shows.
Tom Hanks as The Conductor, The Father, Santa Claus, Hobo, & Scrooge Puppet in ‘The Polar Express’- So this is the exception to the rule for animated films. It is very common for voice actors to lend their talents to several characters in a film, but I wanted to extend this specifically to Tom Hanks for two reasons. First, is that I love Tom Hanks. Second is that he also provided motion capture for all the characters listed above. Along with playing all the characters listed above, Hanks also provided motion capture for the main character, ‘Hero Boy,’ also providing the character’s adult voice narration.
Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn & Clu in ‘Tron’- Both in 1982’s ‘Tron’ and its 2010 sequel ‘Tron: Legacy’ featured Jeff Bridges playing the role of Kevin Flynn, a programmer and developer. Both films also feature Bridges as Clu (the 2010 films uses heavy special effects) a program designed by Flynn that lives within the Grid. Bridges is set to return to the role of Kevin Flynn in this year’s ‘Tron: Ares’ and I guess we’ll see if Clu returns as well.
Vanessa Hudgens as Stacy de Novo & Lady Margaret Delacourt in ‘The Princess Switch’- I had to get at least one take of ‘The Prince and the Pauper’ on here. Netflix’s 2018 take on the story is a Christmas rom com starring V Hudg in a dual role that kickstarted a trilogy, with Hudgens even taking on a third role in the second & third movies.
Lupita Nyong’o as Adelaide Wilson & Red in ‘Us’- Jordan Peele’s 2019 psychological horror features almost every actor in a dual role, though Nyong’o leads the way and gives the best performance so I’m giving the entry to her. The film focuses on Adelaide on her family being attacked by doppelgangers known as the ‘Tethered.’ The film features a crazy & iconic twist ending that I won’t spoil, but adds a whole other layer.
Mia Goth as Maxine Minx & Pearl Douglas in ‘X’- This 2022 slasher stars Mia Goth both as the final girl and the maniacal killer. Maxine is an adult film star who shoots a film at Pearl’s home and Pearl is a crazy old woman who gets fixated on Maxine since she looks just like Pearl when she was younger. Goth would reprise both roles, though not in the same films, in the 2022 prequel ‘Pearl’ and the 2024 sequel ‘MaXXXine.’
Freddie Highmore as Jared & Simon Grace in ‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’- When I was a kid I thought Freddie Highmore had a twin brother. I’m sure many other people my age did as well. Before ‘Bates Motel’ & ‘The Good Doctor,’ Highmore was a successful child star with one of his leading roles coming in this 2008 fantasy adaptation.
Kevin Kline as Dave Kovic & William Harrison Mitchell in ‘Dave’- This political comedy stars Kline as a man who is hired to be a stand in for the president due to their uncanny likeness, but gets stuck in the role when the president suffers a stroke. The man, Dave, then attempts to help keep this hidden both from the public and the First Lady.
Mike Myers as Austin Powers & Dr. Evil in the ‘Austin Powers’ Trilogy- Myers wrote, co-produced, and starred in this spy comedy as both the titular spy & his arch nemesis Dr. Evil. In the second film he took on a third role, Fat Bastard, while also taking on a fourth role in the third film, Goldmember. So yes, by the fourth film Myers was playing four different roles.
Adam Sandler as Jack & Jill Sadelstein in ‘Jack and Jill’- I didn’t say all these movies were good…
Tilda Swinton as Lucy & Nancy Mirando in ‘Okja’- Though Nancy doesn’t appear for a good chunk of the film, Swinton does play both roles in this one and plays them incredibly differently, though both very antagonistic.
Peter Sellers as Lionel Mandrake, Merkin Muffley, & Dr. Strangelove in ‘Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’- I have had someone previously request that I always use the full title of this film, so I shall! A British military officer, the US President, & a nuclear war expert (also former Nazi) go into a bar. And the punchline is that they are played by Peter Sellers! This resulted in what is considered one of the best comedy films of all-time that earned Sellers a Best Actor Oscar nomination.
Tyler Perry as Madea in ‘Madea’- Perry has played Madea in 13 different films. In a lot of those films he also took on the roles of Madea’s brother Joe & Joe’s son Brian. He has played the different combinations of characters several times, sometimes playing one role & in one film he even takes on a fourth role of Madea & Joe’s brother Heathrow.
Eddie Murphy- Eddie Murphy may be the goat of this format. He has played two or more roles in all of the following films: ‘Coming to America,’ its sequel ‘Coming 2 America,’ ‘Vampire in Brooklyn,’ ‘Bowfinger,’ both of ‘The Nutty Professor’ films, ‘The Adventures of Pluto Nash,’ ‘Norbit,’ & ‘Meet Dave.’
