{"id":636101,"date":"2026-05-11T06:49:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T06:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/636101\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T06:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T06:49:13","slug":"1-a-list-marvel-actor-has-played-9-dc-characters-youd-never-know-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/636101\/","title":{"rendered":"1 A-List Marvel Actor Has Played 9 DC Characters & You\u2019d Never Know It"},"content":{"rendered":"

One fan-favorite Marvel actor has actually played nine characters in DC, but very few would know. DC and Marvel may have a famous, decades-old rivalry, but they aren\u2019t against sharing actors. There\u2019s a bidirectional onscreen relationship with these two comic book producers. For example, Michael Keaton started with DC and then moved to Marvel<\/a>. J.K. Simmons started in Marvel and then joined DC. Idris Elba went from DC to Marvel back to DC.<\/p>\n

Most high-profile actors who appear in both DC and Marvel<\/a> play two, maybe three characters. The most notable example in that range is Ryan Reynolds, who first appeared as Hannibal King, famously starred in the absolute flop Green Lantern, and then became the fan favorite Deadpool. A handful have played three or more, including Chris Evans and Rosario Dawson. They have each played four characters in DC and Marvel TV shows and movies.<\/p>\n

However, A-list actor Alfred Molina completely blows both of them out of the water. Molina, who is best known for playing Doctor Otto Octavius aka Doc Ock in Sam Raimi\u2019s Spider-Man 2<\/a> and the MCU\u2019s Spider-Man: No Way Home, has become a regular actor for DC. Most folks wouldn\u2019t be aware of his DC roles, though, because the heroes and villains all appear in animated form.<\/p>\n

Alfred Molina Has Voiced 9 DC Characters Since Playing Doc Ock In Spider-Man 2<\/p>\n

Over two decades, Alfred Molina has played nine different DC characters \u2013 ten if you count Sexx Luthor, Lex’s 80s hair-metal alternate persona in the Robot Chicken DC Specials. He\u2019s up there with Mark Hamill, who also is a regular voice actor for Marvel and DC, in that he manages to make every single character he voices feel different from each other. <\/p>\n

Alfred Molina DC Roles<\/p>\n

Title<\/p>\n

Character<\/p>\n

Year<\/p>\n

Justice League<\/p>\n

King Gustav<\/p>\n

2002<\/p>\n

Wonder Woman<\/p>\n

Ares<\/p>\n

2009<\/p>\n

Robot Chicken: DC Comics Special<\/p>\n

Lex Luthor, Firestorm, Mr. Banjo, Sexx Luthor<\/p>\n

2009<\/p>\n

Robot Chicken DC Comics Special II<\/p>\n

Lex Luthor, Sexx Luthor<\/p>\n

2014<\/p>\n

Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 3<\/p>\n

Lex Luthor, Sexx Luthor<\/p>\n

2015<\/p>\n

Justice League Dark<\/p>\n

Destiny<\/p>\n

2017<\/p>\n

Harley Quinn<\/p>\n

Mr. Freeze, Stew<\/p>\n

2020<\/p>\n

DC League of Super Pets<\/p>\n

Jor-El<\/p>\n

2022<\/p>\n

Ares and King Gustav both go up against Wonder Woman, but they’re nothing alike. Destiny, Lex Luthor, and Mr. Freeze both join a team of bad guys, but their personalities all differ greatly. This extends to more than just writing. Molina\u2019s inflection and tone bring a new energy to every character. It\u2019s as if he disappears into each new role. It never feels like Alfred Molina playing a DC villain, but like a vibrant new version of each familiar character.<\/p>\n

Alfred Molina\u2019s Lex Luthor Deserves As Much Appreciation As His Doc Ock<\/p>\n

\"A
\n Lex Luthor in DC Comics Special<\/p>\n

In an interview with Topless Robot<\/a>, Alfred Molina revealed that he was allowed to pick any character he wanted to voice in Robot Chicken: DC Comics Special. He originally voiced Lex Luthor, Firestorm, and Mr. Banjo. When it came to picking Lex, he thought it was a no-brainer. He said,<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I think it\u2019s because he\u2019s such an iconic villain. I suddenly thought, I\u2019ve played one of Marvel\u2019s best-known villains, I might as well play one of DC\u2019s best-known villains. And also, it\u2019s such an iconic character.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Molina was so great as Lex Luthor that they brought him back as the character in the next two specials and then twice in the main show. Ultimately, his strength as an actor comes down to the fact that he feels nothing like other versions of the character. <\/p>\n

His approach is unique. His character is intelligent and devious, yet theatrical and melodramatic. He explained to IGN<\/a>, \u201cIf you’re a fan of the comics, as I am, you realize there’s no limit to what you can do with them.\u201d Even though his version of the character is satire, it\u2019s one of the best, especially in animation.<\/p>\n

Alfred Molina Will Be A Mainstay In Comic Book TV Shows & Movies<\/p>\n

When Alfred Molina spoke to Vanity Fair about his live-action acting career<\/a>, he spoke positively about his superhero roles. He never thought he was qualified to appear in that kind of movie, but now we know that he\u2019s absolutely able to play that kind of role. <\/p>\n

The good news is that he loves the complexity of villains in superhero movies. He returned as Doc Ock because he loved the role. The actor was happy but surprised when he was invited to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Spider-Man: No Way Home. He also said this:<\/p>\n

\u201cI was delighted, obviously. Apart from the fact that it’s great fun to play, playing that part, in all honesty, completely changed my life. I mean, it did. It just took everything not just to a different level, but also to a whole other group of cinema fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

What’s more, Molina has continued to participate in comic book films for over 2 decades since his debut, even if it\u2019s primarily in animation rather than live action. The fact that both Marvel and DC have brought him back is a testament to the impact of his characters. What\u2019s more, it suggests that Alfred Molina could continue to be a mainstay for superhero franchises.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tBirthdate \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMay 24, 1953<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tBirthplace \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPaddington, London, England<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tHeight \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t6 feet 2 inches<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tProfessions \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tActor, Voice Actor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One fan-favorite Marvel actor has actually played nine characters in DC, but very few would know. DC and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636102,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[88,206],"class_list":["post-636101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636101\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}