Every Actor Who Played Frankenstein’s Monster (Movies & TV Shows)

Numerous actors have taken on the role of Frankenstein’s monster, with Boris Karloff giving an iconic performance in the 1931 film adaptation.

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The classic 1818 horror novel Frankenstein, written by legendary English author Mary Shelley, has seen several actors playing Frankenstein’s monster; some are better than others, as numerous names have been cast as “the Creature” throughout cinema history. The story centers on Victor Frankenstein, a young—and tormented—scientist who creates a living being using various human body parts in an unorthodox experiment.

Frankenstein’s monster is often referred to as “the Creature” throughout the novel. The story famously relies on themes of nature versus nurture; does simply giving a being body parts make it human? Victor is terrified by his creation, and by not giving it a name or nurturing it he inherently rejects it, which leads to the unfolding of a series of horrific events.

The character of Frankenstein’s monster has, over the years, become a classic horror icon. There have been numerous movies and television series that have adapted the story of Frankenstein, with a number of different actors portraying “the Creature”. Here are some of the major names to grace the role.

Boris Karloff

Perhaps the most famous portrayal of Frankenstein’s monster was by actor Boris Karloff, in the classic 1931 Frankenstein movie produced by Universal Pictures and directed by James Whale. The movie is iconic, and was even preserved in the U.S. National Film Registry.

The 1931 film spawned follow-ups, too; The Bride of Frankenstein in 1935, Son of Frankenstein in 1939, and The Ghost of Frankenstein in 1942, with Karloff continuing to play the monster in the first two sequels. Throughout the 1940s, the character Frankenstein appeared in other Universal monster movies, like Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and House of Dracula. And Karloff occasionally reprise the role of the monster, as in 1958’s Frankenstein 1970.

Lon Chaney, Jr.

Actor Lon Chaney, Jr. portrayed Frankenstein’s monster in The Ghost of Frankenstein, and again later in one scene in the 1948 in cult comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Glenn Strange played the part for most of the movie.

Chaney also played the Creature in the anthology series, Tales of Tomorrow, from 1951-1953. He also reprised the role again in episodes of Route 66. Chaney again took on the role decades later in 1971 in the low-budget thriller Dracula vs. Frankenstein. In this movie, Dracula has the last living descendant of Frankenstein revive the monster.

Fred Gwynne

Universal produced a TV sitcom from 1964-1966 for CBS called The Munsters, with actor Fred Gwynne famously portraying the father, Herman Munster. Herman Munster isn’t directly called Frankenstein’s monster, but he clearly physically resembles the character. The rest of the Munster family includes a grandfather who resembles Dracula, a wife who resembles the Bride of Frankenstein, and a son who resembles a werewolf. The show was a hit in the ’60s.

Bela Lugosi

Béla Lugosi first played Frankenstein’s monster in 1943’s Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, another Universal monster movie. Lugosi, though, is more remembered for the other horror character he played throughout his career—Count Dracula.

Glenn Strange

Glenn Strange took on the role of Frankenstein’s monster in 1944 Universal film The House of Frankenstein. He went on to reprise the role in House of Dracula and, as aforementioned, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Peter Boyle

Another famous depiction of Frankenstein’s monster came with the 1974 Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder comedy classic, Young Frankenstein. The production used many of James Whale’s original lab set pieces from the Boris Karloff movie. Peter Boyle played Frankenstein’s monster in this version of the story.

Christopher Lee

Actor Christopher Lee—of The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and The Wicker Man fame—took a shot at playing the monster in the 1957 movie The Curse of Frankenstein. Lee also played the part of Dracula during his career. The movie was part of the long-running Hammer Films series, which focused on the character of Victor Frankenstein. The series saw other actors play the monster throughout its run, too, including Michael Gwynn in The Revenge of Frankenstein, Kiwi Kingston in The Evil of Frankenstein, Susan Denberg in Frankenstein Created Woman, Freddie Jones in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, and David Prowse in The Horror of Frankenstein and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell.

Robert De Niro

In one of the more recent adaptations of Frankenstein—1994’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh as Victor—Robert De Niro portrayed the monster. He was among an A-list cast, which included Helena Bonham Carter as Victor’s sister, Elizabeth. The makeup team on this movie took on a challenge—changing the iconic look of Frankenstein’s monster, making De Niro appear more as a stitched-together human. De Niro garnered attention for his unique portrayal of the Creature, and the movie might even be considered one of the best adaptations of Shelley’s novel.

Other Actors Who Played Frankenstein’s Monster

Numerous other actors also took on the role of Frankenstein’s monster in more low-profile films and shows. These included Gary Conway in the 1957 movie I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, Cal Bolder in 1966 movie Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter, Xiro Paps in 1972 movie Frankenstein ’80, Clancy Brown in 1985 movie The Bride, and Tom Noonan in 1987 movie The Monster Squad.

Raúl Juliá played the monster in 1990 film, Frankenstein Unbound, and Randy Quaid took on the role in the 1992 film, Frankenstein. In the 2000s, adaptations of the story continued. Shuler Hensley played the monster in 2004’s Van Helsing, as did David Harewood in 2001’s Frankenstein’s Wedding-Live in Leeds, a broadcast on BBC.

In 2011, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternated playing the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature in a theater production of the story; a few months ago, the play was streaming on YouTube. And in 2012, hit animated movie Hotel Transylvania came out, with Kevin James voicing Frankenstein’s monster. Two years later, Aaron Eckhart played the monster in I, Frankenstein. In 2015’s Victor Frankenstein, Spencer Wilding played the monster.

Future Frankensteins

Surely the future will see more actors take on the role of Frankenstein’s monster. Many movie fans are anticipating a reboot of the story from director Guillermo del Toro, who has mentioned casting Doug Jones as the monster. Plus, James Wan is allegedly making an adaptation, though as of this writing, that hasn’t been confirmed.

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