10 Actors Who Have Played Two or More Characters in DC Movies

With the recent announcement of Jason Momoa’s role as Lobo, he became the first major actor from the DCEU to land a role in James Gunn’s new universe. However, it is not just Momoa who has appeared in multiple DC movies in different roles. Gunn has worked on the DCEU project, The Suicide Squad, and is likely to bring his frequent collaborators to the new DCU.

Nathan Fillion and Sean Gunn are just two examples of DCEU actors returning to a different role in the DCU role, because of their working relationship with the Super director. Some actors have also taken on different roles in DC TV projects besides their film roles.

1 Lynda Carter

Lynda Carter is an iconic star among DC fans. She is most famously known for her role as Wonder Woman in her eponymous TV series in the ’70s. Her role came a little after she was crowned Miss World USA in 1972. Carter also made a few other appearances in the DC shows and movies long after her superhero role.

Lynda Carter’s DC appearances	Her roles
Wonder Woman (1975–1979)	Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
Smallville (2007)	Moira Sullivan
Supergirl (2016-2018)	U.S. President Olivia Marsdin
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)	Asteria

Carter was one of the actors to play Moira Sullivan, the mother of Chloe Sullivan, in Smallville. She played the character with mind-controlling powers in a sixth-season episode. Carter reunited with the WB film and television family when she took on the role of President Olivia Marsdin in The CW’s Supergirl.

During the production of the first Wonder Woman film in the DCEU, director Patty Jenkins approached Carter for a cameo role. While she couldn’t appear in the film at that time, she committed to a role in the sequel Wonder Woman 1984. Carter played Asteria, the Golden Warrior of the Amazons, in the post-credits scene of the film.

2 Anthony Carrigan

Three-times Emmy-nominated actor Anthony Carrigan appears to be a fan-favorite in the comic book genre of shows and films. The Chechen mobster from Barry caught James Gunn‘s attention and landed a role in the upcoming DCU film Superman. But it isn’t Carrigan’s first stint with DC.

Anthony Carrigan’s DC appearances	His roles
The Flash (2014-2015)	Kyle Nimbus/The Mist
Gotham (2014-2019)	Victor Zsasz
Superman (2025)	Rex Mason/Metamorpho

Carrigan’s alopecia areata eventually caused his complete lack of hair. His new look got him typecast as mostly villains in films and shows. In DC, Carrigan appeared as the psychopathic serial killer Victor Zsasz in Fox’s Gotham and as Kyle Nimbus aka the Mist, another supervillain, in Grant Gustin’s The Flash.

After playing the DC villains, it would be refreshing for Carrigan to play a superhero, Metamorpho, in Gunn’s Superman. In the film, he appears as an archaeologist whose body is turned into a shifting mass of chemicals after being cursed by an ancient artifact.

During an interview with Rolling Stone, Carrigan shared that he can relate to Metamorpho’s concerns about his abilities because of his own condition. Superman will be released in theaters on July 11, 2025. The Flash is currently available to stream on Netflix, while Gotham is now available on Max.

3 Djimon Hounsou

Fans might have seen Djimon Hounsou as the Wizard Shazam in both Shazam! and its sequel. He even reprised his role briefly in Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam. He served as the wise old man character who seeks a successor after the Council of Eternity has fallen.

Djimon Hounsou’s DC appearances	His roles
Aquaman (2018)	King Ricou aka the Fisherman King
Shazam! (2019), Black Adam (2022), & Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)	The Wizard Shazam

However, little did fans notice that the actor had done a role prior to Shazam! in the DCEU. Hounsou played the role of Ricou, the Fisherman King, in Aquaman. However, he was covered with prosthetic makeup which probably made it difficult for fans to recognize the actor.

4 Sean Gunn

Sean Gunn is a regular in his brother James Gunn’s projects. He played the memorable role of Kraglin in the director’s Guardians of the Galaxy films. When Gunn entered the DCEU, Sean Gunn had two roles in his film The Suicide Squad. He briefly appeared as the Calendar Man and almost went unrecognized in his makeup.

Sean Gunn’s DC appearances	His roles
The Suicide Squad (2021)	Weasel & Calendar Man
Creature Commandos (2024- )	Weasel & G.I. Robot
Superman (2025)	Maxwell Lord

He also voiced the role of Weasel in the film, who was seemingly killed off in the first act but was shown to be alive in a post-credits scene. Sean Gunn reprised the role in Gunn’s recently released animated Max series Creature Commandos. However, it isn’t the only role that Sean voiced in the series. He also gave voice to the fan-favorite character G.I. Robot.

Besides his voice roles in the new DCU, Sean Gunn is also slated to play a live-action role in the upcoming film, Superman. Sean will play the role of Maxwell Lord, a role that Pedro Pascal played in the old DCEU. However, the direction of the character is kept under tight wraps and Sean doesn’t even appear in a single shot in the trailer.

5 Mark Strong

Mark Strong already had experience playing a comic book villain when he entered the DC universe with Ryan Reynolds‘ Green Lantern. He played the crime boss Frank D’Amico in the 2010 film Kick-Ass. Despite performing well in the role, Strong couldn’t single-handedly save a film that was doomed from the beginning.

Mark Strong’s DC appearances	His roles
Green Lantern (2011)	Thaal Sinestro
Shazam! (2019) & Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)	Dr. Thaddeus Sivana
The Penguin (2024)	Carmine Falcone

Strong’s villain potential was realized by Shazam! makers who cast him as the primary antagonist opposite Zachary Levi, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana. The performance garnered positive reviews and Strong was all set to return for more movies. His return was teased in post-credits scenes of both Shazam! and its sequel. However, it never materialized due to the fate of the DCEU.

While the British actor awaits a call from James Gunn for another potential villain role in the DCU, he played a brief cameo in The Penguin. In Colin Farrell‘s DC series, Strong appeared as Carmine Falcone, replacing John Turturro as the former boss of Farrell’s character.

6 David Dastmalchian

David Dastmalchian made his film debut with a role in Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight. He played Thomas Schiff, a schizophrenic who works as a thug for the Joker. Despite his small role in the film, he was noticed and started getting more meatier roles in other films.

David Dastmalchian’s DC appearances	His roles
The Dark Knight (2008)	Thomas Schiff
Gotham (2017)	Dwight Pollard
The Flash (2017,2021)	Abra Kadabra
The Suicide Squad (2021)	Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man

Dastmalchian went on to star in two TV villain roles in the DC universe. He played Dwight Pollard in Season 3 of Gotham, who appears as a fanatic follower of the main villain Jerome Valeska. He also played the TV version of supervillain Abra Kadabra in two episodes of the Arrowverse series, The Flash.

The McGyver actor starred as one of the leads in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. He played Polka-Dot Man, an antihero whose power was to eject destructive polka-dots from his body. His ending in the film was rather heroic.

The role brought him more opportunities including the critically acclaimed film Late Night with the Devil and the role of Mr. 3 in the upcoming second season of Netflix’s One Piece. Dastmalchian also voiced several characters in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

David Dastmalchian’s DC Animated Universe appearances	His roles
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One & Two (2021)	Julian Day/Calendar Man & Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin
Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two (2023)	The Flash/Barry Allen

In Batman: The Long Halloween, he voiced the role of Calendar Man and the Penguin. He voiced the Flash in Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen. Fans can catch Dastmalchian’s minor role as Thomas Schiff in The Dark Knight by streaming the film on Max. His animated movies are available for rent on AppleTV.

7 Patrick Wilson

Patrick Wilson starred as Nite Owl II in Watchmen, the 2009 film based on the limited DC Comics series of the ’80s. Zack Snyder‘s film took some time to click with the audience but is now considered a cult film. Wilson went on to voice the role of the President of the United States in Batman v Superman, before his proper acting debut in the DCEU.

Patrick Wilson’s DC appearances	His roles
Watchmen (2009)	Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl II
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)	President of the United States
Aquaman (2018) & Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)	Orm Marius/Ocean Master

He played Orm Marius aka the Ocean Master, the primary antagonist in Jason Momoa’s Aquaman. When Wilson appeared in the sequel film, he turned into a more likable character. However, he wasn’t the only Watchmen star who appeared in other DCEU projects.

The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan played the role of the Comedian in Watchmen. He went on to play Thomas Wayne in Batman v Superman. Billy Cudrup, who was brilliant as Dr. Manhattan, played Henry Allen in Justice League.

8 Nathan Fillion

Nathan Fillion and James Gunn are long-time collaborators and the director brought him for a cameo role in his DCEU film The Suicide Squad. He played the comic book character, The Detachable Kid aka T.D.K., who is swiftly killed off during the first act of the film.

Nathan Fillion’s DC appearances	His roles
The Suicide Squad (2021)	Cory Pitzner/T.D.K. (The Detachable Kid)
Superman (2025)	Guy Gardner/Green Lantern

When Gunn took over the DCU and revamped it with new actors and characters, Fillion landed the role that fans long desired for the actor. He was cast as Guy Gardner, who is one of the DC characters to carry the Green Lantern mantle.

Fans saw the actor’s first look from Superman‘s trailer, which showed him as an established superhero alongside David Corenswet’s titular character. Fans will have to wait until July to find out whether Fillion will have more screen time in this film than The Suicide Squad. Fillion and the Green Lantern role goes way back, even before Gunn became part of a big franchise.

Nathan Fillion’s DC Animated Universe appearances	His roles
Justice League Unlimited (2005-2006)	Vigilante
Wonder Woman (2009)	Steve Trevor
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011), Justice League: Doom (2012), Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013), Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015), The Death of Superman (2018), and Reign of the Supermen (2019)	Hal Jordan/Green Lantern

Fillion has worked in the DC Animated Original Movies, mostly playing the role of Hal Jordan. He played the most famous Green Lantern character in six films to be exact. He has also played roles like the supervillain Vigilante in the animated series Justice League Unlimited and Steve Trevor in the animated Wonder Woman series.

9 Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman was paired opposite Val Kilmer in Batman Forever. She played Dr. Chase Meridian, a police consultant brought in to study Gotham’s rising criminal behavior. She portrayed Batman’s love interest. However, Batman Forever is not a fan-favorite as many believed that Warner Bros. ruined the franchise by replacing Tom Burton and Michael Keaton.

Nicole Kidman’s DC appearances	Her roles
Batman Forever (1995)	Dr. Chase Meridian
Aquaman (2018) & Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (2023)	Queen Atlanna

Kidman returned to the superhero genre nearly 23 years later, taking on the role of Queen Atlanna in Aquaman. She played the role of Aquaman’s mother and reprised her role in the sequel film as well. While Aquaman marked a notable shift in the type of films she chose, it didn’t stop her from delivering a headstrong performance.

10 Jason Momoa

When fans saw Jason Momoa as Aquaman in Batman v Superman, they were convinced that the actor’s rugged portrayal was exactly what the character needed. The 2018 film Aquaman went on to become the first film in the DCEU to hit the billion-dollar mark. However, fans felt that Momoa was wasted in the role when the DCEU started to roll out subpar projects.

Jason Momoa’s DC appearances	His roles
Aquaman (2018), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), and other DCEU films	Arthur Curry/Aquaman
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2026)	Lobo

When James Gunn replaced the earlier universe with DCU, fans expected that Momoa would land a role, something different from Arthur Curry. They were excited to learn that Momoa pitched a solo Lobo film to Gunn during the promotion for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

He became a fan of the minor Superman villain of the ’80s who became popular in the ’90s as a parody of grim and gritty characters who defined comics in that decade. Recently, the rumors got an official confirmation when it was reported that the Game of Thrones actor would play Lobo in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

The details surrounding the role are still under wraps, but Supergirl is set to be the second film released in the DCU. It will arrive in theaters in 2026.