A slew of actors have played Santa Claus over the years, in various forms.
No matter your holiday mood, there is a Santa to suit it. There is the reluctant Santa (Tim Allen in The Santa Clause), the con man Santa (Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa), the rockin’ Santa (Kurt Russell in The Christmas Chronicles), the violent Santa (David Harbour in Violent Night) and the sincere, jolly Santa who gets kidnapped (J.K. Simmons in Red One).
In other words, don’t expect every portrayal to be inspired by the eye-twinkling, bowl-full-of-jelly-belly Santa from Clement Clarke Moore’s famous poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (commonly referred to as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
Read on to see a list of 20 actors who have taken on the role.
This story was first published in December 2016 and has been regularly updated to include more items.
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Tim Allen in ‘The Santa Clause’
Image Credit: Everett
In the 1994 family comedy, Allen plays a divorcee who accidentally kills a Santa impersonator on Christmas Eve — and is transported to the North Pole to take over Santa’s duties. At first skeptical that the whole stint is just a wild dream, he begins to believe it after he suddenly gains weight and grows a thick, white beard.
The film went on to spawn two sequels — 2002’s The Santa Clause 2 and 2006’s The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. Allen also reprises his role for the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses, which debuted in November 2022 and received a second-season pickup the following month.
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Ed Asner in ‘Elf’
Image Credit: Everett
The Will Ferrell starrer centers on oprhaned baby (Buddy) who sneaks into Santa Claus’ sack and spends his childhood (and adulthood) in the North Pole believing he is an elf. Asner plays Santa, who sends Buddy to New York City on a quest to find his birth father after he learns that he is a human who was adopted as an infant.
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Paul Giamatti in ‘Fred Claus’
Image Credit: Everett
Giamatti plays Saint Nick in this fantasy comedy that focuses on Santa’s relationship with his resentful older brother, Fred Claus (played by Vince Vaughn). When Fred ends up in a bind and tries scheming his brother into loaning him $50,000, Nick demands he travel to the North Pole and earn his money by helping work during the Christmas rush.
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Billy Bob Thornton in ‘Bad Santa’
Image Credit: Everett
The 2003 comedy (and its 2016 sequel Bad Santa 2) sees Thornton in the role of a con man who, along with his dwarf sidekick, dress as Santa Claus and his elf helper at a department store each holiday season just to rob the mall once Christmas Eve hits, and all shoppers have gone home.
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Jim Carrey in ‘Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas’
Image Credit: Everett
The film adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ book of the same title stars Carrey as the Grinch, a resident of Whoville who hates Christmas and plots to ruin the holiday for the entire town. Though the Grinch isn’t exactly Santa himself, he dons Santa’s suit in an attempt to disguise himself and steal presents from children while they’re sleeping.
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Richard Attenborough in ‘Miracle on 34th Street’
Image Credit: Everett
One of many remakes of the holiday classic (originally released in 1947), 1994’s Miracle on 34th Street centers on a man named Kris Kringle (Attenborough), whose insistence that he’s the real Santa Claus helps a young 6-year-old girl believe in the spirit of Christmas.
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Tom Hanks in ‘The Polar Express’
Image Credit: Everett
Hanks voices Santa (and a multitude of other characters) in the animation about a skeptical young boy who embarks on a journey of self-discovery as he boards a magical train en route to the North Pole.
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Mickey Rooney in ‘Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town’
Image Credit: Everett
In the stop-motion animated TV special, a mailman (voiced by Fred Astaire) answers children’s letters to Santa Claus by telling the origin story of Kris Kringle and how he came to be the legend of Sombertown.
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Ben Affleck in ‘Reindeer Games’
Image Credit: Everett
Though Affleck doesn’t necessarily play Santa Claus himself, he dresses up as Saint Nick when his character, an ex-convict recently released from jail, becomes entangled in a plot to rob a casino on Christmas Eve.
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John Goodman in ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus’
Image Credit: Everett
A live-action remake of 1974’s stop-motion special, NBC’s 2006 TV movie follows a discouraged Santa (played by Goodman) who becomes intent on skipping toy deliveries on Christmas until a young boy helps him rediscover the holiday spirit.
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Kurt Russell in ‘The Christmas Chronicles’
Image Credit: Michael Gibson/Netflix/Everett Collection
In this 2018 Netflix comedy, Russell takes on a Santa Claus who has crashed his sleigh and lost all the Christmas presents. Together with the help of two children, he must collect them and deliver on a deadline. At the premiere, Russell dedicated the film to his father Bing Russell, “who was, is and always will be the greatest Santa Claus ever.”
Russell went back for a second outing in the sequel, The Christmas Chronicles 2. The actor sang in both movies.
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Bill Nighy in ‘Arthur Christmas’
Image Credit: Sony Pictures Classics/courtesy Everett Collection
Arthur Christmas saw Nighy voice the role of a former Santa Claus who is rather disliking of the modern world. He emerges from retirement to help Arthur (James McAvoy) save Christmas. The 2011 animated film also featured the voices of Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton and Jim Broadbent.
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William Shatner in ‘Gotta Catch Santa Claus’
Image Credit: Courtesy Teletoon Canada Inc./Everett Collection
This 2008 TV movie follows the story of a young boy who wants to prove that Santa Claus (Shatner) exists by capturing him. Meanwhile, an old enemy of Santa, LeFreeze (Cal Dodd), awakens with the same idea.
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Lloyd Bridges in ‘In the Nick of Time’
Image Credit: Courtesy NBC/Everett Collection
After 300 years, Santa Claus (Bridges) is up for retirement in this 1991 TV movie from director George Miller. He has seven days to find a replacement, or the holiday tradition will be jeopardized.
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David Harbour in ‘Violent Night’
Image Credit: Courtesy of Universal Studios
Harbour plays “a sledgehammer-wielding Kris Kringle,” as The Hollywood Reporter film critic Angie Han put it, in this home-invasion comedy-thriller that Han describes as Home Alone meets Die Hard. which hit theaters in December 2022. Harbour goes into action when a group of mercenaries takes a wealthy family hostage in their own home, and the plot takes a very bloody turn.
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Jack Black in ‘Dear Santa’
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures
Black does double duty in Dear Santa as Santa Claus and Satan. When a child writes a letter meant for Santa in hopes that jolly old St. Nick will help with their problems, they get a surprise visit from Satan instead after accidentally misspelling Santa’s name. The film is available to watch on Paramount+.
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Lil Rel Howery in ‘Dashing Through the Snow’
Image Credit: Steve Dietl /Disney+/ Courtesy Everett Collection
Dashing Through the Snow sees Howery play a version of Santa Claus named Nicholas Sinter-Claus. The film is directed by Tim Story and is available to watch on Disney+. It also stars Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Teyonah Parris and Oscar Nuñez.
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Danny Glover in ‘The Naughty Nine’
Image Credit: Jonathan Wenk /Disney+/ Courtesy Everett Collection
Glover plays Santa Claus in this Disney Channel movie, which follows a group of naughty kids, who decide to pull off a heist to get the presents they want. The movie is available to stream on Disney+.
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Brian Cox in ‘That Christmas’
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection
Cox voices Santa Claus in the 2024 animated movie That Christmas. The film saw a limited theatrical release in select theaters on Nov. 27 and then was made available to stream on Netflix on Dec. 4. According to the logline, “That Christmas follows a series of entwined tales about family and friends, love and loneliness, and Santa Claus making a big mistake, not to mention an enormous number of turkeys!”
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J.K. Simmons in ‘Red One’
Image Credit: Amazon Studios/Courtesy Everett Collection
Simmons star as a kidnapped Santa Claus, who is waiting to be rescued by Callum Drift (played by Dwayne Johnson) and hacker Jack O’Malley (played by Chris Evans), in Red One. The film was released in theaters on Nov. 15 and is now available to stream on Prime Video.
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