Top 10 Santa Actors
A ton of different actors have put on the red suit & hat to portray Santa Claus for Christmas movies, TV shows, or specials. In this list, I’ll highlight the top 10 actors who best encapsulated Old St. Nick.
Tim Allen- Tim the Toolman portrayed Scott Calvin, a man who must become the next Santa in 1994’s ‘The Santa Clause.’ He went on to portray Scott/Santa thrice more in the films two sequels as well as the two season TV shows, ‘The Santa Clauses.’ Over the course of the series Scott deals with becoming Santa, finding his Mrs. Claus, balancing his new job with his family, and eventually looking for his successor.
Ed Asner- First voicing Santa in 1996’s ‘The Story of Santa Claus,’ also voicing the character in ‘Olive, the Other Reindder’ & ‘Regular Show.’ He most famously played Santa in a live action role in ‘Elf.’ He is also the only original cast member to reprise his role in the animated TV movie ‘Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas.’
Jim Broadbent- Though his only live action role as Santa came in the lesser known ‘Get Santa,’ Broadbent’s more famous outing is voicing the character in ‘Arthur Christmas.’ The film also stars James McAvoy as Santa’s son/successor & Bill Nighy as Santa’s father/predecessor.
Paul Giamatti- The Oscar-nominated actor had his outing as the jolly old fat man in ‘Fred Claus.’ The film stars Vince Vaughn in the titular role, Santa’s jealous older brother who received immortality along with his brother when his brother became a saint. Giamatti’s Nick is a great foil to Vaughn’s Fred, who is cynical & pessimistic.
John Goodman- Goodman has played Santa in a variety of projects. In live action he played the character in the 2006 live action remake of ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus.’ He voiced the character in ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie’ & ‘It’s a Spongebob Christmas!,’ as well as in an episode of ‘Futurama.’
Edmund Gwenn- While other actors may be more synonymous with the role, I think Gwenn should be the first actor people associate with Santa. The reason? For his role as Kris Kringle in 1947’s ‘Miracle on 34th Street,’ Gwenn won both the Oscar & Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. That’s so legendary in my opinion. Though the film is old, it holds up extremely well, in large part due to Gwenn’s performance.
Tom Hanks- In 2004’s ‘The Polar Express’ from Robert Zemeckis, Tom Hanks played a handful of roles. Most notably he voiced the conductor, but he also played the main boy (known as Hero Boy) as an adult, Hero Boy’s father, the hobo, & the Scrooge puppet. He also of course voiced Santa, earning him his spot on this list.
Mickey Rooney- Rooney has voiced the character in a handful of different projects. Between 1970-2008, he voiced the character in 5 different TV specials: ‘Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,’ ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus,’ ‘Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July,’ ‘The Happy Elf,’ & ‘A Miser’s Brother Christmas.’
Kurt Russell- Russell brings a slightly different vibe to Santa than the other gentlemen on this list. His Santa is cool, suave, handsome, and not even fat. However, he still captures what it means to be Santa Claus, whom he plays in ‘The Christmas Chronicles’ and it’s sequel.
J.K. Simmons- Simmons played the character of Santa in 2024’s ‘Red One,’ (peek through the curtain: I wrote this well in advance of seeing that, so I have no thoughts). So unless I go in and change this (in which case you’ll never see it & I’m talking to myself) the reason I’m including the Oscar winner is because of his voice role in ‘Klaus.’ One of the most underrated Christmas films, Simmons plays a rough & grumbly Santa opposed to his usually friendly demeanor. Though he eventually comes around, I think Simmons’s Santa shows the most character development across a single film of any on this list.
