Inspired by the thread about who does the best job of portraying a superhero. And I’m officially not counting any actor/actress who plays a superhero whose civilian identity is commonly known. So, no Tony Stark.
I’m going to say Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker.
Michael Keaton
Honorable mention: George Reeves.
I like how Reeves didn’t play Clark Kent as a timid, bumbling dork. He actually made Clark seem cooler than Superman.
He also knew the optimum angle for a hat.
I think Christian Bale did the best job at portraying the fake “Billionaire playboy” persona of Bruce Wayne.
Christopher Reeve does the best slouch and glasses disguise. Melissa Benoist, I think, runs a close second.
The one thing wrong with Reeves’ portrayal is when the scripts called for Clark to run off and hide. His version of Clark Kent was too rough and tumble to be a wuss.
Melissa Benoist is good so far, but I want to see how she develops the character.
My kids laughed at how much I liked the first Spidey film: “Dad, that was just the Peter Parker movie!” I find the most interesting part of a superhero movie the beginning, where we get to see how an ordinary person deals with finding out they aren’t quite …normal.
In a review of the Supergirl/Flash crossover episode, one reviewer called Melissa Benoist “adorkable”. She and Christopher Reeve both did “Bumbling and Awkward In The Office” to a tee.
But I feel I should add someone new to the discussion… Hmmm… OOH! GOT IT!
Leslie Howard as a foppish, flamboyant dandy who’s secretly *The Scarlet Pimpernel. *
He plays that so well that his own wife doesn’t think he’s into women… Ah! Found a clip to show Howard in his “Sir Percival” persona.
Not bad for a ‘superhero’ movie from 1934…
Zorro was mentioned in the other thread. So I’ll nominate Guy Williams as Don Diego, Zorro’s real identity. He played the idle, rich Spanish playboy with flair and humor.
