15. The Parent Trap (1998)
The Parent Trapis pretty remarkable given that Lindsay Lohan was only 10 years old when she took up the roles of both Annie and her estranged twin sister Hallie. Not only that, but it was her first movie… ever!
Annie was raised in an upper-class London townhouse by her mother (played by Natasha Richardson) while Hallie was raised by her father (played by Dennis Quaid) on a vineyard in California. The couple divorced just after the twins were born, resulting in the twins being separated.
When the two accidentally meet at summer camp, it becomes a game of nature versus nurture as the sisters decide to swap places and experience what life is like on the other side.
Based on the German bookLottie and Lisaby Erich Kästner,The Parent Trapfirst took to the big screen back in 1961, but I actually prefer the more modern adaptation by Nancy Meyers!
Related:The Best Movies About Father-Daughter Relationships
14. Coming to America (1998)
This 1980s rom-com has now garnered a bit of a cult following, plus several remakes across the globe (replacing “America” with whatever country is producing it). Nothing will ever beat the original though, in which comedy legend Eddie Murphy takes up four roles!
John Landis directs Murphy as: the prince of Zamunda (who “comes to America” to escape an arranged marriage), a soul singer, a Jewish barbershop customer, and the barbershop’s owner.
In 2021, Eddie Murphy reprised all of these roles in the sequel film,Coming 2 America, which was directed by Craig Brewer.
Fun fact:Almost two decades afterComing to America, he played three different characters in the 2007 comedyNorbit!
Related:The Best Movies About Weddings
13. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Wizard of Ozis one of the most famous and conspiracy theory-laden movies ever made, with multiple directors and a disastrous production that was hellish for numerous reasons.
The MGM musical follows young Dorothy (played by Judy Garland) as she’s swept from a Kansas farm and into the Technicolor land of Oz.
Most of Dorothy’s companions play two roles: a mundane Kansas farmhand and their strange, anthropomorphic counterpart in Oz. (“And you were there… and you… and you!") Frank Morgan plays the most parts of all though—five in total.
First and foremost, Morgan is the Wizard himself—a grand and terrifying emperor who just turns out to be an old con man. Yet, he also plays Professor Marvel, a gatekeeper, a carriage driver, and a guard. Can you spot him in any of these?
Related:Movies That Change Aspect Ratio Partway Through Runtime
12. Suspiria (2018)
Sometimes, a movie goes out of its way to highlight that an actor is playing more than one role, whether for comedic value (as inComing to America), for uncanny horror, or whatever else. Other times, though, a movie does the opposite: it covers it up as much as possible.
That’s usually done for shock value (like when we saw the credits roll in Matt Reeves’sThe Batmanand gasped at Colin Farrell’s name). It’s also done to aid in plot points (like Martin Freeman inGhost Stories). And then there’s Tilda Swinton in the supernatural horror filmSuspiria.
A remake of the 1977 Italian film by Dario Argento,Suspiriahad us all fooled—crew included—by Swinton’s heavy prosthetics. She looks herself as the protégée Madame Blanc, but as Mother Markos and Dr. Josef Klemperer, she’s unrecognizable!
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11. The Polar Express (2004)
The Polar Expresswasn’t the first animated film to utilize one actor for multiple roles. It’s fairly common, like with the cast ofThe Simpsons. That said, it’s probably the only animation where almost every main character is voiced by one person: Tom Hanks.
Not only did the animators of this cozy Christmas classic have Hanks voice several of the main parts, but they’re even made to look like him! Chief of all, there’s the train conductor, who resembles a computer-generated Hanks wearing a top hat.
Hanks also voices the hobo, the protagonist’s father, the narrator, the Scrooge puppet, and, of course, Santa Claus. Although it might make you feel like you’re in a fever dream at times, the employment of Hanks for all of these roles suggest that they’re all really the same person.
Meaning? Well,The Polar Expresscould be interpreted at a metaphor for God, with Jesus/the conductor, the Father/Father Christmas, and the Holy Spirit/hobo ghost joining to form one God, in the Christian sense.
Related:The Best Metaphorical Movies With Deeper, Hidden Meanings
10. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Auteur director Guillermo del Toro frequently collaborates with actor Doug Jones, taking advantage of his contortionist and mime skills. These talents are particularly useful for Del Toro’s creepy filmography, which requires a lot of time in the makeup chair.
Films likeThe Shape of Water,Hellboy, andCrimson Peakare just some examples of Del Toro’s Gothic movies that involve Jones as a weird, often grim-looking creature of ghoulish origins. The best one, however, is without a doubtPan’s Labyrinth.
Pan’s Labyrinthis part war drama (taking place in Spain in 1944, five years after the Spanish Civil War) and part dark fantasy (following a young girl’s journey into a magical woodland during this turbulent time).
Doug Jones appears as both the Faun who guides her on her quest, and the horrifying Pale Man who eats children. Arguably, both characters are a form of the same thing, depending on your interpretation.
Related:The Best Magical Realism Movies That Mix Fantasy and the Real World
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
There are lots of different creatures, wizards, and beings in J. K. Rowling’s magical universe—including dwarves and goblins.
When it came time to put pages to screen, British actor Warwick Davis took up several of the roles for characters who were small in stature but not in overall significance.
Many hours were spent in the makeup chair to transform Davis. He first appeared as the sweet-but-doting Charms teacher Filius Flitwick, who was then revamped with a new image in the third film.
Warwick Davis also took on the role of Griphook, the infamous goblin bank teller at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, in Parts 1 and 2 ofHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (Griphook’s appearance inHarry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stonewas played by the late Verne Troyer.)
Related:The Best Harry Potter Movie Scenes
8. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Mike Myers is the antagonist to his own protagonist in this eccentric movie franchise. An obviously hyperbolic satire of the spy genre (namely James Bond) with a healthy dose of “Swinging Sixties” culture,Austin Powersis an American comedy that pokes fun at Britain.
Across the three movies, each directed by Jay Roach, we see Myers as both the flamboyant and womanizing British spy Austin Powers as well as his arch nemesis Dr. Evil (who also happens to be Austin’s secret twin brother, which would explain the resemblance).
The character of Fat Bastard is also played by Myers inAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, though he’s of no blood relation. TheAustin Powersmovies are unlike anything you’ll ever see, a bizarre one-of-a-kind parody that caters to a very specific taste.
Related:The Best Spy Movies for Espionage Thriller Fans
7. Legend (2015)
The Kray Twins were once real-life legends of the British gangster scene. Ronnie and Reggie Kray practically ran the whole East End of London back in the 1950s and 1960s, which Tom Hardy brilliantly brings to life in Brian Helgeland’s crime biopicLegend.
Reggie is an ex-boxer while Ronnie is fresh out of a psychiatric hospital for paranoid schizophrenia. Reggie is the cool businessman while Ronnie is the unstable madman. Together, they murder, rob, and racketeer their way to glory and rise through the ranks of London street crime.
As two of the most infamous twins in history, it only made sense to let the master of “hardy” acting carry out both roles. Tom Hardy pulls off both characters elegantly, balancing their wildly different personalities that are rooted in a genetic common ground.
Related:The Best Movies About Brothers and Brotherhood
6. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Monty Python was a comedy troupe made up of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones.Monty Python’s Flying Circuswas a four-season-long TV series of surreal comedy sketches that were the peak of British humor back in 60s.
After that, the group dipped their toes in the waters of cinema with a successful trilogy of movies. The feature films followed a similar premise of comedy sketches, this time united by a common storyline (but still using the same actors across many different scenes).
1975’sMonty Python and the Holy Grailunfolds during the grisly Middle Ages. 1979’sMonty Python’s Life of Briantakes place during the Roman occupation of Judea at the time of Jesus Christ. 1983’sMonty Python’s The Meaning of Lifereturned to the format of unrelated vignettes.
Related:The Greatest Monty Python Skits, Sketches, and Songs
5. Sunshine (1999)
The Sonnenscheins—a fictional Hungarian-Jewish family—are victim to three generations of national unrest and trauma inSunshine. Ralph Fiennes stars as the troubled protagonist of each era, beginning with Austria-Hungary in the mid-19th century.
After changing their family name to “Sors” to survive Nazi occupation, Adam (the son of Fiennes’s first character, Ignatz) has his Jewish heritage traced and is sent to a labor camp.
Then, Adam’s son Ivan becomes embroiled with Stalin’s communist regime, working as a state policeman and arresting Jews (in an ironic but heartbreaking kind of way).
It’s pretty heavy stuff, directed and co-written by Hungarian filmmaker István Szabó, but Fiennes delivers a taut performance across it all. Also, real-life mother-daughter duo Jennifer Ehle and Rosemary Harris play the same character across the six-decade storyline.
Related:The Best Movies About Trauma and PTSD
4. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Peter Sellers rose to fame with his rendition of the clumsy Parisian inspector Jacques Clouseau inThe Pink Pantherseries. Then, just a year after that, Sellers was already receiving Oscar nominations for his collaboration with Stanley Kubrick onDr. Strangelove!
Stanley Kubrick’s landmark black-comedy—officially titled asDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bombbut commonly shortened to justDr. Strangelove—had Peter Sellers nominated for not just one role, but three!
Originally, he was contracted to play four major parts because the studio believed the success of Kubrick’s previous filmLolitastemmed from Sellers’s performance of Clare Quilty (who assumed multiple identities).
Of course, nothing is carved in stone in Hollywood. The final cut gives us Sellers as: Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley, and Dr. Strangelove himself, the unstable ex-Nazi weapons strategist.
Related:The Best Cold War Movies of All Time
3. Adaptation (2002)
In Spike Jonze’s meta-comedyAdaptation, Nicolas Cage comes through and plays a set of twins: the writer ofAdaptation’s script, Charlie Kaufman, as well as his imaginary freeloading brother, Donald.
The self-aware comedy-drama depicts Kaufman’s struggles in adapting Susan Orlean’s 1998 bookThe Orchid Thieffor the big screen.
Although the first half of the movie is grounded in reality—with Cage at the center as a hyperbolic version of Kaufman, battling anxiety and writer’s block—the ending continues on into complete fiction.
Shootouts, psychedelic drugs, and imprisonment makeAdaptationa unique blend of fact and fiction. Nicolas Cage’s dual role was also a reference point in his recent, similarly meta comedy filmThe Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
Related:The Best Movies Where Actors Play Themselves
2. Split (2016)
Technically, James McAvoy only plays one character in M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological thrillerSplit: a guy named Kevin. However, Kevin suffers with dissociative identity disorder, meaning he embodies 24 different personas throughout the film.
The trope of multiple identities is common in cinema for how it paves ample room for plot twists and unpredictability. However, I’ve never seen it done to the same degree that McAvoy achieves here.
James McAvoy seamlessly switches between personalities in a snap, with each one’s unique but subtle mannerisms, accents, and habits on clear display. His personas include: a kidnapper with OCD, a camp fashion designer, a posh old woman, a nine-year-old boy, and more.
Related:The Best Movies About Split Personalities
1. Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Depending on your age, observational skills, and prior knowledge of theBack to the Futurefilm trilogy, you probably already noticed that Marty McFly’s kids inBack to the Future Part IIare all played by the same guy who plays Marty McFly himself: Michael J. Fox.
Director Robert Zemeckis liked having the same actors and actresses play different versions of themselves (and their ancestors) across timelines throughout this cult classic sci-fi franchise.
When Marty travels forward to the year 2015, he’s warned to avoid bumping into himself and his family. But this proves difficult in a small town like Hill Valley, and Marty finds himself cosplaying as his future teenage son to fight off his bullies.
Fox only needed contacts and a change in mannerisms to embody the role of his son. But playing his daughter? That took a little more work. Luckily, it was done for comedic effect and not taken too seriously!
Related:The Best Movie Character Duos
