Expert: Mel - 11/15/2004

Question
I'm teaching a Pop Culture course in a Va. h.s.  Over the weekend I saw "The Polar Express" where Tom Hanks has 6 different roles in the film.  Last year I saw "Kind Hearts & Coronets" where Alec Guinness played 9 different roles.  Can you think of any other examples where an actor/actress has played multiple roles in the same film?  

Answer
Hello Jim,

There have been many cases of multiple roles in films over the years. The most parts played award goes to Rolf Leslie, who played 27 parts in "Sixty Years a Queen" (1913).

Then, in descending order you have:
Lupino Lane - 24 parts in "Only Me" (1929).
Joseph Henabery - 14 characters in "Birth of a Nation" (1915).
Robert Hirsch - 12 roles in "No Questions on Saturday" (1964).
Michael Ripper - 9 parts in "What a Crazy World" (1963).
Eddie Murphy - 8 characters in "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" (2000).
Eddie Murphy - 7 characters in "The Nutty Professor" (1996), Jerry Lewis having only played three characters in the original film in 1963.
Jerry Lewis - 7 characters in "The Family Jewels" (1965).
Peter Sellers - 6 roles in "Let's Go Crazy" (1951).
Peter Sellers - 6 roles in "Soft Beds, Hard Battles" (1974).
Peter Sellers - 3 roles in "Dr. Strangelove" (1964) Mike Myers - 4 roles in "Austin Powers in Goldmember" (2002).
Terry Thomas - 3 parts in "Arabella" (1969).
Red Skelton - 3 characters in "Watch the Birdy" (1930).

"O Lucky Man" from 1973 was unusual in that nearly everybody in the cast played at least two or three roles each.

But, in most cases, the actor concerned has played just two roles, usually twins, like Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in "The Corsican Brothers" (1941).

Another example, of course, would be "The Man In The Iron Mask" which has been filmed several times. Louis Hayward had this dual role in 1939; Richard Chamberlain in 1977; Leonardo DiCaprio in 1998.  

And let's not forget the dual role in "The Prisoner Of Zenda" which was played at different times by James K. Hackett (1913), Lewis Stone (1922), Ronald Colman (1937), Stewart Granger (1952) and Peter Sellers (1979).

"The Prince And The Pauper" is another that featured a dual role and has also been made several times over the years. As has "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde".

Silent screen star, Lon Chaney, a master of disguise, played dual roles in "Treasure Island" (1920), "Outside The Law" (1921), and "London After Midnight" (1927).

Olivia De Havilland turned in dual role performances in "The Dark Mirror" (1946), and Bette Davis did the same in "Dead Ringer" (1964), something she had done earlier in "A Stolen Life" (1946).

Elvis Presley got in on the dual roles act in "Kissin' Cousins" (1964), playing the central character and his blonde-haired cousin.

Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh did the honours in "Dead Again" (1991); Demi Moore in "Passion Of Mind" (2000); and Kim Novak in "Vertigo" (1958).

Dirk Bogarde turned in an excellent double role in the court room drama "Libel" (1959)   

Here's a link to a page about dual roles in old "B" Westerns: http://www.surfnetinc.com/chuck/dualrole.htm

Obviously, the list of dual roles could go on and on, but I hope there is enough there for you to get your teeth into.

Glad to be of help. Cheers......Mel.