Actors taking on dual roles in films is one of Hollywood’s acting bedrocks, dating back to 1930! For the last 95 years, there have been more than a handful of iconic instances where one actor portrays multiple characters in a film. Now, in 2025, that tactic seems to be making a massive resurgence with the likes of Robert De Niro in The Alto Knights, Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17, and a slew of other actors and films.
But which ones throughout the history of Hollywood are the best? Here are my Top 10 Dual Roles in Movies!
10. Tom Hanks in The Polar Express (2004)
While it may not be the first performance that comes to mind, Tom Hanks plays six, yes SIX, roles in Robert Zemeckis’s underrated Christmas classic The Polar Express. Ranging from a train-riding hobo to the big man of Christmas himself, Hanks delivers six distinct voice performances that encapsulate the mystifying magic of the movie itself. While considered by many to be a lesser work of animation, Tom Hanks utilizes his iconic voice to convey the idea that Christmas truly is about the friends and family we have.
9. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mission: Impossible III (2006)
A more unconventional pick to say the least (you could argue for several Mission: Impossible entries on this list), Philip Seymour Hoffman playing Tom Cruise’s IMF Agent character of Ethan Hunt is by far and away the most convincing and impressive dual role entry in the franchise. There is something so special about one of the greatest actors of all time to give his all in a nearly 3-minute anxiety-laden mid-movie sequence that reveals how one of the most crucial devices in the Mission: Impossible franchise functions. It also gives us two Philip Seymour Hoffmans in tuxedos. What’s not to love?
8. Michael Fassbender in Alien: Covenant (2017)
Another slightly unconventional pick that deserves, nay, demands, to be included in lists such as these for the greatest dual roles in movie history. Although the “David” Trilogy that Ridley Scott has been speaking about for years still hasn’t come to fruition, the recent reappraisal of both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant is shining a newfound light on the brilliance of Michael Fassbender’s performance as an android within the Alien franchise. Battling himself in epic sci-fi fashion, Fassbender emulates two different android versions, appearing simultaneously human and far from it in his two different corporal forms, something nobody else on this list can boast.
7. Jake Gyllenhaal in Enemy (2013)
Denis Villenueve’s filmography is kind of overflowing with greatness, especially coming off of the heels of the incredibly successful Dune: Part Two (2024) and going right into Dune Messiah that is rumored to be releasing in December of 2026, but Enemy, and particularly Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance as the two main leads in the film, continues to be one of his greatest movies to date. A film about identity and acceptance that feeds off the completely weird sci-fi vibe of a mesmerizing Gyllenhaal performance that really only someone as unique as him could pull off.
6. James McAvoy in Split (2016)
Perhaps the actor with the most roles in a single movie on this list, James McAvoy, clocks eight separate characters in Split. Each character is fundamentally different than the next, McAvoy disappearing into each, fully immersing not only himself in the role but the audience in their participation within each character’s story. He didn’t enjoy playing all of the personalities that make an appearance, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he played all of them flawlessly.
5. Michael B. Jordan in Sinners (2025)
Sinners is the perfect example of how a dual role can rise to the next level when surrounded by a full-bodied, impressive film. Not unlike some of the upcoming picks in that regard, Michael B. Jordan’s dual role in Sinners as cousins working together to open up a juke joint in 1930s Mississippi exhibits a darkness that is as spooky as it is alluring. His performance encompasses a wide range of emotions – from enraged to sincere – that cements itself as one of the best dual role performances of the 2020s.
4. Nicolas Cage in Adaptation. (2002)
What’s better and more unhinged than one Nic Cage? Well, two Nic Cages of course! Adaptation. gives us both sides of Nic Cage–a withdrawn, socially awkward one and a confident, witty one as his brother. What makes this dual performance stand out above the rest is the very fact that it takes place within a Charlie Kaufman script while also being about a Charlie Kaufman script. Cage has only ever been nominated for two Academy Awards, with this role being one of them, and deservedly so. It’s a strange, supremely weird performance that has to be seen to be believed.
3. Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap (1998)
When speaking about dual roles in movies, this is the role. I mean, people really thought that Lindsay Lohan had a twin because she was so convincing in The Parent Trap. The cult classic 90s film that introduced us to Lindsay Lohan as a film actress has spanned across generations and remains to this day one of the most iconic dual roles in a movie. The difficulty of a dual role performance shouldn’t be overlooked here because this is the only child performance that is on the list, and that in and of itself is saying something.
2. Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964)
Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 dark comedy Dr. Strangelove, about an American general who orders a hydrogen bomb attack on the Soviet Union only to trigger the beginning of a global nuclear war, sees Peter Sellers tackle three separate characters in a single film. Sellers, who is no stranger to dual roles, plays the titular Dr. Strangelove and ultimately defines not only the tone of the Kubrick classic but the staying power of such a narrative. It’s worth noting that Kubrick paid Sellers $1 million, which was 55% of the film’s budget. A price tag that is undeniably worth it!
1. Armie Hammer in The Social Network (2010)
I remember the very first time that I watched The Social Network in the infancy of my movie obsession, I thought that Armie Hammer’s dual role of the Winkelvoss twins was actually just two real twin brothers. To this day, it’s still one of, if not the single, most essential and believable dual roles in movie history. Drama-thirsty brothers who thrive off of each other’s energy, all while trying to be national champions at rowing… and of course taking down Jesse Eisenberg’s Oscar-deserving performance as Mark Zuckerberg. It’s dual role perfection.
List Courtesy of Ethan Simmie
Feature Image Designed by Ethan Simmie