5 legendary actors who have portrayed Santa Claus in movies

Santa Claus is undoubtedly one of the most well-known characters on the planet. Santa Claus, with his red coat, recognizable cap, and thick white beard, is bigger than life. For as long as there have been motion pictures, Santa Claus has been a mainstay in both large- and small-screen entertainment.

Some legendary actors have portrayed the gift-bearing Christmas icon over the years. Let's take a look back at some of the most memorable performances of actors in the suit of Santa.

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Actors who portrayed Santa Claus in movies

Here are five of them:

1) Edward Asner in Elf (2003)

While the late, great actor Ed Asner may not be with us anymore, his memory still lives on, especially every Christmas with his presentation in Elf.

Ed Asner, an American actor and the former president of the Screen Actors Guild, expired in 2021. In the 2003 movie Elf, Will Farrell is a human who was raised by Santa's elves and discover that he's not really an elf. He goes to see his biological father in New York City as part of his quest to discover his origins.

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2) Tim Allen in The Santa Clause Franchise

Allen is famous for voicing Buzz Lightyear produced a mesmerizing display as Father Christmas, arguably one of his best-ever performances.

Tim Allen plays Scott Calvin/Santa Claus in the Santa Clause franchise, which spans the years 1994–2002–2006–2006–2002–2006. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause and the 2022 Disney+ miniseries The Santa Clauses.

In the first movie in the series, Scott (Allen), a divorcee, is assigned to complete Santa's job and take on the persona of the actual Santa after Santa gets hurt.

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3) Kurt Russell in The Christmas Chronicles (2018) and The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020)

In The Christmas Chronicles, two children inadvertently cause Santa's sleigh to crash and all the presents to be lost. They then have to work swiftly to fix their mistake.

As the children approach puberty in the follow-up The Christmas Chronicles 2, Santa makes a comeback. In both films, Kurt Russell plays Santa, and he's just as charming and endearing.

Santa was a natural fit for Russell because he has had two prominent personas throughout his career: an action hero in his later years and a well-groomed Disney child early on.

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4) Edmund Gwenn in Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Actor Edmund Gwenn played Kris Kringle, also known as Santa, in the classic Christmas film Miracle on 34th Street.

In the film, Kris Kringle takes up for a small Santa who is unable to perform his role. Kringle puts himself in a lot of difficulty when he declares that he's the genuine Santa as his fame grows.

Edmund Gwenn won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for his outstanding performance.

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5) Alec Baldwin in Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Rise of the Guardians, an underappreciated DreamWorks animated classic, featured Alec Baldwin, the original badass Santa.

Santa teams up with the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) and the Sandman in a movie that serves as a sort of The Avengers for childhood icons. Together, they recruit Jack Frost (Chris Pine) to stop the evil Pitch Black (Jude Law) from stealing all the wonder and joy from the world.

Baldwin's Santa Claus is portrayed as a man of action and has a large, exaggerated Russian accent. He's still a huge, happy man, but he also acts like he has the nice and naughty list permanently inked on his arms.

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These are our picks for some of the most memorable performances as Santa by legendary actors. Do let us know in the comment section below, about your favorite actors who donned Santa's outfit.