Image: TMDB
About This Quiz
Iconic characters are seemingly everlasting in our minds. From comedic to the dastardly, these characters often make and define an actor's career. Regardless of how many films they have to their credit, it is these characters whom they will always be remembered by. See how many of these actors you can name by their iconic character.
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Charlie Chaplin
Chaplin's personal life was something of a tragic tale, but that didn't come through on film. Thankfully, he lived in the days before all-seeing tabloids.
Harpo Marx
Lou Costello
Bud Abbott
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Dan Aykroyd
Bill Murray
Mike Myers
Love or hate Mike Myers, you have to admit his Dr. Evil character is one of a kind. A brilliant spoof of Bond villains, his bald head and ever-present cat are the icons of a spot-on piece of mockery.
Seth Myers
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Charlie Sheen
Kirk Douglas
Brad Pitt
Michael Douglas
Gordon Gekko, besides having one of the goofiest names in movie history, is an iconic megalomaniac. Espousing "Greed is Good" as a life philosophy won't win you many friends.
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Roger Moore
Steve McQueen
Sean Connery
Until Daniel Craig came along, Connery was my favorite Bond. His wry humor while dispatching the agents of evil was a welcome change from the generic tough guy types in most action movies of the '70s.
George Lazenby
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Elizabeth Taylor
Audrey Hepburn
Whether you think she's a feminist icon or a wild woman, Holly Golightly is a memorable character. Audrey Hepburn captivated both her co-stars and the audience as the Capote heroine.
Vivien Leigh
Lauren Bacall
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Anthony Hopkins
If you're accustomed to Anthony Hopkins as the star of stiff period pieces like "The Remains of the Day," prepare to be gobsmacked. Hannibal Lecter is easily one of the most fearsome, intelligent villains in film history. And he's HUNGRY.
Marty Feldman
Donald Pleasance
Bryan Cox
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Rutger Hauer
Harrison Ford
Remember the "sword vs. pistol" scene in the original "Raiders of the Lost Ark," where Ford's Indiana Jones faced off against a sword-slinging bad guy and shot him dead? He was originally supposed to use his famous bullwhip, but he'd had the flu for days and improvised grabbing his trust pistol instead.
Pierce Brosnan
Brad Pitt
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Katharine Hepburn
Elizabeth Taylor
Faye Dunaway
Bonnie Parker and her partner, Clyde Barrow, are folk icons for all of us who've found ourselves in a dead-end job and dreamed about going rogue. The Dunaway pairing with Warren Beatty was lightning in a bottle, and the film is still well worth watching.
Brigitte Bardot
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates is one of the most twisted characters in movie history. Obsessed with spying on his female guests at his rundown motel, he then dresses as his mother and kills them ... but that's not the weirdest part.
Dustin Hoffman
Cary Grant
Al Pacino
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Gregory Peck
Peck played many roles over the years, but if he'd only played Atticus Finch, he'd still be long-remembered. Harper Lee's noble lawyer embroiled in issues of segregation will forever be one of the movies' most memorable roles.
Steve McQueen
Henry Fonda
Fred Astaire
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Goldie Hawn
Diane Keaton
Woody Allen has had many muses over the years, but none better than Diane Keaton. As Annie Hall, she took the best actress Oscar, and the movie won best picture.
Cher
Katharine Hepburn
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Winona Ryder
Jenette Goldstein
Uma Thurman
Sigourney Weaver
Is there a more badass heroine in sci-fi history than Weaver's Ellen Ripley? In the years since "Aliens," she's been imitated many times, but never even close to duplicated.
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder's comic light shined brightly throughout the '70s and '80s, and this early role as Willy Wonka put him squarely in the spotlight. He manages to imbue Wonka with a sense of daffy menace as child after child meets with misfortune on the tour through his factory.
Groucho Marx
Mel Brooks
Cary Elwes
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Clara Bow
Louise Brooks
Shirley Temple
Judy Garland
"The Wizard of Oz" is a story that's been retold on film several times over the years, but no one's ever matched Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale. Her Midwestern sweetness as she conquers Oz is endlessly endearing.
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Brad Pitt
Sean Penn
Every decade or so, there's a comedy that assembles a bunch of young talent who go on to make a huge mark in the movie world. "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," starring Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli, was that film for my bunch of '80s high school students.
Bill Murray
Chevy Chase
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Goldie Hawn
Twiggy
Olivia Newton-John
"Grease" was the word in '70s movie musicals, and you couldn't escape it on the radio or in the theater. Newton-John played Sandy Olsson, who discovers her summer romance with a bad boy might have the chance to be something more.
Tippi Hedren
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Meryl Streep
Glenn Close
As the bunny-boiling antagonist in "Fatal Attraction," Glenn Close made every single guy take a look at his dating history. Her Alex Forrest made husbands do their best to keep their wives happy, and made bachelors rethink joining a dating service.
Goldie Hawn
Winona Ryder
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
John Cena
Sylvester Stallone
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger embodied one of the biggest (literally and metaphorically) stars in sci-fi history as the Terminator. His invulnerability was sold by his physical prowess, and we didn't need to see the steel exoskeleton to believe he was unstoppable.
Dolph Lundgren
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Andy Serkis
We never saw Andy Serkis' face in the "Lord of the Rings" films, but his Gollum was a huge figure. Using a motion-capture suit and his distinctive voice, he brought Gollum to life and showed us the tortured bifurcation in his soul.
Elijah Wood
Sean Astin
Orlando Bloom
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Steve McQueen
James Caan
Harrison Ford
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood has been a movie tough guy pretty much since he first set foot in front of a camera. Dirty Harry Callahan was his finest creation, a hardnosed cop with an unswerving love for justice and hatred for "punks" of all shades.
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Bette Davis
"All About Eve" caught Bette Davis at the peak of her career, playing aging actress Margo Channing. Outmaneuvered by a younger actress, she does what she has to do to save her career and her dignity.
Mae West
Joan Crawford
Bettie Page
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Robert Redford
Tom Hanks
Life is like a box of chocolates, but for Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump it meant commercial and critical success. The fast-running simpleton was a hero for every kid who ever felt different.
Richard Dreyfuss
Dustin Hoffman
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Dolph Lundgren
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sylvester Stallone
Most people don't know that not only did Stallone star in "Rocky," he also wrote it. He's a lot smarter than he sounds!
Robert De Niro
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Jean-Claude Van Damme
John Malkovich
Bruce Willis
I've always thought it hilarious that a huge percentage of people name "Die Hard" as their favorite Christmas movie. Willis' John McClane is an everyman cop, who just happens to have a machine gun.
Vin Diesel
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Meryl Streep
Shelley Duvall
Goldie Hawn
Sissy Spacek
"Carrie" was one of Stephen King's first books, and the movie adaptation is still one of the best of all his works. Sissy Spacek, in the title role, does a great job making us feel her turmoil and rage.
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Julie Andrews
"Mary Poppins" is one of Disney's most enduring characters, and Andrews will forever be linked with her. It's being remade, but whoever plays the title role will have some (very stylish) big shoes to fill.
Audrey Hepburn
Raquel Welch
Bette Davis
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Martin Short
Steve Martin
Steve Martin has always been one of the edgiest of comedians. As "The Jerk," he mocks white culture, commercialism and just about every other facet of American society.
Jim Gaffigan
Bill Murray
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
John Candy
Kevin James
John Pinette
John Belushi
John Belushi was a sad example of the candle that burns brightest burning shortest. "Bluto" Blutarsky was the soul of the "Animal House" crew, and his relentless physical comedy got the biggest laughs in the movie.
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Woody Allen
Peter Sellers
Very few actors are more identified with a single character than Sellers' Inspector Clouseau. He played other roles over the years, but never one so indelible.
Groucho Marx
Martin Short
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Danny Glover
Denzel Washington
Samuel L. Jackson
"Pulp Fiction" is a movie that demands you pay attention. Multiple intersecting plotlines, time jumps and crackling dialogue make it one you'll need to watch several time. As Jules Winnfield, Jackson delivers the greatest monologues in a movie packed with them.
Chris Rock
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
John Travolta
Steve Buscemi
Johnny Depp
We now know Johnny Depp as everything from the Mad Hatter to Willy Wonka, but the role that truly made him famous rendered him almost unrecognizable. "Edward Scissorhands" is a symbol for every kid who has ever felt different and excluded.
Jon Cryer
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Anne Bancroft
"The Graduate" made Dustin Hoffman's career, and it wouldn't have succeeded without Anne Bancroft. As Mrs. Robinson, she added the sultry center to the hilarious plot. Plastics!
Katharine Hepburn
Jane Fonda
Sally Field
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
John Wayne
James Stewart
Jimmy Stewart is one of the most underrated actors of the 20th century, in my book. His George Bailey seems like a simple character, but he imbues "It's A Wonderful Life" with both pathos and triumph in subtle but powerful ways.
Cary Grant
Lionel Barrymore
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Gilda Radner
Shelley Duvall
Amy Schumer
Goldie Hawn
"I wanna go out to lunch!" Never has that phrase meant more than when Hawn's Private Benjamin uttered it while marching in the rain. A rare-for-its-era female-driven comedy, it's still a hilarious film.
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Robert Englund
Robert Englund seems like such a NICE guy in interviews, but put the red sweater and the razor glove on him and everything changes. Freddy Krueger doesn't just threaten his victims in the real world ... he invades and controls their dreams.
Steve Buscemi
Jason Voorhees
Marty Feldman
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Lauren Bacall
Mary Pickford
Louise Brooks
Vivien Leigh
"Gone With the Wind" is one of "those" movies that -- whether or not you've seen it -- can affect whether someone wants to befriend you or not. As Scarlett O'Hara, Vivien Leigh provides the emotional heart of the epic.
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Shelley Duvall
Sally Field
We DO really, really like Sally Field, and critics and audiences alike loved her as Norma Rae. The biopic chronicled early union organization, and Field played a brash, courageous union leader.
Jane Fonda
Julia Roberts
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
John Cusack
Every man who has ever engaged in a doomed love affair can identify with Cusack's Lloyd Dobler. "Say Anything ..." is a Valentine's Day favorite, watched every year by couples with a mushy bent.
Johnny Depp
Bryan Cox
Barry Bostwick
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Kurt Russell
Dan Aykroyd
Jeff Bridges
A Coen Brother's favorite, "The Big Lebowski" was one of Bridges' most memorable roles.
Robert Redford
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Laurence Olivier
Humphrey Bogart
"The Maltese Falcon" is an all-time favorite among detective movie buffs. Bogey's Sam Spade gave us "The stuff that dreams are made of," and we've loved it for decades.
Jack Palance
Burt Lancaster
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Robert De Niro
Robert Rodriguez
James Caan
Al Pacino
"Say hello to my little friend," uttered by Pacino's Tony Montana, is one of film's most-parodied lines. But in the ultraviolent "Scarface," it's got tremendous menace ... maybe because he's holding a machine gun?
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Jack Nicholson
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and in "The Shining" it makes Jack Torrance a homicidal lunatic. Nicholson's descent into madness is abrupt. I just wish Shelley Duvall hadn't been dreadfully miscast as Wendy Torrance.
Jeff Bridges
Harvey Korman
Walter Matthau
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Liam Neeson
Peter Fonda
Mel Gibson
While the sequels were more in the sci-fi action mold, the original "Mad Max" was a stark, dystopian picture of a society in the final stages of decline. Gibson's youthful desperation after his family is slaughtered drives the movie, and drove him to superstardom.
Burt Lancaster
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Cary Grant
Burt Lancaster
Orson Welles
Citizen Kane commonly appears on critics' top 100 films of all time lists. As Charles Foster Kane, Welles delivered the best performance of his entire career.
Marlon Brando
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Kevin Nealon
Marty Feldman
Dan Aykroyd
Jim Carrey
From butt jokes to general over-the-top goofiness, Carrey's Ace Ventura had something for the 12-year-old boy in all of us. I've never really cared for the movies, but millions of other people love the pet detective's antics.
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Melissa McCarthy
Kathy Bates
In recent years, Kathy Bates has exercised her comic muscles to great effect. However, as Annie Wilkes in the film adaptation of Stephen King's "Misery," she's all manic menace ... with a sledgehammer.
Edie McClurg
Meryl Streep
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Humphrey Bogart
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was a groundbreaking Western at the time it was released, and Bogey was arguably never better. His intensity as a gold prospector convinced his partners are going to kill him and take his share is eerie.
Steve McQueen
William Castle
Cary Grant
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Robert DeNiro
Marlon Brando
Vito Corleone is one of Brando's most iconic roles, but it almost didn't happen. His reputation for being difficult to work with led to the director having to do a lot of horse trading to get him on the set.
Kirk Douglas
Al Pacino
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers didn't have the biggest role in the classic ensemble farce of "Dr. Strangelove." However, as the title character, he helped teach us how to stop worrying and love the bomb ... and isn't that what life is all about?
Woody Allen
Rob Reiner
Gene Wilder
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Which actor is shown playing their iconic character in this screenshot?
Jeff Bridges
Lloyd Bridges
Johnny Depp
The "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies have made a ridiculous amount of money, largely thanks to Depp's madcap portrayal of Capt. jack Sparrow. When we learned that Sparrow's father was (played by) Keith Richards, it somehow made perfect sense.
Alan Cumming
You Got:
/50
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