Movies

Actors who have played the Grinch

From the original classic to Jim Carrey, Broadway to podcasts, these are the biggest names to play the Green Meanie.

Updated on November 30, 2023 08:04PM EST

Who is the true king of Christmas movies? Santa? Jack Skellington? Jimmy Stewart? It's probably not the Grinch, but that bad banana with a greasy black peel is absolutely in the conversation.

There are few Christmas movies as iconic and essential as How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The original 26-minute animated Grinch packs a lot of punch. It's heart-warming. It's weird. It's got iconic songs. It's got rhymes. And it has entered that "often imitated never duplicated" territory in the 21st century as the Grinch has proliferated to the big screen, the Great White Way, and even podcasts.

That means many actors have attempted to inhabit the Grinch. Here are some of the best and most notable actors to play the lonely creature with garlic in his soul.

Boris Karloff

It's unlikely that there will ever be a Grinch as iconic as the original animated Grinch in Rankin-Bass' 1966 classic. It was a perfect storm with Dr. Seuss' involvement, the incredible art of Chuck Jones, and the unmistakable voice of the great Boris Karloff, who lent his voice to the narrator and the Grinch. However, he is sometimes mistakenly given credit for the equally iconic singing of Thurl Ravenscroft on "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

Jim Carrey

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) - Jim Carey — Jim Carey as The Grinch in 2000.
getty; courtesy everett collection

The first live-action Grinch arrived in 2000 with Jim Carrey donning a green face (for not the first time) in Ron Howard's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It's not regarded as a classic, and for good reason. Carrey does well with the role, but Howard's frantic movie seems to be aiming for a Tim Burton-esque whimsy that never really clicks. There's also something slightly grotesque about this Grinch that might make sense intellectually but feels off-kilter in a children's movie. You have to want to spend time with the Grinch once he embraces the spirit of Christmas, and Carrey's Grinch looks more likely to give kids nightmares than the warm fuzzies.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch voiced the next feature film version of Who-Ville's grumpiest resident in 2018's Dr. Seuss' The Grinch. The film departed from the usual story to present a younger Grinch who was still bent on taking Christmas from the good folks of Who-Ville. It was moderately better received than the last Grinch feature. Plus, giving the musical reins to Tyler, the Creator was surprisingly inspired.

Matthew Morrison

Matthew Morrison put on the green fella's fur for the stage adaptation of Dr. Seuss' story, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Musical Live! The Glee star took the lead in NBC's television adaptation of the Broadway musical. The adaptation of the musical also starred Denis O'Hare as Old Max, Booboo Stewart as Young Max, and Amelia Minto as Cindy Lou Who. While the stage musical has some charms, the NBC special was received with the same sense of disappointment the denizens of Who-Ville felt on Christmas morning. Maybe it was the farts. Maybe it was the social distancing jokes. Maybe it was the Trump impression. Who knows?

David Howard Thornton

The Mean One isn't technically a Grinch film. Nonetheless, the horror film does nothing subtly, and the attempt to legally not be the Grinch while still absolutely being the Grinch is equally unsubtle. It named its titular villain, The Mean One, after the classic Grinch song. David Howard Thronton takes on the role. He's got plenty of experience putting on a new face to play horrifying antagonists, having played Art the Clown in the Terrifier films. In The Mean One, the good people of Newville remember the Christmas Killer from 20 years ago as almost an urban legend, but the police never quite got a good description of the murderer who struck on the holiday. So, The Mean One — looking weirdly similar to Carrey's Grinch — is still out there, somewhere, ready to cause Christmas-related, Grinch-adjacent mayhem.

James Austin Johnson

Grinch Podcast, 'Tis the Grinch Holiday Talk Show - Austin Johnson — Austin Johnson.
getty; courtesy everett collection

For the most part, actors who have played the Grinch have been playing variations on a theme. The story rarely changes. (The Mean One being an unofficial, notable exception.) But the new Wondery podcast, 'Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast, lets Saturday Night Live's James Austin Johnson put a new spin on the terror of Who-Ville. The podcast has the Grinch and his loveable pup Max hosting a talk show where the Green Meanie rants against holiday cheer and roasts celebrity guests like Bob Odenkirk, Skai Jackson, Pete Holmes, and Bobby Moynihan.

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