Peter Parker, aka everyone’s favorite neighborhood spider, is one of the comic book world’s greatest characters. The mild-mannered schoolboy who finds himself bitten by a radioactive spider and blessed with superpowers (in the original storyline at least), is a fantastic creation from writer/editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko.
First appearing in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 during the famed Silver Age of Comic Books, Spider-Man quickly became a favorite with comic fans. He has appeared in hundreds of comics over the years, as well as animated TV shows and blockbuster movies. This has meant many great voice-over and screen actors have had the chance to play Spider-Man over the years. These Spider-Man actors range from big names like Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland to lesser-known stars such as Jorma Taccone, Paul Soles, and Dan Gilvezan.
There have been almost 20 different actors who have voiced Spidey over the years in both animated and live-action releases. Each one has brought something different to the role and we wanted to highlight each actor by ranking all of the Spider-Man actors from the TV shows and movies from worst to best.
Of course, none of these actors are horrible or do injustice to Spider-Man. Some just didn’t reach the heights we hoped for or were only in a TV show or film for a short period of time, making their exposure limited. So without further ado, here are our rankings of the best and worst Spider-Man actors.
19. Oscar Isaac
Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
As we only get to see Oscar Isaac’s Spider-Man 2099 in the after-credit scenes, it only makes that he comes in at the bottom of this list. That’s not to say his version is bad, it’s just that we don’t see enough of him. Hopefully, that will change in the future.
18. John Mulaney
Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Spider-Ham is another alternate version of Spider-Man. The main difference between him and Miles Morales and the other Spideys is that he’s an animal. John Mulaney brings a lot of fun to the character and adds another dimension to the Spider-Man legend.
17. Kimiko Glenn
Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Another alternate version of Spidey from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Kimiko Glenn voices Peni Parker. She is an Asian-American Spider-Man (or Spider-Woman) drawn in the Anime style who shares a biomechanical suit with a radioactive spider. She also has a telepathic connection with the spider.
It’s all a little bit strange, but Glenn’s Parker is vastly different from any others. It’s just a pity she doesn’t get to do much in the movie.
16. Patrick Neil Harris
TV Show: Spider-Man: The New Animated Series
Before How I Met Your Mother, 90s favorite Patrick Neil Harris donned Spider-Man’s blue and red costume and voiced the character in the MTV show Spider-Man: The New Animated Series. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a stinker and only lasted 13 episodes before getting the cut.
Following on from the 2002 Spider-Man movie, the show focused on the relationship between Peter Parker and his friends Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn. Despite solid ratings, MTV didn’t think the show fit in with its programming and it was axed.
15. Nicholas Hammond
TV Show: The Amazing Spider-Man
Although not the first person to portray a live-action version of Spider-Man (that title goes to Danny Seagren, who played the web-slinger in a number of short segments on the Electric Company TV show), he is the first to play Spider-Man in his own television series.
The Amazing Spider-Man lasted only two seasons despite strong audience numbers and great reviews. Hammond also starred in three spin-off movies: Spider-Man, Spider-Man Strikes Back, and Spider-Man: The Dragon’s Challenge.
14. Rino Romano
TV Show: Spider-Man Unlimited
Rina Romano took on the role of Spider-Man in the little-seen 90s animated series Spider-Man Unlimited. While the show was praised, especially Romano’s take on Spidey’s voice, it only lasted 13 episodes after being overshadowed by Pokemon. The show featured a range of classic bad guys (Man-Wolf, Green Goblin, Vulture, and Electro) and ended on a cliffhanger that has never been resolved.
13. Robbie Daymond
TV Show: Spider-Man (2017)
His name might not be familiar, but Robbie Daymond is a well-known voice actor who has appeared in a slew of hit animated shows, including Sailor Moon, Attack on Titan, and Marvel Future Avengers. He’s also the voice of Spidey in the 2017 series Spider-Man.
In this series, he teams with Miles Morales (Spider-Man II), Gwen Stacy (Spider-Gwen/Ghost Spider), and Anya Corazon (Spider-Girl) as they tackle several different bad guys across three seasons.
12. Chris Pine
Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
There is something about Chris Pine’s voice that makes him suited to play Spider-Man. It’s a mix of arrogance and naivety that gives Spider-Man a human quality. Although he’s only on-screen for a short amount of time, Pine does a good job of bringing the character to life.
11. Paul Soles
TV Show: Spider-Man (1967)
You can’t have a list like this without including Paul Soles. The first person to voice Spider-Man left an incredible legacy that all have tried to live up to. The series first aired in 1967 and focused on Spider-Man battling famous Marvel villains, but the second and third seasons find him up against green-skinned aliens.
10. Dan Gilvezan
TV Show: Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Released in the 80s, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends was meant as a spin-off series of Spider-Man. It featured Spider-Man (Dan Gilvezan), Iceman (Frank Welker), and the new character Firestar (Kathy Garver) as a trio of superheroes fighting against various Marvel baddies.
It’s actually not that bad and lasted three seasons, with Gilverzan doing an impressive job as the web-shooting hero. Gliverzan would later go on to voice Bumblebee in The Transformers series.
9. Drake Bell
TV Show: Ultimate Spider-Man
Of all the voice-over actors on this list, Drake Bell is arguably the most famous. Getting his start on the Nickelodeon shows The Amanda Show and Drake & Josh, Bell soon found himself a teen heartthrob. He got offered the chance to voice Spider-Man in the Ultimate Spider-Man TV series.
He would play Spidey for four seasons from 2012 – 2017 and received much praise for his work on the show. Most young people that grew up with Spider-Man in the 00s associate the animated version with Bell.
8. Christopher Daniel Barnes
TV Show: Spider-Man (1994)
After almost a decade without Spider-Man on the small screen, Marvel comics decided to bring him back in the 90s with the hit animated series Spider-Man. Five seasons aired from 1994 – 1998, focusing on Peter Parker at college trying to juggle his everyday life with that of a superhero.
Christopher Daniel Barnes, best known for voicing Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid, made for a great Spider-Man. He has one of those voices that you could listen to all day and really made this version of the character enjoyable to watch on screen.
7. Nicolas Cage
Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
He might not have got to pull on the blue and red costume of his favorite superhero Superman, but Nicolas Cage was great as Spider-Man Noir. A call-back to older Spider-Man comics, Cage’s Spidey was a detective who was only seen in black and white. He was based on the detective archetype created in the 1930s, with Cage basing his vocals on famous actors of that generation, such as James Cagney.
6. Jake Johnson
Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Tasked with helping Miles Morales understand his powers, Jake Johnson’s Peter Parker was a washed-up superhero who wants nothing more than to be left alone. No longer with Mary Jane Watson, Johnson’s Parker was a grumpy old man who reluctantly gives Morales a helping hand.
Of all the different Spider-Man characters that appear in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, none are quite as enjoyable to watch as Johnson’s.
5. Josh Keaten
TV Show: The Spectacular Spider-Man
Regarded by most as the best-animated series involving Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man featured Josh Keaten voicing the high school web-slinger. Based on the Stan Lee and era The Amazing Spider-Man comics, this series had a great mix of action, drama, and comedy.
Keaten nailed the voice of Spidey, so much so that it’s easy to be reading the comics and hear his voice in your head.
4. Andrew Garfield
Movies: The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Spider-Man: No Way Home
Some might think this ranking is a little high (or possibly too low), but it’s hard to place Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man. While his performances in both The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 were fantastic, as far as the scripts went for those two movies, Garfield didn’t have a lot to work with. He also got screwed out of a concluding movie after The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was canned due to poor showings of the previous movies.
That’s why his appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home was such a relief for Garfield fans. He got a chance to give his take on Spider-Man a fitting ending, with his storyline coming full circle after saving Michelle (Zendaya) from certain death.
3. Shameik Moore
Movies: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One)
Of all the recent animated Spider-Man movies, those involving Miles Morales are the standouts. Voiced by Shameik Moore, not only was he the first African-American and Puerto Rican Spider-Man, but his origin story differs from that of Peter Parker, offering fans something new to get their teeth stuck into.
Moore brings a new level of enthusiasm to the character as Morales must team up with other superheroes in parallel universes to save his own world from Kingpin. A fantastic and modern take on Spider-Man lore.
2. Tobey Maguire
Movies: Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, and Spider-Man: No Way Home
The original and still best for some, Tobey Maguire comes in at number two in our rankings. There was a lot of pressure on the young actor when he took on the role of Spider-Man, but Maguire lived up to expectations. Sure, he looked a little older than you might expect, but his acting was second to none and he brought a sense of calmness to the character.
Maguire, along with director Sam Raimi, set the template for future Spider-Man movies. He gave the character a new lease on life and must be credited with helping comic book movies reach the global audience they now have.
1. Tom Holland
Movies: Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: No Way Home
This might be a controversial choice, but Tom Holland is the best actor to ever hop in the Spider-Man costume. He has cemented himself as Spider-Man with his great performances in both The Avengers and Spider-Man movies. He merged the best aspects of both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man with a youthful exuberance that very much resembled the comic book version of Spidey.
Holland is a great actor and has had plenty of time to perfect the character, appearing in six Marvel-related movies. With Sony Pictures and Disney now in agreement about the character, it’s rumored Holland will be suiting up for another Spider-Man movie in the not-too-distant future.
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