Green Arrow is one of DC’s best and most underrated superheroes. Which actors did the best job bringing the Emerald Archer to life?
DC Comics has gifted the world with a lot of iconic superheroes over the years. The most underrated of the bunch, however, might just be the Green Arrow. Debuting all the way back in November 1941, he became a fixture of DC but never quite achieved the same levels of popularity as the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman, or Superman. Nevertheless, he remained an important part of the lore and a fan-favorite for many.
The character’s backstory has always been one of DC’s most gripping. Billionaire playboy Oliver Queen is shipwrecked on an island for years, where he grows a great deal, surviving and picking up skills that he then uses to become the Emerald Archer upon his return to Star City.
Green Arrow’s popularity has increased a great deal over the years, helped in no small part by his recurring appearances in animated TV shows and various video games. His biggest success arguably has come in live-action television, with Oliver playing a major role in half of Smallville‘s ten-season run before the character led his own TV series, Arrow, which kickstarted The CW’s legendary Arrowverse.
But which versions of Green Arrow hold up the best outside of the comic books? Let’s take a look back at the various actors to bring the character to life and rank them.
Note: While there were multiple other actors to voice Green Arrow on TV and in video games, this list will take a look at the seven most famous (and best) to do so on the small-screen.
Honorable mention: Katherine McNamara
Appeared in: Green Arrow and the Canaries, Arrow, The Flash, Batwoman, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl
Katherine McNamara joined Arrow in its seventh season to portray Mia Smoak, a.k.a. Blackstar. A young woman hardened by the apocalyptic Star City she grew up in, Mia resented her father (Oliver Queen) for his absence in her life, never fully understanding why he had to be the Green Arrow or the sacrifice he made. She was eventually brought to the present to meet him before that sacrifice and ultimately helped him stop the Crisis before she would go on to become the Green Arrow in the future.
McNamara was an instantly formidable presence on the show but fans often struggled to connect with Mia in the beginning because of the writing for the character (and because the reveal that she was Oliver and Felicity’s daughter was the most predictable in the show’s history). Thankfully, towards the end of season 7 and into season 8, stronger writing finally allowed her to shine.
The star really stood out in the backdoor pilot episode “Green Arrow and the Canaries” when we got to see different sides to Mia thanks to the post-Crisis reality rewrite. Mia Queen was now a Star City socialite struggling to carry on her father’s legacy who reunites with the Canaries and becomes the city’s new protector. This was easily the best version of Mia we saw and it’s a darn shame that The CW didn’t pick Green Arrow and the Canaries up to series.
Katherine McNamara is a great performer and it feels like the best was yet to come from Mia. She really deserved better.
7. Robin Atkin Downes
Appeared in: The Dark Knight Returns
Robert Atkin Downes voiced Green Arrow in the animated movie The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2. If you’re familiar with the Frank Miller novel, you probably knew what to expect from this world and this Oliver, but if you’re not, then this is a very different Oliver Queen. That’s probably an understatement.
Set years after the Justice League was disbanded by force on the US government’s orders, it all comes down to a battle between the administration’s champion Superman and the one man who wouldn’t fall into line: Batman. But Oliver also got involved in the war, siding with Batman because of what the Man of Steel had done to him and the League.
Oliver has a lot of emotional baggage (and understandably so given what happened to him) and Robin Atkin Downes is very effective in bringing that to life in just a few short scenes. The sense of resentment he has towards Superman and all that he had become comes across really well, and it’s rather easy to understand his motivations as a result. It’s also interesting to see the similarities and differences that Oliver and Bruce Wayne share as the two aged warriors discuss evets of years-gone-by.
The only reason we’re ranking this version lower is because of both his limited screentime and the fact that he doesn’t suit up as Green Arrow. A movie or animated series focusing on this Green Arrow’s life would be such a compelling watch. If DC or Warner Bros. Animation ever decides to make it happen, Downes would be the perfect person for the job.
6. James Arnold Taylor
Appeared in: Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Green Arrow was one of the more regular recurring faces on animated TV series Batman: The Brave and the Bold. That worked out very well for the funky show as it allowed it to lean into the similarities between Oliver Queen / Green Arrow and Bruce Wayne / Batman. Let’s face it, there are obvious similarities between the pair and the show plays into that remarkably well. They are frenemies who enjoy working together almost as much as they enjoy throwing insults at each other.
James Arnold Taylor was tasked with pulling that off and he did it very well. He leans into the character’s quirky nature – something that is helped a great deal by the fact that the show’s Oliver resembles his original, more Robin Hood-esque, look from the classic DC comic books. He also had great chemistry with Diedrich Bader’s Batman, as the pair were quite the Dynamic Duo whenever they teamed up.
Green Arrow was an enjoyable guest star on the show and that is just one of the many examples on this list as to why Ollie deserves his own animated series. And in an era where we had plenty of dark superhero adaptations (including Green Arrow), this was a welcome ray of light.
5. Neal McDonough
Appeared in: DC Showcase: Green Arrow
There’s an irony in the fact that one of Neal McDonough’s most famous roles is as villain Damien Darhk in The CW’s Arrow (and spinoff DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), as he also voiced the Emerald Archer once upon a time.
He was tasked with bringing the role to life the animated short DC Showcase: Green Arrow, which did exactly what it said on the tin, showcasing the hero and highlighting his skills, talents, and personality.
McDonough took to the role like a natural that it’s almost hard to believe he was also the brooding and intimidating voice of Darhk. Oliver Queen’s charisma is captured in a heartbeat, right from “Sorry I’m late” to the very end of the short. He’s charming, and patient, with McDonough’s performance balancing Ollie’s light-heartedness with the seriousness of the situation incredibly well.
This short is considered Young Justice-adjacent, meaning that similar events are supposed to have transpired prior to that version of the character’s appearance on the show. It’s not exactly the same, which might explain why McDonough didn’t reprise the role on the show, but if this performance was anything to go by, he would have been a great addition to that show.
4. Chris Hardwick
Appeared in: The Batman
The Batman is undoubtedly one of the most underrated animated shows to air on television. It’s also one of the most underrated adaptations of Batman (and not-to-mention it features great adaptations of other characters), and we always like to take a moment to acknowledge that.
Green Arrow was one of those underrated adaptations that we mentioned. The Emerald Archer was one of the many superheroes to appear in the fifth and final season of the series. He was voiced by Chris Hardwick and quickly became one of Batman and Robin’s most trusted allies as they fought to take down Count Vertigo.
He is essentially dressed the same as the comic-accurate Justice League Unlimited iteration of the character but The Batman does take some time to dive into his backstory, history with Count Vertigo and his struggles to fit in with super-powered heroes on the Justice League.
Hardwick does a great job bringing that life, giving us an Ollie that is highly comic-accurate. He’s light-hearted but committed to his cause, coming off as a younger version of the JLU adaptation and that’s a very good thing. We just wish the Emerald Archer stuck around for a bit longer.
3. Kin Shriner
Appeared: Justice League Unlimited
DC’s most famous superheroes added to their line-up when the critically acclaimed Justice League animated series launched spinoff sequel Justice League Unlimited. While Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl would appear on the series, they weren’t used as regularly since the League had grown immensely. That meant we got to see some underappreciated DC heroes shine.
One of those heroes was Green Arrow. Voiced by Kin Shriner across nine episodes of Justice League Unlimited, Oliver Queen initially didn’t want any part of the League as he was happier defending the streets of Star City over fighting world-ending alien invasions. Nevertheless, he eventually agreed and became one of the spinoffs standout characters.
Shriner portrayed Oliver in a highly comic-accurate manner. He was firm when he needed to be, giving Ollie that gruff veteran tone that suited the character well, but he could also be light, whimsical almost, as he conversed with his enemies mid-battle and even trash-talked them on occasion.
Shriner’s portrayal may be the one on this list with most potential. It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t see more of his Green Arrow, because it really would have been great to see him headline his own animated series.
2. Justin Hartley
Appeared in: Smallville
It’s hard to believe that a character who has been around as long as Green Arrow only made his live-action debut in 2006. The good news is that he was just waiting on the right person to play him, because when Justin Hartley brought the Emerald Archer to Smallville, we all sat up and paid attention to him.
Hartley’s performance is the most comic-accurate that we’ve seen thus far. His Oliver Queen was smooth-talking, charismatic, and just the right amount of arrogant to ensure that nobody ever suspected the handsome billionaire playboy of being a vigilante archer. Oliver wears his larger-than-life public persona with pride, and that’s what often differentiates him from fellow billionaire crimefighter Batman; he likes it. And Hartley captured that to perfection.
His performance as Green Arrow was also outstanding. He mixed the character’s natural charm with the slightly more serious tone of Smallville‘s Metropolis-set seasons. The vigilante was feared but never terrifying in the way that Batman is. And that’s the sweet spot for the Emerald Archer.
Hartley became a regular part of the show after that and we saw Ollie become even more like his comic book counterpart as it went on. It’s easy to see why, too, because Hartley’s performance is so good, it was easy to like him. We just wish he got the chance to shine in his own TV series, because that could have been something to see.
As far as comic-accurate Green Arrows go, Justin Hartley is the best.
1. Stephen Amell
Appeared in: Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, Vixen
After the success of Oliver’s role on Smallville, The CW decided to give the Green Arrow some long overdue spotlight with his own TV series. But they would reinvent the character for a post-Dark Knight world, making him broodier and darker than his comic book counterpart. It was a risk, but one that clearly paid off when Stephen Amell appeared on our screens in the pilot episode of Arrow.
Amell played Oliver as the troubled individual that he was, which lent itself to the more serious tones of Arrow‘s earlier seasons remarkably well. He understood the nuances of the character and instantly made DC’s most underrated hero a force-to-be-reckoned with on-screen. As the vigilante-turned-hero, he was larger-than-life and very believable, ensuring that every time he suited up as the Arrow/Green Arrow, fans were in for a treat.
One thing we don’t talk about enough is how well he played the younger, selfish Oliver Queen in the show’s flashbacks. He had such charisma and charm that there were shades of comic book Ollie in there, and it almost makes us wish that modern day Oliver became a little more like his comic book counterpart more often.
Stephen Amell has played the most famous version of the Green Arrow of all time, so we wouldn’t be here talking about him a decade later if he didn’t succeed. But “succeed” downplays what he did, because he helped redefine the Green Arrow for a new generation and made fans all over the world fall in love with the character.
Arrow made many mistakes throughout its run, but casting Amell as the title character was not one of them. A career-defining performance for the actor and one that changed the face of superhero TV, we still miss seeing him tell Star City’s bad guys that they “failed this city!”.
Which version of the Green Arrow is your favorite? Do you like the modern reimagining or the comic-accurate version better?