Many beloved actors have tackled the role of Two-Face in various Batman projects, but who played Harvey Dent best?
Batman has arguably the most iconic rogues gallery of villains in all of comic books and one of the most prominent – and perhaps most compelling – members is Harvey Dent, more commonly known as Two-Face.
The character first debuted in DC Comics back in 1942. Harvey Dent was Gotham City’s leading district attorney before turning to a life of crime. He even clandestinely worked with Batman during his early years. In fact, much of the literature and subsequent adaptations, especially Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, refer to Dent as Gotham’s “White Knight,” in direct parallel to Batman. After spending much of his early years fighting justice in Gotham City, he was scarred on one half of his face, and evolved into a villain who appropriately adopted the moniker “Two-Face.”
We’ve seen many iterations of Two-Face/Harvey Dent make his presence felt on big and small screens, as well in live action and animated versions. Some of these interpretations focus on his former life as Gotham’s leading lawyer, while others emphasize his descent into madness. Misha Collins is the most recent actor to hold the mantle as he played a pre-disfigurement incarnation of the character in The CW’s short-lived Gotham Knights. But with so many versions of the iconic villains before his incarnation, let’s break down some of the major interpretations and rank who did it best.
As we continue to celebrate Batman Day, let’s look back and rank the Two-Face actors from worst to best.
FanSided Entertainment staff contributed to this article.
7. Nicholas D’Agosto
Gotham – Fox’s procedural series set in a pre-Batman Gotham City – introduces viewers to the origins of some of DC’s favorite and most infamous Batman villains, years before The Dark Knight himself debuts. Among these is a young, ambitious Harvey Dent, played by Nicholas D’Agosto, long before he becomes Two-Face.
Although D’Agosto is not a huge presence in the series, he makes an impact as Gotham City’s then-Assistant District Attorney. D’Agosto brings to life the character of the idealistic lawyer well before his transformation. He personifies the DC character as tough and resilient as he battles the injustices of Gotham City at a time when many people weren’t willing to, although the actor doesn’t quite match Dent’s charm before he descends into villainy, which is why he ranks quite low on this list compared to the other iterations.
While fans of the series weren’t sure if they were going to see D’Agosto’s Dent turn bad (which ultimately did not happen), Gotham does see moments of anger from this rendition of the character, as well as his signature coin, to remind us who the character ultimately becomes. However, it seems rather contrived and doesn’t capture the nuance of Two-Face’s complex personality.
6. Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones’s portrayal of Harvey Dent/Two-Face in Joel Schumacher’s campy 1995 film Batman Forever is likely the most flamboyant and theatrical we’ve ever seen, especially when compared to other iterations of Gotham’s White Knight gone bad.
The origins of Dent’s disfigurement in the film are close to the source material (which we see play out via news footage in the movie), but where it departs from the iconic nature of the villain is Jones’s depiction of Two-Face as a colorful villain versus a fallen hero. Harvey Dent’s tragic backstory, that makes him such a compelling villain, felt lost in this interpretation of the character.
However, this wasn’t necessarily because Jones’s acting, but rather the material that he had to contend with – Schumacher’s vision and characterization of the film, which was more campy and colorful than dark.
What was perhaps most compelling about this rendition of Two-Face is how he is ultimately defeated. In the film’s climax, he throws his signature coin in the air, only to have Batman add several more coins in the mix. This confuses Two-Face, causing him to lose his balance and fall to his death. In this interpretation, Two-Face’s most prized possession was ultimately his undoing.
5. Billy Dee Williams
Billy Dee Williams portrayed the straight-laced lawyer Harvey Dent in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman. Similar to the incarnations from D’Agosto in Gotham and Collins in Gotham Knights, Williams portrays a pre-transformation version of the character while he is still Gotham City’s leading District Attorney, long before he becomes the villainous Two-Face.
While Williams’s version of the good guy gone bad was lacking somewhat, this wasn’t due to Williams’s performance, but rather the material he was working with in the movie. Unfortunately, the actor was limited to playing a supporting character, as Harvey with Commissioner Gordon and Batman to battle Jack Nicholson’s the Joker, who emerged as the real highlight of the film.
Further, it was intended for Williams to return in Batman Forever – for which the character would inevitably turn into Two-Face – before Tommy Lee Jones ultimately landed the role after the franchise’s move in a more outlandish direction.
One thing to note though is that Williams did get the chance to play the character again, voicing Two-Face in 2017’s The Lego Batman Movie, in which he was able to let loose as the disfigured villain.
4. Misha Collins
The CW’s Gotham Knights told a very different kind of Batman story but one familiar element it did make time for was Harvey Dent’s transformation into Two-Face. Misha Collins took on the role in what was one of the show’s best-developed storylines.
Collins’s version – much like D’Agosto’s portrayal on Gotham – focuses on Dent before becoming Two-Face. One thing to note is that it’s rather odd to see him prior to becoming a villain, especially since the series takes place in a version of Gotham City after Batman, as the pilot episode picks up right after the night of Bruce Wayne’s murder.
Nevertheless, Collins – who is no stranger to The CW after appearing in Supernatural – captures the nuances of Dent’s character: the “White Knight” of Gotham City, as described in the Aaron Eckhart portrayal, whose optimism dims after so many years fighting crime and corruption in Gotham. Where Collins ranks high is the charm and charisma that he brings to Dent’s character, with added complexity of something brewing underneath.
Throughout the course of the first season, Harvey struggles with the darkness within as an evil alter-ego threatens to emerge – which sets the stage for his evolution into Two-Face at the end of the season. Collins portrayed the dichotomy between the two personalities incredibly well, and his one and only scene as Two-Face in the series finale was incredibly chilling. It makes us wish we could have seen more of him in the role.
3. William Shatner
Set in the same universe as the classic 1966 Batman TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward, the 2017 animated movie Batman vs. Two-Face sees William Shatner voicing a version of Batman’s scarred nemesis and interpreting the character in a completely different way than audiences were used to seeing.
While Harvey “Two-Face” Dent is already seen as a complex villain, this rendition takes it one step further. Straying far from the source material, Batman vs. Two-Face sees the eponymous character undergoing an experiment from another DC villain Dr. Hugo Strange, which is what results in the once beloved District Attorney becoming Two-Face. The villain then proceeds to kidnap Batman and Robin – and extract their true identities – before Harvey Dent manages to suppress his evil counterpart.
Not only is Batman vs. Two-Face a roller-coaster to see, but it’s also compelling to see the two sides of Two-Face’s personality trying to repress and control the other, emphasizing the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-esque nature of Dent’s character. It was also fulfilling to see the character finally introduced to the Batman ’66 story as he was one of the most famous villains to never feature in the original series.
2. Aaron Eckhart
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is nothing short of a masterpiece. Although its success is largely due to the late Heath Ledger’s larger-than-life portrayal of the Joker, we can’t forget about Aaron Eckhart’s more nuanced rendition of Harvey Dent / Two-Face.
Eckhart more than captures the essence of who Two-Face is: A fallen hero. The Dark Knight begins with him being heralded as Gotham’s “White Knight” – the idealistic District Attorney who serves as a parallel to Christian Bale’s Batman as he battles injustice without wearing a mask – before a traumatic event turns him into a villain seeking revenge. Harvey wasn’t out for justice over what happened to him, but he wanted vengeance for the death of Rachel.
What made Eckhart’s interpretation surpass so many others is how – unlike the Jones’s campy iteration of the character – he gave us a more grounded, complex character as the charming Dent whose idealism quickly dims as he becomes the vengeful Two-Face. In short, Eckhart provided a nuanced look at a person who is tragically corrupted by the endless pursuit of justice in Gotham City.
The only criticism of Eckhart’s version of the character is that he is ultimately overshadowed by the presence of Ledger’s Joker and the main events of the film. In short, Eckhart’s Two-Face deserved a spot as the main villain of a film.
1. Richard Moll
While there have been many animated incarnations of Batman and Two-Face, Batman: The Animated Series undoubtedly tops them all. One of the reasons why is Richard Moll’s compellingly tragic rendition of Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Similar to Eckhart’s iteration, Moll’s interpretation in the classic animated series emphasizes Dent’s fall from grace. But where this variation surpasses is how it further humanizes the character and highlights the tragedy of Harvey Dent.
This interpretation sees Dent (voiced by Moll) as the charming District Attorney, who begins to struggle with dissociative identity disorder as he has a darker side – dubbed “Big Bad Harv” – long before he transforms into Two-Face. Things then take a turn for the worse when, of course, half of his face is burned by an explosion during an encounter with mobster Rupert Thorne. This causes “Big Bad Harv” to take over, as he becomes Two-Face and enacts revenge against both Thorne and Batman.
While the series itself is filled with the magic and nostalgia that we love about Batman and Gotham City, Moll’s voice and interpretation captures the emotion and tragedy of one of the most complex villains in the DC universe.
Which version of Two-Face is your favorite? How did you celebrate Batman Day weekend?