All 7 Green Arrow actors ranked from worst to 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?