X-Men: All 4 Beast actors ranked from worst to best

Dr. Hank McCoy is an important part of the X-Men saga, but which of the actors to play Beast on film and TV was the best?

Beast - All Powers from the X-Men Films
Beast - All Powers from the X-Men Films / All Powers Explained
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Even though he is a part of the line-up in many adaptations and stories, Beast is still a highly underrated part of the X-Men lore. Dr. Hank McCoy is a mutant who possesses genius intellect and eventually transforms into a giant, blue, ape-like beast. The contrast between those two aspects of his character makes him unbelievably cool.

He's both the most terrifying member of the X-Men and the friendliest, as Hank loves to engage in intellectual conversations and read thought-provoking books (even if he does so while standing on the ceiling). It makes him an intriguing personality who has been translated to screen well, both in live-action and animation.

Beast has been an underappreciated but imperative part of the X-Men movie franchise, while also being a major player in X-Men: The Animated Series and other animated outings. But before we look back at the four major versions of the character and rank them, lets honor the actors who played Beast in standalone and lesser-known projects.

Honorable mentions

Kelsey Grammer and Nicholas Hoult may have brought Beast into the live-action medium, but they weren't the first actors to bring him to life. There have been multiple actors to voice the character over the years, so before we dive into our ranking (which will include the character's two most prominent animated appearances), let's take a moment to acknowledge them.

  • Steve Bacic (as Hank McCoy only) - X2
  • Fred Tatasciore - Wolverine and the X-Men / Marvel Anime: X-Men / (various video games)
  • Dave Wittenberg - Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers

Looking at that list (and the upcoming four), you can see that Beast hasn't been portrayed in animated TV shows or live-action movies (in a major capacity, at least) in the same way that many of his fellow X-Men have. Nevertheless, each one of these actors have contributed to his growing legacy.

On that note, let's rank the four major Beast actors.