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

1. George Buza

Appeared in: X-Men: The Animated Series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, X-Men '97 (upcoming)

The man who is considered the voice of Beast, George Buza brought the character to life in his most significant appearance prior to the live-action movies (and perhaps it remains so even after them): X-Men: The Animated Series. It was the first time Beast had been portrayed on a stage as grand as this, and Buza did a wonderful job in capturing his essence.

I say "capture his essence" because it's true, but in many ways he also set the tone for what the character should be like. He speaks with refinery, charisma, and elegance, playing Beast like the well-spoken intellect that he is. He's charming, and that makes it easy to see why Hank McCoy is treated with such warmth and respect by his fellow X-Men.

Hank is a paragon if integrity who speaks to his friends with kindness, and Buza's performance resonated with viewers because he showcased the flaws in a system that would treat Hank with such contempt for how he appeared on the outside when he was such a lovable, sweet, and loyal person on the inside. Through it all the character remained headstrong and at peace with who he was, and Buza portrayed that well.

For a whole generation, this was the definitive portrayal of Beast, and I'm so excited that it will become so for a whole new one when Buza reprises his role in sequel series X-Men '97. This was the yardstick for all Beasts, and you can really see why.