Who are the best Spider-Man actors? Since Stan Lee's most iconic creation swung into the public consciousness in the early '60s, Spider-Man has been everywhere. From animated series and stage shows to blockbuster movies and even a mediocre popsicle, Spidey's been adapted to every conceivable form of media.
As a result, we've had an awful lot of Spider-Man actors over the decades. So as huge fans of the Wallcrawler, we felt it was our civic duty to rank all of the Spider-Man actors from across film and TV. To do so, we sat down and watched all the Spider-Man movies in order and sat through some of the best animated series of all time.
It's a tough job watching the best superhero movies, but someone's got to do it. Anyway, we're pretty confident that even the most pernicious of Spidey fans will find it hard to disagree with our list unless you're secretly a Spider-Man villain and loathe the Web-slinger. In which case, why not check out our list of the best movies? You might find something to chill you out.
Who are the best Spider-Man actors?
17. Neil Patrick Harris as MTV's Spider-Man
How I Met Your Mother cast member Neil Patrick Harris played Spider-Man? Yes, Harris lent his voice to MTV's extremely short-lived 'Spider-Man: The New Animated Series.' There's no easy way to say this, but the show sucked.
It boasted some of the ugliest and stiffest animation ever seen on TV, the most 2000s opening music ever, and extremely awkward voice acting. To be honest, Harris sounded less like he was performing and more like he was ordering a takeaway.
16. Rino Romano as Spider-Man
Rino Romano had the unenviable task of replacing Christopher Daniel Barnes as the voice of Spidey after Spider-Man: The Animated Series was canceled.
Romano wasn't exactly bad. He just wasn't Barnes, and, unfortunately, Spider-Man Unlimited just wasn't a good series that was canceled after 13 episodes.
15. Robbie Daymond as Spider-Man
Robbie Daymond played Spider-Man in the most recent animated adaptation of the Wallcrawler's adventures, Marvel's Spider-Man.
Spirited and enthusiastic, Daymond's take on the Web-Head isn't exactly bad; it's just let down by bad writing. Basically, if you thought Star Trek had a lot of technobabble, it's got nothing on Marvel's Spider-Man
14. Chris Pine as Spider-Man
Like Isaac before him, Pine doesn't get an awful lot of screen time - although what we do see is very impressive - so we can't rank him too high. That said, we like the confidence Pine brought to Peter Parker, who's normally a little neurotic, to say the least.
We should also give Pine credit for being the only Spider-Man who's had the good grace to die on screen. Maguire flirted with the idea of popping his clogs in No Way Home but ducked out, the coward!
13. Nicholas Hammond as Spider-Man
Nicholas Hammond played Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man during the '70s. Hammond apparently set out to bring a degree of reality to Spidey and wanted to downplay the more fantastical elements of the character.
Well, to an extent, he succeeded, and his meeker interpretation of the character certainly worked for Peter Parker, but he never quite nailed his masked alter-ego.
12. Kimiko Glenn as Peni Parker / SP//dr
Kimiko Glenn does a fine job as the adorable Peni Parker/SP//dr, who's definitely one of the odder Spider-Man variants, but she's probably the least well-developed of the core Spider-People.
Her character's role in the film is mostly to be 'kawaii', which is a shame because it means she basically doesn't get that much to do except be, well, a spin on the best anime characters. It seems a waste of her talents, especially when you look at her acting resume. I mean, she was the voice of Baby Shark, and now it's in your head.
11. John Mulaney as Spider-Ham
We love Spider-Ham, and not just because he's Spider-Verse's main comic relief. This swinging swine is what you get if you throw Bugs Bunny, a packet of ham, and Peter Parker in Seth Brundle's telepods.
Sure, as a concept, a cartoon pig version of Spider-Man sounds pretty nonsensical, but you're reading an article about actors who played different versions of man/woman/animal who got spider-powers. Sense left the building a while ago!
Mulaney does a wonderful job at bringing Peter Porker to life as well. As we mentioned, he's channeling Mel Blanc and his various Looney Tune characters for the most part, but his natural skill as a stand-up and actor means his constant wisecracks never become irritating.
10. Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man Noir
Nic Cage playing Spider-Man. Need we say more? Oh, we must? Well, what if we said he was playing Spider-Man while doing a Humphrey Bogart impression? Now you're impressed, right?
In all seriousness, Cage may appear in some crappy movies, but you never accuse him of phoning it in. The iconic actor and occasion anthropomorphic meme brings his all to every role, including the rather thinly sketched Spider-Man Noir, who's basically got one gag (he's from the olden days).
It's a testament to Cage's skill and passion that this never gets tiring; now, can we please get this man into the MCU? Thank you.
9. Oscar Isaac as Spider-Man 2099
We said we'd update this list once we'd seen Isaac in Spider-Verse 2, and here we are. What can we say about this performance? It was pitch-perfect in every way. The Moon Knight star made Miguel a terrifying zealot you could empathize with, even if you couldn't completely understand his drive.
We have to say as well the design change really emphasizes the brutality of the character (we know that's not strictly Issac's doing, but when else will we get to talk about it?). Anyway, check out our Across the Spider-Verse review for more thoughts on this terrifying member of the Spider-Verse 2 cast.
8. Hailee Steinfeld as Spider-Gwen
Since her debut in the Spider-Verse comic book event, Spider-Gwen has been a fan favorite, so there was a lot of pressure on Hailee Steinfeld to get this right. Luckily, she pulls it off with the grace you'd expect of someone playing a character with spider-agility in one of the best action movies in recent years.
Her performance as the dimensionally dislocated teen is pitch-perfect. Steinfeld makes Gwen warm, kind, and occasionally irritated. Basically, she brings this literally two-dimensional character to life in a way that'd make even the most curmudgeonly of comic book fans admit she did a good job.
7. Christopher Daniel Barnes as Spider-Man
Christopher Daniel Barnes played Peter Parker/Spider-Man in one of the best '90s TV shows and helped introduce a new generation to the Web-Slinger. For that alone, Barnes deserves to rank highly on this list, but we love him for more than just nostalgia.
Barnes just brought such intensity to the role of Spider-Man and gave us one of the most iconic lines of Spider-Man dialogue ever. "Shocker! I'll chase you to the ends of the earth!" Sensational stuff.
6. Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker
Jake Johnson's slacker take on Peter Parker may not be everyone's favorite interpretation of the Web-Head, but everyone isn't writing this list. I am, and I love this performance.
Like Steinfeld's portrayal of Gwen, it works because it's so layered. This slightly older world-weary version of Spider-Man is grumpy, lazy, and a bit of an arsehole to Miles, who just wants help with his powers.
But despite his anti-social qualities, Johnson keeps him sympathetic. You never feel that his version of Spidey has lost his heroic edge. He's just a bit out of practice, and sure enough, Miles helps him take that leap of faith to get back on the superhero horse.
5. Josh Keaton as Spectacular Spider-Man
Josh Keaton lent his voice to Peter Parker and Spider-Man on the short-lived but excellent animated masterpiece Spectacular Spider-Man. Widely considered the best-animated adaptation of Spider-Man's early adventures, Keaton brought a youthful sincerity to his version of Peter.
You know a voice actor has nailed a role when you start to hear that voice when reading comic books, which is exactly what happened with Keaton. Also, Sony, thank you so much for bringing him back in Spider-Verse 2; that was some incredible fan service.
4. Andrew Garfield as Peter #3
We know putting Andrew Garfield last of the live-action Spider-Men is going to be controversial but don't get out your pitchforks just yet; we can justify it. Listen, we love Garfield and his movies. Tick, Tick… Boom!, The Social Network, and 99 Homes they're all brilliant, but let's be honest, the poor writing in the Amazing Spider-Man movies held him back.
We're not saying his performance is bad - he's arguably the best at Spidey's whole quipping schtick - it just doesn't reach the heights he's capable of hitting. He's an Oscar-nominated actor; he should be dominating this list, but even the biggest stans for the best Andrew Garfield movies would admit it's a stretch to call him the best Spider-Man actor.
It doesn't help that, for whatever reasons, they made his Peter Parker inexplicably cool. I never understood for a minute why anyone would bully this version of Peter Parker. He looks like he could be walking the catwalk in Milan, not slumming it in Midtown High.
It's not all bad. He's got the physicality of the character down and, as we mentioned, can deliver a cheesy one-liner with the best of them. All in all, he's probably the best actor to have played Spider-Man, but he isn't the best Spider-Man actor.
3. Tobey Maguire as Peter #2
Proof that first isn't always best, Tobey Maguire comes in at third. Why? Well, we'll start with the good. No one, and we mean no one, has ever embodied the awkwardness of Peter Parker quite like Maguire.
You can tell that Sam Raimi was a fan of silver-age Spider-Man when Peter was at his dorkiest and most put upon because Maguire's Parker cannot catch a break. But despite the world seemingly having it out for him, Maguire manages to capture Peter's quiet dignity in knowing he's doing the right thing against some of the best Spider-Man villains.
Other versions of the character have said Uncle Ben's iconic line "that with great power comes great responsibility," but Maguire is the one who actually sells it. It feels like a promise when he says that line, not a catchphrase.
The biggest problem with Maguire is his stiffness. You never felt he was entirely comfortable in his own skin, which worked great for Peter but not for Spider-Man. Spidey's supposed to be Peter's Id free to swing through the streets, not the same nerds wearing a blue and red onesie.
2. Tom Holland as the MCU's Spider-Man
If Garfield gets Spider-Man and Maguire gets Peter Parker, then Tom Holland is the perfect synthesis of the two and the best of the live-action Spider-Men. He's good at being simultaneously both youthfully exuberant and tremendously put upon, a tricky tightrope for an actor to walk but one that's necessary to play Peter Parker.
It probably helps that of all the big-screen Spidey's, Holland is the one we've seen the most. He's had six MCU movies to perfect his Spidey performance. That's triple what Garfield initially got. Sure, there's plenty of criticism leveled at this version of Spidey, but those arguments tend to be aimed at the writing, not Holland's acting. Here's hoping we see more of him in Marvel's Phase 5.
Unfortunately, as good as Holland is in the Marvel movies, even he can't hold a candle to the best big-screen Spider-Man actor.
1. Shameik Moore as Miles Morales
I mean, was there ever really any other choice? Shameik Moore doesn't just play Miles. He embodies him with just a voice. Moore captures Miles's insecurities, doubts, and fears while keeping the character cocksure without seeming like a contradiction.
We've only seen this version of Miles on the big screen once, but he's left an indelible impression on the minds of Spider-Man fans the world over. Roll on Spider-Verse 2!
Want to know more about the best movies in the Marvel world? Check out our articles on the Black Panther cast, the Captain America cast, the Guardians of the Galaxy cast, the Iron Man cast, and the Thor cast.
Or, if you need to know more about the Wallcrawler, we have guides to the Spider-Man: Freshman Year release date, the Spider-Verse 3 release date, and we're looking to the future in our piece on the Spider-Man 4 release date.
If that's not enough, we also have an article on all of the new movies coming in 2023 and a list breaking down how to watch all the Marvel movies in order. Just in case you've gotten lost in all the mess of the multiverse.