Actors Who Played Multiple Roles in the MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is so sprawling that a few familiar faces have popped up more than once in entirely different parts of it. Sometimes an actor switched from a voice booth to a costume. Other times they played two unrelated characters years apart. In a few cases the switch happened between movies and series, or even inside the same project.

Here is a handy roundup of the most notable examples. Each entry points to where the roles appear so you can place them on the MCU timeline without digging through credits. If you spot someone we missed, keep reading to the end and chime in.

Paul Bettany

Bettany first served as the voice of Tony Stark’s AI assistant J.A.R.V.I.S., which you can hear guiding suits and systems across early titles like ‘Iron Man’, ‘Iron Man 2’, ‘The Avengers’, and ‘Iron Man 3’. The voice role continued into ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ before everything changed for the character and the actor.

He then stepped on screen as Vision, created during the events of ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and later appearing in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. Bettany returned to lead a Disney series with ‘WandaVision’, which explored Vision’s unique origins and abilities in much greater detail.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Cumberbatch portrays Doctor Stephen Strange across multiple films including ‘Doctor Strange’, ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, ‘Avengers: Endgame’, and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’. He also voices animated versions of the character in ‘What If…?’ which expands on branches of the multiverse.

In ‘Doctor Strange’, Cumberbatch additionally performed and voiced Dormammu, the cosmic entity Strange confronts in the Dark Dimension. The production captured his face and voice for the villain, which means he plays both the hero and the antagonist in the same corner of the MCU.

Gemma Chan

Chan first appeared as Minn Erva, a Kree sniper on the Starforce team in ‘Captain Marvel’. The role placed her among the blue skinned Kree characters and tied her to the conflicts surrounding the Skrulls and Kree imperial policy.

She later returned to the MCU in a completely different capacity as Sersi in ‘Eternals’. This second role positioned her at the center of the story, with Sersi living among humans on Earth and revealing the history and purpose of the Eternals as the plot unfolds.

Michelle Yeoh

Yeoh shows up briefly in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ as Aleta Ogord, one of the veteran Ravagers seen alongside Stakar’s old team. The cameo connects her to the wider outlaw network that the Guardians encounter.

She then appears in ‘Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ as Ying Nan, an elder from Ta Lo who helps the protagonists understand their heritage and train for the final conflict. The two roles belong to different corners of the MCU and never intersect on screen.

Kenneth Choi

Choi plays Jim Morita, a member of the Howling Commandos who fights alongside Steve Rogers in ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’. Morita accompanies the unit through missions against Hydra and is seen in several major wartime sequences.

Choi later turns up in the ‘Spider Man’ films as Principal Morita at Midtown School of Science and Technology. The character is established as a descendant of the Howling Commando, and a photo of his ancestor is displayed in the principal’s office in ‘Spider Man: Homecoming’.

Laura Haddock

Haddock has a small role in ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ as a woman hoping to meet Howard Stark at a wartime event. The scene places her among the civilians fascinated by Stark’s technology showcase.

She then takes on a far more prominent role as Meredith Quill in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’. Meredith’s connection to Peter Quill frames the opening moments of each film and anchors the story to life on Earth before the action moves into space.

David Dastmalchian

Dastmalchian appears as Kurt, one of Scott Lang’s crew members, in ‘Ant Man’ and ‘Ant Man and the Wasp’. Kurt takes part in the heists that drive the action and returns for the sequel with the same team dynamic.

He later lends his voice to Veb in ‘Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’. Veb is a gelatinous being encountered in the Quantum Realm, and the performance is entirely voice based with a new design and personality separate from Kurt.

Damion Poitier

Poitier is the actor beneath the original on screen appearance of Thanos in the mid credits stinger of ‘The Avengers’. The brief shot introduced the character to the MCU before later installments expanded him.

He also shows up in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ as a mercenary aligned with Brock Rumlow during the opening mission in Lagos. The part places him in the ground level action sequence that sets off the international response against the Avengers.

Linda Cardellini

Cardellini plays Laura Barton, who is introduced in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ as Clint Barton’s wife. Laura and the Barton family continue to appear in later projects, including ‘Avengers: Endgame’ and the holiday set series ‘Hawkeye’.

Cardellini also voices Lylla in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’. Lylla is part of Rocket’s past, and the role is a voice performance that supports key flashback scenes tied to Rocket’s story.

Ross Marquand

Marquand takes over the role of Red Skull when the character reappears on Vormir in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’. The appearance connects the World War II era villain to the Soul Stone’s guardian duties.

He additionally voices Ultron in ‘What If…?’ for episodes that explore alternate outcomes to the events involving the sentient AI. The performance covers moments where Ultron’s pathway differs from the main timeline, creating a second distinct MCU role for Marquand.

Lake Bell

Bell voices Natasha Romanoff across multiple episodes of ‘What If…?’ where the series revisits events from earlier films with different choices and outcomes. The voice work covers action sequences and dialogue that mirror the live action character’s role in those scenarios.

Bell also appears on screen in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ as Dr. Graham, a scientist involved in a deep sea vibranium operation. The character is part of the opening sequence that establishes the geopolitical tension around Wakanda’s resources.

Corey Stoll

Stoll first appears as Darren Cross, also known as Yellowjacket, in ‘Ant Man’. Cross is the primary antagonist, driving the conflict through his attempts to replicate and weaponize Pym technology.

He later returns in ‘Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ as M.O.D.O.K., which reveals a transformed and recontextualized version of Darren Cross following his earlier defeat. The new role includes an altered physical form and a different set of abilities that separate it from Yellowjacket.

Joe Russo

Director Joe Russo makes several cameos as different characters. In ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ he appears as Dr. Fine during the hospital sequence. The role situates him in the medical response after a major action set piece.

He then shows up in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ as Theo Broussard, the psychiatrist who becomes central to the prison transfer plot. Russo also appears in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ as a man speaking at the support group, which places him in a scene with Steve Rogers outside of the usual action beats.

Stan Lee

Stan Lee appears throughout the MCU in a wide range of cameos that change from film to film. You can spot him as a security guard in ‘The Incredible Hulk’, a pageant judge in ‘Iron Man 3’, a barber on Sakaar in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, and a FedEx driver in ‘Captain America: Civil War’.

He also turns up on Xandar in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and is seen conversing with Watchers in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’. Each cameo is a separate role, making him the most prolific multi role performer in the MCU by sheer variety and frequency.

Share your favorite double duty MCU performances in the comments and tell us which ones surprised you the most.