List of Actors Who Played Santa Claus

This is a list of actors who have played the actual Santa Claus himself. This does not count actors whose characters have dressed as Santa Claus.

  • Richard Attenborough in Miracle on 34th Street, 1997.
  • Stan Francis in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)
  • Ferdinard Munier in Babes in Toyland (1934) and Road to Utopia (1946).
  • Edmund Gwenn in Miracle on 34th Street (1947 film).
  • John Call in Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964 film).
  • Alan Hale, Jr. in Gilligan's Island, episode "Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk" (Season 1, 1964).
  • Hal Smith (voice) in The Flinstones, episode Christmas Flintstone (Season 5, 1964), and A Flintstone Christmas (1977 Christmas television special).
  • Mickey Rooney (voice) in Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970), The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974), and A Miser Brothers' Christmas (2008).
  • Sebastian Cabot in Miracle on 34th Street (1973).
  • Paul Frees in Rudolph's Shiny New Year and Frosty the Snowman (1969).
  • Fred Astaire in The Man in the Santa Claus Suit (1979 TV-Movie).
  • Art Carney in The Night They Saved Christmas (1984). Also, the 1960 Twilight Zone episode "Night of the Meek"
  • Jan Rubes in One Magic Christmas (1985).
  • David Huddleston in Santa Claus: The Movie (1985).
  • Douglas Seale in "Santa '85" Amazing Stories (Season 1, 1985) and Ernest Saves Christmas (1988).
  • Chuck McCann in A Very Retail Christmas
  • Lloyd Bridges in In The Nick Of Time (1991).
  • Hume Cronyn in Santa and Pete (1999 TV-Movie)
  • Leslie Nielsen in All I Want For Christmas and Santa Who? (2000).
  • Edward Ivory (voice) in The Nightmare Before Christmas, (1993).
  • William Shatner (voice) in Eek! The Cat, episode "It's a Very Merry Eek's Mas" (Season 2, 1993), and Gotta Catch Santa Claus (2008 Christmas television special).
  • Dick O'Neill in "Reality Bites" The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Season 5, 1994).
  • Richard Attenborough in Miracle on 34th Street (1994).
  • Tim Allen in The Santa Clause (1994), The Santa Clause 2 (2002), and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006).
  • Michael Bell (voice) in The Powerpuff Girls: 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas (Direct-to-video, 2002.)
  • Edward Asner (voice) in The Story of Santa Claus (1996) and later in-person this time in Elf (2003).
  • Douglas Campbell in Once upon a Christmas (2000).
  • Nigel Hawthorne in Call Me Claus (2001).
  • Matthew Walker in Twice Upon a Christmas (2001).
  • James Earl Jones in Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street (2001).
  • Charles Durning in Mr. St. Nick - 2002
  • Dick Van Patten in The Santa Trap - (TV movie, 2002).
  • Ed Asner in Elf (2003).
  • Richard Riehle in The Hebrew Hammer (2003), The Search for Santa Paws (2010), and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011).
  • Tom Hanks (voice) in The Polar Express (2004).
  • Austin Pendleton in Christmas With The Kranks (2004).
  • John Wheeler in Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus (2004) and the sequel Meet The Santas (2005).
  • James Cosmo in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).
  • Steve Guttenberg plays Santa's son, Nick, in Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus (2004) who then takes over the job from his father on Meet The Santas (2005).
  • Steve Bacic in Deck the Halls (2005).
  • Bill Goldberg in Santa's Slay (2005).
  • George Wendt in Santa Baby (2006).
  • John Goodman in The Year Without a Santa Claus (2006).
  • Paul Giamatti in Fred Claus (2007).
  • Richard Griffiths in A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008)
  • Beau Bridges in The Christmas Secret - (2009 TV-Movie)
  • Sal Lizard in The Box (2009 film)
  • Paul Sorvino in Santa Baby 2 - 2009
  • James Cosmo in The Santa Incident - 2010
  • Peeter Jakobi in Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale - 2010
  • Bruce McGill (voice) in Family Guy, episode Road to the North Pole (Season 9, 2010.)
  • Hal Smith on multiple occasions including Santa and the Three Bears
  • Mairtin O'Carrigan in Mistletoe Over Manhattan - (2011 TV-Movie)
  • Dakin Matthews in The Big Bang Theory, episode "The Santa Simulation" (Season 6, 2012.)
  • Alec Baldwin (voice) in Rise of the Guardians - (2012 film)

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    —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

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    ““That’s where I reckon Santa Claus comes in
    To be our parents’ pseudonymity
    In Christmas giving, so they can escape
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    —Robert Frost (1874–1963)