List of actors who played Santa Claus

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This is a list of actors who have played Santa Claus in film and on television, including voice acting roles. This does not count actors whose characters have dressed as Santa Claus. For example, Dan Castellaneta would not be included in this list for voicing Homer Simpson, a character who dressed up as a mall Santa in the pilot episode of The Simpsons.

ActorFilm/TVDate
Tim Allen The Santa Clause 1994
The Santa Clause 2 2002
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause 2006
Ed Asner The Story of Santa Claus 1996 (voice)
Elf 2003
Christmas on the Bayou2013
Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas 2014 Animated TV-Movie (voice)
Fred Astaire The Man in the Santa Claus Suit1979 TV-Movie
Richard Attenborough Miracle on 34th Street 1994
Steve Bacic Deck the Halls 2005
Alec Baldwin (voice) Rise of the Guardians 2012 film
Leedham Bantock Santa Claus 1912 film
Don Beddoe Bewitched , episode Humbug Not to Be Spoken HereSeason 4, 1967
Michael Bell (voice) The Powerpuff Girls: 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas Direct-to-video, 2003
Brian Blessed The Amazing World of Gumball , episode Christmas (voice)Season 2, 2012
Sooty , episode Pranks and PresentsSeason 2, 2013
Danger Mouse , episode The Snowman Cometh (voice)Season 1, 2015
Beau Bridges The Christmas Secret 2009 TV-Movie
Lloyd Bridges In the Nick of Time 1991
Jim Broadbent Arthur Christmas (voice)2011
Get Santa 2015
Aldi Christmas Launch Advert2020
George Buza A Christmas Horror Story 2015
Sebastian Cabot Miracle on 34th Street 1973 TV-Movie
John Call Santa Claus Conquers the Martians 1964 film
Bruce Campbell The Librarians episode "And Santa's Midnight Run"2014
Douglas Campbell Once Upon a Christmas 2000
Art Carney The Twilight Zone , episode "The Night of the Meek"1960
The Great Santa Claus Switch

1970

The Night They Saved Christmas 1984
Jay Clark Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny 1972
Oliver Clark Ernest Saves Christmas 1988; he starts out as a local actor named Joe Carruthers, but ultimately becomes the new Santa Claus, replacing Douglas Seale's.
Andy Clyde The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse 1954
Studio 57 1955
Tim Conway (voice) Saving Santa Direct-to-video, 2013
James Cosmo The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 2005
The Santa Incident2010
Bryan Cranston (voice)The Santa Claus Brothers2001
Hume Cronyn Santa and Pete 1999 TV-Movie
Peter Cullen (voice) Christmas Comes to Pac-Land 1982
Andy Devine Batman , episode The Duo is SlummingSeason 2, 1966
Dileep My Santa 2019
Bob Dorough The Clarks1991
Charles Durning It Nearly Wasn't Christmas1989
Mrs. Santa Claus 1996
Elmo Saves Christmas 1996
Mr. St. Nick 2002
A Boyfriend for Christmas 2004
James Earl Jones Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street 2001
Kort Falkenberg The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! , episode Santa Claus Is Coming to Flatbush1989
Robert Fliss Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers episode, I'm Dreaming of a White RangerSeason 3, 1995
Stan Francis (voice) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 1964
Paul Frees (voice) Frosty the Snowman 1969
The First Easter Rabbit 1976
Rudolph's Shiny New Year 1976
Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey 1977
Nick Frost Doctor Who - "Last Christmas"2014
Paul Giamatti Fred Claus 2007
Mel Gibson Fatman 2020
Bill Goldberg Santa's Slay 2005
John Goodman (voice) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie 1998
Futurama 1999
The Year Without a Santa Claus 2006 (live-action)
It's a Spongebob Christmas! 2012
A. Cameron GrantI Love Lucy Christmas Show1956
Richard Griffiths A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa 2008
Michael Gross Becoming Santa2015 TV-Movie
Steve Guttenberg plays Santa's son, Nick Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus 2004 who then takes over the job from his father on Meet the Santas , 2005
Edmund Gwenn Miracle on 34th Street 1947 film
Alan Hale, Jr. Gilligan's Island , episode Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta TalkSeason 1, 1964
Tom Hanks (voice) The Polar Express 2004
Nigel Hawthorne Call Me Claus 2001
Isaac Hayes The Pullmans1993
Bob Holt (voice) The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas 1973
William Hootkins Like Father, Like Santa 1998
David Huddleston Santa Claus: The Movie 1985
Edward Ivory (voice) The Nightmare Before Christmas ,1993
Peeter Jakobi Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale 2010
Kevin James Elmo's Christmas Countdown 2007 Christmas TV-Movie
Bob Joles (voice) Uncle Grandpa , episode "Christmas Special"2014
Cecil Kellaway Bewitched , Episode "A Vision of Sugar Plums"Season 1, 1964
Anna Kendrick Noelle November 12, 2019
Phil LaMarr Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends , episode “A Lost Claus”2005
Bill Lewis Defending Christmas1993 TV-Movie
Sal Lizard The Box 2009
John Malkovich Santabear's High Flying Adventure1987
Dakin Matthews The Big Bang Theory , episode "The Santa Simulation"Season 6, 2012
Paul Maxey The Magical World of Disney , episode "Holiday Time at Disneyland"1962
Chuck McCann A Very Retail Christmas1990
Bruce McGill (voice) Family Guy , episode Road to the North Pole Season 9, 2010
Matt McKenna (voice) American Dad! , Episodes:
For Whom The Sleigh Bell Tolls (S 6 Ep 8)
Minstreal Krampus (S 8 Ep 6)
Ninety North, Zero West (S 12 Ep 7)
Sant, Schmanta (S 13 Ep 1)
TV series (2010, 2012, 2016, 2017)
Mark Mitchell The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas 1996 TV-Movie
Thomas Mitchell The Miracle on 34th Street 1955 TV-Movie
Jose Elias Moreno Santa Claus 1959
Robert Morse (voice) Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans 2019 Animated TV-Movie
Ferdinard Munier Babes in Toyland 1934
Lake Placid Serenade 1944
Road to Utopia 1946
Richard Mulligan The Twilight Zone , episode "Night of the Meek"1985
Leslie Nielsen All I Want For Christmas 1991
Santa Who? 2000
Dick O'Neill "Reality Bites" The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Season 5, 1994
Bert Parnaby The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 1988
Austin Pendleton Christmas with the Kranks 2004
Phil Pierce A Bad Moms Christmas 2017
Richard Riehle The Hebrew Hammer 2003
The Search for Santa Paws 2010
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas 2011
Mickey Rooney (voice) Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town 1970
The Year Without a Santa Claus 1974
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July 1979
The Happy Elf 2005
A Miser Brothers' Christmas 2008
Jan Rubeš One Magic Christmas 1985
Kurt Russell The Christmas Chronicles 2018
The Christmas Chronicles 2 2020
Will Sasso Finding Mrs. Claus2002 TV-Movie
Douglas Seale "Santa '85" Amazing Stories Season 1, 1985
Ernest Saves Christmas (1988); in the latter, his mortal name is "Seth Applegate".
William Shatner (voice) Eek! The Cat , episode "It's a Very Merry Eek's Mas"Season 2, 1993
Gotta Catch Santa Claus2008 Christmas TV-Movie
Peter Shukoff Epic Rap Battles of History , episode "Moses vs. Santa Claus"Season 2, 2012
Hal Smith (voice) The Flintstones , episode Christmas Flintstone Season 5, 1964
The Brady Bunch Season 1, 1969 (live-action)
Santa and the Three Bears 1970
A Christmas Story 1972
A Flintstone Christmas 1977 TV-Movie (live action)
Casper's First Christmas 1979
Yogi's First Christmas 1980
Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone 1990
Bonkers 1993
The Town Santa Forgot 1993
Donavon Stinson A Fairly Odd Christmas 2012
Santa Hunters 2014
Paul Sorvino Santa Baby 2 2009
Jim Staahl (voice) Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer 2001
Fred Tatasciore (voice) Scooby Doo! Haunted Holidays Direct-to-DVD, 2012
Ricky Tomlinson (voice) Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire 1999
Dick Van Patten A Mouse, a Mystery and Me1987 TV-Movie
The Santa Trap2002 TV-Movie
Robert Wagner Northpole 2014 TV-Movie
Frank Welker (voice) A Chipmunk Christmas 1981
A Wish For Wings That Work 1991
George Wendt Santa Baby 2006
Santa Buddies (voice)2009
John Wheeler Step by Step episode "Too Many Santas"Season 7, 1997
Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus 2004
Meet the Santas 2005
Keith Wickham Thomas & Friends , episode "Last Train For Christmas"2014
Jonathan Winters (voice) Santa vs. the Snowman 1997
Ed Wynn Miracle on 34th Street 1959 TV-Movie

See Also

Related Research Articles

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is a line from an editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church. Written in response to a letter by eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon asking whether Santa Claus was real, the editorial was first published in the New York newspaper The Sun on September 21, 1897.

<i>Miracle on 34th Street</i> 1947 film by George Seaton

Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 American Christmas comedy-drama film released by 20th Century-Fox, written and directed by George Seaton and based on a story by Valentine Davies. It stars Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn. The story takes place between Thanksgiving and Christmas in New York City, and focuses on the effect of a department store Santa Claus who claims to be the real Santa. The film has become a perennial Christmas favorite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Claus parade</span> Christmas and holiday season parade

Santa Claus parades, also called Christmas parades, are parades held in some countries to celebrate the official opening of the Christmas season with the arrival of Santa Claus who always appears in the last float. The parades usually include themed floats, dancing or marching groups and bands playing Christmas songs. They are moving pageants that typically end near the centre of a city. Often sponsored by department stores, they may reinforce the store's brand recognition during the important Christmas shopping season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mrs. Claus</span> Wife of Santa Claus

Mrs. Claus is the legendary wife of Santa Claus, the Christmas gift-bringer in Western Christmas tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town</span> 1934 Christmas song

"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus, written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, and first recorded by Harry Reser and His Band. When it was covered by Eddie Cantor on his radio show in November 1934 it became a hit; within 24 hours, 500,000 copies of sheet music and more than 30,000 records were sold. The version for Bluebird Records by George Hall and His Orchestra was very popular in 1934 and reached the various charts of the day. The song has been recorded by over 200 artists including Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, the Crystals, Neil Diamond, Fred Astaire, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Mitch Miller, Boxcar Willie, Bill Evans, Chris Isaak, the Temptations, The Pointer Sisters, the Carpenters, Michael Bublé, Luis Miguel, and the Jackson 5.

<i>Silent Night, Deadly Night</i> 1984 American slasher film by Charles E. Sellier, Jr

Silent Night, Deadly Night is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr., and starring Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley, Britt Leach, and Leo Geter. The story concerns a young man named Billy, who suffers from post-traumatic stress over witnessing his parents' murder on Christmas Eve by a man disguised as Santa Claus and his subsequent upbringing in an abusive Catholic orphanage. In adulthood, the Christmas holiday leads him into a psychological breakdown, and he emerges as a spree killer donning a Santa suit.

<i>Santa Claus: The Movie</i> 1985 film by Jeannot Szwarc

Santa Claus: The Movie is a 1985 Christmas film starring Dudley Moore, John Lithgow, and David Huddleston. It depicts the origin of Santa Claus, and his modern-day adventure to save one of his elves (Moore) who has been manipulated by an unscrupulous toy company executive (Lithgow). It was directed by Jeannot Szwarc and was the last major fantasy film produced by the Paris-based father-and-son production team of Alexander and Ilya Salkind.

<i>The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause</i> 2006 film directed by Michael Lembeck

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause is a 2006 American Christmas comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck. It is the third installment in The Santa Clause franchise, following The Santa Clause (1994) and The Santa Clause 2 (2002). The film features Tim Allen returning as Scott Calvin, who must find a way to reverse a spell cast by Jack Frost that caused him to lose his title of Santa Claus. Allen and Short had previously worked together in the 1997 Disney comedy film, Jungle 2 Jungle. Most of the supporting actors from the first two films reprise their roles, with the exception of David Krumholtz. As a result of his absence, Curtis, who was previously the Assistant Head Elf, has now been promoted to Bernard's former position. This was Peter Boyle's final film to be released during his lifetime. Its production was completed in February 2006.

<i>The Year Without a Santa Claus</i> 1974 stop-motion television special

The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 stop motion animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name. It is narrated by Shirley Booth and starring the voices of Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, and George S. Irving. It was originally broadcast on December 10, 1974, on ABC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa's workshop</span> Legendary workshop in the story of Santa Claus

In Christmas folklore and legends, Santa's Workshop is the workshop where Santa Claus and his elves live and make the toys and presents given out at Christmas. The exact location of Santa's workshop varies depending upon local culture, however it is generally believed to be somewhere around or on the North Pole. There are at least eight claimed locations for his workshop. For example, people in Canada send letters to Santa's Workshop at his North Pole location in Canada, with the unique postal code of "H0H 0H0". People in the United States believe the workshop is a sprawling commune located at the North Pole. Some people in the United Kingdom and Finland believe that Father Christmas' Workshop is located in Finland in Korvatunturi, Lapland. In addition to housing the factory where toys are either manufactured or distributed by the elves, the complex also houses the residence of Santa, his wife, companions, and all of the reindeer.

<i>Frostys Winter Wonderland</i> 1976 film directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

Frosty's Winter Wonderland is a 1976 animated Christmas television special and a standalone sequel to the 1969 special Frosty the Snowman, produced by Rankin/Bass Productions and animated by Topcraft. It is the second television special featuring the character Frosty the Snowman. It returns writer Romeo Muller, character designer Paul Coker, Jr., music composer Maury Laws and actor Jackie Vernon as the voice of Frosty, while Andy Griffith stars as the narrator with the rest of the cast consisting of Shelley Winters, Dennis Day, and Paul Frees. The special premiered on ABC on December 2, 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Claus in film</span>

Motion pictures featuring Santa Claus constitute their own subgenre of the Christmas film genre. Early films of Santa revolve around similar simple plots of Santa's Christmas Eve visit to children. In 1897, in a short film called Santa Claus Filling Stockings, Santa Claus is simply filling stockings from his pack of toys. Another film called Santa Claus and the Children was made in 1898. A year later, a film directed by George Albert Smith titled Santa Claus was created. In this picture, Santa Claus enters the room from the fireplace and proceeds to trim the tree. He then fills the stockings that were previously hung on the mantle by the children. After walking backward and surveying his work, he suddenly darts at the fireplace and disappears up the chimney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NORAD Tracks Santa</span> Annual program around Christmas which simulates the tracking of Santa Claus

NORAD Tracks Santa is an annual Christmas-themed program in which North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) performs the tracking of Santa Claus, who leaves the North Pole to travel around the world on his mission to deliver presents to children every year on Christmas Eve. The program starts on December 1, but the actual Santa-tracking starts at midnight annually on December 24. It is a community outreach function of NORAD, and has been held annually since 1955.

<i>Santa Claus Is Comin to Town</i> (TV special) 1970 television special

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town is a 1970 stop motion Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions in New York, New York. The film is narrated by Fred Astaire and stars the voices of Mickey Rooney, Keenan Wynn, Robie Lester, Joan Gardner, and Paul Frees, as well as an assistant song performance by the Westminster Children's Choir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Claus</span> Legendary Christmas figure

Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. He is said to accomplish this with the aid of Christmas elves, who make the toys in his North Pole workshop, and with the aid of flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christmas elf</span> Western folklore creature

In English-speaking cultures, a Christmas elf is a diminutive elf that lives with Santa Claus at the North Pole and acts as his helper. Christmas elves are usually depicted as green- or red-clad, with large, pointy ears and wearing pointy hats. They are most often depicted as humanoids, but sometimes as furry mammals with tails. Santa's elves are often said to make the toys in Santa's workshop and take care of his reindeer, among other tasks.

<i>A Miser Brothers Christmas</i> American TV series or program

A Miser Brothers’ Christmas is a 2008 Christmas stop motion spin-off special, based on the characters from the 1974 Rankin-Bass special The Year Without a Santa Claus. Distributed by Warner Bros. Animation under their Warner Premiere label and Toronto-based Cuppa Coffee Studios, the one-hour special premiered on ABC Family on Saturday, December 13, 2008, during the network's annual The 25 Days of Christmas programming.

<i>The Santa Clause</i> (franchise) American film series

The Santa Clause is a media franchise that consists of three American Christmas family-comedy theatrical feature films starring Tim Allen, and one television series for Disney+. Based on an original story by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick, the plot centers around Scott Calvin's transformation into Santa Claus, and his adventures thereafter.

<i>The Christmas Chronicles</i> 2018 American Christmas comedy film

The Christmas Chronicles is a 2018 American Christmas comedy film directed by Clay Kaytis from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman. The film stars Kurt Russell, Judah Lewis, Darby Camp, Lamorne Morris, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and Oliver Hudson. It is the first installment in The Christmas Chronicles film series. The film was produced by 1492 Pictures and Wonder Worldwide and was released on November 22, 2018, on Netflix.

<i>The Santa Clauses</i> 2022 American television series

The Santa Clauses is an American Christmas comedy television series created by Jack Burditt for Disney+ and based on The Santa Clause film series. It serves as a sequel to The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) and features Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Eric Lloyd, and David Krumholtz reprising their roles from the film series. Jack Burditt serves as showrunner and executive producer. It premiered on November 16, 2022. In December 2022, The Santa Clauses was renewed for a second season which premiered with two episodes on November 8, 2023.