Top 5 Actors to Have Played Santa Claus

5. Ed Asner – Elf

Though not the heartbeat of this movie (that privilege falls to Will Ferrell, of course), the role of Santa is still imperative in Elf, and it’s illuminated by the great Ed Asner. He plays the role with a kindness it so requires, and as he portrayed when providing the vocals to Carl in Pixar’s Up, there’s a softness to his voice, but an authority too, being somebody you wouldn’t want to mess with. And let’s face it – you don’t wanna mess with Santa, because if you end up on that naughty list there’s no going back.

4. Edmund Gwenn – Miracle on 34th Street

If you go to your local shopping centre, you’ll see someone pretending to be Santa. They could be an out of work actor, somebody making ends meet – or perhaps just a person who really loves Christmas. But how many of these pretenders have won an Oscar for their efforts? Because Edmund Gwenn did, for his performance in the original Miracle on 34th Street in 1947 . To play a role that, let’s face it, is somewhat frivolous and pantomime in many regards, and yet to be rewarded by the Academy for your efforts is quite something.

3. Tim Allen – The Santa Clause

Tim Allen should be commended for his performance, because unlike the others in this list, he doesn’t begin proceedings as Santa, as when introduced to his character in the 1994 endeavour The Santa Clause, he’s just playing a bloke called Scott Calvin, and we have to invest in, and believe in his transformation. Of course the belly helps, as do the flowing white locks – but as the film progresses he becomes more and more cuddly, and less and less like Tim Allen. Good work.

2. Jim Broadbent – Get Santa

Get Santa has barely been around since lighting up our screens in 2014 and yet already British acting star Jim Broadbent has made our exclusive list. To be fair, we would have been tempted to include him without even seeing the film, such is in his gracious nature; his warmth and endearing qualities. But fortunately we have seen the film, and he’s just as brilliant as we had hoped. Plus, there is no reason whatsoever that Father Christmas couldn’t be from Lincolnshire.

1. Richard Attenborough – Miracle on 34th Street

Richard Attenborough not only had the task (and pressure) that comes with donning the renowned red suit of Santa, but he had to take after Edmund Gwenn, following his turn almost 50 years earlier in the original picture. However it was taken in the stride by Attenborough, and though sadly the venerable, esteemed actor is no longer with us, as this film plays to new generations of children every single year, and will continue to do so, he’ll always be Father Christmas.