20 actors whose careers were defined by one role

William Shatner got the part of Captain Kirk in Star Trek in the ‘60s, and he’s been known for the role ever since. Though he has mixed feelings about being linked to the role, Shatner has reprised it multiple times. 

William Shatner isn’t the only actor to portray a space hero and become known for that singular role. Mark Hamill originated the role of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise in the ‘70s, and he’s been known as the character ever since. 

Plenty of Old Hollywood stars were defined by a single role, too. Margaret Hamilton played The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, and despite having 131 acting credits in her career, that role is her legacy. 

Anthony Perkins is another Old Hollywood actor whose career was defined by a single role. Perkins played Norman Bates in Psycho, and he was too good at the role to be known for anything else, despite having received an Oscar nomination during his career. 

It’s not bad to have a career-defining role, especially when the role and the project are both great. James Gandolfini’s career was defined by his work as Tony Soprano in The Sopranos, but wouldn’t an actor rather be known for one spectacular role than a bunch of mediocre roles? 

Michael J. Fox has arguably had more success in television than in film. He’s starred in multiple successful TV shows and has five Emmy Awards. But it’s hard to shake an iconic role, and Fox will always be known as Marty McFly from Back to the Future. 

Some actors are known for their biggest or best roles. Others, like Rowan Atkinson, become their role. At this point, Atkinson is better known as Mr. Bean than his real name. 

Linda Blair was scary good in The Exorcist. She played Regan MacNeil and earned herself an Oscar nomination, and she’s reprised the career-defining role multiple times since the first film. 

Lots of sitcom actors have been defined by one role, even if they’ve been in multiple sitcoms. Matt LeBlanc is a great example. Despite his work in Episodes and Man with a Plan, LeBlanc will always be known as Joey Tribbiani. 

Matt LeBlanc’s Friends co-star is another sitcom actor defined by a single role. Matthew Perry played Chandler Bing for the entirety of the famed sitcom, and given the success of Friends, it’s unsurprising that Perry and most of the cast are best known for their roles on the show. 

While Friends was still airing, another iconic sitcom came along and gave some actors their career-defining roles. Thanks to the success of The Office, Rainn Wilson and Dwight Schrute are basically interchangeable. 

As long as sitcoms exist, they will be giving actors career-defining roles. For Jim Parsons, that role is Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory. The role is so iconic that it has inspired multiple spin-offs. 

Lots of actors are best known for their work on Game of Thrones - the show launched multiple careers. But Kit Harrington played Jon Snow, and Jon Snow is the show. 

Robert Downey, Jr. is a very talented man. He’s even got an Oscar for goodness’ sake. But for most people, he’ll always and forever be Iron Man. But considering the lengths to which he went to restore his career, he’s probably just fine with being known for that one role. 

If you ask someone at random to name three movies that Elijah Wood has been in, unless they’re a human IMDb, they’ll name all three The Lord of the Rings films. Wood was perfect as Frodo Baggins, and there’s no shame in having a career-defining role early in your career, especially in a successful film series. 

Heath Ledger tragically died before he had the chance to deliver more great work. Although he was spectacular in just about everything he did, his career will always be defined by his Oscar-winning performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight. 

Hailey Joel Osment did such good work as a child actor that his adult life has been defined by a single role. Osment’s iconic performance in The Sixth Sense has defined his career, but there are certainly worse roles to be known for. 

Another child actor, Mara Wilson, was in some of the greatest movies of the ‘90s, including Mrs. Doubtfire and Miracle on 35th Street. But in those films, Wilson wasn’t the star. She shone as the eponymous Matilda, and her career has been defined by the role since. 

There is no child actor from the ‘90s as legendary as Macaulay Culkin. He too was in multiple fantastic films as a kid, but there’s no role he’s better known for than Kevin McCallister in the Home Alone series. 

Daniel Radcliffe had a very unique childhood acting experience. He starred as Harry Potter in the eponymous eight-film series, which took him into adulthood. Although he’s still very much a great working actor, he’ll always be known as Harry Potter because of the unique magnitude of the series.