10 Celebs That Could Play Cartoon Characters

I recently brushed up on the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot (now renamed Alien Turtles). Turns out I haven’t been keeping up on the news very well.

Michael Bay (director of the Transformers franchise) is the director and he broke the news on his blog that Megan Fox (the woman he booted from the Transformers franchise) has a spot in the TMNT movie.

One has to assume she'll be playing April O’Neil, the dedicated and fearless TV reporter who always manages to get captured.

It’s actually not a bad choice. I’m not sure she would have been my first choice, but I can see it working – in an updated, not-like-the-cartoon kind of way. I was watching the first two Transformers movies last week and Fox is a decent enough actress. She may not win awards, but she can get the job done in an action movie.

If Bay can revive the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the way he did the Transformers, then Fox may have a couple of box office hits coming her way.

Fox being cast as O’Neil got me thinking about which other celebrities could play cartoon characters in a live action film. Here they are:

Last Wednesday, I blogged about Jay Leno’s career outlook after he’s done with The Tonight Show. What's an out-of-work comedian to do?

One of the career possibilities I pointed out was to have Jay portray Popeye in a movie.

The chin, alone, gets him the role, but with Leno’s sense of humor, he could probably do a good job making the character campy and entertaining.



If there’s ever a live action Jetson’s movie made and Danny DeVito is living, then there doesn’t need to even be a casting call for the role of Mr. Spacely.

Absolutely nobody could pull it off as well as DeVito could. Not only does he look the part, but I think he could nail the portrayal of the cranky, cheapskate, overbearing boss that is Mr. Spacely.

It’s kind of scary how similar DeVito looks to this cartoon character that was animated long before DeVito became famous.



She played the evil queen in Snow White and The Huntsman, but I think Charlize Theron could do a superb job fighting for good and justice as She-Ra, the Princess of Power.
She has the acting chops to handle the role and she would need very little help to look the part.

Chances are a She-Ra movie won’t ever happen, but it would be pretty cool to see Theron take the lead role if a movie were ever made.



Jubilee is one X-Men who hasn’t made an appearance on the big screen yet. Perhaps she will in future X-Men films. If she does, I think Selena Gomez would be a fine choice. She’s got that unique face, just like Jubilee. She looks very youthful, just like Jubilee. She’s kind of annoying, just like Jubilee.

I’m not sure if her acting is up to par with some of the other actors who have been in the X-Men movies, but let’s face it: being Jubilee likely wouldn’t be too difficult. Plus, a few of those fans she picked up from all her years on the Disney Channel may just go see the movie because Selena is in it. Then again, all the Bieber lovers may not go see the film if Selena and the Biebs are on the outs. Do those numbers cancel each other out then? Hmm…



Benjamin Bratt played an officer in the atrocious Catwoman, but I think he could redeem himself in the world of comics-turned-movies if he was given the chance to be Shredder. Bratt has a slim, muscular build and the right skin tone.

Bratt does kind of look like the de-masked Shredder from the cartoons, but his facial features don’t matter too much because Shredder is usually wearing the mask and helmet.

Because of that, the eyes are an important feature with Shredder. Bratt is a decent actor so I think he’d be able to convey whichever emotion he has to with his eyes.



With the Man of Steel movie coming this summer and rumors that Lex Luthor isn’t making an appearance in it, there may just be a role for Billy Zane as Lex Luthor. Zane – otherwise known as the bad guy from Titanic – has a bit of an evil, savvy businessman look about him.

He’s a fresh face to superhero films, but so is Henry Cavill (Superman). With the legions of Superman fans and Christopher Nolan at the helm, the Superman movies are sure to be a hit, regardless of who is cast as Luthor. Zane would be my ideal choice, however.



If Billy Zane doesn’t get the Lex Luthor role, then O’Quinn should. He’s older than Zane, but he’d be equally as good. On Lost, he always had a suspicious look in his eyes – bordering the line between good and evil. That’s something Hackman nailed.

Obviously Luthor is the villain in the Superman franchise, but Hackman was able to make the Luthor character someone who was entertaining --- not someone you had extreme hatred for, but someone you enjoyed watching. I think O’Quinn would bring that same element to the Luthor character.



Then there’s Nicki Minaj.

Obviously she doesn’t have a chance at playing Prince Adam (aka He-Man), especially since there’s no He-Man movie in the works (why not Hollywood?!?).

However, she sure made an effort to look the part when she stepped out onto the red carpet at an event a couple of years ago. Maybe she was auditioning? Spitting image, I’d say.



Last, but not least, I present to you Billy Burke (Bella’s dad in the Twilight saga) as Man-At-Arms, also from the He-Man universe. If the stars ever align and a Masters of the Universe movie does get made, then nobody else but Burke has any business playing Man-At-Arms.

Look at the eyes. Look at the eyebrows. Most importantly, look at the mustache. He’s perfect for the role!

What do you think? Am I crazy or spot on?



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