22 Actors Who Played Tarzan, Ranked From Worst To Best

Miles O'Keeffe made his film debut in the 1981 remake Tarzan, the Ape Man opposite Bo Derek. Directed by John Derek, the film received scathing reviews, leaving O'Keeffe with almost no spoken dialogue and functioning primarily as eye candy.

Glenn Morris won Olympic decathlon gold at the 1936 Berlin Games before starring in Tarzan's Revenge in 1938 alongside fellow Olympian Eleanor Holm. His acting was widely deemed flat, and he never made another feature film.

Before starring in Vikings, Travis Fimmel took on a contemporary reimagining of Tarzan for The WB in 2003. Stripped of jungle lore and relocated to Manhattan detective mysteries, the series struggled to find an audience and was canceled after eight episodes.

Denny Miller brought impressive physical stature to MGM's 1959 remake of Tarzan, the Ape Man. Unfortunately, the production relied extensively on recycled black-and-white stock footage tinted yellow, resulting in a cheap finish that harmed his solo jungle outing.

Joe Lara first played the character in the 1989 CBS television movie Tarzan in Manhattan before returning in 1996 for the syndicated series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures. While athletic, the low-budget syndication scripts limited the show's overall impact.

Wolf Larson starred in the French-Canadian-Mexican co-production Tarzán from 1991 to 1994. Larson brought an impressive, sun-bleached physique to the environmentalist storylines, though the syndicated daytime formula felt noticeably dated.

Riding high on his Starship Troopers fame, Casper Van Dien donned the loincloth for 1998's Tarzan and the Lost City. Van Dien gave an enthusiastic performance, but weak computer graphics and a muddy screenplay hindered the franchise revival.

Tennessee native P. Dempsey Tabler played the adult jungle hero in the 15-chapter 1920 silent serial The Son of Tarzan. Tabler was forty years old and wore an unconvincing wig, but performed game athletic stunts for the era.

Gene Pollar was an active New York City firefighter when Goldwyn Pictures hired him for The Revenge of Tarzan in 1920. Standing six feet two inches and weighing 215 pounds, Pollar was athletic on screen, but walked away when the studio refused to raise his salary.

Edgar Rice Burroughs personally handpicked Indiana University football star James Pierce for 1927's Tarzan and the Golden Lion. Pierce later married Burroughs' daughter Joan and voiced Tarzan in a pioneering radio serial throughout the 1930s.

National gymnastics champion Frank Merrill brought stunning acrobatics to Tarzan the Mighty in 1928 and Tarzan the Tiger in 1929. The latter featured partial sound, making Merrill the very first actor whose jungle victory call was heard in cinemas.

Elmo Lincoln earned cinematic immortality in 1918 by playing the adult Lord of the Jungle in Tarzan of the Apes, one of the earliest films to gross over one million dollars. His barrel-chested, silent-era presence established the franchise blueprint.

Following his 400-meter freestyle gold at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, Buster Crabbe played the hero in the 1933 serial Tarzan the Fearless. Crabbe exhibited exceptional swimming agility, though he achieved far greater sci-fi stardom as Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.

Olympic shot put silver medalist Herman Brix (later known as Bruce Bennett) starred in the 1935 serial The New Adventures of Tarzan, filmed on location in Guatemala. Edgar Rice Burroughs considered Brix's cultured, literate portrayal the closest to his books.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Mike Henry gave Tarzan an athletic, tailored overhaul across three films from 1966 to 1968. Henry did his own stunts through difficult conditions, leaving the role after being bitten in the jaw by a chimpanzee.

At age 43, veteran Hollywood stuntman Jock Mahoney stepped into the lead role for Tarzan Goes to India in 1962 and Tarzan's Three Challenges in 1963. Mahoney performed daring physical feats in extreme jungle heat despite battling severe bouts of dengue fever and dysentery.

Alexander Skarsgard gained 25 pounds of lean muscle to play an aristocratic John Clayton called back to the Congo in 2016's The Legend of Tarzan. Skarsgard brought brooding emotional depth to a visually stunning, revisionist blockbuster.

French-American actor Christopher Lambert delivered an intense performance in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes in 1984. Hugh Hudson's film earned four Academy Award nominations and remains the most critically acclaimed adaptation.

Stepping into the loincloth after Johnny Weissmuller was considered impossible, yet Lex Barker carried the franchise across five films from 1949 to 1953. Tall, athletic, and blonde, Barker offered a refined English-speaking presence that delighted moviegoers.

Discovered as a Las Vegas lifeguard, Gordon Scott starred in six Tarzan films from 1955 to 1960. His 1959 feature Tarzan's Greatest Adventure, co-starring Sean Connery, elevated the franchise into a gritty, literate masterpiece beloved by purists.

Ron Ely redefined Tarzan for 1960s television audiences, portraying an educated, articulate hero. Ely famously did all his own stunt work, suffering 17 broken bones and animal bites over two seasons to create a beloved television legacy.

Johnny Weissmuller remains the ultimate Lord of the Jungle. Winning five Olympic swimming gold medals before starring in 12 MGM and RKO films from 1932 to 1948, his physical prowess, warmth, and unmistakable yell made Tarzan a global pop-culture titan.