The 20 best on-screen Napoleons

Who played Napoleon: Ian Holm

Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the great British actor Ian Holm found himself in the midst of his Michael Caine period, routinely appearing in three, four, five, or heck even eight films or shows in a given year, some far better than others. In 2001, he wowed audiences in From Hell and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, high-profile affairs that overshadowed The Emperor’s New Clothes, a mostly winsome alternate history comedy-drama-romance that finds Napoleon (Holm) in exile and posing incognito as a commoner (also Holm). Holm, in a rare leading man role (and in his third go-round, following Napoleon and Love and Time Bandits), creates a memorable and distinctly human Napoleon.

Who played Napoleon: Rod Steiger

The Battle of Waterloo gets the Dino De Laurentiis treatment in Waterloo, which means a lush, no-expenses-spared, would-be epic featuring the biggest names of the day. And so we get nearly 20,000 real-life soldiers as extras, massive battle sequences, and Rod Steiger as Napoleon, Christopher Plummer as Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, a.k.a. the Duke of Wellington, and Orson Welles as King Louis XVIII. If Welles chews the scenery in his extended cameo, Steiger absolutely devours it, sweating and shouting his way through scene after scene. It’s truly something to behold (and not in a good way).

Who played Napoleon: Albert Dieudonne

If you’ve ever taken a film class, chances are you’ve seen the original film version of Napoleon, Abel Gance’s silent masterpiece (or at least parts of it). Why? Because Gance broke the mold in numerous ways and established filmmaking methods still utilized today. We’re talking split screens (including remarkable triptych sequences requiring three screens), multiple cameras, color tinting, swooping shots, dissolves, and more. Albert Dieudonne commands the screen as Napoleon, while Gance portrays Louis de Saint-Just. The film has been the subject of revisions and restorations over the years that adjusted the frame rate, music, and especially the running time, which has spanned from just over 4 hours to 1 hour and 51 minutes to more than 9 hours—and everything in between. It’s also worth checking out 1971’s Bonaparte And The Revolution, for which Gance added sound and fresh footage.

Who played Napoleon: Herbert Lom

Napoleon’s actions rather than Napoleon himself propel War And Peace, director King Vidor’s adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s venerable novel. Some people love this 3.5-hour movie and others detest it, which likely has something to do with the push-pull clash of styles between the versatile Vidor and his crowd-pleaser producer, Dino de Laurentiis, as they told the story of Napoleon’s failed 1812 invasion of Russia. The film looks great and boasts impressive war sequences, but the human drama gets short shrift, particularly in the form of a miscast (and too old) Henry Fonda as Pierre, a 20-something Russian. Audrey Hepburn, on the other hand, deserved all the kudos she received for her performance as Natasha. And Herbert Lom, whose resting face suggested pent-up anger, gives us a properly pompous, pious, and slightly over-the-top Napoleon. Interestingly, he portrayed a far darker version of Napoleon in 1942’s Young Mr. Pitt.

Who played Napoleon: Robert Cornthwaite

A familiar theme here is the notion that a little Napoleon goes a long way in any film or show. He’s a tough, mercurial, loud, not-particularly-likable figure, one who’s both easy for an actor to overplay and for an audience to tire of. The Purple Mask asks: Who dares challenge Napoleon’s rule and tries to save folks from the guillotine? The answer is the sword-wielding man of mystery, The Purple Mask, played by Tony Curtis. Napoleon doesn’t factor too prominently in the story, but veteran character actor Robert Cornthwaite acquits himself nicely in the role. The fun here is the playful action, with a very young Curtis swashing buckles. And it runs a lean and mean 82 minutes.

Who played Napoleon: Terry Camilleri

“Ted, it’s Napoleon! The short dude from our history review!” That’s one of the great, early lines from the first, and best, Bill & Ted adventure. When our beloved Bill utters said dialogue, it comes as he and Ted look at the sprawled-out Napoleon, who’s just fallen out of a tree in California after getting caught up in the boys’ time-travel shenanigans. It’s their interaction with him that compels Bill and Ted to dip back in time to nab other historical figures. Try not to laugh as Napoleon winds up bowling, and frolicking at Waterloo … a water park. Australian actor Terry Camilleri perfectly played Napoleon opposite Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves as Bill and Ted and, not surprisingly, the role remains Camilleri’s most well-known credit.

Who played Napoleon: Eli Wallach

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle may be revered for creating Sherlock Holmes and his sleuthing exploits, but he also gave the world Brigadier Etienne Gerard, a French Army officer who thinks way, way, way too highly of himself—to comic effect—as he participates in the Napoleonic Wars. The character appeared in nearly 20 short stories, a novel, and a play, and served as the central character in The Adventures Of Gerard from Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski, who is still working and helmed 2022’s Oscar-nominated foreign film, EO. The esteemed Eli Wallach got in the spirit of the occasion and goes big and broad as Napoleon.

Who played Napoleon: Ian Holm

A recent rewatch of Time Bandits reinforces the belief that the time-travel adventure ranks among Terry Gilliam’s best five films as a director. It’s exciting, scary, thought-provoking, visually inventive, and funny, sometimes all at once, and impeccably cast, too. From David Rappaport as Randall to Katherine Helmond as Mrs. Ogre to David Warner as Evil and Ian Holm as—once again—Napoleon, Gilliam tapped all the right talent. Holm plays it for laughs, particularly when it comes to the character’s height, or lack thereof. Sean Connery, in his memorable cameo appearance, literally winks at the camera. Holm doesn’t go quite that far, but nevertheless lets the audience know that he’s in on the fun.

Who played Napoleon: Alain Chabat

Based on the huge success of Night At The Museum, a sequel seemed inevitable. And so Fox cranked out this sweet and well-meaning, but ultimately disappointing follow-up. Ben Stiller once again headed the cast in Battle Of The Smithsonian, and several favorites from the first film—including Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt, Owen Wilson as Jedediah, and Hank Azaria as Kahmunrah—returned. Among the newcomers was Alain Chabat as Napoleon, who teams up with Azaria’s pharaoh character. Chabaat is actually a big star back in his native France and brought both some lightheartedness and authenticity to the role. He also did double duty, voicing Napoleon for the French version of the film.

Who played Napoleon: Pierre Mondy

So big, so sprawling, so long and so expensive was Abel Gance’s 1927 Napoleon that he—at the time—did not achieve his dream of telling the emperor’s entire story. Decades later, Gance got to depict some more of it, notably the Battle of Austerlitz, arguably Napoleon’s greatest victory, as well as snippets of his personal life. Gance assembled an eclectic cast for Austerlitz, including Claudia Cardinale, Leslie Caron, Orson Welles, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Martine Carol, Jack Palance, and, as Napoleon, Pierre Mondy. A respected French actor, writer, and director, Mondy brings Napoleon to life as a tough, strutting man. Too bad, then, that the talky, slow, and uninvolving film ultimately falls flat.

Who played Napoleon: James Tolkan

Woody Allen made Love And Death right after Sleeper and just before Annie Hall, and the film does a nice job of marking his transition from Marx Brothers-esque shtick and hijinks to more serious fare. The jokes come in rapid-fire succession here, but so too does the talk, with lots and lots of conversations—some hysterical, others pretty deep—between Woody Allen and Diane Keaton about love and death, war and sex. Allen plays Boris, a wimp of a soldier during the Napoleonic Wars who, with his cousin and would-be romantic partner Sonja (Keaton), plots to assassinate Napoleon. Character actor James Tolkan (Top Gun, Back To The Future) pops up for a few amusing, broadly played minutes as Napoleon, who woos Sonja while Boris fumbles around trying to kill him.

Who played Napoleon: Patrice Chereau

This Egyptian and French co-production follows the exploits of Napoleon and his army in Egypt, putting the story’s emphasis far more on the plights and reactions of Egyptian brothers and one of Napoleon’s men—he’s a general and a scientist—than on Napoleon. Adieu Bonaparte director and co-writer Youssef Chahine humanizes the proceedings and, in the process, Napoleon as well, thanks in large part to Patrice Chereau’s assured performance. But, again, Napoleon isn’t the focus here. That distinction belongs to Louis (Michel Piccoli), the scientist attracted to two of the brothers (Mohsen Mohieddin and Mohamed Atef).

Who played Napoleon: Alex Norton

Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 novel The Count Of Monte Cristo has inspired dozens of film and television adaptations. The book involves Napoleon’s exile and return, but focuses on the sailor Edmond Dantes and his adventures as he seeks a treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. The popular 1975 telemovie The Count of Monte Cristo stars Richard Chamberlain as Dantes, but doesn’t feature any actor as Napoleon. Then there’s the 2002 big-screen adaptation starring Jim Caviezel as Dantes. It casts Alex Norton as a defeated, deflated Napoleon, who makes a deal with Dantes to deliver an important letter. Norton does wonders during his brief screen time.

Who played Napoleon: Tom Burke

The BBC, in 2007, unveiled this docuseries that put an hour-long spotlight on a half-dozen historical heroes and villains: Attila the Hun, Richard the Lionheart, Cortez, Spartacus, Shogun, and Napoleon. The Napoleon segment of Heroes And Villains is an origin story of sorts that recounts his reputation-launching role in pulling off the siege of Toulon in 1793. The British stage and screen actor Tom Burke was just 25 when he shot his episode, and he does a nice job conveying Napoleon’s ambition, military genius, and self-doubt.

Who played Napoleon: Philippe Torreton

The Emperor’s New Clothes took a rather lighthearted approach to its alternate history take on the notion that Napoleon fled exile and escaped from St. Helena. Monsieur N. takes a darker path, with Napoleon (Philippe Torreton) plotting his getaway and his vile jailor, Hudson Lowe (Richard E. Grant), determined to prevent any such attempt. Meanwhile, everyone around Napoleon seeks a piece of his fortune. Cue the suspense, intrigue, nighttime fog, and battles of will and wits … and hearts, as Napoleon falls for a gorgeous British woman (Siobhan Hewlett). Oh, and the film floats the notion that Napoleon didn’t actually die on St. Helena, or at least that the body wasn’t his. Anyway, Torreton’s Napoleon is smart, sly, angry, and fully aware of his mortality.

Who played Napoleon: Marlon Brando

Napoleon conquered the world, and more than a few women too along the way. Here, the emperor (Marlon Brando) chooses Josephine (Merle Oberon) over Désirée (Jean Simmons), setting in motion some romantic intrigue. Brando effortlessly summons Napoleon’s power, bravado, and passion, and he shares palpable chemistry with both Oberon and Simmons in Désirée. The film as a whole rates as OK at best, though, as it’s stiff and stuffy. It was also more or less overlooked at the time, understandable considering that the Brando-starring On The Waterfront also opened in 1954.

Who played Napoleon: Armand Assante

Anyone who thought Désirée focused too much on romance and not enough on battles might want to avoid the schmaltz-fest miniseries Napoleon And Josephine: A Love Story from the usually more reliable mega-producer David L. Wolper (Roots, North And South). Armand Assante overacts every high and low as the hyper-emotional Napoleon, while Jacqueline Bisset looks fab but can’t breathe much life into Josephine. Mix in ultra-cheesy dialogue, 1980s TV staples Stephanie Beacham, Leigh Taylor-Young, and Patrick Cassidy, as well as Anthony Perkins collecting a paycheck as the diplomat Talleyrand, and you’ve got a can’t-miss craptastic experience.

Who played Napoleon: Christian Clavier

Napoleon’s saga got a much better miniseries treatment in 2002, as it benefitted from a massive budget (reportedly $46 million) and a top-notch cast featuring Christian Clavier as Napoleon, Isabella Rossellini as Josephine, John Malkovich as Tallyrand, Gerard Depardieu as Fouche, Ludivine Sagnier as Hortense, Toby Stephens as Alexander I, and Anouk Aimee as Letizia. Told in flashbacks by an aged Napoleon, the four episodes chronicle Napoleon’s life, loves, and exploits. To this day, viewers and critics alike debate the merits of casting Clavier as the title character in Napoleon, given his popularity in a long string of French comedies (including The Visitors and Asterix And Obelix vs. Caesar).

Who played Napoleon: Dennis Hopper

Mankind is on the verge of destroying itself, prompting the Devil (Vincent Price) and the Spirit of Man (Ronald Colman) to argue—to a tribunal—against and for saving the world in The Story Of Mankind. Some of Hollywood’s biggest names drop in to play important historical figures, among them Virginia Mayo (Cleopatra), Harpo Marx (Sir Isaac Newton), Hedy Lamarr (Joan of Arc), Agnes Moorhead (Queen Elizabeth I), Groucho Marx (Peter Minuit), John Carradine (Khufu) and … Dennis Hopper as Napoleon. Hopper, then just 20 years old, nicely underplays a brooding young iteration of the character. And sitting in the director’s chair? A pre-Lost In Space/Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea/The Poseidon Adventure/The Towering Inferno Irwin Allen (who also wrote the film). It has to be seen to be believed.

Who played Napoleon: Mel Blanc

Bugs Bunny takes on Napoleon in the classic Merrie Melodies animated short Napoleon Bunny-Part, directed by Friz Freleng. In it, Bugs ends up at the Headquartiers Du Napoleon, where he promptly disrupts the diminutive emperor’s plans for world domination, leading to a few minutes of entertaining cat-and-mouse-style chases, with Napoleon growing ever more exasperated. Try not to laugh when Napoleon attempts to romance Josephine, who’s actually Bugs in drag. The legendary Mel Blanc not only voiced Bug, per usual, but also Napoleon. It’s tres magnifique!