Over the course of his long career,Charlton Hestonplayed more than a dozen Biblical and historical figures, some more than once. One of thebiggest action heroes of the 1950s, Charlton Heston was a major box office draw during his time in Hollywood, heading a long list of successful and critically acclaimed movies. No single movie stands out as his most famous film, as Heston was responsible for turning several films into household favorites, includingPlanet of the Apes,The Ten Commandments, andBen-Hur.
Heston developed a knack forBiblical epics likeThe Ten Commandments, but never let himself get tied down to a single genre. The actor dabbled in several different areas, trying his hand at Westerns, film noir, romance, science fiction, and war films. But as varied as his career was in Hollywood, there were certainly some noteworthy constants with some of the projects he accepted. One of the most striking facts about his contributions to cinema is the whopping number of times Heston played someone based in reality.
Charlton Heston Was Known Largely For His Biblical Roles
Charlton Heston Was A Popular Choice For Headlining Biblical Epics
With his commanding presence,Charlton Heston was a natural choice to play charismatic, strong leaders from the Bible. One ofCharlton Heston’s best movies,The Ten Commandmentstold the story of Moses, highlighting his journey as a slave to a prophet of God. Heston’s memorable portrayal of Moses led to the actor essentially becoming the face of the Biblical epic genre, as Heston also took the starring role asBen-Hur. But though the film was rooted in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Charlton Heston’s character was not Biblical; he was created for the 1880 Lew Wallace novel the movie was adapting.
That said, Heston did wind up playing a character associated with the life of Jesus eventually. In 1965, an ensemble cast packed with A-list stars was put together forThe Greatest Story Ever Told. Given his connections to Biblical projects, it seemed fitting that Heston was cast as John the Baptist.
Charlton Heston Played 12 Other Historical Figures In His Movies
Charlton Heston Starred In Several Historical Movies
Charlton Heston began and ended his career playing figures from history. His first-ever role was in a lesser-known adaptation ofJulius Ceasar, in which Heston took on the role of Mark Antony. The last movie he ever made wasRua Alguem 5555: My Father,where Heston played Josef Mengele, an infamous Nazi scientist. Between these roles, which came in 1950 and 2003 respectively, Heston appeared as nine other prominent names from different eras in history.
Julius Caesar(1950),Julius Caesar(1970),Antony and Cleopatra
The Agony and the Ecstasy
The Prince and the Pauper
Josef Mengele
Rua Alguem 5555: My Father
The next for him to bring to the big screen was President Andrew Jackson, who he played inThe President’s Ladyopposite Susan Hayward. Parts like this continued to come for Heston, who played William Frederick Cody a.k.a. Buffalo Bill a year later inPony Express. These two back-to-back roles seemed to be a trendsetter for Charlton Heston, asthe actor also portrayed William Clark and Ed Bannon in two more 1950s Westerns,The Far HorizonsandArrowhead, respectively.
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Of course, Heston’s work went far beyond American history. In 1961, he played the titular Spanish knight in Anthony Mann’sEl Cid.Similar to hisEl Cidcharacter, Heston became attached to another historical figure known for making the ultimate sacrifice when he played General Charles Gordon inKhartoum, a film about the British military officer’s mission to defend Khartoum in 1880s Egypt. Perhaps in honor of his reputation for playing historical legends, Hollywood studios kept this going even when Heston was no longer a leading actor, with Heston playing King Henry VIII inThe Prince and the Pauper,for instance.
Charlton Heston Played 3 Historical Figures A Combined 7 Times
Charlton Heston Played Mark Antony 3 Times & Andrew Jackson Twice
Rather than move on to a different historical icon with each film,Heston sometimes found himself revisiting an old role. One such example of this was Andrew Jackson; Charlton Heston played him on two separate occasions, with the second coming in 1958’sThe Buccaneer. Unlike the situation withThe President’s Lady,The Bucaneer’stake on Andrew Jackson had yet to become the President of the United States and wasn’t the focus of the film. Also in the 1970s, Heston played Cardinal Richelieu, the nemesis of the Three Musketeers and a real-life figure in French history, in aThree Musketeersadaptation as well as its sequel.
20 years after his film debut, Heston returned to play Marc Antony alongside a star-studded cast. What made this film different from the last is that it was a proper Hollywood adaptation ofJulius Ceasar,whereas the first was a low-budget rendition of the story that only received a limited release in the United States.
Interestingly, the first role of his career - Marc Antony - is one that he reprised twice more. 20 years after his film debut, Heston returned to play Marc Antony alongside a star-studded cast. What made this film different from the last is that it was a proper Hollywood adaptation ofJulius Ceasar,whereas the first was a low-budget rendition of the story that only received a limited release in the United States. Two years later,Charlton Hestonplayed Antony again inAntony and Cleopatra, this time adapting a different period from the Roman leader’s life, namely his relationship with Cleopatra.
