Noah Taylor In Max and Preacher
Lachlan Moore/AMC/Sony Pictures TelevisionNoah Taylor is the only actor known to have played Adolf Hitler more than once.
There has been one actor known to reprise his role as Adolf Hitler so far, and that’s Noah Taylor. The actor portrayed the Nazi leader in the 2002 Max then again 15 years later in the comic-based series Preacher.
In the dark drama Max, Taylor channels a young Hitler who has failed to fulfill his artistic ambitions due to his inner rage. Meanwhile, in Preacher, which was developed by Seth Rogen, Taylor plays a post-hell Hitler who works at a modern-day sandwich shop under a new identity as “Dave.”
Rogen, who is Jewish, defended the show’s comical portrayal of the dictator at a 2017 Comic-Con International Q&A. He explained that the Führer’s role in the show was meant to be an exploration in redemption.
“It would be very expected to show the just pure evil version of Hitler,” Rogen said. “It’s a lot more interesting to explore like they’re all people. Like, even Hitler was a person, the worst one at that. If you kind of embrace the idea of having him as a character on a TV show, then we obviously treat him like any other character as far as the thought put into it.”
Taylor told Vulture in 2018 that he tried to make Hitler “a preening, sly creature.”
“I think Hitler is a valid character,” Taylor added. “Especially if you’re going to take the piss out of him because that’s the thing fascists really hate the most — being made fun of.”
Rogen did admit this portrayal was “weird,” but that hasn’t stopped audiences from enjoying it. Preacher was approved for a fourth season.
Bruno Ganz In Der Untergang or The Downfall
2004 Newmarket Films/IMDb2004’s Der Untergang was the first German film released to feature Hitler, played by Swiss actor Bruno Ganz.
Bruno Ganz’s performance in Der Untergang or The Downfall is likely the most famous depiction of the dictator in the digital age — but this Hitler movie is not without its controversies.
Der Untergang is noteworthy in part as the first movie about Nazis produced by a German cast. The film caused a stir as many took it to signal shifting attitudes among the German public toward Nazi history. The topic remains highly sensitive for the country.
The film also features an oddly “human” version of Hitler, one which presents the dictator as a complex character.
Ganz himself divulged in an interview that he felt Hitler “was somehow fragile. I had rather pity with him,” and it showed in his performance.
Of course, this portrayal received its share of criticism.
Ian Kershaw, one of the world’s foremost historians on Hitler and Nazi Germany, questioned the real benefits of such complex portrayals of Hitler.
“Does it help us to understand Hitler any better?” Krenshaw wrote. “My own feeling is that, brilliant though the portrayal is, it does not.”
He concludes that “it is hard to see how it could — or, indeed, what great enlightenment it would bring if we did know him better (whatever that means).”
