Top 11 actors who have played The Flash ranked from worst to best by thousands of DC fans

The Flash, an American comic book superhero created by DC Comics and written by Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, first appeared on shelves in January 1940.

It has since gone on to create thousands of fans across the globe with ongoing comics, animated projects, live-action TV shows and movies, and more.

In this list, we’ll be diving through the top 11 portrayals of The Flash ranked from worst to best, as voted on by thousands of DC fans online.

11/11 Rod Haase

Rod Haase was the first live-action portrayal of Barry Allen; he first appeared in the 1979 TV special Legends of the Superheroes.

Although his portrayal of The Flash was not that appreciated at the time, the show itself was seen as a gem of its time.

10/11 Kenny Johnston

Johnston portrayed The Flash in the 1997 movie Justice League of America.

Although he did not have a huge part in the movie, he left a lasting impression, and some fans loved his version of Barry Allen.

9/11 Josh Keaton

American voice actor and musician, he played Barry Allen in the animated version of Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.

He also voiced other DC characters, including Aquaman, Orion in Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Hal Jordan and more.

8/11 Kyle Gallner

Gallner took on the role of Bart Allen, not Barry Allen, who is the Grandson of the original Flash (Barry).

He was the teenage speedster who went by several code names, he played Bart in TV series Smallville from 2004-2005.

7/11 Jack Angel

Voice actor Jack Angel started voice acting in the 1970s.

He played a series of characters in the TV show Super Friends.

He played the Hawkman, The Flash and Super Samurai.

His portrayal of this character landed him at number 7.

6/11 Charlie Schlatter

Charlie Schlatter voiced The Flash in the Superman: The Animated Series episode, “Speed Demons”.

He was then replaced by Smallville‘s Lex Luthor actor, Michael Rosenbaum.

5/11 Ezra Miller

Ezra Miller first played the live-action Barry Allen as a cameo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

He also starred in several other DC films, including Suicide Squad and Justice League.

Miller went on to have a solo movie, which was released in 2023 and simply titled The Flash.

4/11 Alan Tudyk

Alan Tudyk portrayed the animated version of The Flash in Batman: The Brave and The Bold.

He has also voiced several other characters, including Green Arrow in the Injustice games, The Joker, Clayface and others across other animated projects.

3/11 Michael Rosenbaum

Actor and voice actor Michael Rosenbaum played Wally West’s version of The Flash in the animated series Justice League.

He also voiced The Flash in Static Shock, Justice League Unlimited, and for a younger version of Wally West as Kid Flash in the animated TV show Teen Titans.

2/11 John Wesley Shipp

American actor John first played the live-action version of Barry Allen as The Flash in the CBS superhero series from 1990 to 1991.

He reprised his role as Barry in the 2014 Flash TV series and appeared in the crossovers Elseworlds and Crisis on Infinite Earths.

1/11 Grant Gustin

Number 1 on this list is actor Grant Gustin, who played the live-action Barry Allen in the CW series from 2014 to 2023.

Gustin has gathered quite a large fan base over the years, and many have revealed that they would love to see him reprise his role in the DC movies.