Best and worst movie Santas

Santa Claus has been portrayed on the big screen by many actors over the years. Here's a seasonal look at some of the most memorable Santas and the festive films they appeared in.

Dan Aykroyd
While he's only briefly seen dressed as Santa in 'Trading Places', Aykroyd's scenes as the wronged, depressed, drunken Santa are among the film's most memorable and funny. Trying to eat stolen salmon on a bus through his straggly white beard, getting urinated on by a dog, attempting and failing to shoot himself, Aykroyd was surely one of the best miserable Santas we're ever likely to see on screen. See also Billy Bob Thornton in 'Bad Santa'.

Tim Allen
Take Tim Allen's one-trick 'Home Improvement' persona, slap a Santa Claus outfit on him and wait for so-so comedy moments to ensue. A bit harsh perhaps, as the first two 'Santa Clause' movies weren't really Christmas misfires, if only average. However, the third entry in the series was a complete turkey, despite Martin Short's best energetic efforts; it was a tired and bored attempt.

Richard Attenborough

Anyone who saw 'Jurassic Park' couldn't argue against Richard Attenborough being chosen to play Santa in 1994's 'Miracle On 34th Street'. He already had the beard, certainly the acting chops and could naturally play a likeable grandfather type. He delivers in a remake that doesn't abandon the warm and fuzzy sentiment and message of the original, and it’s a good, solid family film, which is what you want from a Christmas movie isn't it? Controversial perhaps, but we preferred Attenborough's Santa to the original film's star Edmund Gwenn.

Peter Jackson
Yep, the 'Lord of the Rings' director took time out to make a cameo as Father Christmas in the opening sequence of 'Hot Fuzz'. Certainly not the type of Santa you'd want to come down your chimney, Jackson's demented character stabs Simon Pegg's Nicholas Angel in the hand.

Hulk Hogan
That's right, Hulk Hogan played Father Christmas! The wrestler/straight-to-DVD actor starred in 1996's 'Santa with Muscles'. Seriously. Hogan's Scrooge-esque rich and flamboyant character gets hit on the head, and then mistakenly believes he's Santa… with muscles. Oh, and there's also a plot about mad scientists. Sounds brilliant right? Well, you obviously haven't seen the film. It's ho-ho-horrible. Sorry.

[See also: 2011's most shocking TV moments]

Leslie Nielsen
Whilst not as memorable/hilarious as his 'Airplane' character, Nielsen played Santa for laughs in 1991 film 'All I Want For Christmas', which sees a brother and sister (Ethan Embry and Thora Birch) attempting to set up their ideal family Christmas. The post-'Airplane' Nielsen only had to appear on screen to make you smile, and he gets a couple of well delivered one-liners in the film too.

John Call
John Call lacks charm and overdoes the festive hero in the wonderfully titled 'Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'. Like 'Santa with Muscles', the name is better than the actual movie. However, in this case there is something hugely endearing about this clearly crackers attempt at making Santa something of a sci-fi action hero. Low production values (a typo on the screen credits says ‘custome’ instead of ‘costume designer’) only add to the ramshackle charm – becoming the sort of Christmas film that Ed Wood might have made.

Tom Hanks
Blame Robert Zemeckis more than the Hankster for this one. The performance-capture film 'The Polar Express' sees Hanks play a number of roles, including the young protagonist, the train conductor and Santa. While the photorealistic effects were much lauded when the film was first released, they are now becoming increasingly dated and just slightly creepy. Call us old fashioned, but we like our Santa Clauses to blink every once in a while.

[See also: 2012 soap preview]

Paul Giamatti
A 'Sideways' look at Santa? Not really, and with Giamatti in the starring role and Vince Vaughn on board many would have expected 'Fred Claus' to deliver a lot more laughter than it actually did. Giamatti certainly attempted to bring his considerable talent to the slightly off-beat Saint Nick while Vaughn goes through the motions as his less saintly brother. At times bordering on painful, this was a great shame.