What is the name of the actor who played the monster in the 1931 film?

The actor who played the monster in the 1931 film Frankenstein was Boris Karloff. His performance for Universal Pictures created the most influential screen image of Frankenstein’s creature, with a flat-topped head, neck electrodes, heavy boots, and a stiff, lumbering walk.

Karloff was cast after James Whale became director. Bela Lugosi, famous for Dracula, had previously been considered for the monster, but the role and its makeup were substantially different from the sympathetic creature Karloff ultimately portrayed. Makeup artist Jack P. Pierce designed Karloff’s distinctive appearance, which became more familiar to audiences than Mary Shelley’s original description of the creature.

Karloff returned as the monster in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He did not play the creature in every later Universal film: Lon Chaney Jr. took over in The Ghost of Frankenstein, while Glenn Strange played the role in several subsequent productions. A common mix-up is calling the monster “Frankenstein”; Frankenstein is the scientist, while Karloff played his creation.