Which actor played the Monster in the 1931 film Frankenstein?

Boris Karloff played the Monster in the 1931 film Frankenstein. His performance created one of the most recognizable images in horror cinema, even though the character is never formally named “Frankenstein” in the story; Frankenstein is the surname of the scientist, Henry Frankenstein, played by Colin Clive.

The film was directed by James Whale and produced by Universal Pictures. It adapted Mary Shelley’s novel through a stage-play tradition, with a screenplay by Garrett Fort and Francis Edward Faragoh. Karloff’s silent, heavy-lidded performance gave the creature a tragic, childlike quality beneath the frightening makeup.

Makeup artist Jack Pierce designed the Monster’s distinctive flat-topped head, neck bolts, scars, and exaggerated features. Karloff returned as the creature in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). Common mix-ups include Bela Lugosi, who was associated with Dracula and later played the Monster in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, and Lon Chaney Jr., who played the role in The Ghost of Frankenstein.