First Tarzan Portrayals and Early Film Actors
The first major screen Tarzan was Elmo Lincoln in the 1918 silent film Tarzan of the Apes, produced by National Film Corporation of America and based on the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This silent version established the basic character template that later actors would refine, and it remains a key reference point for anyone looking up who played Tarzan in order across film history.
In the 1920s and 1930s, several actors took on the role in low-budget silent and early sound serials, including Frank Merrill in Tarzan the Mighty and Buster Crabbe in Tarzan the Fearless. These early portrayals are often listed in chronological Tarzan filmographies when fans trace who played Tarzan in order across decades of adaptations.
Johnny Weissmuller and the Classic Tarzan Era
Johnny Weissmuller became the most iconic early Tarzan, starring in six MGM films between 1932 and 1948, including Tarzan the Ape Man and Tarzan Finds a Son!. MGM, one of the major Hollywood studios of the era, used Weissmuller's athletic build and distinctive yell to define the character for mainstream audiences worldwide.
Weissmuller's Tarzan films were among the highest-grossing adventure pictures of their time, and his version is still cited as the standard when listing who played Tarzan in order in classic Hollywood. The role made Weissmuller a global star and linked his name permanently with the character in popular culture.
Modern Tarzan Actors and Recent Adaptations
In more recent decades, actors such as Gordon Scott, Lex Barker, and Denny Miller played Tarzan in mid-century films and serials, while Joe Lara starred in the 1989 TV movie Tarzan in Manhattan and Christopher Lambert portrayed the character in the 1984 film Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, produced by Warner Bros. and adapted from Burroughs' stories.
Alexander Skarsgård played Tarzan in the 2016 film The Legend of Tarzan, directed by David Yates and released by Warner Bros. Pictures, while Kellan Lutz portrayed the character in the 2013 film Tarzan, also known as Tarzan 3D, which was distributed by various international studios and is often included in modern lists of who played Tarzan in order across film history.