18 stars who played JFK on-screen: From Patrick Dempsey to Jon Hamm

From Martin Sheen to Rob Lowe and even Jon Hamm, more than a dozen actors have portrayed JFK on the big and small screen.

Every president gets impersonated and portrayed in the arts. Whether it's Saturday Night Live or a biopic, it comes with the territory when you take the top office in the United States.

However, few presidents have ever been impersonated and talked about on the scale of John F. Kennedy. He was charismatic and had countless brushes with show business during his heyday. Kennedy also led the nation during a fraught era of American and world history. And, of course, he was tragically assassinated in 1963, with no small amount of mystery surrounding his death.

Performances of JFK range from the goofy (Jon Hamm) to Oscar-worthy (Cliff Robertson). Here are 18 stars who portrayed the 35th president.

Cliff Robertson: PT 109 (1963)

The Oscar-winning actor took on the leading role in this biographical film, which depicted JFK as a Navy officer in command of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 during the Pacific War of World War II. Not only was this the first time a major studio was making a film about a sitting president, but the White House was also given casting approval. Warren Beatty and Peter Fonda were apparently under consideration for the part, but POTUS himself chose Robertson after watching his audition.

The film was released just a few months before Kennedy's assassination.

William Devane: The Missiles of October (1974)

The Knots Landing actor took on the starring role in the 1974 docudrama made-for-television play about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

James Franciscus: Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (1981)

Before playing JFK in the 1981 TV movie about Jackie’s time in Washington, D.C., before and during her relationship with Kennedy (who was in Congress when they met), the actor portrayed a Kennedy type in The Greek Tycoon, a 1978 drama based on the life of wealthy Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, whom the former First Lady married five years after Kennedy's assassination.

Martin Sheen: Kennedy (1983)

He may always be President Bartlett from The West Wing to fans. However, once upon a time, Martin Sheen portrayed the real-life Commander-in-Chief in this five-hour TV miniseries that was nominated for three Golden Globes and won two BAFTAs, one for Best Drama Series and the other for Best Make Up.

Stephen Collins: A Woman Named Jackie (1991)

Pre-7th Heaven (and his sexual abuse scandal), Stephen Collins had his turn at playing POTUS in this three-part miniseries based on C. David Heymann's 1989 book of the same title. A Woman Named Jackie went on to snag an Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries.

Patrick Dempsey: JFK: Reckless Youth (1993)

Before he became best known for playing McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy, Patrick Dempsey took on the role of a young John F. Kennedy in the TV movie that chronicled the politician's school days to his nomination to Congress in 1947.

William Petersen: The Rat Pack (1998)

After William Petersen played JFK's father in a TV miniseries six years prior, the CSI alum portrayed the president himself in this HBO movie that told the story of the Rat Pack's courtship of Kennedy.

Tim Matheson: Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (2000)

Tim Matheson takes a backseat to costar Joanne Whalley's portrayal of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in this CBS miniseries based on the bestselling biography by Donald Spoto.

Bruce Greenwood: Thirteen Days (2000)

Bruce Greenwood portrays the president in this film, in which the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis unfold through the eyes of Kennedy's long-term friend and political advisor Kenny O'Donnell, played by Kevin Costner.

Brett Stimely: Watchmen (2009)

For Zack Snyder's 2009 adaptation of Alan Moore's seminal graphic novel, the actor wore a number of prosthetics on his face that took up to four hours to assemble. Since Watchmen, Stimely has gone on to play POTUS three more times on-screen: Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), Kill the Dictator (2013), and Parkland (2013).

Jon Hamm: Saturday Night Live (2010)

Not every portrayal has been reverential. When JFK (Jon Hamm) and Judy Garland (Kristen Wiig) stop by Vincent Price's (Bill Hader) home for a Halloween soiree, all hell breaks loose. It's as strange as it sounds.

Greg Kinnear: The Kennedys (2011)

After the History Channel dropped plans to air the eight-hour miniseries, the ReelzChannel came to the rescue, thus allowing viewers to watch Greg Kinnear take on the 35th president.

James Marsden: The Butler (2013)

With less than two weeks to prepare for the role, James Marsden immersed himself in anything he could to familiarize himself with the historical character he would portray in the Lee Daniels film. With two silicone cheek plumpers glued to his face and a Cuban Missile Crisis speech memorized, the actor left many impressed.

Rob Lowe: Killing Kennedy (2013)

It was only a matter of time before Rob Lowe played JFK. The actor took on the role for the National Geographic Channel's TV movie based on former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard's book by the same name, which chronicles the events that lead up to the president's assassination.

Caspar Phillipson: Jackie (2016)

Though he appears on screen for less than 10 minutes, the man who portrayed the American president in the Oscar-nominated film was actually a Danish stage and voice-over actor. Caspar Phillipson also played JFK in Blonde (2022).

Jeffrey Donovan: LBJ (2017)

The drama of LBJ revolves around Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson's (Woody Harrelson) assumption of the presidency following the assassination of President Kennedy. Jeffrey Donovan took on the small but crucial role of the former president that kicks off Rob Reiner's film.

Michael C. Hall: The Crown (2017)

The American President and his glamorous wife made an appearance in the second season of The Crown when they stopped by Buckingham Palace to dine with Elizabeth and Philip during their European tour. "You can't ignore the ubiquity of his image and his voice," Hall told EW. "You have to in some way honor that without mimicking him."

Grant Jordan: Timeless (2018)

In a different twist on the 35th president, Grant Jordan played him in the Timeless episode "The Kennedy Curse" as a teenager. After preventing a Rittenhouse sleeper agent from murdering the 17-year-old future president in 1934, the Time Team brings him to the present day, where he learns about his tragic destiny.

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