Who Is The Greatest Christmas Movie Actor Of All Time?

I was watching "Christmas With The Kranks" starring Tim Allen for an easy dinner movie viewing a couple nights ago when I started to wonder about this question: 

Who is the greatest Christmas movie actor of all time? 

Tim Allen has made a whole lot of money off of his roles in Christmas themed movies so I started to break it down the more and more I thought about it, and like my job so often requires, I wanted to see what the internet thought about it, too.

There's multiple ways you could make arguments about it. You could simply go off how many Christmas movies they've starred in. It could be based on the longevity and iconic factor even if they only starred in one. You could make the argument based on the rest of that actor's career and the fact that they're in said Christmas movie makes them the greatest. Lots of different ways to go about it. 

Let's take a look. 

Tim Allen: The Santa Clause, Santa Clause 2, Santa Clause 3, Christmas With The Kranks

Let's start with the man who sparked the debate. He has the Toy Story franchise as well as Home Improvement, but I think you could make the argument that there's a good amount of folks who know Tim Allen first and foremost for his roles in Christmas movies. 

I mean I'm pretty sure he's the only Santa Claus that has a trilogy, and Santa Clause 2 is one of the rare instances where the sequel matches up or is better than the original. Then of course he adds on the family popcorn Christmas movie in "Christmas With The Kranks" from 2007. He had a solid 15 year run full of Christmas movies. In my opinion, he's tough to beat. 

Macaulay Culkin: Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York

Look any time you have a Super Bowl commercial that parodies the movie you starred in almost 20 years later then you're doing something right. 

A child actor, yes, but the Home Alone movies have not only the longevity factor, but also they're a franchise as well. We won't talk about Home Alone 3 or 4 or however many they made afterwards that probably went straight to home release. Kevin McCallister is an American staple and a holiday icon. Very strong resume for Culkin. 

Joe Pesci & Daniel Stern: Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York

Ahhh the Wet Bandits. The fact that you had Joe Pesci straight up murdering Billy Batts in 'Goodfellas' then in the same year have him in a Christmas movie starring a child is an incredible feat. Talk about range. The tomfoolery and hijinks these two find themselves in not only in the original but back for the sequel is all-time stuff. 

In my opinion Pesci goes more in the category of "great, legendary actor" that somehow finds himself in a holiday film that you say "wow I can't believe they got Joe Pesci to play that role". Underrated villains. 

Jimmy Stewart: It's A Wonderful Life

Talk about standing the test of time. This classic came out in 1946, and really you could make the argument easily that it's the best Christmas movie ever. His role as George Bailey provides not only Christmas joy with an all-time scene at the end, but also life lessons. The star power of Jimmy Stewart, one of the greatest actors in history, plus the ability to still hold true and strong even in 2020 almost 75 years later says a lot. 

Will Ferrell: Elf, Daddy's Home 2 (?)

I don't think anyone stops themselves and thinks about what a holiday classic 2017's "Daddy's Home 2" is but nonetheless it does take place during Christmas time so we'll include it. Obviously "Elf" is the top dog here. Great for kids but plenty of adult humor mixed in to make it perfect for the whole family. What's wild is in the new documentary on Netflix "The Holiday Movies That Made Us" they talk about how Hollywood execs couldn't believe they were casting Will Ferrell to be the lead in any movie. 

My first thought is he was literally born to play a giant elf. It's perfect casting. Think he'd be ranked lower on this list but the quotability of "Elf" alone is enough to have him on here in my mind. Even if it's always the annoying person in the office who is constantly repeating them during the holidays. 

After thinking about it for a couple days, I think my choice has to be Tim Allen. Obviously everyone will have differing opinions, and hopefully so, that's what makes this fun. For me, when I start thinking of Christmas movies, Tim Allen as Santa Clause is the first thing to come to mind most of the time. That plus the amount of Christmas movies he's been in and the fact he has a Christmas trilogy did enough to give him the nod for me.