The Actors Who Played Poirot

A lot of actors have donned the famous mustaches of Hercule Poirot, but none
could beat David Suchet. Photo courtesy of the IMDb.

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Want a list of the actors who've played Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's famous detective.? They're a motley crew. Here are the most notable of those who've portrayed the role in English-speaking adaptations of Christie's works (there are various French and Japanese on-screen Poirot performances that I've never seen):

David Suchet--The gold standard of all Poirots, Suchet played the bulbous Belgian for 24 years (1989-2013) on the long-running BBC series, Poirot. The series started out in a more light-hearted vein, but by the end it was going to some very dark places indeed, and Suchet’s portrayal went right along with it. Notable episodes include 2010’s Murder on the Orient Express, an adaptation of Christie’s second-most-famous novel, which many fans consider the truest, darkest version of that book. From the top of his egg-shaped head to his little, mincing, spats-covered feet, Suchet is the Poirot of the books. On disc and streaming; many eps can be found on YouTube.

Albert Finney -- Finney portrayed Poirot in Sidney Lumet’s masterful, star-studded version of Murder on the Orient Express (1974). He got an Oscar nom for the portrayal, although I personally find his Poirot too frenetic and eccentric to be true to the books. (His accent is bizarre as well.) Nevertheless, this is one of the greatest adaptations of Christie ever made, and you can’t beat the cast, which includes Sean Connery, Anthony Perkins, John Gielgud, Ingrid Bergman and Lauren Bacall, among many other famous names.

Note: If you like to play the Kevin Bacon movie game, this is one of the great, all-time “bridge” movies to consult when playing. Example: Albert Finney to Julia Roberts in Erin Brokovich (2000) to Kevin Bacon in Flatliners (1988). Finney has a Bacon Factor of two. On disc and streaming.

Alfred Molina — Molina played Poirot in yet another adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, this one a television movie from 2001. Since the setting is the early 2000’s instead of the 1930s, the character of Poirot has been updated and shorn of most quirks. Gone are the OCD mannerisms and the autistic devotion to symmetry and order; this Poirot even has a hot girlfriend. Molina turns in a very low-key performance, but it’s not bad. His accent does slip in and out. Keep in mind, this version is not nearly as bad as its reputation. Meredith Baxter in particular turns in a great performance in the crucial role of Mrs. Hubbard, holding her own with much bigger stars who've played the role, such as Lauren Bacall, Barbara Hershey, and Michelle Pfeiffer. On disc and YouTube.

Peter Ustinov -- Sir Peter played Poirot in a number of Christie adaptations from the late 70s to late 80s, beginning with 1978’s Death on the Nile. His Poirot is pretty far from the books (Poirot was described as plump, not morbidly obese), but the movies themselves are generally well-done. Weirdly, David Suchet played Inspector Japp opposite Ustinov as Poirot in Thirteen at Dinner (1985), before going on to play the role himself. Most of these films are on disc or streaming or both.

James Coco -- Coco played Milo Perrier, a parody of Poirot, in Neil Simon’s hilarious murder mystery pastiche, Murder by Death (1976). Like Suchet, Coco had the advantage of looking very much like the Poirot described in the books, and his accent isn’t too shabby either. The plot makes zero sense but the one-liners are to die-for, and there’s some pretty big names in the cast: Peter Falk, Maggie Smith, David Niven, John Gielgud, Peter Sellers, and Alec Guinness. Elsa Lanchester also co-stars as Miss Marbles, a parody of Christie’s other famous detective. On disc and streaming.

Kenneth Brannagh -- Brannagh directed himself in 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, a frenetic, kinetic mess that doesn’t do any kind of justice to Christie’s intricate plot. He is dreadful as Poirot, and the character has nothing to do with the real Poirot as envisioned by his creator. Unfortunately, Brannagh is working on a second Poirot film right now, Death on the Nile, slated for release in 2020.

Tony Randall -- Felix Unger from The Odd Couple 70s series is about the last person anyone would choose to play Poirot. And yet, he does a very good job of it in The Alphabet Murders from 1965, a charmingly silly, b&w big-screen adaptation of the Christie novel, The ABC Murders. He dons a baldy cap, a fake nose and the glorious Poirot mustaches to essay the role, although he’s too tall and thin for Poirot's body type. (You can’t have everything.) His accent isn’t bad either. On disc and YouTube.

John Malkovich — Malkovich recently played Poirot in a television miniseries for the BBC, based on The ABC Murders. It’s scheduled to drop in the UK on February 1. Malky doesn’t seem suited for the role, but I’m willing to keep an open mind -- he couldn’t be worse than Brannagh. You can watch the trailer here.