37 Stars Who Made Their Teaching Character's Role Look Like A Piece Of Cake
These stars totally smashed their characters.
The profession of teaching is unique and one of the most respected in our world. Both in the past and present, there has always been a need for teachers.
Yet, there are people who still shy away from becoming teachers. This may be due to the fact that they found their teachers boring, or that they simply hated school, or for other reasons.
A teaching role is not exactly the type of character that excites anyone, especially considering how dull a lecture can become. However, these stars ensured that they excelled in their teaching roles to the extent that you would want to return to class—preferably their class.
We have the likes of Stephen Colbert, who portrayed a history teacher while secretly having an affair with the arts teacher. Then there is Justin Timberlake, who plays a junior high school teacher that all the girls are fighting over.
Or how about Richard Harris, who portrayed Professor Dumbledore in the famous Harry Potter series? They all make us want to see more of them in acting roles as teachers.
So, we’ve gone ahead and compiled a list of stars who have gone the extra mile to excel in their teaching roles.
1. Morgan Freeman stunned as former teacher and current principal Joe Clark
Warner Brothers/Getty Images2. Harrison Ford plays the ever-daring, ever-afraid-of-snakes adventurer in all four Indiana Jones films
FOX Image Collection via Getty Images3. Ryan Gosling stars as a high school teacher and secret drug addict in the 2006 drama Half Nelson
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4. Richard Harris acted as Professor Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films
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5. In the 2014 Oscar-winning film Whiplash, J.K. Simmons teaches music and inspires students
Sony Pictures Classics
6. Richard Dreyfuss plays a classical composer turned high school music teacher, Mr. Holland, in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus
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7. Alan Rickman plays Professor Severus Snape in all eight Harry Potter films
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8. Viola Davis acted as a ruthless educator, mentor, and defense attorney Annalise Keating in the show How to Get Away With Murder
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9. Cameron Diaz plays an all-around, beyond-bad educator in the 2011 comedy Bad Teacher
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10. Matthew Morrison plays McKinley High's Spanish teacher in Glee
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11. Jennifer Garner plays an elementary school teacher in the 2010 romantic comedy Valentine's Day
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12. Ian Harding plays Ezra Fitz, the teacher on Pretty Little Liars
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13. Julia Roberts is an art history professor in the 2003 film Mona Lisa Smile
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14. Jack Black plays a substitute teacher for some cash and turns his classroom into a rock band
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15. Gwyneth Paltrow is the substitute teacher who takes over for the Spanish teacher in Glee
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16. Hugh Dancy is the FBI Academy teacher and FBI profiler Will Graham in the series Hannibal
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17. Zooey Deschanel is the quirky teacher in New Girl
FOX
18. Arnold Schwarzenegger played a tough, badass police officer gone undercover in the 1990 flick Kindergarten Cop
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19. Jane Lynch plays the head coach of the Cheerios cheerleading squad in Glee
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20. David Schwimmer plays a NYU paleontology professor
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21. Alyson Hannigan plays the kindergarten teacher in the How I Met Your Mother TV series
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22. Justin Timberlake plays the junior high school teacher in the 2011 comedy Bad Teacher
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23. Kate Hudson plays the dance instructor Cassandra July on Glee
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24. Russell Crowe plays mathematician John Nash in A Beautiful Mind
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25. Jason Segel is a junior high school gym teacher in the 2011 Bad Teacher
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26. Michelle Pfeiffer acts as a high school teacher in the 1995 film Dangerous Minds
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27. Bryan Cranston plays a high school teacher in the hit TV series Breaking Bad
Doug Hyun/AMC
28. Ken Jeong plays a Spanish teacher in the TV series Community
Courtesy of Trae Patton/NBC
29. Dot Jones is McKinley High's football coach on the TV series Glee
Adam Rose/FOX
30. Robin Williams is an English teacher, John Keating, in the 1989 classic Dead Poets Society
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31. Meryl Streep plays a school teacher in the 1999 film Music of the Heart
Miramax Films
32. Jim True-Frost becomes a teacher in the HBO series The Wire
HBO
33. Laurence Fishburne plays a professor in the 1995 film Higher Learning
COLUMBIA TRI STAR
34. Stephen Colbert plays a high school history teacher in the TV comedy Strangers With Candy
Gabe Palacio/Comedy Central
35. Dennis Haskins acts as Principal Richard Belding in the TV series Saved by the Bell
NBC
36. Gabe Kaplan teaches an unruly group of high school students in the '70s TV series Welcome Back, Kotter
ABC
37. William Daniels plays the principal in the series Boy Meets World
ABC
Teaching is not as boring as you think—well, at least not in movies. These actors have given their teaching characters a new meaning and made it fun for us to watch.
Which of these actors smashed their teaching characters for you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
