Batman may be Gotham's lead vigilante, but its chief law enforcement officer is James "Jim" Gordon, and here's every actor to play the character. He may not be quite as interesting as the Caped Crusader, but Gordon has to deal with things Batman almost never does, as there still needs to be someone honest working from within the system to try and fix it, no matter how corrupt that system might be. After all, as effective as Batman is, there are things better handled by someone legally entrusted with the law.
That's not to say that Gordon is a squeaky clean individual, although his level of dirtiness depends on who's writing him. Gordon isn't immune to using questionable tactics to achieve a desired outcome, albeit usually an outcome that will genuinely benefit the citizens of Gotham City. The biggest focus on Gordon's complex character arc onscreen to date came in FOX's Gotham, which many say would've benefited from keeping the focus on the GCPD and less on the growth of young Bruce Wayne.
Jim Gordon, whether he serves as commissioner or some other rank in the GCPD, is a truly essential figure in the Batman mythology. Without further ado, here's every actor to bring Gordon to life in movies or on TV so far, with one caveat. We're only covering live-action portrayals this time, as animation has enough to deserve its own examination in the future.
Lyle Talbot - Batman and Robin (1949 Serial)
Lyle Talbot, a common presence in the films of infamous director Ed Wood, had the honor of playing Jim Gordon for the first time in the 1949 serial Batman and Robin. In an amusing twist, at one point a villain called The Wizard is able to render himself invisible, then uses this to try and kill Gordon. This leads to the hilarious sight of a gun floating outside the window of Gordon's office. Needless to say, screen depictions of Batman in the 1940s were much less serious than they tend to be now. Talbot went on to be a regular on the popular 1950s sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
Neil Hamilton - Batman (1966 TV Show & Movie)
Speaking of not so serious takes on both Batman and Jim Gordon, Neil Hamilton played the commissioner in the beloved 1960s Batman TV series and its movie companion. Hamilton's Gordon was a bit more by the book earlier on in the series, but eventually seemed to lose a few IQ points and get sillier, as so often happens to characters in TV comedies. At one point later on he actually laments the idea that Batman isn't around to handle things, so he'll have to attend to and solve a major case by himself, or at least only with the help of his subordinate police officers.
Pat Hingle - Tim Burton & Joel Schumacher Batman Movies
An always in-demand character actor with a whopping 200 credits on his resume, the late Pat Hingle is still probably best known for playing Jim Gordon, debuting in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie starring Michael Keaton. Hingle would reprise the role for Burton's Batman Returns, then become one of only two actors - alongside Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth - to hop over from Burton's films into Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Despite the increased silliness to be found in the latter, Hingle didn't really change much of anything about his performance, which oddly worked. Obviously though, that wasn't enough to save them.
Gary Oldman - The Dark Knight Trilogy
A popular choice for the best actor to play Jim Gordon to date, Gary Oldman brought the eventual Gotham police commissioner to life in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. Oldman brought his usual gravitas and charisma to the part, as fans got to watch Gordon evolve into his signature self, as well as develop his friendship and working partnership with Batman. So much of what Batman accomplishes in these films would be impossible without Gordon having his back. On a lighter note, Oldman also deserves credit for his impeccable mustache, a facial feature common to most versions of the character.
Ben McKenzie - Gotham (FOX TV Series)
Whether or not any particular Batman fan would agree that Ben McKenzie's Jim Gordon on Gotham was the best live-action version of the character to date, it's hard to argue him being the most developed. By virtue of being one of the main protagonists of the series, Gordon got over 100 episodes to evolve and change as both a man and a cop, or arguably de-evolve and get worse, according to some Gotham haters. Either way, the role gave McKenzie a chance to reinforce that he's far from the teen idol people knew from The O.C., and is now a full-fledged dramatic lead.
JK Simmons - Justice League (2017)
It's hard to follow an actor the caliber of Gary Oldman in any role, but if one must try, casting an equally talented man like JK Simmons as Jim Gordon is an inspired move. Sure, Justice League - or at least the Whedon Cut - wasn't the best DC movie out there, but Gordon wasn't really in it enough to be blamed for any of its shortcomings, and Simmons is fun to watch as always. Fans will get to see some more of Simmons' Gordon in the highly anticipated Zack Snyder cut of Justice League coming in 2021, and since The Batman is outside of the DCEU, could presumably return for a future film.
Jeffrey Wright - The Batman (2021)
Speaking of The Batman, 2021 will actually see two live-action Jim Gordons running around, as Westworld standout Jeffrey Wright is set to play the character in Matt Reeves' standalone film concerning a younger Batman. Wright will have a lot to live up to, but should be perfectly capable of taking his place alongside his predecessors when it comes to playing Gotham's top cop. Wright becomes the first African-American actor, or non-white actor period, to play Gordon, but really, there's nothing about the character that suits it more toward any particular race or ethnicity.