Some of the most iconic characters in movie and television history have been witches and wizards because there is something about a character who can bend reality with a flick of their wrist that just hits differently. From Glinda floating down in her bubble to Harry Potter stepping onto Platform 9¾, these magical characters have had an iron grip on our imagination for decades.
Good witches, bad witches, reluctant wizards, all-powerful sorcerers – they come in every flavor imaginable. They get the best storylines, the most dramatic moments, and somehow always manage to steal every scene they are in.
Bored Panda has put together the 52 most famous witches and wizards from film and television, and some of these stories are even wilder than the spells they cast.
#1 Gandalf - Lord Of The Rings
In The Lord of the Rings universe, magic is far more subtle than in traditional fairy tales. He is wise, composed, and fierce. Gandalf, (Ian McKellen) is known as a wizard, but in fact, was not. Gandalf is a Maiar, essentially made of magic. He is the avatar of an angelic being who is sent to earth to help mankind.
He has limits but seemingly no personal weaknesses apart from a short temper. In terms of powers, he is still immensely a powerful wizard, his spells summon storms, light, and flame, control the weather, read minds, and is a master strategist and planner.
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27points
#2 Professor Severus Snape – Harry Potter Series
Professor Severus Snape is a highly skilled wizard with a cold and resentful exterior that conceals deep emotions and anguish. He is among the famous wizards in Harry Potter thanks to his ability to concoct complex potions like Wolfsbane Potion and Veritaserum. Snape can also cast nonverbal spells and perform wandless magic. In addition, he is also a dark magic genius and a skilled Legilimens (the ability to read minds).
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19points
#3 Sauron - The Lord Of The Rings
Sauron, like Gandalf, is a Maia (divine being). However, he is in a higher order than Maiar, higher than Gandalf. Saruman and two blue wizards were sent to Middle-earth by the Valar to give advice and assist the people of Middle-Earth.
Thus, they were severely limited in power and we’re given the bodies of old men because they were not meant to take action, but merely assist. Sauron is not human, nor a mortal. He is not limited, like a wizard. Sauron is the embodiment of the industrial evil and dangerous Maia.
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16points
If you ever needed proof that the world is obsessed with witches and wizards, just follow the money. The Harry Potter film franchise alone grossed over $9.5 billion at the worldwide box office, making it one of the most successful franchises in cinema history. Throw in the Fantastic Beasts spin-offs, theme parks, and merchandise, and the Wizarding World has generated an estimated $25 billion overall.
Meanwhile, the 2024 Wicked adaptation crossed $700 million globally in its opening weeks. Witches and wizards are not just powerful on screen – they are box office gold.
#4 Saruman - Lord Of The Rings
Also known as Saruman the White, he led the wizards sent by the Valar to Middle-earth during the Third Age. While he also operated under the same limitations as the other wizards, as their leader, Saruman could use more power than the others. Gandalf also described him as the most cunning of the wizards, and the one who seemed to understand Sauron the most.
However, other characters also described Saruman as unwise, despite his cunning and intelligence. They also saw his understanding of Sauron as ironically leading to Saruman eventually making a power play of his own. This eventually leads to Gandalf stripping Saruman of his membership among the wizards. Saruman’s final attempts to regain power ultimately end in his death. And even then, the Valar condemns his spirit to wander the world as punishment for betraying his duty.
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16points
#5 Ursula - The Little Mermaid
This half-human half-octopus witch wants total power of the seas. She uses a black magic spell to capture Ariel’s voice.
By making Ariel mute, and by gaining Ariel’s singing ability, Ursula has the power to seduce the Prince and thus gain his lands. And with Ariel’s soul, she would be able to force King Triton to kneel to her. She’s already powerful without it.
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14points
#6 Maleficent - Sleeping Beauty
Self-proclaimed “Mistress of All Evil”, some fans would say she’s a fairy, others suggest she’s a witch from an inherently magical Druids, wizards, sorceresses, and clerics race who are usually portrayed as humans who have no internal magic but can manipulate magical forces.
Cartoon Maleficent can cast hellish spells and can turn into a giant dragon. She has killed using the magical “Sword of Truth” created by the fairies, and it is unknown if anything else is even capable of doing her in.
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14points
One of the most iconic witchy looks in cinema history almost never made it onto screen. The copper-based paint used to achieve the Wicked Witch of the West's green skin was potentially toxic, and actress Margaret Hamilton had to follow a strict no-alcohol diet during filming to avoid a dangerous reaction.
Things got even worse when a fire stunt went badly wrong on set, leaving Hamilton with real burns that required weeks of recovery. Behind one of cinema's most recognizable looks was a genuinely harrowing experience that most people have no idea about.
#7 Matilda Wormwood - Matilda
Next on our list ist is a six-year-old young witch. After severe emotional mistreatment from her parents and the school principal, Matilda develops powers of telekinesis. How does she use these powers, you may ask? She can move objects with her mind and has hyper-sensitive reflexes. Her magic powers are like how the Jedi use the Force. They emerge inexplicably but are motivated by strong negative emotions. Throughout the movie, she terrorizes others (mostly deservingly). For example, Matilda uses her powers to keep her classmates from getting seriously injured. When her brother throws a carrot at her, she stops it in mid-air. “With great power comes great responsibility”, and Matilda knows that. Indeed she uses them for the collective good.
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13points
#8 The White Witch - The Chronicles Of Narnia
Queen Jadis (Tilda Swinton), the White Witch of Narnia, is extremely powerful. During 900 years of her banishment, she grows stronger and stronger in dark magic. The white witch is half jinn, a species with innate magical abilities, and half-giant, a species with sub-human intellect and high physical prowess.
Jadis’s max attack is the deplorable word, which ends the life of everyone but the person speaking it. Her powers are quite amazing but still limited to influencing the weather and turning people to stone. In several ways, she is like a powered-down version of Saruman.
Jadis’s max attack is the deplorable word, which ends the life of everyone but the person speaking it. Her powers are quite amazing but still limited to influencing the weather and turning people to stone. In several ways, she is like a powered-down version of Saruman.
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13points
#9 Albus Dumbledore - Harry Potter Movie Series
Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) is pretty much one of the most powerful wizards in all of history. He knows that there is a lot more to magic than wand-waving. Dumbledore fought and won against some of the darkest and most powerful wizards including Voldemort and Kingsley. He has experienced failures throughout his life, but the total of his work is overwhelmingly positive. How magically powerful Albus Dumbledore is? Dumbledore has access to a vast array of spells and magical devices that do all kinds of useful things. Rowling’s magic is indistinguishable from advanced technology and is used with the same ease and facility as technology. Albus Dumbledore gets a very high score for magical power.
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13points
Everyone has rooted for the villain at least once, even if you don't want to admit it. Psychologists suggest that morally complex or outright evil characters give audiences a safe space to experience emotions they would never act on in real life. The "shadow self" is that dark little corner of our soul that we never get a chance (thankfully!) to express.
When a witch cackles, schemes, and causes absolute chaos on screen, we get the thrill without any of the consequences. It turns out watching someone else be deliciously terrible is one of life's great pleasures, and nobody does terrible quite like a witch with a grudge.
#10 Miracle Max - The Princess Bride
While his magic powers are not amazing, we just love Miracle Max (Billy Crystal), a Mel Brooks New Yorker stereotypical character. Inigo Montoya and Fezzik rescue Wesley from the dungeon, but he’s almost dead. They go to a man who can supposedly do miracles for a price. They find this old wizard in the woods who creates a magic potion to bring the hero back from the dead.
Billy Crystal made Rob Reiner laugh so hard that he had to make someone else direct his scenes because he couldn’t hold in his laughter long enough to get the shots. Now that’s magic!
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12points
#11 Dr. Strange - Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
Member of the Avengers Doctor Strange, (Benedict Cumberbatch) serves as the Sorcerer Supreme. He is the most skilled and most powerful wizard in Marvel, the god of magic. Dr. Strange summoned a group of cosmic entities known as the Vishanti. The Vishanti are a trio of supernatural, god-like beings.
In addition, he uses a wide range of supernatural abilities including The Eye of Agamotto and Cloak of Levitation to perform magic and Time stone as a power source to manipulate Time. That includes telepathy, invisible and intangible powers, telepathy, energy blasts, and time manipulation. The Wand of Watoomb increases his powers and allows him to absorb mystical energy.
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12points
#12 Lord Voldemort - Harry Potter Movies
In the world of Harry Potter, Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is a supreme villain and a dark lord who had built several Horcruxes to cheat death. He is a dark wizard with an unparalleled range of spells and powers too great to list. He can withstand fire, his wand spun lightning and is capable of causing weather turbulences on a grand scale. Lord Voldemort knows a wide range of spells. Yet, he was struck down by two swordsmen.
Voldemort is too arrogant and is always portrayed as having an almost desperate need to finish all his duels as directly and quickly as possible to prove his superiority. While this makes for impressive displays of dominance against lower-tiered wizards it becomes a huge weakness against wizards in the same tier as himself.
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12points
Some of Hollywood's most beloved witch and wizard roles almost went to completely different people, and it is almost too much to think about. Sir Ian McKellen was reportedly considered for Albus Dumbledore after Richard Harris' passing. Rumour has it Richard deeply loathed Sir Ian, and being ever the gentleman, McKellen didn't want to desecrate Harris' memory.
Courteney Cox was also offered a part in Charmed before Alyssa Milano joined the cast, which is a far cry from her antics on Friends. It is genuinely fascinating to sit with these sliding-door moments and imagine how differently these beloved characters might have been remembered if just one decision had gone another way.
#13 Sorcerer Mickey - Fantasia
Sid is a powerful wizard who was once Mickey Mouse’s master. He taught him everything he knows about magic and the Keyblade. He owns a magical hat, which is the source of his power. When Mickey wears Sid’s sorcerer hat, it amplifies his magic skills and allows him to cast spells that don’t drain him.
He can bring inanimate objects to life, teleport objects, generate and throw fireballs, and reverse time. Mickey can make commits crash down from space. However, he never fully mastered its power. The hat can easily backfire against him, it cannot contain darkness and will instead unleash the darkness into someone else.
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11points
#14 Kiki - Kiki Delivery Service
Kiki is a magical girl and a witch/spellcaster. Even though the anime movie is about a witch, the only supernatural acts in the movie are Kiki flying on a broom and talking to her cat. Kiki was simply born a witch and stays a witch.
The anime film features no powerful superheroes, no evil monsters, and no fight scenes. So why is Kiki included in this list? Not using her skills doesn’t mean Kiki’s not powerful, so it’s up to you to decide.
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11points
#15 The Wicked Witch Of The West - The Wizard Of Oz
A feared ruler of the land of the Winkies, The Wicked Witch Of The West, (Margaret Hamilton) chases the misplaced Dorothy Gale to recover her sister’s magical Ruby Slippers. She just loves to spread terror all across the lands of Oz by commanding an entire army of flying monkeys to do her bidding.
She can throw fireballs, teleport, disappears, throw large hourglass, spy and cast spells with a crystal ball, and can fly a broomstick. However, when confronted by a bucket of water, she melts.
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11points
No costume has a stronger grip on Halloween than the witch, and the numbers back that up completely. According to the National Retail Federation, the witch costume consistently tops the annual charts, with millions of people reaching for a pointy hat every October. And this is true for adults, kids, and even pets!
From tiny Hermione Grangers to grown adults channeling their inner Maleficent, these characters have completely shaped how we celebrate the holiday. It is hard to think of any other fictional character type that has left such a lasting stamp on an entire cultural tradition.
#16 Harry Potter - Harry Potter Movie Series
The obvious pick is of course! The chosen boy is good at spells, or rather one spell. That’s right! But he always produces a Patronus Charm stronger than Hermione’s. Other than that, he is merely mediocre at spells, even though he runs the DA. However, he makes up for a lot of that with his teleportation skills.
Potter’s go-to attack is always “Expelliarmus”, as the wand is FAR more important in “Potter-magic”. Harry Potter, (Daniel Radcliffe) has powerful magic inside him, and most of this power is wasted ’cause he didn’t dedicate himself to studies so more skilled wizards or witches would be able to defeat and outrank him.
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11points
#17 Glinda - The Wizard Of Oz
Also known as the Good Witch of the South, Glinda comes from The Wizard of Oz franchise. She rules Quadling Country which lies south of Emerald City, and also serves as the protector of Princess Ozma.
After the Wizard of Oz leaves using his balloon, Glinda gains the reputation of being the most powerful sorceress in Oz. She later shows her power by casting a spell that makes Oz completely invisible to people from our world.
However, despite her reputation as a “good witch”, Glinda also has a ruthless streak of her own. This shows in the novel The Emerald City of Oz, where Glinda deliberately ignores violence in lands like Jinxland and the Skeezer Territory. That said, she only does so as long as the violence doesn’t threaten the Emerald City or innocent people. She also justifies doing so by pointing out that magic can’t solve every problem in the world. Sometimes, people just have to work out their problems on their own.
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11points
#18 Medea
One of the most infamous characters from Greek mythology, as a witch and the daughter of King Aeetes of Colchis, Medea served as the priestess of Hecate. When Jason and the Argonauts arrived, the goddess Aphrodite made her fall in love with Jason. This led her to first end the life of her brother, and then help Jason steal the Golden Fleece. Jason took her with him to Greece, where he married Medea and had children with her. However, Jason eventually left Medea to marry Glauce, the daughter of King Creon of Corinth. Medea responded by poisoning both Glauce and Creon, only for Corinth’s citizens to take away lives of her children in return. Medea buried them in the Temple of Hera, before cursing Jason for breaking his marriage vows. The gods upheld Medea’s curse, with the Sun Titan Helios sending her a chariot drawn by dragons to bring her to safety. Terrified, the Corinthians banished Jason from the city, and he later died, cursed and abandoned by the gods. As for Medea, she returned to Colchis at first, where she reconciled with her father. Later, she had another son, Medus, who became King of the Aryans. Medus renamed them the Medes and their nation the Median Empire in his mother’s honor.
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11points
For a long time, the screen witch followed a very familiar formula – old, sinister, and pure evil, someone to be feared and swiftly defeated by the end of act three. And don't forget a giant wart on her nose! Luckily, modern film and television have completely torn that playbook apart.
Today's witches are complex, deeply sympathetic, and often the most powerful character in the room. From Elphaba in Wicked to Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel Universe, the witch has officially had her glow-up. The villain origin story is out – the misunderstood icon era is very much in.
#19 Skeletor - He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe
The blue-skinned sorcerer, and He-Man’s arch-enemy, is skilled in black magic and all forms of combat. Skeletor was King Randor’s long-lost brother Keldor, who had tried to master magic and in a failed experiment was lost in a dimension beyond time, which is probably where he lost his face and became Hordak’s pupil.
He is easily capable of the same kind of powers as the strongest wizards from the Harry Potter series. In addition, Skeletor knows science and swordplay and cracks jokes while casting spells. He is extremely cunning and intelligent which makes him a powerful wizard indeed!
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10points
#20 Willow Rosenberg - Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Willow (Alyson Hannigan) is one of the most powerful witches in the Buffy realm. She is practically at the level of a goddess, especially when she is super pissed off and planning to destroy the world. When she’s burning hot and seriously angry, there’s just no way for her opponents to win. This is the witch who nearly burned the Earth to a cinder, who cast a spell that empowered thousands of young women in the Buffyverse. But, most of her magic requires spells, she’s limited to what she knows when she isn’t Dark Willow.
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10points