OMG! The Many Faces of God in the Movies

In honor of the new faith-based drama 'Heaven Is for Real,' we take a look back at who's played God on screen. You will be surprised by some of the actors who took on this intimidating role!

Any talk about stars who have played the Man Upstairs must begin and end with George Burns, whose grandfatherly deity appeared in three films: 'Oh, God!' (1977), 'Oh, God! Book II' (1980), and 'Oh, God! You Devil' (1984).

Morgan Freeman's calm, authoritative demeanor made him the perfect choice for a compassionate God in both the 2003 Jim Carrey vehicle 'Bruce Almighty' and the 2007 Steve Carell spinoff 'Evan Almighty'.

An earthy variation on the Creator, Whoopi Goldberg appeared in the 2012 Kate Hudson cancer drama 'A Little Bit of Heaven'. She also played an angel's "boss" in the 2002 TV special 'It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie'.

Kevin Smith fans surely remember Canadian alt-rock singer Alanis Morissette's turn as a mute, hippie-ish God in Smith's trenchant religious comedy 'Dogma' (1999).

In the obscure 1980 Marty Feldman satire 'In God We Tru$t', Richard Pryor had a cameo as G.O.D. – a giant computer owned by an evangelical preacher (played by Andy Kaufman!).

You may remember him as Moses or Ben-Hur, but Charlton Heston took on the role of the Almighty Himself in the little-seen 1990 comedy 'Almost an Angel', written by and starring Paul "Crocodile Dundee" Hogan.

Are movies like 'Almost an Angel' and 'In God We Tru$t' not offbeat enough for you? Then try the 2005 indie film 'Angels with Angles'. Rodney Dangerfield, in his final performance, cracked wise as a bathtub-loving God.

Another barely-released independent comedy, this one from writer-director-actor Michael Stein, 2006's 'Love Hollywood Style' featured Faye Dunaway as the Creator. The movie's oddball cast also included Andy Dick and Coolio.

Veteran thespian Ralph Richardson (1902-1983) had a memorable turn as the "Supreme Being" – a pompous old Englishman in a gray flannel suit – at the end of Terry Gilliam's 1981 fantasy 'Time Bandits'.

A few years before ''Time Bandits', Terry Gilliam gave us another irreverent vision of God in 1975's 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. Gilliam's animated deity was voiced by his Python mate Graham Chapman.

Groucho Marx may not have portrayed a heavenly figure in Otto Preminger's infamous 1968 misfire 'Skidoo', but his character – a mob boss cruising around on a yacht – was indeed named "God". It was, sadly, Groucho's last role.