He’s a Scorpio
For those of you who do not know, November 11th is Quasimodo’s birthday. Or, to be more precise, Quasimodo BELIEVES it to be his birthday.
In Book Six, Chapter one of the novel during his trial, Quasimodo says that he believes to will be twenty on St Martin’s Day which is November 11th. This would mean he was born in 1462 making him 19 throughout the whole of the novel as novel famously beings on January 6th, 1482 and I believe it ends July 1482 or at least late summer 1482. So while Quasimodo is said to be 20 he’s actually not quite.
So if Quasimodo is 19 who have been the youngest actor to play him? And who is the oldest? What is the average age of the actors playing him?
It’s Time for Some Math!
In a recent fan-cast post for Jack Farthing as Frollo, I stated that the average of actors playing Quasimodo was 42 however that number omits a few actors. Quasimodo is interesting among the other characters as there are more actors who have played him in other movies where is he the only character being depicted from the novel .
Plus on my workout I haven’t yet included Vincent Cassel as it’s still unknown he should counted among the Quasimodo depictions. But no matter I’ll give a few averages because why not. One will just the Hunchback titles including movies and miniseries. One that will add Hotel Transylvania, One will add the Broken Lizard movie (omitting Hotel Transylvania), one having both Hotel Transylvania and Broken Lizard, one with Cassell version (omitting Hotel Transylvania & Broken Lizard) and lastly all them.
Side note- I’m basing these ages off when the film premiered (except in one case) and not when the movies were filmed. I do admit this might mean this would skew the results but I’m not sure I can find reliable information on when the projects were film/in-production so let’s just simply it and go by premiered date. It might just skew the average but by a year or so and as you’ll see it doesn’t make much difference between Quasimodo book age and the actors who have played the character. I also didn’t include the 1905 actor Henry Vorins because there is no record of his birth, that I could find.
Also no shades to actors in this age-range. I just find it very interesting.
Movie Adaptations of the Novel – In Chronological Order
1911 – Henry Krauss
A lost movie. Krauss was born 4/26/1866 and this movie came out in December of 1911 making him 45 years old. Making him 26 years older than older than book Quasimodo
1917 – Glen White
Also know as the lost Theda Bara version. White was born 6/13/1880. This movie came out on January 22, 1917 making him 36. Making his over 17 years older than older than book Quasimodo.
1922 – Booth Conway
Sorry no picture of him. This version is considered lost media. However Conway was born 8/10/1863 making around 58 years when he played Quasimodo. 39 years older than book Quasimodo.
1923 – Lon Chaney
One of the most known versions of the character which started Quasimodo as one of the Universal Movie Monsters though he gets bit lost in the shuffle as he’s a human. Chaney was born 4/1/1883. This version came out September 2nd 1923 making him 40. 21 years older than book Quasimodo.
1939 – Charles Laughton
The 1939 is consider by many to most well regarded movie version. Laughton was born 7/1/1899. The film came out December 29th 1939 making him 40. And according to IMDB the filming start date was July, 10th 1939 which means he was definalty 40 when he played the role. So he was 21 years older than book Quasimodo.
1956 – Anthony Quinn
The 1956 is a beloved version that follows the novel very closely. Quinn was born 4/21/1915 and the movie released November 23rd 1956. There some info that says the movie’s start was April 16th which is close enough to his birthday to make it irrelevant. Given that Quinn was 41 when he played Quasimodo making him 22 years older than book Quasimodo.
1976 – Warren Clarke
Technically speaking I refer to this as 1977 version but it came out in the UK in 1976 and North America in 1977. This version was very faithful to the book even with the casting as so far that it the youngest the actor playing Quasimodo has ever been. Clarke was born 4/26/1947 and his version cam out December 30th, 1976 making him 29 when he played the role and only 10 years older than book Quasimodo.
Fun fact – Warren Clarke was also in Poldark.
1982 – Anthony Hopkins
Hopkins was born 12/31/1937 and this version premiered February 4th, 1982 making him roughly 44. This mean Hopkins was 25 years older than book Quasimodo.
Disney – Tom Hulce
The Disney version is most well-known and most popular version. It was released on June 21st, 1996. Hulce was born 12/6/1953 making him 42 when he voiced Quasimodo. Again I know production times are longer meaning Hulce in all likely began voicing Quasimodo mostly liking in 1995 during the story board phase of production. So he was roughly between 39-41 when he voiced the role. Agian I will use the release date as the metric so 42. Also I’m not including his age when he reprised the role in 2002 and I guess in 2023 for the Once Upon a Studio. So Hulce was 23 years older older than book Quasimodo but at least the production tried to keep him has having a “young sounding” voice.
1997 – Mandy Patinkin
It’s a iconic because Patinkin did audition for the Disney version and didn’t get the part but then did. Patinkin was born 11/30/1952 and this version came out March 16th, 1997 making him 44. So he is 25 years older then Quasimodo.
1999 – Patrick Timsit
This version is called Quasimodo d’EL Paris and it’s so far is the only version set in a modern setting. There was to be another but it was cancelled. It’s also a parody but it’s not the only parody type. Despite it being a modern parody it does adhere to some parts of the book pretty well. Timsit was born 7/15/1959. Quasimodo d’EL Paris premiered on March 24th, 1999 making 39 going on 40. This makes him 20 years older than book Quasimodo.
Quasimodo from Non-Novel Inspired Works – In Chronological Order
Not including Mad Monster Party? as yes Quasimodo is in the movie, he doesn’t do much and he doesn’t speak.
Hotel Transylvania – Jon Lovitz
Much like Mad Monster party 2012’s Hotel Transylvania features the Universal Monster Movie Pantheon all at a the titular Hotel Transylvania. Quasimodo is the chef with rat named Esmeralda. To this day I still do no fully get this choice but no matter. Lovtiz was born 7/21/1957 and the movie came out September 28th, 2012 making him 55. So he was 36 years older than book Quasimodo.
2023- Steve Lemme
The Broken Lizard version called Quasi is parody sequel film to the book. I also think it barely count but here we are. Lemme was born 11/13/1968 and this movie came out April 20th, 2023 making 54. So he was 35 years older than book Quasimodo.
2026 – Vincent Cassel
While The Hunchback, Soul of Paris comes out at the end of this month it’s not being billed a adaptation of the movie but as the “real” story of the man who inspired the character for Hugo’s novel. It also is being described a chase between Cassel’s character and a plague doctor. Due this I’m very hesitant to really include
Cassell in this average since he’s not really the character even by the film’s own admission so far. Cassel was born 11/23/1966. While this movie comes out on November, 27th 2026 it was film in August 2025 to either October/November so we’ll put his age at 59 years old. This makes him 40 years old that book Quasimodo if that count in this case.
The Averages for the Actors of Quasimodo !
The Average age of Quasimodo for the movie adaptations is 41.63 so we round up to 42
The Average age of Quasimodo for the movie adaptations plus Hotel Transylvania is would 51.3 so 51
The Average age of Quasimodo for the movie adaptations plus Broken Lizard’s Quasi is 51.2 so another 51
The Average age of Quasimodo for the movie adaptations plus The Hunchback, Soul of Paris is 51.7 so rounding up would be 52.
The Average age for the the Quasimodo actors mentioned in this post is 44.71 so if we round up it’s 45.
The reason why the average didn’t change that much is because total number actors went from 11 to 14. But still Quasimodo is on average played but actors more than twice his age.
