The 10 Best Angels in Movies and TV Shows, Ranked (2024)

The presence of the divine has captured humanity for time immemorial. Humanity’s belief in a higher power manifests in the concept of angels, celestial beings that can sometimes take humanoid form. Whether they’re not to be feared or a threat to humankind, angels are simply iconic presences in media and beyond.

Films and television, especially in the fantasy genre, are havens for divine representation on screen. Angels can appear in all forms, so there's lots of imagination to spare in how they're depicted. From heavenly heroes to fallen angels, there's an angel for every taste.

10 The Weeping Angels — 'Doctor Who' (2005-)

The Weeping Angels are a recurring enemy on the BBC sci-fi staple Doctor Who. First appearing in 2007’s instant classic ‘Blink,’ these vicious aliens in the form of angel statues only move when no one is looking at them — “blink, and you’re dead.” Every recurring appearance of these angelic monsters reveals new, scary things the Angels are capable of doing, like moving extra fast or turning humans (and Time Lords) to stone.

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Only appearing in a handful of episodes of the reboot series, the Weeping Angels became instant classic Doctor Who enemies, up there with Daleks and Cybermen for recognizability. The Angels have both the phonebox and the nightmares of fans hiding behind sofas for years.

9 Gabriel — 'Constantine' (2005)

Based on the Hellblazer comics, 2005’s Constantine stars Keanu Reeves as the titular occult-fighting detective/exorcist John Constantine. Constantine joins forces with LAPD investigator Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to save humanity from denizens of both Heaven and Hell, seeking to wreak chaos on the world. Of the many entities Constantine takes on in the film, none are quite as strikingly memorable as Gabriel (Tilda Swinton).

The film depicts one of the most famous Biblical angels as an androgynous half-angel who destroys gender norms and attempts to summon the demon Mammon. Swinton plays the angel as an immensely suave, powerful, and terrifying villain. Swinton and Gabriel are a match made somewhere between Heaven and Hell.

8 Dudley — 'The Bishop’s Wife' (1947)

Classic Hollywood leading man Cary Grant plays Dudley, a charming guardian angel, in the 1947 film The Bishop’s Wife. Dudley appears to help Bishop Henry (David Niven) and his church community, and Dudleu finds himself aiding almost everyone he meets, to the Bishop’s chagrin. During his mission, he ends up falling for the bishop’s wife, Julia (Loretta Young) as well.

Cary Grant’s literally in divine shape in The Bishop’s Wife. Dudley’s charming, kind, and altruistic but also prone to pretty human flaws. The fallout of him falling for Julia does, in the end, help repair the bishop and his wife’s slightly fraying relationship, and save the bishop’s struggling cathedral.

7 'Balthamos and Baruch' — 'His Dark Materials' (2019-2022)

In the universe of His Dark Materials, The Authority was the first angel, made out of Dust, and the originator of the worlds throughout the multiverse. The Authority is worshipped as God by humans and rules over the kingdom of heaven — but the angels (also made from Dust) serving under him in their heavenly hierarchy want to overthrow him. The angel Xaphania (Chipo Chung) leads the rebellion, and two of the angels seeking to overthrow the Authority, Balthamos (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) and Baruch (Simon Harrison), help Lyra (Dafne Keen) and Will (Amir Wilson) in their quest.

The hierarchy of angels in His Dark Materials is a surprisingly layered element of worldbuilding. Balthamos and Baruch are especially memorable allies to the series’ protagonists — their unashamed love and willingness to sacrifice for each other are powerful. There is something ironic and satisfying about openly queer angels fighting against a corrupt Heaven.

6 Bartleby and Loki — 'Dogma' (1999)

The story of Kevin Smith’s Dogma kickstarts when two fallen angels, Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon), scheme to try to get back into Heaven and overthrow God by re-entering at a New Jersey church being rededicated to Buddy Christ and offering indulgences. Another angel, the Seraph Metatron (Alan Rickman), appears to abortion clinic worker Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) and charges her and two prophets to stop Bartleby and Loki from undoing God’s dogma. The journey of Bethany and the prophets' — Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith) — is a blasphemous and fun satirical adventure.

The angels in Dogma are twisted takes on classic Biblical depictions: the Metatron iconically complains about his lack of genitalia, and Bartleby and Loki are a truly wild take on the Affleck/Damon dynamic. Religion as a whole is skewered pretty heavily in this film, and its angels, both divine and fallen, make for memorably entertaining viewing.

5 Lucifer — 'Lucifer' (2016-2021)

In many classical texts, Lucifer Morningstar is the angel that fell from Heaven for questioning God’s authority and became a demon (or the Devil himself.) In the Sandman-spinoff comic TV adaptation, Lucifer follows the original fallen angel (Tom Ellis) as he tires of life in Hell and has adventures on Earth running a nightclub and solving crimes of an often supernatural nature as a consultant with the LAPD, alongside his partner Chloe Decker (Lauren German.) He’s quite open about being the Devil himself, but most humans he meets just shrug that off and find him delightful.

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This incarnation of Lucifer is a charismatic fallen angel with all kinds of heavenly and hellish powers, and an immensely sexy and charming leading man. This fallen angel redeems himself on Earth with his unorthodox heroism — and kicks tons of ass doing so.

4 Damiel and Cassiel — 'Wings of Desire' (1987) and 'Faraway, So Close!' (1993)

Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire and its sequel Faraway, So Close! are two stunning films about angels watching over Berlin and their brushes with gaining human mortality. Wings of Desire follows Damiel (Bruno Ganz), an angel who falls in love with Marion (Solveig Dommartin), a human trapeze artist, in the years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Faraway, So Close! follows Cassiel (Otto Sander) in reunified Berlin, as he saves the life of a human in danger and becomes a human himself.

Damiel and Cassiel (and all the other angels in the films) have been watching over Berlin even before Berlin was Berlin and can hear all of its citizens’ thoughts. Both angels in each film experience what it is to be a human being, and each film grippingly and beautifully explores humanity through the lens of these beings who have observed humanity for so long. These two angels make truly unique and compelling protagonists in two unique and compelling films.

3 Clarence — 'It’s A Wonderful Life' (1946)

In Frank Capra’s Christmas classic It’s A Wonderful Life, Clarence (Henry Travers) is a guardian angel who still lacks wings. Heaven assigns him to stop struggling banker George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) from ending his life on Christmas Eve. Clarence shows George how a world without him would be completely different and far worse off, and this spurs George to have a change of heart.

Clarence is a deeply kind angel and the epitome of a classic guardian angel character. He shows the importance of life through the worst and best times: Clarence is a Christmas gift of an angel.

2 Castiel — 'Supernatural' (2005-2020)

Introduced in the fourth season of the CW’s long-running classic Supernatural, Castiel (Misha Collins) is the angel who brings Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) back from the dead. Castiel spends most of his appearances on the series traveling with Dean and Sam (Jared Padalecki) on their adventures fighting the supernatural. Through his travels with the Winchesters, Castiel learns about free will, fights demons (and other angels occasionally), and becomes more comfortable with the human world.

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Being an Angel of the Lord, Castiel is immensely powerful and can kill if necessary. Being around the Winchesters — especially Dean, who Cas is extremely protective of to the point of a deeply emotional, love-fueled sacrifice — softens and humanizes him, and his occasional awkwardness around human customs is charming. Castiel is one of the most iconic characters from Supernatural and one of the small screen’s best angels.

1 Aziraphale — 'Good Omens' (2019-2023)

First brought to life in Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s novel, then immortalized on the Prime Video series, Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) is the angelic half of the duo charged with locating the missing Antichrist in Good Omens. 6000 years ago, Aziraphale was the angel guarding the Garden of Eden — and his future demonic other half, Crowley (David Tennant), was the serpent who tempted Eve. Millennia later, Aziraphale has become fond of humanity, especially books and good food. He runs an antique bookshop in Soho when he’s not tasked with preventing Armageddon or any other heavenly catastrophes.

Aziraphale is deeply protective of humanity and those he cares about and often just performs minor miracles because he’s just so kind — though he can be a bit on the naughty side. The chemistry between him and Crowley is simply magnetic. As far as angels go, it’s ineffable how memorable Aziraphale is.

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