Any film production features a wide range of characters, and generally speaking, the ones that stand out the most tend to be the same: heroes and villains. The latter are usually antagonists in any story, responsible for hampering the heroes on their way to success. There is a villain in every story, regardless of how terrifying they are or the evil deeds they commit. The image of villains gradually changes depending on the age of the audience. When we were kids, these characters utterly terrified us, and became part of our nightmares: they represented everything a kid wouldn’t want to face. But as we grew up, we started to appreciate other aspects of villains, realizing that they come from many different backgrounds and that, often, they are not even as bad as we are led to believe.
Every movie presents a villain that the audience loves to hate and, in many cases, turns out to be way more interesting than the actual hero of the story. Villains are sneaky, clever characters who plan their evil schemes down to the tiniest detail and are not afraid to hurt whoever they need to in order to get what they want. For all these reasons, playing a movie villain is much more challenging than playing a hero. The actors responsible for doing so must convey the typical darkness of a villain and manage to seduce the viewer. On top of that, when an actor plays a villain, much of the audience tends to strongly associate him or her with this character. Still, there are many, many actors who have played villains throughout their careers and whose personalities could not be farther from these evil characters. Here are 10 of them.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
10 Rachel McAdams
Paramount Pictures
Rachel McAdams rose to fame for her roles in The Notebook and Mean Girls, both 2004 films. In the latter, she portrayed Regina George, one of her most memorable characters. Regina is the most popular student at North Shore High School, an extremely manipulative and frivolous girl whose only interest is to maintain her power and reputation among the students. She is a born leader, who enjoys flaunting her luxurious life to others and being looked up to. McAdams, on the other hand, couldn’t be more different: the actress doesn’t even have social media! McAdams prefers to maintain her personal life apart from her work, yet this doesn’t stop her from showing her sweet, charming, and hilarious nature in every single interview she gives.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
9 Willem Dafoe
Marvel Studios
Willem Dafoe has played numerous roles throughout his career, and among them, many villains. But the one who stands out the most in the latter group is probably Norman Osborn, who also goes by his alter ego’s alias: the Green Goblin. This is one of Spider-Man’s most iconic villains, a power-hungry, cynical monster with highly sadistic tendencies that lead him into unimaginable things in order to get what he wants. In real life, Dafoe is nowhere as intimidating as his characters suggest. Over the years, the actor has proven to be a charming, entertaining, and fearless person. According to filmmaker Paul Schrader (via Esquire), who has worked with Dafoe several times, he is a pleasure to work with because he is always willing to try new things and step out of his comfort zone.
8 Imelda Staunton
Warner Bros.
The Harry Potter film series is notorious for featuring many memorable villains. As a matter of fact, the main character battles Lord Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters in each and every movie. Still, there is a villain that the audience hated even more deeply than Voldemort: Dolores Umbridge. Hiding behind the appearance of a cute old lady, who loves cats and the color pink, is a cruel power-mad person who does not hesitate to hurt students severely in order to infuse fear and get her message across. The actress who played Umbridge is the amazing Imelda Staunton, a lovely, calm, and empathetic human being. While she had a lot of fun playing this evil character, she stated in a few interviews that she struggled with the scenes in which her character physically abused children.
7 Robert Englund
Robert Englund is an icon of the horror genre, known for his portrayal of serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. This character shows up in his victims’ dreams to torment them and later kill them, resulting in their real-world demise. He is a twisted, sadistic character with a very particular sense of humor who is motivated solely by a desire to kill. Englund, on the other hand, also has a particular sense of humor, but one that makes him the life of any party. The actor is funny and witty, which he demonstrates in every interview he gives and in his meetings with fans. Despite his extensive career and massive popularity, Englund is not afraid to go after the roles he really wants to play. As a matter of fact, when he learned that the Duffer Brothers were looking for actors to play Victor Creel in Stranger Things season 4, Englund sent them a video of him delivering the lines from his own bathtub!
6 Kathy Bates
Columbia Pictures
Kathy Bates is a mind-blowing actress who made her industry breakthrough playing a highly complex villain: Misery’s Annie Wilkes. This character, who initially seems like a kind and caring woman, ends up turning into a monster capable of murdering her favorite author if he doesn’t change the ending of a novel that obsesses her. Annie has no boundaries, and Bates’ performance is exactly what made this film such a hit. Over the years, she portrayed several villains in the TV series American Horror Story, most notably Delphine LaLaurie. In real life, Bates is a charismatic, playful, and highly emotional woman. In fact, during an interview with NBC News, the actress mentioned that the violent scenes in Misery terrified her to the point of making her cry.
5 Alan Rickman
Over the course of his impeccable career, Alan Rickman has played many notable villains: the Sheriff of Nottingham, Hans Gruber, and Alexander Dane are some of the most memorable ones. However, the one that made him world-famous was his role as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series. This character, questioned by many, was considered one of the main villains of the saga until the audience learned what he was hiding, a fact that completely altered the way they perceived this Hogwarts professor. If Rickman’s villains stood out for being frivolous and evil, he made his mark in the industry for being the complete opposite: most of the artists who worked with him described Rickman as the warmest and most generous person they had ever met. After his passing in 2016, an overwhelming number of actors, filmmakers, and fans expressed how deeply saddened they were by this news and flooded social media with wonderful anecdotes involving the actor.
4 Tom Hiddleston
Tom Hiddleston is probably one of the first actors that comes to mind when discussing artists that are quite the opposite of the characters they play. Hiddleston became world-famous for his portrayal of Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who is Thor’s brother and, essentially, one of the franchise’s villains. Deep down, Loki is a sensitive and intelligent being, but sadly he is driven by his anger, jealousy, and his belief of being inferior to his brother, which makes him a highly dangerous character. Despite his wickedness, fans grew to love him so much that eventually Marvel Studios made him the star of his own series. Hiddleston is one of the most charming actors in the industry, and he never misses a chance to display his impeccable manners and kindness to everyone.
3 Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson is an actor like no other, and has played many, many popular characters over the course of his career. It is probably his fun and flamboyant nature that helped him bring to life characters so unlike himself, especially in regards to his villainous roles. Two of Nicholson’s best known roles are two of cinema’s most iconic villains: the Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman and Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. On both occasions Jack delivered over-the-top performances conveying the madcap essence of the characters, and in Torrance’s case, his complex evolution throughout the film.
2 Meryl Streep
20th Century Fox
Everyone loves Meryl Streep. She is one of the biggest stars in the industry, and among the most beloved ones by audiences. Every actor who has ever worked with Streep has praised her for being warm, humble, and generous. And yet, the actress has portrayed some villainesses throughout her career that are nothing like her. The most notable one is Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, a role that brought her widespread popularity. This character is editor-in-chief of Runway magazine, known among the staff as a cold, abusive and extremely cruel person towards everyone. To perform this part, Streep used method acting: she never stepped out of character until the film was wrapped. That is why she looks back on the filming of this 2006 movie with sorrow, as she felt extremely miserable.
1 Anthony Hopkins
Orion Pictures
Wrapping up this list is Anthony Hopkins, whose prolific career ranks him among the world’s most acclaimed actors. Hopkins has played all sorts of roles over the years, though he has gained great acclaim for his portrayal of cannibal and serial killer Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs and its sequels. With very limited screen time, the actor managed to impressively convey Hannibal’s brutal and murky nature, and in doing so, he rose to legendary status and won his first Oscar. In real life, his personality couldn’t be further from Hannibal’s: he’s an adorable and very funny man who loves to post videos of him dancing or joking around on social media. Moreover, he is always willing to support other artists and share his wisdom with the world.
