Favorite Villain?

[Edley]

Among actors who is your favorite villain? Whether it's an old school Peter Lorre(M, Maltese Falcon)/Margaret Hamilton(Wizard of OZ) type or the more recent Anthony Hopkins(Silence of the Lambs)/Chiwetel Ejiofor(Othello/Serenity) type. Remember this is about actors and their portrayals of characters not the characters themselves.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Ralph Fiennes and Gary Oldman. Easy.

Granted there are other actors like Christoph Waltz that have had classic performances. But, Ralph and Oldman have done it several times in their careers.

 

[Ghost X]

So hard to pick. I think I have some biases. I'm also picking on potential too.

1. William Dafoe - Probably my number one, until I think of something else. He has a good 'character face', which is fitting of an evil person. I think his portrayal of the Green Goblin was awesome too.

2. Tilda Swinton - One of my favourite actresses. She should appear as a villain more. She was awesome in Constantine and Narnia.

3. Hugo Weaving - I think he's better than the movies he has appeared in. Hopefully he gets a good role soon.

4. James Earl Jones - I liked his look in the Conan movie, and his voice is awesome. I think he had the potential to be a good villain, had he got a decent role (and not just a voice, eg: Darth Vader).

Special Mentions

Gary Oldman - Tempted to pick him merely because the Fifth Element is one of my favourite movies. I wish there were more movies with that look and feel.

Robert Patrick - A has been? But he played the bad guy in Terminator 2 very well.

Tom Cruise - He'd play a good villain, because we already hate him.

Christina Ricci - As a child actor, I reckon she'd have been an awesome evil character. Wednesday Addams, enough said.

Julian Sands - Purely for his depiction of the title character in Warlock.

Julie Carmen - Fright Night, part 2. Flash in the pan.

Can't think of anyone else for now . Yes, there are notable exceptions, but I have my reasons =p.

 

[Max Payne]

Hugo weaving brings a special kind of charisma to his villains that makes him very entertaining imo.

 

[Ⓐaron]

No Alan Rickman? His performance as Hans Gruber is pretty much the first thing I think of when I think of great movie villain performances.

That said, I agree with a lot of the other people mentioned here too, especially Hugo Weaving.

 

[Kobato]

Jeremy Irons from his villian role in Die Hard 3. He was so witty, clever but also a total smartass and just loved how he loved to mess and fuck with John like he was a little toy and tried to make him look vulnerable and stupid.

Loved it.

He was also pretty decent as Scar in the Lion King, but I mostly adore his role that he did in Die Hard because of the reasons explained above.

Alan Rickman comes second because of the role he played in also Die Hard and also the Harry Potter series as Prof. Snape. c:

 

[Ⓐaron]

Die Hard 3 is one of the rare third instalments of a film series that manages to live up to (or at least approach) the quality of the original, and yeah, Jeremy Irons was great in that.

 

[Gym Leader Devil]

Alan Rickman probably got left out for awhile because he's awesome as everything he plays, villain or not. So when you're JUST thinking of villains, he may not always be the first thing to jump to mind. But yeah, the entire Gruber family kicks ass and needs respect.

I also submit Ian McShane, if only for his role as Al Swearengen on Deadwood.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

Since he hasn't been mentioned yet, John Lithgow has had some pretty fantastic villain roles. Not sure who my favorite is though. I'll be contemplating this for a bit....


X

 

[Max Payne]

Hans Gruber was a mediocre and uninteresting villain with a stupid accent. Meh.

EDIT: Ian Mcshane is fucking awesome though.

 

[Gym Leader Devil]

Hans Gruber was a mediocre and uninteresting villain with a stupid accent. Meh.

EDIT: Ian Mcshane is fucking awesome though.

We need a "1/2 of a Thanks" button for times like this

 

[Ghost X]

Another special mention:

David Bowie - Fuck yeah.