Bringing Evil to Life: Actors Who Mastered Playing the Villain

15.01.2023 - 23:00

In the world of acting, there are certain actors that have the power to deeply affect audiences through their portrayal of evil. These actors masterfully convey feelings of violence, anger, revenge, and hatred on screen, leaving viewers with goosebumps as they experience the character's malevolent emotions. They have a unique talent for bringing the darker side of humanity to life, evoking both disgust and fascination in their audience.

In this article, we have compiled a list of 17 actors who have mastered the art of playing villains!

1. Jack Gleeson

Irish Gleeson, born in 1992, is remembered with the character of Joffrey Baratheon in Game of Thrones. Prior to this production, he had appeared as sweet boy in films such as Batman Begins (2005), Shrooms (2007) and A Shine of Rainbows (2009). After such good roles, his ability to portray evil so well in GoT is proof that he is a real talent.

2. Anthony Hopkins

One of the first names that come to mind when talking about bad character and good acting is Hopkins. Hannibal Lecter is a clever psychiatrist but also a cannibalistic serial killer. Hopkins received the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1991 for his portrayal of Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.

3. Al Pacino

We can’t forget Al Pacino's Tony Montana in Scarface, who became legendary by giving life to the character of Michael Corleone in The Godfather. He managed to convey the dark side of the criminal world to the audience so much that the scenes where he used his gun are still in our minds as if it were yesterday.

4. Larry Hagman

A little bit of nostalgia! The ruthless businessman JR Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, is among the worst characters in television history. With his disturbing laugh, there is nothing he does not do for the sake of his own interests.

5. Iwan Rheon

Game of Thrones' Iwan Rheon, who is also a musician, and we are used to seeing in many different roles, good or evil. The character of Ramsay Bolton, which he portrayed in the TV series, is pure evil. He attracted attention with the scenes of torture, killing, mostly with the scenes of feeding someone to the dogs. A cold-blooded villain!

6. Antony Starr

It's hard to find a better person to portray the character of Homelander from the TV series The Boys, who quite successfully handles that superheroes are not so super either! Antony, it's almost like he was born to play this role, isn't it? That calm psychopathy, the tragedy behind the smile. We will almost justify his evil because of the traumas he has experienced in his past.

7. Christoph Waltz

Do you remember Tarantino's famous movie Inglourious Basterds? That's Colonel Hans right there... The famous director also made the following explanation for this character:

'I think Landa is one of the best characters I've ever written and will ever write, and Christoph played this role exactly the way he was supposed to. If I hadn't found someone as good as Christoph, I might not have filmed the Inglourious Basterds.

So much so that Waltz had won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for this role. Indeed, throughout the entire film, his annoying attitude was as if he was always on top of us.

8. Christian Bale

Christian Bale gave a literally blood-curdling performance in the movie American Psycho, based on the novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis. In the film, which is a critical horror work, Patrick Bateman's character exposed the back and horror-filled face of Wall Street in all its nakedness.

9. Heath Ledger

We can't forget Heath Ledger, who gave Batman's archenemy the Joker the evil he deserved. Although our blood warms to Joker, played by Joaquin Phoenix, he is ultimately a dark character. We are sure that Heath Ledger, who has also passed the violence inside the character to the audience quite successfully, would have portrayed many more bad characters if he had not said goodbye to life at a young age.

10. Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie, who revealed the darkness inside her with her Maleficent character in addition to her beauty, made us look at the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale from another angle very well. She made everyone think: 'Are all villains actually bad?'

11. Johnny Depp

Another legendary actor who goes from role to role is Johnny Depp. The artist, who plays every character with dignity, gives the same successful performance in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. In the film about the adventures of Benjamin Barker, who avenges his daughter and wife, Johnny Depp is cool enough to stuff the corpse he killed with human flesh.

12. Robert Knepper

Robert Knepper, who gave life to the character Theodore Bagwell, aka the short T-Bag, in the series Prison Break, has become so identified with his role that he managed to divide the audience of the series into two groups. It is not wrong to say that T-Bag, who has committed almost all crimes such as arson, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, child abduction, murder, has even won sympathy from time to time.

13. Ian McKellen

Another of the best roles of Ian McKellen, who won numerous awards and left a mark as Gandalf of Middle-earth, is the role of Magneto in the X-Men series. Seeing himself as a master of magnetism, Magneto is a powerful Jewish mutant who is ready to do anything to protect his race.

14. Jake Gyllenhaal

Famous actor Jake Gyllenhaal, who debuted after Donnie Darko, managed to attract attention once again with the character of sociopath Louis Bloom in Nightcrawler. Showing his character with the line 'My problem is not understanding people, but not loving them', Bloom has already been remembered as a professional villain.

15. Robert De Niro

Master actor Robert De Niro, who has built a film career with director Martin Scorsese, plays Max Cady, a sickening character full of rape and vengeance in Cape Fear.

16. Jack Nicholson

The Shining, the most legendary of the Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King combinations, could of course be completed with Jack Nicholson. In the movie, where metaphysics and fear are rampant, we witness step by step how mental health is lost.

17. Willem Dafoe

Written and directed by David Lynch, in the movie Wild at Heart, Willem Dafoe brought the character of Bobby Peru to life with his ugly teeth, scary smiles and leather outfits.