• March 29, 2024

10 actors who became famous playing notorious villains

Indeed, few actors dream of playing negative characters when they go into the profession. However, external data, charisma and the director’s vision lead many to the slippery slope of villainy. And if almost everyone loves goodies, it is especially difficult to become a popular antagonist.

Javier Bardem, Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman.  Collage

Often, actors become hostages of a well-played negative image, after which the directors refuse to shoot them in a different role. On the one hand, this is not entirely fair, but the audience is invariably satisfied, because they receive not just stereotyped “bad guys”, but notorious villains, whose images are embodied by truly experienced masters.

Christoph Waltz

Christoph Waltz.  Django unchained

Curiously, popularity has come to Christoph Waltz already in adulthood, when he played Hans Landou in the picture “Inglourious Basterds”Quentin Tarantino noticed a little-known German actor at one of the auditions and decided to involve him in his own project. Since then, Christophe has become really in demand, but attempts to make him a “good guy” have not yet led to success.

“Water for Elephants!”, “Big eyes”, “Green Hornet” – is not a complete list of films where Waltz plays antagonists. In the feed Django Unchained the hero of Christoph can only conditionally be called positive, and the actor also contributed to “Bondiana” by playing in “007: Spectrum” and “No time to die”

Denny Trejo

Denny Trejo.  Air prison

Directors rarely take Danny for the main roles, but even an episode with his participation is sometimes worth a whole film. Trejo got into the film industry by accident – in total, he is more than 11 years was behind bars and led an asocial lifestyle. This experience allowed Denny to play in a naturalistic way prisoners, bandits and just tough guys.

Even if Trejo plays a positive character, he looks like a negative character. However, the actor is loved by the audience – his unusual appearance and sincere acting leave no one indifferent. The directors, among other talents, note Denny’s ability to improvise if the scene is associated with physical impact on other characters.



Malcolm McDowell

Malcolm McDowell.  A clockwork orange

This famous actor has built a rather successful career in the film industry, and even being in old age, he continues to actively act in films. All major successes Malcolm are connected precisely with the embodiment of images of negative characters, which is only the role Alexa in the picture A Clockwork Orangethen was Caligula in project Tinto Brassa, serial maniac Chikatilo and even the devil himself.

After getting acquainted with such a rich track record, no one from the audience can associate McDowell with goodies, no matter how hard he tried to change roles. However, this is even for the best, because the actor’s charisma allows you to create truly terrifying characters.

Javier Bardem

Javier Bardem.  No Country for Old Men

Today, a Spanish actor can play as many positive characters as he wants, but it will be extremely difficult for him to get rid of the glory of the “bad guy”. Role Anton Chigura in the film brothers Cohen “No Country for Old Men” brought Bardem Not only Oscar, but also the role of a villain, which he later repeatedly confirmed.

“007: Skyfall Coordinates”, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”, Escobar – not a complete list of projects where talent is Javiera was used to incarnate villains. We can assume that Bardem will give us many more negative images, because he really knows how to do this.


Tim Curry

Tim Curry.  Home Alone 2

If we talk about filmography Tim Curry, there are not many significant roles to be found. However, the actor’s face is very familiar to experienced film fans. It was Tim who played the dancing clown Pennywise in the film adaptation of the novel Stephen King “It” 1990 year… Among the high-profile works of the actor, it is also worth noting such tapes as The Ricky Horror Show and “Home Alone 2”

Even if Curry got small roles – he always worked out 100%. Magnetic eyes and a peculiar smile allowed Tim to easily embody charismatic villains on the screen. The actor also has an interesting voice, thanks to which he is in demand when dubbing animated films.

Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins.  Silence of the Lambs

It’s hard to find a more versatile and talented actor than Anthony Hopkins… Even in 83 years old the master is able to take away Oscar among young competitors, continuing to embody really complex images on the screen, on which a lot of work needs to be done. However, the world started talking about Anthony after the painting “Silence of the Lambs”where Hopkins played a maniac.

The viewer liked this role so much that many do not imagine the actor in a different role, although he often plays positive characters and only occasionally returns to the images of criminals. We have before us a vivid example of how one role can leave a huge imprint on an actor’s career.



Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson.  Django unchained

Many people remember L. Jacksonwhen it comes to the MCU Marvel and Nika Fury… However, do not forget that world fame Samuel received thanks to the images of negative characters. The actor began his career with episodes – he played bandits and robbers, gradually getting out to a higher level. The finest hour for L. Jackson was the painting “Pulp Fiction”, where he played a charismatic hitman who knows the Bible well.

Later, the roles of an arms dealer happened Ordella Robbie, an elderly slave Stephen from Django and Elijah Price from tape “Unbreakable”… Indeed, L. Jackson, more often than not, plays the “bad guys”, but he does it so well that no one wants him to change his role.

Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix.  Joker

After the release of the film “Joker” everyone was curious about what projects he still took part in Joaquin Phoenix… Let’s be frank, no one was interested in the actor for a long time, although he continued to actively act in films, and in good films. Phoenix simply dropped out of the field of viewers’ attention, playing the good guys, but as soon as he returned to the role of the villain, the audience was delighted again.

Probably, this is far from an accident, because more than 20 years ago, all moviegoers unanimously hated the emperor. Commodusskillfully played by Joaquin. Then there was the memorable role of a mercenary in a western Sisters Brothers and the iconic Joker. All of this suggests that Phoenix is ​​really good at the villains he could play more often.


Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman.  Leon

The incredibly talented and versatile actor has spent many years moving away from the villainous role. Oldman was so good at films “Fifth Element”, “Dracula” and “Leon”that no one was going to shoot Gary in a different hypostasis. However, the actor showed his ability to masterfully cope with any task and gave us a lot of memorable diverse characters.

However, let’s be realistic – it’s the roles Zorga and Stansfield especially remembered the viewer, bringing world fame to Oldman. Gary became a sought-after actor, having established himself as an excellent villain, and only then managed to reveal his full potential.

Robert DeNiro

Robert DeNiro

You shouldn’t be surprised at all that Robert DeNiro has collected many villainous roles during his long career. The actor worked a lot with Martin Scorsese, the master of the gangster saga and often played the mafia. Films like “The Godfather 2”, “Taxi driver”, “Good guys»Have secured an appropriate reputation for De Niro. Thanks to his charisma, Robert, even playing villains, evokes sympathy, so the audience often does not perceive him as a negative hero.

Despite his age, De Niro continues to work as part of his role – playing a cynical Murray Franklin v “Joker” and becomes a criminal in “Irish”… We can already safely say that Robert is out of time, and his acting talent shines just as brightly, despite the venerable age of the master.

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