They all have their own motivations. Some villains rationalize their actions with twisted logic, others are straight up greedy, and others are downright crazy and senseless. But when it comes to movie villains, all of the great ones share one thing in common: the skillful actors who portray them. Without talented actors delivering their scenes, even the best-written and best-conceived villains would amount to nothing. An excellent actor can even transform a mediocre villain into one who’s memorable—even when given little to work with. Here are the greatest movie villain performances of all time. Do yourself a favor and check them out—because a great villain often means a great movie worth watching!
10. Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith)
Kurtwood Smith took what could have been another run-of-the-mill 80s bad guy and made him into a memorable character worthy of opposing Robocop. This character in the hands of a lesser actor could have easily just been another forgettable goon.
9. Brick Top (Alan Ford)
Snatch’s Brick Top is a dry-witted old British man who you do not want to mess with. He doesn’t raise his voice much, but if you so much as inconvenience him, you might find yourself fed to his pigs who dine on those who’ve wronged him. Don’t bother offering him sugar for his tea—because according to him, he’s “sweet enough.”
8. Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix)
In Gladiator, Joaquin Phoenix made Commodus into one of the most unlikable and cowardly villains that has ever existed. The way he always seems to be on the verge of crying and so clearly oozes insecurity out of every pore? Brilliant. Commodus has no redeeming qualities as a leader or in any other capacity. He murderously sleazed his way into being the most powerful man on the planet, and somehow remained just as sad, pathetic, and jealous as he had always been.
7. Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates)
I once fell asleep while watching Misery and woke up to Kathy Bates flipping out on James Caan. It was one of those shots where the camera is filming from below and she’s taking up most of the screen, just screaming at him. It was quite unsettling until I regained my bearings in the waking world—and from that moment on, I have thought of Annie Wilkes as one of the most terrifying movie villains ever. We’re all really lucky that Kathy Bates was the one to play this role. I can’t think of any other actress who could have commanded such a menacing presence, with the acting chops to back it up.
6. Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell)
There are few characters in movie history as irredeemable as Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange. Malcolm McDowell gives a performance that makes you believe the person on screen is very much capable of committing the horrible acts that Alex is shown to perpetrate. He’s overly theatrical, but you believe that someone as sociopathic and egotistical as Alex would be. You never doubt the validity of the character for a second. McDowell makes us believe that this person could exist, and this is what they would look like. This role could have gone poorly with another actor, but McDowell and Kubrick delivered a character who was truly impossible to sympathize with—until later in the movie when Alex becomes a victim and we’re forced to question the nature of justice.
5. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz)
Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds has a polite demeanor that’s undercut by a menace that simmers just below the surface. He disarms and probes his victims with hypnotic Tarantino banter right up to the point when he orders their execution. He’s a man who takes great joy and pride in his work—unfortunately, that work is to hunt down Jewish people in hiding. He’s a man who’s so manipulative, controlling, and sadistic that he finds himself right at home in Nazi-occupied France. His awful nature is what allowed him to occupy a position of high esteem, all while being rewarded for indulging in his awful endeavors. Christoph Waltz nails the role with his weird-yet-pitch-perfect performance. Every scene with him is uncomfortable from start to finish. It feels like you’re the one being interrogated. You just want to get away, but for some reason you can’t stop watching.
4. Don Logan (Ben Kingsley)
Sexy Beast’s Don Logan is a fiery ball of rage, always on the verge of going supernova. He seems like he could explode at any moment and would take the surrounding area with him. He would take the prize for worst house guest in the history of cinema. Ben Kingsley is amazing in nearly every one of his roles, but he elevates the character of Don Logan to more than just a criminal—and elevates the entire movie along with him.
3. Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem)
Anton Chigurh is an unstoppable, near-supernatural force. Chigurh’s motives and behavior make no rational sense to an aging Sheriff who feels out of his depth in a world passing him by. Javier Bardem’s Chigurh is the embodiment of what makes Tommy Lee Jones’ character in No Country for Old Men feel that he can no longer comprehend the modern world. Bardem plays this menacing character perfectly—the dead eyes, the strange grin, the haircut that clearly signals a lack of empathetic connection with the rest of humanity.
2. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins)
To this day, there hasn’t been a villain as iconically creepy as Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter. In both appearance and behavior, he’s like a high-society Moray eel—an animal that blends in, waits for its prey, relying on its keen sense of smell. Lecter is an expert at hiding in plain sight and fitting in perfectly with his surroundings, sizing up everything that comes across his path. He even, at times, literally sniffs out his prey. The difference is, the Moray eel eats for sustenance while Lecter serves you up as dinner to all of his friends simply because you played a few wrong notes during an orchestral performance.
1. Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman)
Alan Rickman strikes the perfect balance between campy over-the-top villain and dead-serious criminal mastermind as Hans Gruber in Die Hard. He’s a mustache-twirling caricature, but you never doubt his competence. He managed to set up the perfect heist, after all. His only mistake was not counting on a hungover New York City cop with marriage issues to single-handedly ruin his plans. Read next: The best Die Hard movies, ranked
