It took me years to get round to this as it looked like a bit of a B-movie gangster flick, but this is a great call - I have never come across a character quite as terrifying as Ben Kingsley's in this - a long way for a man who shot to fame playing Ghandi!
Perhaps a bit like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, but with double the sense of evil and menace.
sure! Amy Dunne ( in Gone Girl ). and Mama Fratelli from The Goonies (lol), not from my generation i,m younger than that but it feels nostalgic to me. also, O-Ren Ishii might be the coolest villain ever.
just crossed my mind ... Ash ( in Alien ) ( pretty unique ), and Barnes, in Platoon ( Tom Berenger was amazing in that movie ). also El Indio, in For A Few Dollars More ( watched the whole Dollars Trilogy with my dad a few times, good memories ... will not forget not even a frame of those 3 movies )
Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction deserves a mention.
Yeah, don't forget the ladies! Some really evil ones like Nurse Ratched and Livia Soprano, but others who use their powers of attraction to destroy other people, a whole new axis of manipulation. I suppose the classic example is Lady MacBeth. The Lady MacBeth in the Kurosawa version, Throne of Blood, is really evil, chillingly so.
plus ( additional five ) T-1000 ( in Judgment Day ), John Doe ( in Seven ), Tony Montana ( in Scarface ), Colonel Kurtz ( in Apocalypse Now ) and Roy Batty ( in Blade Runner ).
I like ones with no nuance and no redeeming qualities. Some of the ones mentioned are cool, the Mafia ones for example, or have eventful backstories.
I like unambiguous evil. Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter or the original Cape Fear. Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West. They're the first to spring to mind.
Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs," Hans Gruber in "Die Hard," "Goldfinger," Bruce Dern's character in "The Cowboys" (he kills John Wayne!), the South African consul-general in "Lethal Weapon 2." And one more - Clarence in "Robocop."
Cody Jarrett (James Cagney) in White Heat, Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) in Angels With Dirty Faces, Tuco (Eli Wallach) in the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in the Shining, Darth Vader
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W Slifko
Vincent Price in everything he ever did. He's the only villain you'll ever need.
Ah_so
It took me years to get round to this as it looked like a bit of a B-movie gangster flick, but this is a great call - I have never come across a character quite as terrifying as Ben Kingsley's in this - a long way for a man who shot to fame playing Ghandi!
Perhaps a bit like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, but with double the sense of evil and menace.
rcch
sure! Amy Dunne ( in Gone Girl ). and Mama Fratelli from The Goonies (lol), not from my generation i,m younger than that but it feels nostalgic to me. also, O-Ren Ishii might be the coolest villain ever.
PTownsend
Kathy Bates in 'Misery'
rcch
just crossed my mind ... Ash ( in Alien ) ( pretty unique ), and Barnes, in Platoon ( Tom Berenger was amazing in that movie ). also El Indio, in For A Few Dollars More ( watched the whole Dollars Trilogy with my dad a few times, good memories ... will not forget not even a frame of those 3 movies )
kohakuebisu
Yeah, don't forget the ladies! Some really evil ones like Nurse Ratched and Livia Soprano, but others who use their powers of attraction to destroy other people, a whole new axis of manipulation. I suppose the classic example is Lady MacBeth. The Lady MacBeth in the Kurosawa version, Throne of Blood, is really evil, chillingly so.
1738Kwaaa!!
The Grinch
Dexter3.Walter White ( Breaking Bad)
4.Jesse Pinkman ( Breaking Bad)
Olivia Pope ( Scandal)
Eli Pope ( Scandal ) LOLSasoriza
Darth Maul (Star Wars)
Sauron( Lord of the Rings)
The Joker
Thanos
And from tv, because they ARE iconic:
Cercei, Joffrey and the Night King from Game of Thrones.
SimondB
" Here's Johnny!" - Jack Nicolson in The Shining if my memory is correct.
albaleo
Tom Hollander as Corky in Night Manager. (OK, a TV series and not a film.)
commanteer
Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction deserves a mention.
Toasted Heretic
Excellent choices.
PTownsend
John Huston as Noah Cross in 'Chinatown'
rcch
Messala ( in Ben-Hur )
HAL 9000 ( in 2001: A Space Odyssey )
Amon Goeth ( in Schindler's List )
Hannibal Lecter ( in The Silence of the Lambs )
Angel Eyes ( in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly )plus ( additional five ) T-1000 ( in Judgment Day ), John Doe ( in Seven ), Tony Montana ( in Scarface ), Colonel Kurtz ( in Apocalypse Now ) and Roy Batty ( in Blade Runner ).
Alfie Noakes
And Ben Kingsley as Don Logan in Sexy Beast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdHuQn2IgRk
Alfie Noakes
Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth in Blue Velvet. Scary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmsrO8xpe-w
kohakuebisu
I like ones with no nuance and no redeeming qualities. Some of the ones mentioned are cool, the Mafia ones for example, or have eventful backstories.
I like unambiguous evil. Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter or the original Cape Fear. Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West. They're the first to spring to mind.
browny1
Agree with smartacus's first choice - Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs.
The brilliance of Anthony Hopkins mesmerizing portrayal of the Personification of Evil, never really dulls.
Jimizo
Joe Pesci’s character in Goodfellas.
Alan Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham.
Jaws the shark.
smartacus
Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs," Hans Gruber in "Die Hard," "Goldfinger," Bruce Dern's character in "The Cowboys" (he kills John Wayne!), the South African consul-general in "Lethal Weapon 2." And one more - Clarence in "Robocop."
Mocheake
Cody Jarrett (James Cagney) in White Heat, Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) in Angels With Dirty Faces, Tuco (Eli Wallach) in the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in the Shining, Darth Vader
Haaa Nemui
+1 for Darth Vader and Hans Gruber.
Will add Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman), Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) and T800 from the first terminator movie.
Toasted Heretic
The Phisher King
NCIS Reruns
Fu Manchu, Oddjob, Jaws (Richard Kiel), Bela Lugosi's Dracula and Scarface (Al Pacino).
Gorramcowboy
Darth Vader, Hans Gruber, Warden Norton, Anton Chigurh and John Doe.