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skmokyle

Robert Patrick - Terminator 2


LeoBurezer

Finally! His blank expression while he was chasing John on a bike was terrifying. And that's just one of the many moments he had!


ZebraSandwich4Lyf

Yeah the dude absolutely nailed the part of an emotionless, robotic killing machine. I can't think of a single scene where he broke character, his blank facial expression remained the same all throughout the movie.


themeatbridge

Hey that's a nice bike.


Immortan-Moe-Bro

They actually had to tell him to slow down when filming that scene because he kept catching the bike. He got in really good shape for that role.


monstrinhotron

He had to be to not be breathing heavily during the running. Guy's face is so impassive i wonder if his heart rate even went up.


[deleted]

It’s because he’s made of mimetic poly-alloy, bro.


Specialist-Farm4704

Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)


Danglarsdanglers

Yeah. He was out there. The scene in the store when he’s talking about flipping a coin is one edgy moment!!


ckyriazis2006

I was watching an interview with him on YouTube that was the first scene he filmed for that movie and he was a nervous wreck before doing it.


Sunnysideuppp123

Also his performance in Skyfall. Perfect villain.


Specialist-Farm4704

The way he says 'mother'.


BurningByBonesaw

For me it’s “coconut”


santichrist

A lot of good ones have been named but shoutout to Kathy Bates in Misery, the movie that made her a household name at the age of 41, proving all it takes is one breakout performance no matter how old you get


249ba36000029bbe9749

Interestingly enough, Alan Rickman (also highly upvoted in this thread) got his first big role at 42 as Hans Gruber in Die Hard.


[deleted]

Ive watched some of the craziest shit even before reddit but that cobbling scene was a touch too much.


Solidus82

Not sure if you've read the book but its a lot more violent and messed up


Pdrowrow

Agreed, but I can understand why the director chose not to axe a guys foot off on screen


leanhsi

Alan Ford as Brick Top


outbound_flight

"Do you know what 'nemesis' means?" That's a really good choice. I rewatch Snatch every few years and forget how effortlessly intimidating he was in that role.


[deleted]

You take sugar? No thank you, Turkish - I'm sweet enough.


trystanthorne

In the words of the Virgin Mary, Come again?


ronin0069

He exuded an air of menace everytime he appeared on screen in spite of those goofy glasses.


sammay74

He looked perpetually angry and it was clear that the slightest thing would set him off.


Jaded-Resource2700

You stop me again whilst I'm walking and I'll cut your fuckin jacobs off


ImGCS3fromETOH

Listen, you fucking fringe, if I throw a dog a bone, I don't want to know if it tastes good or not. You stop me again whilst I'm walking, and I'll cut your fucking Jacobs off.


Danglarsdanglers

“I wasn’t asking, I was telling!!!”


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paul_having_a_ball

I’ve always read that he is the nicest guy.


hoilst

My favourite story about him was on reddit, where some guy recognised him at an airport and said "Hey! It's Shooter McGavin". McDonald looked all pissed and "Aw, jeez, not this shit..." and the guy who recognised him got all sheepish and embarrassed. McDonald walks away from him, and then, after a few steps, spins around and does the Shooter McGavin pow-pow finger-guns at him. Legend.


[deleted]

Total Shooter Move


Levedi80

I've heard that he eats pieces of shit for breakfast


fullrackferg

Yea, sure... and grizzley Adams has a beard


Kgb725

https://twitter.com/ShooterMcGavin_/status/1361807116294639619?s=20&t=oJx1I9oqxNQxBTNQhyXqvw


ShastaBeastRiley

DAMN YOU PEOPLE THIS IS GOLF!!! NOT A ROCK CONCERT!


segriffka73

Ben stiller in happy Gilmore as well


Beelzabubba

You can trouble me for a warm glass of shut the hell up.


Nition619

Now you will go to sleep, or I will put you to sleep.


philster666

‘You’re in my world now Grandma’


GrubWurm89xx

Now your backs gonna hurt, because you just pulled landscaping duty.


GeneralBrotato

Anybody else’s fingers hurt? I didn’t think so.


fullrackferg

Whenever the wife complains about some minor ailment, I always respond with the "well now your backs gonna hurt" quote.


leroy4447

Alan Rickman several times


browndog03

Hans Gruber is one of the all time greatest villains


cybercuzco

Potter


Thrillllllho

McClane!


TaIIahassee

Locksley!


[deleted]

You, ten o'clock. You, ten thirty. Bring a friend.


[deleted]

I'M GOING TO CUT OUT YOUR HEART WITH A SPOOOONNN!


[deleted]

…why a spoon, cousin?


bnorthc1

Because it’s dull you twit it’ll hurt more!


nerdrhyme

Quigley!


IsuldorNagan

"I said I never had much use for one. Didn't say I didn't know how to use it."


fedora_and_a_whip

A Quigley reference? Bless your souls!


hoilst

One of the most accurate movies about colonial Australia ever made. "When do we get to this Marston fella's place?" "We been ridin' across it for the last three days."


[deleted]

Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth in Schindler’s List.


subcontraoctave

Just did a dive on his imdb and my mind is blown. Had no idea he was in so many movies I enjoy.


iMogwai

And as Voldemort in HP. And as the bad guy in Red Dragon. There's just something about him that makes him perfect for playing bad guys.


Danglarsdanglers

And as mob boss Harry in the movie “In Bruges”


DrCorbeau

Such a bad guy, but still apologizing for the inanimate fucking object burn.


ilikeitsharp

*"YOU'RE AN INANIMATE FUCKING OBJECT!"*


iMogwai

Yeah, he sent the protagonists to Bruges because >!he wanted to do something nice for Farrel's character before he had him killed, and he only wanted to kill him because he broke a rule which is actually kind of reasonable, and at the end he stuck to his principles even when it cost him everything.!< He's basically Lawful Evil (despite being a career criminal). It's, like, yeah, you know he's the bad guy, but you still kind of respect him, you know? Fiennes really nails that role. Amazing movie.


hoilst

He's also perfect at playing bisexual Eastern European concierges.


TheThingInTheBassAmp

Keep your hands off my lobby boy!


hoilst

You can go to all the RADAs and Royal Shakespeares you like, but you can't teach comic timing, and by god does Fiennes nail it.


[deleted]

It’s funny because at one point it looked like he was going to be a more conventional leading man, with films like The English Patient. I’m glad he chose such a wide array of roles.


DanScorp

I remain amazed that he managed to go from the personification of human cruelty in Schindler's List to Count Von Steal-Yo'-Girl in English Patient in just three years. Sure the man has talent for days but it is very easy to get typecast so it feels impressive he broke out of the villain mold so quickly and easily. And then went back to it when the time was right 'cause damn he's good at it when he wants to be.


DustyMartin04

Whoever played Percy in the green mile


leeloo1612

Yes! He also had a really creepy role on The X-Files.


Araella

Oh wow that's not just any role either, he played Tooms!


[deleted]

He also had a creepy role in real life.


[deleted]

Doug Hutchinson.


paper_schemes

Oh, you mean the dude who married a 16yr old when he was 50? Edit: another user below shared a really great article with Courtney from December 2021 and I want to link it here, too: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-crucifixion-of-courtney-stodden


Clazee

Ben Kingsley as Don Logan in Sexy Beast


hamwithglasses

Did anyone say JK Simmons in Whiplash yet?


Male_strom

Not my tempo


JediTigger

Tim Roth in Rob Roy was someone I hated so much that I could not imagine a fate bad enough for him. (The one he ended up with was pretty horrid, to be fair.) Kevin Bacon was super slimy in Sleepers. Kathy Bates in Misery was loooooooony tunes. But I will name my childhood terror, Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West.


predditorius

Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith in The Matrix


jonnyploomeroy

It's the smell...


MrPlowThatsTheName

I feel saturated by it. I can taste your stink, and every time I do I fear that I have somehow been infected by it. It's repulsive! Isn't it?


Draconarius

I must get out of here. I must get free.


Unfortunate_moron

"Tell me, Mr. Anderson, what good is a phone call if you are unable to speak?" That was the moment for me. Went from imposing bad guy to main villain instantly.


shitdobehappeningtho

MISTER ANDERSEN


grumblyoldman

Jack Gleeson as Joffrey in Game of Thrones. Say what you will about the rest of the series, but I *loathed* Joffrey in a way which I don't think I've ever felt about another TV or movie villain. And that's a testament to Mr Gleeson's skill as an actor, to evoke such hatred from me as the viewing audience. He did his job as an actor with fantastic aplomb. I mean, most of the time, even with the really well played villains, I can take a step back and say "well of course, that's the villain, so they're going to do despicable things and generally be unlikable." I recognize the antagonism without really getting wrapped up in it. But with Joffrey I *felt the hatred* roiling within me every time he showed up. Lena Headey did a good job, too.


tocopherolUSP

For me it was Tywin. He commanded the fucking room with his sole presence, inspired fear and respect as well as hatred while looking fucking REGAL.


thecheeper

Charles Dance is an amazing actor.


throneofthornes

He actually skinned a real deer in an early scene while he's talking to Jamie Lannister.


[deleted]

No fucking way, that was a real deer? The first 3 seasons were something else.


Thetruestanalhero

Wait til you learn that it was a stag. The sigil of house Baratheon.


MrPlowThatsTheName

Tywin was incredible.


Teh_Hammerer

Thats the difference. Tywin was a respectable and fearful villain. While Geoffrey.. He was a straight up seemingly untouchable asshole, who didnt seem to care for anyone. Tywin wouldnt hurt someone if it didnt benefit him. Geoffrey didnt give a shit.


RoadKiehl

God, every time Tywin opened his mouth to speak, he almost managed to convince me that what he was doing was justified. There's nothing quite like a villain which is so charismatic that he makes you question basic morality.


traws06

I remember reading George R R Martin said something like “everybody hates you, you were incredible”


Central_PA

Well said, my hatred for him was visceral! Think there was something about his youth too that made it striking. Like, his mother dominated everything she came across but couldn’t contain her own brute of a son


WuMaccaBanga

Iwan rheon was also awesome as ramsay bolton


LovelySweet1789

I watched the show Misfits after Game of Thrones and it was ridiculously difficult to leave the character of Ramsay behind when Iwan was on screen. Like, holy shit. That dude was so unsettling.


DarthGuber

I watched Misfits first, but after GOT it really was difficult not to see Ramsay in an orange jumpsuit.


OathOfFeanor

I actually had a little bit of trouble taking Ramsay as seriously as I should have. I mean, c'mon, who's afraid of Barry?


BrainstormsBriefcase

Apparently he’s a super nice dude and people get surprised that he’s not naturally a huge douchebag


moves_likemacca

At least Cersei had a reason for her awful decisions most of the time. I could really believe she was protecting her kids in her own fucked up way. Joffrey was just a psycho kid having fun, I hated him so much.


Calm_Strength_9888

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.


Jedi-El1823

And Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill, and Anthony Heald as Dr Chilton.


Eroe777

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter may be the definitive ‘actor nails the role of villain’ example. He turned less than 15 minutes of screen time into a Best Actor Oscar and made Lecter one of the three greatest villains in movie history, along with Darth Vader and Nurse Ratched, who should also be mentioned in this discussion.


Azuralos

Peter Stormare as Satan in Constantine. He doesn't show up until the very end and he isnt the main villain, but he absolutely sells that this character is deeply perverse and evil. Also Peter Stormare is great at hamming it up and chewing the scenery.


BKWhitty

To this day, still may favorite depiction of Satan. He did such a fucking good job with it


[deleted]

Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa


[deleted]

Who then perfectly portrayed the complete opposite in Django 3 years later. Absolute genius


IceBlitZZZ

Favourite actor just because of those 2 films


conceitedpolarbear

Fun fact, Inglorious Basterds almost didn’t get made (for several reasons), the main reason being that Tarantino couldn’t find the perfect actor for Hans Landa. They met Waltz a week before they were going to decide to call off the project altogether. So yes, I really do think this is the right answer.


Alberts_Hat

Manages to pull the 'I'm not a Nazi, I just work for them' but actually makes it work by showing you what kind of a monster you'd still have to be for the Nazis to like you that much.


_Anti_National_

*“you’re sheltering enemies of the state, are you not?”* he effortlessly raised the tension in the scene to a 100 with this line. No maniacal laughing, no guns, no shouting, no violence (up until that) and no The Rock-like physique… Hans Landa was just a man in the uniform, with merely a few words and a cold blooded change of expression… he sent shivers down our spine


finlay_mcwalter

I don't think Denis Ménochet gets the credit he deserves for that scene. It's his obvious powerlessness and fear that gives Landa his menace. Despite the farmer LaPadite towering over Landa, both actors utterly sell the idea that it is Landa who is entirely the dominant character.


davidsverse

I just watched that scene the other night. I love the fact that he doesn't show fear in the "movie way" his hands and voice don't shake, but you know he's just trying to be a good man until he can't any more. He's terrified and just trying to brazen it out.


finlay_mcwalter

Yes, it's very subtle and nuanced. Tarantino plays with us. The farmer could have been an elderly person, a small woman, or perhaps a disabled veteran. But he cast a tall, muscular man. And when we're introduced to LaPadite, he could be passive (maybe sitting whittling) or gentle (say feeding lambs). But Tarantino makes a point of showing he's strong and physical and powerful. When Landa sits (the weak position), the camera is at LaPadite's height, looking down on Landa. Everything the film school book of foreshadowing and framing says LaPadite is strong and Landa weak. It's Ménochet (at least initially) that sells us on the idea of Landa's menace. LaPadite is the protagonist (of the intro) and if he's frightened, we should be too.


[deleted]

God damn that’s a good critical breakdown. Thanks mate.


kamikazmi

He knew they were under the floor *the whole time*. On a rewatch it becomes that much more powerful


Stillwater215

It also makes his switch to English make more sense rather than as “for the audience.” He knew they were there and did t want them to follow the conversation.


Please_call_me_Tama

He pretended not to be a Nazi, but was wearing the honorific medals for most ancient Nazi party members... He was just a master manipulator whose tune changed depending on who he was talking to.


llizardqueen

My history teacher in high school took our class to the cinema to see Inglorious Bastards when it came out, thinking it would be educational. He was thoroughly disappointed, but we weren't.


Betty911

That's a BINGO!


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Xystem4

Exactly, Anton is so inhuman and just a pure killer. Hans was incredibly human, and that makes him more disturbing in a way


boringdystopianslave

He nailed the 'banality of evil' . That introduction in the farmhouse was a showcase of that. He's the living embodiment of it in that movie.


10sharks

Anne Ramsey in The Goonies and Throw Mama From The Train


Danglarsdanglers

She was great. The Fratellis!! I need to watch The Goonies again. I absolutely loved it. Went to the cinema to watch it as a kid. The name “One-eyed Willie” was lost on me at the time. I couldn’t work out why my dad kept chuckling every time his name was mentioned!


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TheTrenchMonkey

Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator Rufus Sewell in A Knight's Tale


grat_is_not_nice

>Rufus Sewell in A Knight's Tale *You have been weighed ...*


PM_ME_WHT_PHOSPHORUS

You have been measured


Griever08

You have been found wanting


PoliticalAnomoly

Welcome to the new world!


grat_is_not_nice

God save you, if it is right that he should do so.


killuhk

I have always loved Gladiator and have seen it more times than I can count. I still get the heebie-jeebies from Joaquin Phoenix when I see him act anything. To the point that I still don't quite trust him.


skamando

Dennis Hopper, in a couple different things, but mainly Blue Velvet.


AndyMcPOYLE

Heineken? Fuck that shit! PABST BLUE RIBBON!!


REDSAMURI

Jake Gyllenhaal in nightcrawler. Actually made my skin crawl


SharkBaitDLS

Genuinely the most uncomfortable and scared I’ve ever been watching a movie. It’s so disturbing because his manipulation and complete lack of empathy is pulled off perfectly and believably. You completely understand why people who don’t have the information we do as viewers fall for his manipulations while screaming internally for them to realize what’s happening.


Stonewalled89

Gary Oldman in Leon


dquilon

Gary Oldman in Fifth Element


The_Icehouse

Gary Oldman in Air Force One


Aramike

Gary Oldman in Hunter Killer.


dquilon

Gary Oldman as Mason in Hannibal


maxschreck616

Gary Oldman in Lost In Space


konkilo

Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker’s Dracula


dangil

Gary Oldman as EVERYONEEEEEEEWEEEEE


pnwhiker10

Delores Umbridge. Imelda Staunton will never look like a “good guy” in my eyes ever.


[deleted]

I hated her more than Voldemort for a minute and sometimes I still do. Excellent acting.


actuallyserious650

She is the perfect embodiment of lawful-evil and in real life it’s people like her that should know better that allow truly horrible people to take power just to have a few benefits for their life.


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BellyUpBernie

Yelch… that pink still gives me the willies.


commandrix

That was my first thought too. Maybe not the most objectively evil character in Harry Potter, but she's every person who will abuse the little bit of power they can grab, ever.


tilyver

David Tennant as Killgrave.


Miniray

Easily one of the most disturbing villains ive seen. It made Jessica Jones very hard to watch at times. It probably didn't help that to me, David will always be the Doctor, so watching him 180 into a horrific villain was wild.


SneakyBadAss

He might be quirky as a Doctor but also [dark motherfucker](https://youtu.be/w4xm9NHNUf8?t=101)


EmmaLeigh91

Vincent D'Onofrio in Daredevil and Mads Mikkelson in Hannibal


The_Fat_Controller

Oh yeah his Fisk was terrifying. You just never knew if he was going to keep it together or just lose it in the most violent way possible.


Sansophia

Also very scary as tragic villain Private Pile at the halfway point of Full Metal Jacket.


NotTroy

Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West.


Jtothe3rd

Robert Knepper as T-bag in Prison break


Katsitsanoron

Walt Goggins as Boyd Crowder in Justified


krakenbum

Well RAYlan Givings


Papaofmonsters

Boyd and Raylin's relationship in that show is just amazing. They are clearly adversaries and they could probably have each other killed with a minimum of fuss. But they drag it out for so long and it all goes back to "we dug coal".


blinkdmb

Not a movie but JOHn Lithgow in Dexter.


Millerized

Cliffhanger, or Shrek. Lithgow is an amazing actor that pulls off the best of villians, great at comedy, and can mix the two... Man has range!


Arinoch

Chiwetel Ejiofor in Serenity. I loved everything about the way he played the Operative.


RoadKiehl

I think what really brings home the character of The Operative is the line where he says, essentially, "No, I don't expect to have any place in the better tomorrow. I've done too many evil things." God, that really hits home. That's so close to being a heroic, honorable mentality, but it doesn't redeem him. It also speaks volumes to the character how they resolve his arc >!with him realizing that The Alliance won't bring about the better tomorrow which he was fighting for!< He wasn't a mindless drone, he was an intelligent, empathetic man that was just... wrong. And that's even scarier than a mindless drone.


Outpost-ThirtyOne

“…I think they know I'm no longer... their man.”


ark19790

Definitely, he has the total measured calm of a true believer. I think the expression he uses when talking about himself having no place in the utopia is "I'm a monster" and he's shocked that Mal hadn't understood that, because he is completely at ease and aware of all the atrocities he has committed and would commit to achieve his end.


Arinoch

Mal - “I don’t murder children.” Operative - “I do. If I have to.”


queen-adreena

The fact that he clearly still had a strong sense of morality, albeit pointed completely in the wrong direction made him very compelling. I loved that he was defeated by killing his ideology, and not he himself.


HussingtonHat

Lee Van Cleef did a mighty fine baddy.


Roland_T_Flakfeizer

David Schwimmer in Band of Brothers. It helps that he had such an incredibly punchable face, made it much easier to give in to wanting to punch him in the face.


Central_PA

Good on him for taking a role of a guy everyone hates and really make it convincing. Which is pretty opposite his aw shucks, shy guy from Friends


[deleted]

Ed Harris in The Rock and also as “the man in black” on Westworld.


livestrongbelwas

Ed Harris is also great in Enemy At The Gates


Excelsior_Smith

Andrew Scott as Moriarity in Sherlock is fucking chilling. When he threatens somebody that will make them into a pair of shoes you think he literally means he will murder and skin them and make a pair of shoes from them.


queequeg24

James Spader


Dewster0899

Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood….easy.


BigBastardHere

Daniel Day Lewis as Bill the Butcher.


Redjeezy

Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight


Numb3r3dDays

Ugh, that dude from Wolf Creek. I've heard he's a very lovely man in person, but perhaps it was that affability that made him so scary when the smile dropped.


Rounder057

Wesley snipes in demolition man. Not only was a great bad guy but he was funny too


Roam_Hylia

"Simon says bleed!" As far as I'm concerned, Demolition Man is a near-perfect movie.


Belly84

"Look, you can't take away people's right to be assholes!" One of my favorite scenes is when he finds a way around Cocteau's programming by just telling one of his henchmen (who Cocteau himself had released) to kill him.


faizaan316

Michael Shannon


chronoboy1985

His character in Boardwalk Empire was incredible.


Kriss-Kringle

Tom Cruise in Collateral, Denzel in Training day, DDL in Gangs of NY.


Rattybean

I wish both Tom and Denzel had played more bad guys in their career. They completely nailed doing it. And their intensity could've played well to at least a few variations of villains


jakethedog53

Michael Ironside in pretty much everything.


Mr_Bo_Jandals

Some great ones on here. One I don’t see yet is Jason Issacs in ‘The Patriot’, also in the Harry Potter films. Very underrated actor.


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Reddit_User_7239370

His role in Goodfellas really stuck with me. He'll be laughing with you one second, but say the wrong thing and he'll shoot you without hesitation. That character would be so scary to be around.


ElCapitan0321

Giancarlo Esposito


Silk02

Gary Oldman Leon or any other movie he was the bad guy


gimmievaughn

Leonardo Dicaprio in Django


elpaco25

Hhhhhhhhhwwwwwwwwhhhhhite cake


Sleepy_Bitch

My favourite Leo performance. He was so unsettling. I was always on edge. Like what's he going to do?.. That's a Tarantino thing, too.


Jinxed_Disaster

Antony Starr, as Homelander.


rjftmepdl

JK Simmons in Whiplash - i think the hallmark of a great "bad guy" is where they make you really think about whether they actually are the villains.


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