As children, we adore and praise the heroes, but when we grow up, we can understand the villains. Sometimes we even favor them over the hero! Who is your favorite movie villain, and why?
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Loki is almost loveable at times, but we laughed out loud when Hulk smashed the "puny god". So self-serving, not entirely evil, but almost.
Yzma from Emperor's New Groove.
I liked her as a kid, and I can seriously relate to her now.
Darth Vader. Well, he was a cool guy that did what he thought he had to. I mean, he was trying to maintain the empire all while the rebel scum tried to upend it. Understandable villain, 10/10.
Umbridge. Universally hateable.
I hate her sooo much! All these loveable people die... She lives... Wrong decision JKR!!!
The Grinch. Because he isn't a villain but the only sane person in that movie (beside Cindy Lou Who).
loki cause all he does is basically pull pranks on thor and tries to take over
Hannibal Lector. Either Anthony Hopkins or Mads Mikkelsen. Both wonderful villainous actors!
I'll take Hannibal from the great novel Hannibal or Mads from the series.
Magnito. Because he was RIGHT.
Anton Chiguhr (Javier Bardem) in "No Country For Old Men". What a scary but fascinating psychopath.
I watched this with my parents for the first time a little while ago, and what freaked my the most was realistic it was compared to other movies. Just seemed way more likely to happen (the lack of soundtrack really just added something)
HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick creates a terrifying, menacing killer using just a blinking red light and computer voice.
Not really a movie but Moriarty from the BBC's Sherlock!!!
Bill Cypher from Gravity Falls, because, top hat.
Dark Helmet.
He reminded me of every incompetent boss that I’ve ever had.
Bellatrix idk why just 🤷
Yes, she is insane. But the worst is still UMBRIDGE! The old toad... Rest in hell Dolores!!!
Snape, I don't know if he counts as a villian. But I choose to include him, because he is just the best!
Blackadder
Absolutely. If any of our American friends only know Hugh Laurie from House, Watch him in this as his character George is the absolutely opposite of House. This is one of my favourite scenes from the last series set during World War 1 when Baldrick played by the brilliant Sir Tony Robinson shows off his poetic side. Always guaranteed a good laugh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHSvKNQNzc0
Michael Douglas character in "Falling Down". William Foster. Actually sympathised with him.
Hans Gruber from Die Hard. He is suave, cunning, and an exceptional thief (his words).
Dr Evil, an inept villain who has no concept of how useless he is..(brilliant)
Scott: I think my dad is trying to kill me. Counselor: Now Scott..I don't think your father is really trying to kill him. Dr Evil: No actually the boy is quite astute. I really am trying to kill him, but so far unsuccessfully. He's quite wily, like his old man.
Hela, the Goddess of Death. I can't help imaging the script of "Thor: Ragnorok" arriving with a sticky note saying "Hi, Cate - want to chew some scenery?"
Cruella Deville
Hans Landa from Inglorious Basterds.
He hooked me right from the opening, so brilliantly played by Christoph Waltz
Hans Landa is my favourite movie villain too! Was precisely that very character who introduced me to Christoph Waltz, and I've been a fan of his work ever since (moreover when I learnt he's a huge opera fan and even directed some!)
Killmonger from black panther
He was a total bad a** and I believe he was in the right and black panther was in the wrong
Definitely Regina from Once Upon a Time. She had a great backstory and you can see her humanity underneath all that darkness.
I love Regina, despite all the pain she went through, she still had good in her ❤️
If anyone has ever watched Goosebumps before,my favourite villain would be Slappy.A living ventriloquist dummy who builds an army of monsters out of books.Also,he is just plain terrifying.
Lucius Malfoy. I loved his smarmy arrogance over being "pure blood". And I loved Dobby getting him with "you will not harm Harry Potter"
Hans Gruber, from die hard, because of the line "what was that you said before, Yippe kay yay M**********r?"
THANOS cause he totally ruined HULK smashing career
Fräulein Rottenmeier from Heidi (Johanna Spyri). Just a villain for the girl Heidi. She just wanted to make the girl READ!! (Original 1952 movie version).
Blöde Kuh. Ich weiß, sie macht nur ihren Job, aber ich konnte sie nie leiden...
Not a character, but an actor who frequently plays villains - David Warner.
Oooh, I LOVED him as PURE EVIL in Time Bandits! Especially when he said, "I really like you, Benson, you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence."
Megamind.
Part two of the question, Why is this your favorite villain? For Megamind, you don't need a reason. His name says it all. "Megamind Incredibly Hansom Criminal Genius and Master of All Villainy"
Agatha from Wanda vision because she had a cool quirky theme song and intro and also her powers were awesome.
The corporate moneymen from Disney. They're pretty good at being the villain of movies.
Not a movie, but a TV Series. Raymond "Red" Reddington from The Blacklist. He's a bad guy, but with such elegance. You kind of root for him and scared of him all at the same time. James Spader does a wonderful job with the character. He was also a very good Ultron. Then there is always Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight.
[Not a movie, but an animated series] David Xanatos from the Gargoyles series. He was never made to be explicitly 'evil'. His relatable intellectual curiosity was the reason for the protagonists' existence - an experiment at the crossroads of science and mythology - and he continues to have this curiosity and forward-thinking throughout the series. Although he is extremely wealthy and powerful, his actions are not always for purely selfish reasons, but sometimes for the potential of science and humanity, and sometimes purely for curiosity. Even though his goals are often in direct conflict with the protagonists, he understands and respects them immensely, and respects when he has lost a battle, never losing his cool or sight of his true objective. Much more entertaining than the typical "do all the bad things because I am bad" villains.
Amy Dunne from Gone Girl. I kinda admire her.
I loved her character in the book,she seemed like another kid but Nick was truly an evil character.
Simon Gruber
Why?
As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives.
Every wife had seven sacks,Every sack had seven cats,Every cat had seven kittens.
Kittens, cats, sacks, wives, How many were going to St. Ives?
Kai Parker and Katherine Pierce from the vampire diaries
Mr be prepared himself, Scar is my all time favorite. I tend to love the villains who crave power and status more than the classic doing the wrong thing for the right reason. And I grew a liking to him more in the second lion king movie because the lions in the outlands are Scar's followers. Kovu, the main character in the lion king 2 was hand (or you could say paw) picked by Scar to follow in his paw prints. When Kovu went to the pride lands to do the deed, he falls in love with Simba's daughter Kiara, but isn't trusted by Simba, who has a dream Kovu kills both him and Mufasa the exact way Scar killed Mufasa. So I think that all adds up to how Scar is just my favorite villain of all time.
Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs movie. Imagine a man can kill you for your bad manners and rude behavior because he gets offended by them. Sounds scarier than anything.
After all these years it’s still Darth Vader, specifically from The Empire Strikes Back. It came out when I was nine and was practically a religious awakening for me. His presence and James Earl Jones’ are just so damn menacing.
Morgoth from the Lord of the Rings universe. He was basically Sauron's (the main villain) boss. He was always ridiculously powerful, destroying planets, corrupting the universe, hijacking creation, etc. He was never a relatable or creepy villain like the Joker and other answers. He's cool because of how epic and powerful he is.
After our four days of discussion I can only assume your favorite is Thanos.
Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik from Sonic the Hedgehog. Reason: Jim Carrey. He is a genius.
Oh God no, very almost ruined the movie for me. Jim Carrey can be a decent actor, but he acts like Ace Ventura in most his films
Ernie Douglas, the cable guy
Hades from Disney’s Hercules! I always loved him as a kid.
Cartman. No need to explain 🧸
hordak ,catra and horde prime from she ra
Cassandra, the daleks and the cybermen from dr who
Don John from Much Ado About Nothing or Thomas Barrow from Downton Abbey
Killmonger, because he was right. He was intelligent, thoughtful, rational, and sincere. He just went about things in a messed up way.
Thanos. He did kill a lot of people, but he was right about a lot of things.
Eris the goddess of chaos from the animated movie Sinbad!!
This may not fit but I'm not a movie watcher either. I love the " Water Bandits " I think is what they called themselves from Home Alone. They were relentless and funny.
Harley quinn played by Margot Robbie especially in birds of prey....kicka** b*tch..loved the energy
Cersie in GOT and
Cruella DeVille ( oulala......Emma stone did an excellent job)
Eren Yeager. A man turned villain but not by choice (can't spoil more since the last past of the last season of aot is not out yet)
Kirk Douglas as 'The Villian' in the movie 'The Villian'
Honorable mention to Tom Cruise as Lestat in 'Interview with the Vampire'
Mr.Lebowski( so not the Dude)
Khan Noonien Singh in "Space Seed" and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." He is suave and intelligent, and in a certain way you sympathize with him since he was the victim of some crappy luck.
The Goblin King in Labyrinth. For no other reason that David Bowie is, as always, is just amazing in it. His look his singing. Everything. Brilliant Brilliant man.
Doc Holliday in Tombstone - a good villain
The Sword in the Stone. My villain favourite is Madam Mim. I loved her cause she was over the top in her personality. Cleaver and witty. Plus her battle with Merlin was so funny.
Prince Nuada, from Hellboy II. He was right. Mandkind is the worst 😜
I have recently chosen Cruella. Her back story makes her lovable although we all know what she will soon become. But you have to admit, she does look good in spots.
The Sheriff of Nottingham from Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. Alan Rick an again, it he’s so bloody good!
Zorg from The Fifth Element
The Parshendi from Stormlight Archives by Brando Sanderson. They are... good villains, who just gone bad or Taravangian (same books), who's just a bit mad man. I can't say more without spoiling, so check that books out.
Taravangian is one of the single most interesting and well written characters of all time. Couldn’t agree more.
Nurse Ratchet from one flew over the cuckoo's nest
Of course 'joker' he does not have superpower but still he challenges superhero.
Clyde Shelton from Law Abiding Citizen. You really can't blame him for his vengeance.
dr. doofenshmirtz from phineas and ferb. the poor guy was just trying to be happy.
In "Candace vs. The Universe" He was not the villain. Super Super Big Doctor was.
Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried) in "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T." (1953). Dr. Terwilliker is an evil piano teacher who enslaves 500 boys to forever play a giant piano. This absolutely brilliant, and bizarre, movie is written by (Dr. Seuss) (Story, screenplay and lyrics). Catch it! You'll never forget it.
Madame Medusa from The Rescuers. She is like Cruella De Vil on steroids. Cruella only ever planned to kill 101 dalmations to make a coat, but she never stooped so low as to adopt an orphan girl just to keep her as a slave and forced her into an underground cave to retrieve a rare diamond. She also had two pet crocodiles that acted like her bodyguards.
Hans Gruber in "Die Hard". I soooo wanted to be kidnapped by him.
I'm glad that Alan Rickman graced us with his presence in many more movies after that.
I have two favorite actors who played villains with class and intelligence. They could be, and often were, cruel, but they were also the epitome of what a "real" villain should be. They were not brutes, they were not cutthroats, they were devious, intelligent and scary as hell. And those two actors were Basil Rathbone [THE Sherlock Holmes] and Robert Douglas. The absolute best swordfight was Robin Hood [Errol Flynn] and the Sheriff of Notingham [Basil Rathbone]. You knew that they were "evil" but, ohmygawd, you couldn't help yourself swooning over them. Alan Rickman is a modern day incarnation of that type of character.
Bane from The Dark Knight Rises, without a doubt. Rich little man to Bane: "stay here I'm in charge", "do you feel in charge?", " I paid you a small fortune", "and this gives you power over me?"... I just can't help but root for him whenever he confronts the rich and corrupt. His presence, demeanor, and attitude - So well played by Tom Hardy
El Guapo from the 3 Amigos, legendary!
Alan Rickman in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. He's hilarious. On 2nd thought the Alan Rickman villain in all his villainy
For TV, it's Gus Fring hands down...man built up a criminal enterprise from nothing, and some startup wet-behind-the-ears gringo blows his face half off.
For film, my sentimental favorite is Frank Booth (Blue Velvet). Hideously twisted and perfectly portrayed by Dennis Hopper in a deliciously off-the-rails performance.
Maxwell “The Wizard” Wallace played by Robin Williams in the movie August Rush. Robin played the villain so well, because he is so likable, and acted like he had Evan’s best interest at heart, but the whole time was using his musical talents to make money.
Colonel Tavington (Jason Isaacs) in The Patriot. Pure evil.
Mama Fratelli (Goonies) or Clarence Bodicker ( RoboCop) for me
I can't pick my favourite movie villain so I will add two:
1. Syndrome because although he was considerably evil, that evil was born out of jealousy of Mr Incredible and all the supers that have powers and the rage that he wanted to be helpful but Mr Incredible denied him the chance to be helpful all because he doesn't have powers even though he is amazing at inventing stuff and is generally right to believe that to leave powered supers unchecked would be a quick path to chaos and destruction.
2. Screenslaver because she helps raise the statement of powered supers going uncheck would lead to chaos and destruction but adds a new twist to it by adding the question, "What were to happen if an unchecked super were to turn evil?"
But if you were to ask me who were my favourite villains of all time, it would have to be both Light Yagami and Tsukasa Shishio because they are both right in believing that a world without the greedy and the unpure of heart would be a paradise for those who are tortured by those kinds of people.
Roger "Verbal" Kint aka Keyser Söze from "The Usual Suspects"
Michael Myers because no matter what you do to him, you can't get him to stop.
Gene Hackmann. The untochables, the firm and many other movies...
Quinn from Into the Badlands...
He just has this tremendous charisma and aura I wish I had.
Magneto from X-Men, although not sure he is a villain. All he wants is to protect others like him from suffering unimaginable pain. And even though he and his best friend completely disagree on that vision, they can remain friends and still shows up for each other when the other needs help.
Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. Was simply saving the love of his life from a monster/ Stockholm syndrome/ b*********y. Plus, he can't help being a product of his time. My, what a guy...
The Dust Devil from the eponymous movie. Sure he's a serial killer, but he just wants to get home. We can all empathize with that. He's on the wrong side of the mirror, poor guy.
Winifred: just love the way she never has a “good” side- she’s an actual villain
Jack Nicholson as Charlie Partanna in Prizzi's Honor (1985) The most loveable scoundrel in Richard Condon's menagerie of loveable scoundrels. Kathleen turner as a runner up Irene Walker in the same movie for the same reasons.
Jason Stratham in The Mechanic (2011) Anyone who can out villain Charles Bronson is a true master villain.
Paulie from Goodfellas
Paulie may have moved slow, but it was only because Paulie didn't have to move for anybody.
Disney's Hades played by James Woods. Just the kind of chaotic chill that I can understand.
Khan Noonien Singh (original incarnation, Star Trek TOS and Wrath of Kahn). He will allways be one of the greatest villains on the big or small screen. "He tasks me. He tasks me, and I shall have him. I'll chase him round the Moons of Nibia and round the Antares Maelstrom and round Perdition's flames before I give him up!"
There’s no way this has been added but I need to mention it.
Tricky the Clown, from Madness Combat. It’s interesting to see how desperately he needs power when he loses the halo or has the improbability drive damaged, and his past life as a scientist in Project Nexus makes it so much sadder to see him going insane. I personally think he’s a great villain for the series and it’s nice to see how the auditor and hank, two enemies, team up to try and stop him.
Number One/John Cavil from Battlestar Galactica. Everything that happened in the series was basically his fault. All to prove the point that humanity is flawed
I absolutely love Hades and Scar from Disney. I apparently like it when the villain is sassy.
Killgrave by David Tennant
YES, was looking for him! His power was mind boggling! (pun intended)
Hanibal Hektor from silence of the lamb
that adult girl from the movie orphan....I hate her she look so psycho...and wiered....
Not a move but Count Olaf from "A Series of Unfortunate Events"
Totally a movie. Jim Carrey played Count Olaf, and his many characters, long before Neil Patrick Harris did for TV.
HARLEY QUINN!!! Honestly I probably have a tiny bit of a crush on her
Thanos in Infinity War, because he's a Titan so bent on fixing the universe in his own way that he doesn't even realize he's doing it all wrong. He is humanized and I love to see it. See also, Judge Claude Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Keyser Soze. He is the perfect example of the manipulative psychopath. "The Usual Suspects" does an excellent job of teaching "trust but verify" because the worst people in the world became that way by repeatedly getting away with it. We have a collection of Bond villains right now all racing to build their own Moonrakers and don't care if the Earth is destroyed.
Lord Voldemort. I love his noseless green look,his people and his desperate childish behavior.
Oh, and I almost forgot...
Humperdink! Humperdink! HUMPERDINK!
Sooo many but I’ll limit myself: Queen Bavmorta and General Kael from the wildly underrated fantasy film ‘Willow’
And Cruella DeVile from ‘101 Dalmatians’ when I was a child walking into my room in the dark I would sing the Cruella song because I figured even the monsters under the bed would be intimidated!
One more: Dr. Sivana from ‘Shazam!’ , he’s about as terrifying as a PG-13 villain can be!
Anton Chigurh. My heart was pumping through this movie he is pure evil.
Megatron from the animated Transformers movie. All he wants is universal domination, but he's surrounded by idiots, cowards, and goodie-two-shoes in the form of Autobots. His only loyal subordinate is Soundwave, and he's pretty useless at anything that isn't related to communication/information gathering.
Auric Goldfinger -- James Bond nemesis in Goldfinger.
Dr Phibes -- Vincent Price at his best as the disfigured, art deco villain bent on revenge in 2 movies.
Norman Bates -- PSYCHO.
Martians in Mars Attacks -- carrying sound box proclaiming “We come in peace.” while destroying everything.
David Warner in any roll. Time Bandits. Multiple Star Trek movies. Look him up and you will get it as soon as you see his face. A master villain.
