Actresses famous for dark roles have provided audiences with some of the most chilling villains and antiheroes in film and television. Over the years, Hollywood has had a fascination with the darker side of humanity, creating characters that are unsettling yet unforgettable. What makes these achievements more remarkable is the risk involved.
These dark, twisted roles aren’t always commercially safe, as audiences can recoil if the performance is too intense. However, when done right, they cement an actress’s reputation as fearless and transformative. These women prove that taking artistic risks can lead to greatness. Here are 6 actresses who are famous for playing dark, twisted characters continuously or at a certain time in their careers.
1. Helena Bonham Carter
English actress Helena Bonham Carter has made a career out of embracing eccentric and disturbing roles. However, none stand out more than Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter film series. Her wild hair, deranged laugh, and merciless cruelty made her one of the most terrifying villains in a series filled with dark magic. Other notable Bonham Carter’s dark, twisted roles include Marla Singer in Fight Club (1999), Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland films, and Miss Havisham in Great Expectations (2012). Interestingly, in recent years, Bonham Carter has taken on less dark roles than she once did.
2. Eva Green
French actress Eva Green has a unique magnetism that makes her particularly suited for dark, twisted roles. Although a heroine as Vanessa Ives in the Gothic series Penny Dreadful, Green delivered a performance filled with possession, madness, and supernatural torment. Green’s ability to portray both vulnerability and unhinged ferocity makes her one of the screen’s most captivating figures. Eva Green is also known for her role in The Golden Compass as the witch Queen Serafina Pekkala. She also portrayed the vengeful witch Angelique Bouchard in Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows (2012). In 2016, Green played the title character Miss Alma Peregrine in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
3. Charlize Theron
The South African-American actress Charlize Theron is famous for her action roles today. However, during her rising years, she established herself as one of Hollywood’s actresses famous for dark roles. Her earliest dark, twisted role was in Patty Jenkins’ 2003 biographical crime drama Monster, where she portrayed American serial killer Aileen Wuornos. She’s also known for playing Queen Ravenna in Snow White and the Huntsman films. Her most recent dark, twisted role, although not as obvious as the others, is as Cipher in the Fast & Furious movies.
4. Glenn Close
For older movie audiences, Glenn Close is often known for playing obsessive, dangerous characters. The American actress has long admitted she’s naturally drawn to playing complex, strong, delusional characters. In the 1987 psychological thriller Fatal Attraction, Close played Alexandra “Alex” Forrest. Her unrelenting obsession with Michael Douglas’s character, culminating in some of the most shocking scenes of the decade, turned Close into a household name. Glenn Close is also known for playing Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians (1996).
5. Rosamund Pike
Although the English actress didn’t start out playing dark, twisted characters, Rosamund Pike’s first dark role was as Amy Elliott Dunne in Gone Girl (2014). In the career-defining role, she played a woman whose meticulous manipulation and disturbing behavior left audiences stunned. Pike’s chilling calmness in the role made the character one of the most memorable movie villains of the 21st century. A more recent dark and twisted role was in the 2020 black comedy crime film I Care a Lot, where she played Marla Grayson, a con artist who seizes and sells the assets of vulnerable older people.
6. Toni Collette
Few performances in recent horror history have been as gut-wrenching and disturbing as Toni Collette’s turn in Hereditary (2018). As Annie Graham, a grieving mother unraveling in the face of terrifying family secrets, Collette pushed the boundaries of psychological horror. Over a decade earlier, Collette played Donna Logand in the Robin Williams-led psychological thriller The Night Listener (2006). The actress’s other notable dark, twisted roles include I’m Thinking of Ending Things (as Mother), Nightmare Alley (as Zeena Krumbein), and Pieces of Her (as Laura Oliver). Toni Collette makes the list of actresses famous for dark roles because of her propensity to play characters with complex psychological depths.
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