For many actors, portraying a beloved hero is often a top goal in their career. A formidable hero captivating audiences each time they appear on screen can lead to massive superstardom and immense wealth. However, in the pursuit of showcasing their versatility and range as actors, many of the industry’s biggest stars also take on challenging roles as villains, or as movie buffs would say – “bad guys”.
Playing a villain allows these actors to display a different facet of their talent and complexity. While this choice can sometimes lead to being typecast as a bad guy, it also solidifies their reputation as masters of portraying menacing and malevolent characters. Ultimately, this variety in roles helps actors demonstrate their skill and creativity while also offering viewers a chance to see a different side of their favourite stars. So, here are 7 actors better at playing bad guys than heroes.
7. Robert Davi
Robert Davi‘s name may not be thrown into the mix alongside A-list actors or the leading men of cinema, however, he is one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood for sure. He has starred in some of the most popular movies ever made, usually as a bad guy. Often playing evil villains, Davi still manages to captivate audiences with a level of sophistication and suave appeal that make him so enthralling. Perhaps his most notable role that places him into the realm of top bad guy actors is his rendition as the criminal, Jake, in the 80s classic, The Goonies. What makes you hate his character even more is the fact that he is chasing a group of loveable kids, making him appear all the more evil.
On top of his iconic role in The Goonies, Davi also played a bond villain opposite Timothy Dalton in Licence to Kill. Furthermore, he starred opposite Chevy Chase as the killer next door in the criminally underrated Cops & Robbersons in 1994. What’s more, even his role in Die Hard oozed villainous traits, as he played an FBI agent who is adamant on killing John McClane (Bruce Willis) despite knowing that he is a policeman. On TV, Dali took on a heroic role in the series Profiler as FBI Special Agent Bailey Malone. However, his villainous roles remain unmatched.
6. Robert Patrick
Following the astonishing box office triumph of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Robert Patrick quickly rose to stardom and began to carve a path as the go-to villain in Hollywood. Known for his haunting portrayal as the seemingly invincible and chillingly remorseless T-1000, Patrick’s role in the film remains his most captivating and iconic performance to date. This unforgettable character solidified his status as one of the top bad guy actors in cinema, showcasing his immense talent and ability to bring complex and menacing characters to life with unparalleled intensity and skill. Other villainous roles under this esteemed actors belt are the likes of Cop Land, The Faculty, and opposite Sylvester Stallone in the underground horror flick, D-Tox. Patrick has since proved himself to be versatile, he has often taken on heroic authority figures over the course of his career, notably appearing as Homeland Security Agent Cabe Gallo in Scorpion.
5. Peter Greene
Widely known for his menacing roles in films like Judgement Night, The Mask, and as the schizophrenic Peter Winter in Clean, Shaven, Peter Greene is undeniably one of Hollywood’s most renowned bad guy actors. However, his most iconic yet controversial bad guy role comes from Quentin Tarantino‘s pop-culture classic, Pulp Fiction. In the Oscar-winning movie, Greene plays Zed amongst one of the finest acting ensembles in cinema history. Amongst this array of talent, Greene stands out as the most despicable character, as he attacks and sexually assaults LA mob boss, Marcellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). However, he gets his just deserved when Bruce Willis’ character Butch saves Marcellus, leaving Zed with a shotgun blast to the stomach.
4. Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and versatile actors in the history of cinema. Throughout his illustrious career, he has effortlessly stepped into a wide range of roles spanning various genres, but it is as a villain that he truly shines. With his commanding presence and unmistakable voice, Walken effortlessly embodies sleazy, menacing, and terrifying characters. Some of his most memorable villainous portrayals include a blackmailing killer in Nick of Time, a ruthless mob boss in Suicide Kings, and the lead antagonist in the James Bond film, A View to a Kill. However, his most menacing bad guy role came from the 1993 twisted romantic crime thriller, True Romance.
In True Romance, Walken displays a haunting level of menace in just one scene. However, the scene is arguably the standout moment of the film, and perhaps one of the most nail-biting scenes in cinema history. Spliced with slick dialogue from Quentin Tarantino, the sequence sees mob enforcer Vincenzo Coccotti (Walken) torture his victim with words, keeping a smile on his face as he gears up to kill the man. Before he even pulls the trigger, viewers are left in a state of anxiety as the tension builds and builds. For that reason, Walken’s brief role in True Romance easily slots him into the realm of the best bad guy actors in cinema.
3. Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy‘s breakout role as a villain came with his Oscar-nominated performance in The Revenant, showcasing his raw talent and eclectic range as an actor. However, it was his portrayal of the notorious British criminal Charles Bronson in the biopic, Bronson, that first put him on the map as a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. Furthermore, with his distinctive and now iconic voice, as well as his powerful and muscular frame in The Dark Knight Rises, Tom Hardy solidified his place as one of the greatest bad guy actors in the industry. His ability to bring depth and complexity to villainous characters, along with his intense and captivating on-screen presence, has set him apart as a truly exceptional talent in the world of acting.
2. Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz, a seasoned actor hailing from Austria, made a name for himself in foreign films long before achieving recognition in Hollywood. However, it was his iconic role as the despicable Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds that truly solidified him as one of the top bad guy actors in the industry. This breakthrough performance earned him his first Academy Award, setting the stage for a successful Hollywood career.
Waltz has since returned to his villainous ways with notable roles such as a Bond villain in Spectre, and as a scheming, remorseless, and sociopathic businessman in Horrible Bosses 2. His ability to bring complexity and depth to his villainous characters, coupled with his undeniable talent and charisma, have established Christoph Waltz as one of the finest thespians in cinema.
1. Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem‘s haunting and Oscar-winning performance in No Country for Old Men not only solidified his place among the best bad guy actors in cinema but also showcased his incredible talent for bringing truly chilling and complex characters to life. His portrayal of the ruthless hitman Anton Chigurh was nothing short of mesmerizing, with Bardem infusing the character with a sense of eerie menace and unpredictability that left audiences on the edge of their seats.
Bardem further proved his prowess as a villain with his unforgettable performance as the Bond villain Raoul Silva in the critically acclaimed Skyfall. In Skyfall, Bardem’s portrayal of Silva was equally impressive, as he brought a unique blend of charisma, vulnerability, and cruelty to the character, creating a villain who was both captivating and deeply unsettling. Bardem’s innate ability to embody these atrocious characters with a mystifying allure and ambiguity is a testament to his talent as an actor. To that, he has truly showcased his versatility and range in portraying some of the most compelling and unforgettable villains in contemporary cinema. In 2023, Javier Bardem made our list of Bond’s top three foes, but who are the other two? Read here.
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