Some dads on television are what we picture the perfect dad to be like. Some of those dads include Danny Tanner on Full House or Carl Winslow on Family Matters. However, not all TV dads are so loving. Take a look at this list of 10 of the scariest dads on television. After you read this, call your dad and tell him you are glad he is more like Danny Tanner than Tony Soprano.
Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), The Sopranos
In the earlier seasons of The Sopranos , Tony made sure that Meadow and A.J. led very sheltered lives. Even though he tried to give his kids a good life, they still were a part of the mob world, a place that I would imagine is very scary. Tony tried his best to protect his family from the dangers of the crime world but they always seemed to overlap. He even killed his own nephew and put a hit on Meadow’s boyfriend.
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Conrad Grayson (Henry Czerny), Revenge
Usually when a television character is rich and powerful, he will also be scary. This holds true for Conrad Grayson, the patriarch on the ABC drama Revenge. Conrad has been involved in a terrorist group that was involved in a plane crash that killed hundreds of people. He also framed an innocent man for the crime and has been covering it up for almost 20 years. Conrad has also tried numerous times to ruin the career of his own son in order to become more successful. He also kept his daughter in rehab to inherit her trust fund.
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Frank Barone (Peter Boyle), Everybody Loves Raymond
Frank Barone never killed anyone just for the thrill, but he was still a scary dad. He is what one would typically think of when they picture a grouchy old man. He was stubborn and rude to his entire family, including his two sons. Robert got a majority of the anger directed towards him, but Frank always had a little bit left over for Raymond. And his wife, Marie? He was the meanest to her. At least it came off in a comedic way. Older people tend to get away with this behavior.
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Walter White (Bryan Cranston), Breaking Bad
When Walter White was a just a Chemistry Teacher, he appeared to be the least scary person on the planet. Once he decided to go into the drug business, his demeanor changed greatly. Over the course of the series, Walter grew increasingly distant from his children and eventually moved out of the house. Walter has even killed and been involved in other violent acts like threatening illegal aliens or poisoning Brock. He even forced Jesse to become his drug partner.
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Esteban Reyes (Demian Bichir), Weeds
Nancy did her best to support her kids, even if that meant dealing drugs. She also tried her best to protect them from Esteban Reyes. Esteban is Nancy’s husband and he was dead-set on murdering both her and his stepsons in order to take back his young son. Though he appears to love his own child very much, he will do anything he can to get him back including murdering anyone that crosses him. Esteban needs to be scary in order to be a profitable drug kingpin, otherwise he would not have made it so high up in the “profession.”
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Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), Entourage
I think everyone can agree that Ari is a loving father and husband. To everyone else he interacts with (except for maybe Vince), he is quite the scary guy. In order to become one of the most powerful agents in Hollywood, you do have to be cutthroat. Ari is very protective of his teenage daughter. When she begins to date a young move star, Ari gets the teenager an acting job in another country. Ari even blackmailed the headmaster at a private school in order to get his son accepted there.
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Red Forman (Kurtwood Smith), That 70’s Show
Reginald Forman did not murder or commit illegal acts to make him appear scary. He was scary because of how he treated his children. Granted Red was more lenient with daughter Laurie, but he always made sure to give Eric a hard time. He has even been know to scare away Eric’s friends when they are hanging out in the Forman basement. In one episode Red stated, “The kids all used to run away from me. That is the way I like it.”
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Joe McCoy (D.W. Moffett) , Friday Night Lights
Joe McCoy popped up in Dillon, Texas in the drama’s third season and was the exact opposite father that Coach Eric Taylor was. Joe McCoy was very tough on his teenage son and at times was physically abusive to him. Joe’s overbearing behavior caused young J.D. to go from a sweet, polite young man to a cocky bully in only one year. Joe’s antics even went as far as firing Coach Taylor from the Dillon Panthers. Luckily, Taylor showed them who the best coach was by turning a team of newbies into state champs in only two seasons.
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Vic McKay (Michael Chiklis), The Shield
I do not think I have disliked a TV character more than I have Vic MacKey. He was a cop that would commit whatever crime he wanted to and would never show any remorse. He had a strong belief that the ends justify the means. He stole, beat people up, and even murdered a cop who was trying to turn him in for all his wrongdoings. He is a police officer you wish you would never bump into! McKay was too busy taking part in these dirty deeds to really spend any time with his children or wife.
Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), Dexter
Dexter Morgan is a serial killer. This reason alone makes him a scary father. Over eight seasons Dexter killed a total of 130 people. And the ways he killed some of the people was very, very scary. In the very first episode, Dexter used a power saw and a meat cleaver to take out bad guys. Though he only killed people who had killed people themselves, this is not the proper way to ensure justice is served. It is also not the best way to show your kids how to live their lives.
Which other TV Dads do you think are scary? Post them in the comment section below!
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