The Best Movie Villains of All Time

Movies are never complete without villains because there has to be both good and evil for a movie to be successful. Many movies are remembered for their antagonists, and not their protagonists. Here, we have compiled a list of the best movie villains. Let’s look at them one by one.

Best Movie Villains

1. Darth Vader (Star Wars)

Darth Vader is an iconic antagonist in the “Star Wars” franchise. He is one of the greatest movie villains of all time. Darth Vader is famous for his black armor, helmet, and cape. The character is portrayed by David Prowse. In “Return of the Jedi,” which is one of the episodes of Star Wars, Vader dies in the Battle of Endor. 

2. Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)

If you watch the movie, “The Silence of the Lambs,” you will wonder how a psychiatrist himself commits a series of murders. Hannibal Lecter (played by Anthony Hopkins) is so skilled in doing them that the protagonist, Clarice Starling, finds it hard to understand him. Even today, this movie sends a chill down your spine. Apart from killing, Hannibal Lecter also eats the victims’ body parts. He is one of the best movie villains ever created.

3. The Joker (The Dark Knight)

Heath Ledger surpassed expectations when he portrayed the role of “The Joker” in “The Dark Knight.” His sadistic nature and sense of humor are amazing. The Joker tests the extent to which Batman will go to protect Gotham City.

4. Voldemort (Harry Potter Series)

In the Harry Potter series, Lord Voldemort is the archenemy of the boy wizard, constantly attempting to destroy him. Voldemort is also referred to as “You Know Who,” and is considered one of the best movie villains of all time. Voldemort was not played by a single person. Different actors, such as Richard Bremmer, and Ralph Fiennes, have played the role of Voldemort.

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5. Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is a psychological drama movie. Nurse Ratched, played by Estelle Louise Fletcher, is the head nurse in an institute of mental health. She commands patients by knowing their weaknesses. Thus, she plays the role of a cold, heartless tyrant in the movie.

6. Norman Bates (Psycho)

The character, Norman Bates, from the movie, “Psycho,” has been played by many actors. Bates is a victim of childhood abuse. Anthony Perkins and Vince Vaughn are two actors who portrayed the fictional character, Norman Bates.

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7. Sauron (The Lord of the Rings)

Sauron is the main antagonist in “Lord of the Rings.” His goal in the movie is to rule the entire Middle-Earth. Sauron is usually depicted as disembodied, and appears as “The Eye.” 

8. Anton Chigurh (No Country for Old Men)

Anton Chigurh is one of the memorable fictional characters in the novel, “No Country for Old Men,” written by Cormac McCarthy. It was made into a movie and released in 2007. Javier Bardem excellently plays the character of Anton Chigurh. The character lacks conscience or compassion and is one of the best movie villains.

9. The Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)

The Wicked Witch of the West is one of the top fictional characters. In the 1939 movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” this character is portrayed by Margaret Hamilton. Hamilton was an American actress-cum-educator.

10. Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street)

“A Nightmare on Elm Street” is a franchise of horror. It’s rightly regarded as one of the “supernatural slasher” movies. The character, “Freddy Krueger” in the first installment is played by Robert Englund. This character sends chills down your spine. 

11. Hans Gruber (Die Hard)

Hans Gruber is the main antagonist of the 1988 movie, “Die Hard.” Gruber, from East Germany, is a criminal mastermind. Hans Gruber is played by the well-known Alan Rickman. Gruber is one of the most iconic and best movie villains in the history of Hollywood.

12. The Terminator (The Terminator)

It’s a science fiction movie, directed by the great James Cameron. The Terminator is a cybernetic assassin who is sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 on a mission. This character is portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is well-known for his action films. The movie topped the US box office for quite some time.

13. Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)

Maleficent initially appeared in Walt Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty.” She is the incarnation of everything evil, and is rightly known as the “Mistress of All Evil.” The role of this malevolent fairy is played by Angelina Jolie in the 2014 film, “Maleficent.” 

14. Agent Smith (The Matrix)

Agent Smith is the fictional character of “The Matrix” franchise. Hugo Weaving has done justice to the role of Agent Smith. He is the enemy of Neo, the protagonist of the movie series. Empire, the famous film magazine, chose the character as the 84th Greatest Movie Character of All Time. 

15. Scar (The Lion King)

You will never forget Scar if you’ve watched “The Lion King.” He plots against his brother by leading a pack of hyenas. His goal is to rule the kingdom because of this he tries to eliminate all possible obstacles in his way. The voice of Scar is that of actor, Jeremy Irons.

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16. Gollum (The Lord of the Rings)

Here’s another one of the best movie villains of all time! You can feel sorry for Gollum, but you can never trust him. Andy Serkis, an English actor, plays the role of Gollum using motion capture technology.  So, Serkis is both the voice and body of Gollum, for which a lot of people mocked him!

17. Hans Landa (Inglourious Basterds)

Hans Landa is the main antagonist in Quentin Tarantino’s movie “Inglourious Basterds.” He is also one of the most memorable movie antagonists of all time. Christoph Waltz portrays the role of Hans Landa exceptionally well. In the movie, he is an extremely intelligent officer who is asked to hunt down Jews in France.

18. Nurse Annie Wilkes (Misery)

Kathy Bates plays “Annie Wilkes,” and stuns the audience with her terrific performance. In “Misery,” Wilkes plays the adoring fan of an author, whom she “rescues,” and then holds him captive. She doesn’t like the ending of a story written by that author, and wants him to change it! Annie Wilkes is monstrous, yet believable. And, Kathy Bates has done full justice to her role.

19. The Alien (Alien)

The Alien is one of the most enduring movie monsters of all time. The character is played by Bolaji Badejo from Nigeria. Director Ridley Scott wanted an extremely tall person, and Badejo fit the character well because he was 6 feet 10 inches tall! Although he didn’t have any previous acting experience, Badejo accepted the role and performed excellently. 

20. The Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

The movie is the first feature-length Disney film. Here, the Queen, the main villainous character, pursues Snow White and meets a tragic end. Lucille La Verne has rendered the voice of the evil Queen.

21. Keyser Söze (The Usual Suspects)

Keyser Söze, aka, Roger “Verbal” Kint, is the main antagonist of the movie. Kevin Spacey puts himself in the shoes of the character and does full justice to it, so, he’s one of the best movie villains.

22. The T-1000 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)

The T-1000 is a shapeshifting android assassin and the main villain in the movie. Robert Patrick plays T-1000 fabulously. 

23. Bellatrix Lestrange (Harry Potter series)

Helena Bonham Carter plays Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series. Lestrange is a pure-blood witch and belongs to the “House of Black.”

24. Michael Myers (Halloween)

Myers is a horror movie boogeyman who excels in terrorizing people. He has a ghostly appearance and is seen in all the Halloween sequels. Created by John Carpenter, the Myers character is played by Nick Castle in the original Halloween film.

25. The Wicked Stepmother (Cinderella)

Cate Blanchett plays the role of Cinderella’s wicked stepmother. When she was asked in an interview about her role, Blanchett stated that it was “fantastic.”

26. The Shark (Jaws)

The terrorizing shark in Jaws that wreaks havoc in a small town is unofficially called “Bruce.” A police chief, a marine biologist, and a shark hunter try to hunt the man-eating white shark.

27. John Doe (Se7en)

John Doe is a serial killer in the psychological mystery thriller movie, “Se7en.” Portrayed by Kevin Spacey, John Doe murders people who commit any of the 7 deadly sins.

28. Commodus (Gladiator)

Commodus is one of the most iconic and the best movie villains in Hollywood’s history. Played by actor Joaquin Phoenix, Commodus appears as distant and cruel. He is regarded as one of nature’s malevolent forces. Commodus is spoiled and wields his power to destroy the protagonist, Maximus.

29. Jack Torrance (The Shining)

Jack Nicholson plays the part of “Jack Torrance” extremely well in “The Shining.” In the film, he is a writer who stays at a haunted hotel, along with his family.

30. Alex DeLarge (A Clockwork Orange)

Malcolm McDowell plays “Alex” in “A Clockwork Orange.” His sinister ways result in many dark moments, but the beauty of the character is that you can’t simply turn away from him!

Watch Evil Take Different Forms 

Hope this blog on the best movie villains offered lots of useful information. Try watching these characters on screen and pick your favorite. Watching evil in various forms can be highly entertaining! To refresh your memory, answer the Quiz questions on this page. If you are very much into movies, you may also like the 7 best New Year movies of all time!