Most villainous actor?
by yrnej | created - 18 Aug 2014 | updated - 16 Oct 2016 | PublicThese actors often play despicable villains. Who does the best job of it?
Discuss the list here
1. Kevin Bacon
Actor | Footloose
Kevin Norwood Bacon was born on July 8, 1958 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Ruth Hilda (Holmes), an elementary school teacher, and Edmund Norwood Bacon, a prominent architect who was on the cover of Time Magazine in November 1964.
Kevin's early training as an actor came from The Manning Street. ...
Sebastian Shaw, Ray Duquette, Sean Nokes, Wade
2. Lon Chaney
Actor | The Phantom of the Opera
Although his parents were deaf-mutes, Leonidas Chaney became an actor and also owner of a theatre company (together with his brother John). He made his debut at the movies in 1912, and his filmography is vast. Lon Chaney was especially famous for his horror parts in movies like e.g. Quasimodo in ...
The Phantom of the Opera, Echo, Phroso, Blizzard
3. Lon Chaney Jr.
Actor | High Noon
American character actor whose career was influenced (and often overshadowed) by that of his father, silent film star Lon Chaney. The younger Chaney was born while his parents were on a theatrical tour, and he joined them onstage for the first time at the age of six months. However, as a young man,...
Lawrence 'Larry' Talbot, Frankenstein's Monster, Count Dracula in 'Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein', Kharis the Mummy
4. Glenn Close
Actress | Fatal Attraction
Seven time Academy Award-nominated actress Glenn Close was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. She is the daughter of Bettine (Moore) and William Taliaferro Close (William Close), a prominent doctor. Both of her parents were from upper-class northeastern families.
Glenn was often seen on ...
Patty Hewes, Cruella de Vil, Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil, Alex Forrest
5. Peter Cushing
Actor | Star Wars
Peter Wilton Cushing was born on May 26, 1913 in Kenley, Surrey, England, to Nellie Maria (King) and George Edward Cushing, a quantity surveyor. He and his older brother David were raised first in Dulwich Village, a south London suburb, and then later back in Surrey. At an early age, Cushing was ...
Grand Moff Tarkin, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Dr. Terror, The Sheriff of Nottingham
6. Willem Dafoe
Actor | Spider-Man
Having made over one hundred films in his legendary career, Willem Dafoe is internationally respected for bringing versatility, boldness, and dare to some of the most iconic films of our time. His artistic curiosity in exploring the human condition leads him to projects all over the world, large ...
Jopling, ch0514861, Max Schreck, Paul Smecker
7. Bette Davis
Actress | All About Eve
Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born April 5, 1908, in Lowell, Massachusetts, to Ruth Augusta (Favor) and Harlow Morrell Davis, a patent attorney. Her parents divorced when she was 10. She and her sister were raised by their mother. Her early interest was dance. To Bette, dancers led a glamorous life, but...
Regina Giddens, Baby Jane Hudson, Julie Marsden, Letha
8. Daniel Day-Lewis
Actor | There Will Be Blood
Born in London, England, Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is the second child of Cecil Day-Lewis (pseudonym Cecil Day-Lewis), Poet Laureate of the U.K., and his second wife, actress Jill Balcon. His maternal grandfather was Sir Michael Balcon, an important figure in the history of British cinema and ...
Daniel Plainview, Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting, Tomas, Cecil Vyse
9. Andrew Divoff
Actor | Air Force One
Andrew Daniel Divoff is a Venezuela-born Russian actor and stuntman, best known for playing the evil Djinn in the first two Wishmaster films and the villains Cherry Ganz in Another 48 Hrs., Ernesto Mendoza in A Low Down Dirty Shame, Boris Bazylev in Air Force One, Ivan Sarnoff in CSI: Miami and ...
The Djinn, Mikhail Bakunin, Boris Bazylev, Blake Wilson
10. Ralph Fiennes
Actor | The Grand Budapest Hotel
Actor Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born on December 22, 1962 in Suffolk, England, to Jennifer Anne Mary Alleyne (Lash), a novelist, and Mark Fiennes, a photographer. He is the eldest of six children. Four of his siblings are also in the arts: Martha Fiennes, a director; Magnus ...
Lord Voldemort, Amon Goeth, Hades, Francis Dolarhyde
11. Dennis Hopper
Actor | Easy Rider
With an amazing cinematic career of more than five decades, Dennis Hopper was a multi-talented and unconventional actor/director, regarded by many as one of the true "enfants terribles" of Hollywood. Hopper was born on May 17, 1936 in Dodge City, Kansas, to Marjorie Mae (Davis) and James Millard ...
Bowser aka King Koopa, Frank Booth, Deacon, Howard Payne
12. Jeremy Irons
Actor | Dead Ringers
British actor Jeremy Irons was born in Cowes, Isle of Wight, a small island off the south coast of England. He is the son of Barbara Anne Brereton (Sharpe) and Paul Dugan Irons, an accountant. Young Jeremy didn't prove very fond of figures. He visited mainland England only once a year. He wound up ...
Scar, Simon Gruber, Claus von Bülow, Rodrigo Borgia
13. Jason Isaacs
Actor | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Jason Isaacs was born in Liverpool, the third of four children of Sheila and Eric Isaacs. His parents were both from Jewish families (from Eastern Europe). He studied law at Bristol University and graduated in 1985 with a degree in law but decided to study acting. While at Bristol University, he ...
Captain Hook, Col. William Tavington, Roman Castevet, Lucius Malfoy
14. Boris Karloff
Actor | The Bride of Frankenstein
Along with fellow actors Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi and Vincent Price, Boris Karloff is recognized as one of the true icons of horror cinema, and the actor most closely identified with the general public's perception of the "monster" from the classic Mary Shelley book, "Frankenstein". William Henry ...
Frankenstein's Monster, Dr. Fu Manchu, Mummy, Count Talleyrand aka Count Ledrantz
15. Ben Kingsley
Actor | Sexy Beast
Ben Kingsley was born Krishna Bhanji on December 31, 1943 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England. His father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, was a Kenyan-born medical doctor, of Gujarati Indian descent, and his mother, Anna Lyna Mary (Goodman), was an English actress. Ben began to act in stage plays during ...
Grinko, Fagin, Don Logan, Cosmo
16. Christopher Lee
Actor | Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was perhaps the only actor of his generation to have starred in so many films and cult saga. Although most notable for personifying bloodsucking vampire, Dracula, on screen, he portrayed other varied characters on screen, most of which were villains, whether it ...
Saruman the White, Count Dooku, Count Dracula in 'Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein', Francisco Scaramanga
17. Peter Lorre
Actor | Casablanca
Peter Lorre was born László Lowenstein on Rózsahegy, Hungary. He was educated in elementary and secondary schools in Vienna, Austria. As a youth, he ran away from home, worked as a bank clerk and, after stage training in Vienna, made his acting debut in Zurich. He remained unknown, traveling for ...
Joel Cairo, The Stranger, Doctor Gogol, Rodion Raskolnikow
18. Bela Lugosi
Actor | Dracula
Bela Lugosi was born Béla Ferenc Dezsö Blaskó on October 20, 1882, Lugos, Hungary, Austria-Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania), to Paula de Vojnich and István Blaskó, a banker. He was the youngest of four children. During WWI, he volunteered and was commissioned as an infantry lieutenant, and was wounded ...
Count Dracula in 'Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein', Dr. Mirakle, Dr. Feodor Orloff, Frankenstein's Monster
19. John Malkovich
Actor | Being John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich was born in Christopher, Illinois, to Joe Anne (Choisser), who owned a local newspaper, and Daniel Leon Malkovich, a state conservation director. His paternal grandparents were Croatian. In 1976, Malkovich joined Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, newly founded by his friend Gary ...
Cyrus 'The Virus' Grissom, Mr. Edward Hyde, Mitch Leary, Vicomte de Valmont
20. Christopher McDonald
Actor | Thelma & Louise
Christopher McDonald was born and raised in New York City, New York, to Patricia, a real estate agent, and James R. McDonald, an educator. His breakout role was in Ridley Scott's Thelma and Louise (1991), followed shortly by playing Jack Barry in Robert Redford's Quiz show (1994). Other notable ...
Shooter McGavin, Darryl Dickinson, Jefferson Davis 'Boss' Hogg, Kerr
21. Ian McKellen
Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Widely regarded as one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native Great Britain and internationally, twice nominated for the Oscar and recipient of every major theatrical award in the UK and US, Ian Murray McKellen was born on May 25, 1939 in Burnley, Lancashire, England, to Margery ...
Magneto, The Toad, Sir Leigh Teabing, Kurt Dussander
22. Jack Nicholson
Actor | Chinatown
Jack Nicholson, an American actor, producer, director and screenwriter, is a three-time Academy Award winner and twelve-time nominee. Nicholson is also notable for being one of two actors - the other being Michael Caine - who have received an Oscar nomination in every decade from the 1960s through ...
Jack Torrance, The Joker, Col. Nathan R. Jessup, Frank Costello
23. Gary Oldman
Actor | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Gary Oldman is a talented English movie star and character actor, renowned for his expressive acting style. One of the most celebrated thespians of his generation, with a diverse career encompassing theatre, film and television, he is known for his roles as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy (1986), ...
Count Dracula in 'Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein', Stansfield, Lord Shen, Pontius Pilate
24. Guy Pearce
Actor | Memento
Guy Edward Pearce was born 5 October, 1967 in Cambridgeshire, England, UK to Margaret Anne and Stuart Graham Pearce. His father was born in Auckland, New Zealand, to English and Scottish parents, while Guy's mother is English. Pearce and his family initially traveled to Australia for two years, ...
Charlie Rakes, Aldrich Killian, Simon, Fernand Mondego
25. Anthony Perkins
Actor | Psycho
Anthony Perkins was born April 4, 1932 in New York City to Janet Esselstyn (Rane) and Osgood Perkins, an actor of both stage and film. His paternal great-grandfather was noted engraver Andrew Varick Stout Anthony.
Perkins attended the Brooks School, the Browne & Nichols School, Columbia University ...
Norman Bates, Jack the Ripper, Hector MacQueen, Prince Constantine
26. Vincent Price
Actor | Laura
Actor, raconteur, art collector and connoisseur of haute cuisine are just some of the attributes associated with Vincent Price. He was born of Welsh ancestry to prosperous parents ("not rich enough to evoke envy but successful enough to demand respect"). His uniquely cultivated voice and persona ...
Dr. Anton Phibes, Richard III, Prof. Henry Jarrod, The Invisible Man
27. Alan Rickman
Actor | Die Hard
Alan Rickman was born on a council estate in Acton, West London, to Margaret Doreen Rose (Bartlett), of English and Welsh descent, and Bernard Rickman, of Irish descent, who worked at a factory. Alan Rickman had an older brother (David), a younger brother (Michael), and a younger sister (Sheila). ...
Hans Gruber, The Sheriff of Nottingham, Ronald Reagan, Grigori Rasputin
28. Kevin Spacey
Actor | The Usual Suspects
Kevin Spacey Fowler, better known by his stage name Kevin Spacey, is an American actor of screen and stage, film director, producer, screenwriter and singer. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s before obtaining supporting roles in film and television. He gained critical acclaim in...
Jack Abramoff, Lex Luthor, John Doe, Buddy Ackerman
29. Mark Strong
Actor | 1917
British actor Mark Strong, who played Jim Prideaux in the 2011 remake of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), is often cast as cold, calculating villains. But before he became a famous actor, he intended to pursue a career in law.
Strong was born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in London, England, to an ...
Terri Loach, Frank D'Amico, Sinestro, Matai Shang
30. Christopher Walken
Actor | Hairspray
Nervous-looking lead and supporting actor of the American stage and films, with sandy colored hair, pale complexion and a somewhat nervous disposition. He won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Deer Hunter (1978), and has been seen in mostly character roles, often ...
Max Zorin, Frank White, Hickey, Vincenzo Coccotti
31. Hugo Weaving
Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Hugo Wallace Weaving was born on April 4, 1960 in Nigeria, to English parents Anne (Lennard), a tour guide and teacher, and Wallace Weaving, a seismologist. Hugo has an older brother, Simon, and a younger sister, Anna, who both also live and work in Australia. During his early childhood, the ...
Agent Smith, Hickey, Megatron, Old Georgie
32. Michael Wincott
Actor | Basquiat
Widely respected among peers for his fearless commitment, Michael Anthony Claudio Wincott was born to an English father and Italian mother in Scarborough, a working class suburb of Toronto. His career began fortuitously in 1976 at the CBC, cast by Deidre Bowen, Clare Walker and director Mike Newell...
Ed Gein, Armand Dorleac, Philo Gant, Top Dollar
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