Top 10 Greatest Movie Villain Actors
This is not a list of the great villains who have been played in cinema (Although that is an eventual by-product), but rather a list of the outstanding actors that played these roles, oftentimes on multiple occasions. Some here are known as playing almost solely villains, some have played a number of different character types through the years, but its the treacherous villain(s) they played that stand out. There's just something about a believable, eerie bad guy that can carry a film to greatness. Its also these roles that character actors of all types want desperately to play, they can define their careers. While this top 10 represent only my 10 favorites, there are a number of character actors omitted who could have easily made the list, please feel free to add any you feel deserve recognition.
Born to play a convincing villain, his commanding, booming and domineering voice alone demands respect. And fear. Has played Dracula on many occasions, and played the character very well, he remains my favorite to this day. Many here will remember him as the sinister Count Dooku in the "Star Wars" franchise. RIP Mr. Lee
Dracula. I Monter. Dracula A. D. 1972. And several other Dracula movies. The Wicker Man.
Lord of the Rings. The Two Towers. Return of the King. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones & Revenge of the Sith. The Mummy. The Fu Manchu movies.

Alan Rickman had a way of making any evil character believable, or any character at all for that matter. He was at his best when playing the villain.
He simply became the villain, and with that voice, nobody could do it better. He is missed.
A villain staple, Hans Gruber is unquestionably one of the most memorable villains ever

Gary Oldman is legend no matter what he does, but there's no doubt that his most memorable roles involve villainy. I mean, his Stansfield in "Leon": absolutely chilling! He certainly has an affinity for the bazaar, sadistic, and the just plain creepy.
Gary Oldman has played some of the greatest villains ever, Stanfield from "Leon", Dracula from "Bram Stroker's Dracula, Russian guy with long name from "Air Force 1".

There is just something about Walken that makes the skin crawl, the spine tingle and forces you to run into the night screaming.
My favorite of all times

Fiennes' portrayal of Nazi war criminal Amon Göth in Schindler's List (1993) earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, and he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. His performance as Count Almásy in The English Patient (1996) garnered him a second Academy Award nomination, for Best Actor, as well as BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. ...read more.
With the 3 of the greatest villains already under his belt, it was impossible not to list him as number 1. Amon Goeth, Lord Voldemort and the Red Dragon are just 3 of the many outstanding less than loveable characters played by Fiennes. The Goeth character was one of the most terrifying, and brilliantly played roles in the history of cinema, in mho. His Harry Waters in "In Bruges" definitely deserves a nod as well. (One of the greatest, and funniest, dark comedies of all time).
Nothing can get close to his role as the sadistic voldemort, he was so crazy, he made the audience root for him. And don't forget his role as the dragon in red dragon, he was brilliant. And also as hades in clash of the titans


The standard baddie in many major Hollywood productions throughout the 80's, and rightfully so. Very effective and convincing, albeit maybe just a bit redundant.

For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award nominations. He has also appeared in well-received films such as Empire of the Sun, The Killing Fields, Dangerous Liaisons, Of Mice and Men, Being John Malkovich, Burn After Reading, RED, and Warm Bodies, as well as producing films such as Ghost World, Juno, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. ...read more.

His role as Smith was the best!



The king of horror!



The undisputed champion of method acting, his roles of Bill "The Butcher" Cutting in "Gangs of New York" and as Daniel Plainview in "There Will be Blood" will go down as 2 of the greatest baddies in history.


Quite possibly the scariest character I have ever seen on the big screen (Anton Chigurn-"No Country for Old Men"). A complete lack of compassion and empathy. Psychotic killing machine. Bardem has played other baddies, most notably in "Skyfall", but everything else pales in comparison.

He's always the bad guy






