10 Actors Who Are Way Better As Frightening Villains Than Main Characters

Some of the best villainous performances in movie and television history come from performers who’ve otherwise established their skills as leading protagonists in stories. In Hollywood, actors and actresses tend to develop niches that they inhabit across various roles. Others take on a variety of roles, which can help highlight their versatility on-screen. Some of the most impressive though are the actors who prove how versatile they are by stunning audiences with a different set of skills than they’ve previously showcased.

One of the most memorable of these kinds of shifts comes when a performer usually associated with heroic roles tackles a villainous character. Sometimes, they can undercut the innocent softer characters or archetypes they’ve honed in the past with a harsher and dark performance. Others can completely subvert their past cinematic identities, allowing the performers to dig into something more gruesome, frightening, or tragic. Here are the best Hollywood performers who do well in leading heroic roles, but are more memorable when they play chilling villains in movies and shows.

10

Daryl Hannah

From Splash‘s Mermaid Love Interest To Kill Bill‘s Most Vengeful Killer

Some of Hollywood’s most unexpectedly effective scary villain performances can come from actors who typically use their skills for lighter fare. Daryl Hannah is a great example of this dichotomy, especially when looking at her early career. While she’d shown her range in films like sci-fi like Blade Runner and horror films like The Fury, Daryl Hannah truly made a name for herself in romantic comedies like Splash and Summer Lovers. She also showcased her dramatic chops in Steel Magnolias and Wall Street. However, her most memorable performance saw her abandon any softness for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films.

Serving as a direct contrast to Uma Thurman’s Beatrix Kiddo/The Bride, Elle Driver is a maniacal and ruthless killer who stands out among the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad for her personal enmity of Beatrix. Elle is a cruel character that Hannah brings a spirited vigor to, a heartless killer who openly mocks Beatrix over the death of their shared sensei. It’s a vicious performance that Hannah milks for all its worth. Hannah’s performance is such a memorable creation that prospective sequels to Kill Bill would have likely included Elle in some capacity, as reported by Indiewire.

9

Jon Hamm

How Jon Hamm Has Used His Charms For Evil

Jon Hamm is one of Hollywood’s most deceptively versatile performers. Although his biggest claim to fame is the AMC drama Mad Men, the performer has also showcased an impressive amount of comedic timing in shows like 30 Rock and films like Tag. However, Hamm’s also able to turn that charm over into something more toxic, using it to fuel characters who may be quick to grin, but are quicker to stab someone in the back. This extends to his varied performance in Good Omens, but has been used even better elsewhere.

In The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Hamm’s Reverend Richard Wayne is the overarching villain of the comedy series. Wayne was the one who kidnapped Kimmy and three other women as part of his apocalypse cult, and his impact is felt throughout the show. Hamm undercuts the comedy with an unpredictable menace that adds a threatening element to the show when he appears. He did something similar in Baby Driver but without an overtly comedic tone to ease the tension. Instead, Buddy goes from disarming and charming to a cold-blooded killer almost instantly, highlighting how frightening Hamm can be.

8

Jesse Plemons

An Innocent Face Can Hide Horrifying Intention

Jesse Plemons had been a working actor for years when he gained notoriety as Landry Clarke in Friday Night Lights. The show highlighted his dramatic and comedic skills alike. Since then, Plemons has had plenty of opportunities to showcase his skills in films like The Power Of The Dog, which earned him an Academy Award nomination. However, some of his most memorable performances have instead mined Plemon’s ability to play deceptively kind but secretly awful characters.

His appearance on Breaking Bad underscored this well, with his seemingly benign Todd debuting in season 5 and revealing himself to be a casually murderous criminal. He almost seems bored when killing children, turning him into one of the show’s most shocking antagonists late in the series. Shows like Black Mirror let Plemons mine a more important rage as a cruel videogame designer, highlighting a different but equally scary kind of villain. Civil War is Jesse Plemons’ best villainous performance, fusing the casual cruelty, murderous edge, and dark side that elevates all his villainous characters.

7

James McAvoy

McAvoy Is A Master At Creating Uneasy Tension

James McAvoy has played a lot of different roles over the years, ranging from the tragic romantic leads of Atonement to big broad superhero films like X-Men: Days of Future Past. McAovy has also always showcased a talent for more chaotic characters, with his performance in Filth drawing attention to how well he plays a more unhinged and destructive role. However, McAvoy’s true secret skill lies in horror, with his villainous turns in films like Split, Glass, and the upcoming Speak No Evil highlighting his versatility as a performer.

James McAvoy is the engine that fuels Split, M. Night Shyamalan’s stealth sequel to Unbreakable. In the film, McAvoy plays Kevin Wendell Crumb, whose dissociative identity disorder has resulted in him developing over twenty identities. This allows McAvoy to effectively play multiple villains in the same part, ranging from the unsettling Dennis and the menacing Patricia. This all builds to the introduction of the Beast, a monstrous identity that requires an almost inhuman performance from McAvoy. It’s a masterful and varied performance and sets the bar high for Speak No Evil.

6

Cate Blanchett

There’s A Good Reason MCU Fans Wanted More Hela

Cate Blanchett is one of modern film’s most accomplished performers. She’s won multiple Academy Awards and received critical acclaim for a wide variety of roles, including historical films like Elizabeth and The Aviator, fantasy films like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, complex drams like Blue Jasmine, and satirical comedies like Don’t Look Up. Blanchett has been particularly memorable when she takes on a villainous role. The cartoonishly over-the-top Irina Spalko is one of the few enjoyable elements of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

In the film, Blanchett gives the Russian villain a gleefully broad element that’s missing from many of her more nuanced performances. That more dramatic approach underscores her roles in Hanna and Cinderella, where she helped bring unexpected depth to potentially one-note characters. The best showcase of her skills is Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, which saw her go big in action scenes, comically underplay her threatening aura, and occasionally delve into more dramatic moments. There’s a reason fans were ecstatic to see Hela return in What If…? season 2 adds more depth to the character.

5

Bryan Cranston

Walter White Only Works Because Of Bryan Cranston’s Performance

For years, Bryan Cranston was perhaps best known for his more comedic and down-to-earth characters. Shows like Malcolm In The Middle and films like Drive reinforced this, with Cranston often portraying more innocent or kindly characters. Then Breaking Bad redefined Cranston in the eyes of the public. As Walter White, Cranston was able to infuse the crime drama with occasional bursts of pathetic comedy or heartbreaking pain. More than anything though, Cranston proved capable of terrifying people in-universe and in real life.

As White’s dark journey forced him to embrace vicious tactics and horrible choices, Cranston was able to portray the character’s descent with a compelling draw that kept audiences from looking away. By the end of the show, Cranston’s snarls and proclamations were unsettling in the best way possible, perfectly underscoring the character’s descent into villainy. The industry as a whole agreed, with Cranston eventually winning several Emmy Awards for his performance. Cranston’s performance utilized his typically affable persona to vicious (and terrific) effect.

4

Jake Gyllenhaal

Peeling Back Layers To Find Darkness

Jake Gyllenhaal spent years as a leading man on the big-screen, anchoring everything from tense dramas like Prisoners, yearning romances like Brokeback Mountain, and spectacles like The Day After Tomorrow. This variest and evolving career is still going strong two decades later, with his action-packed Road House remake proving to be a hit for Prime Video. However, the performer is also a deceptively great villain, whose charming exterior can be undercut by a vicious streak.

His most high-profile villain role so far has been Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Initially introduced as a hero, Mysterio quickly proves to be a vindictive and quick-tempered killer who has no qualms about trying to murder Peter Parker. However, the performance pales in comparison to Gyllenhaal’s work in Nightcrawler, an intense thriller where he plays a particularly dark reporter seeking fame. The character is a masterclass in falsified charm, with the film’s best moments seeing Gyllenhaal peel back the darker layers of the character.

3

Patrick Stewart

Bringing Shakespearean Gravitas To Surprisingly Twisted Performances

Patrick Stewart has been a mainstay of the stage and screen for decades, but blew up in the pop-culture consciousness with his performances as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Charles Xavier in the Fox X-Men films. Stewart brings a sense of noble gravitas to both roles, grounding the potentially over-the-top genre roles with a deeply felt humanity. However, Stewart has used that skill to add frightening depth to villains, even beyond the dramatic stakes he shows off in BBC adaptations of Hamlet or Macbeth.

In The Green Room, Stewart is the horrifyingly grounded leader of a Neo-Nazi gang. His efforts to corral and contain the band highlight a brutal edge that Stewart fleshes out with effective vigor. It adds a heavy level of menace to a painfully physical threat. On the other end of the tonal spectrum (but no less impressive) is Stewart’s recurring role as Avery Bullock in American Dad!. Leaning into the commitment and gravitas he brings to every role, Stewart plays the chaotic Bullock with a darkly wacky confidence that benefits the show’s wild tone that often goes unrelentingly dark.

2

Heath Ledger

The G.O.A.T Joker

Before The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger was best known for the charming performances he delivered in films like 10 Things I Hate About You, Knight’s Tale, and Brokeback Mountain. The performer brought his understated charm to all three roles, highlighting his effectiveness as a romantic lead across genres. However, his most famous role is and always will be the Joker. In The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger’s Joker is a pure magnetic menace, throwing off everyone and upsetting the status quo on several levels.

To say it’s a historic performance is an understatement, and it’s all elevated by Heath Ledger’s committed performance. He’s scary, unnerving, tricky, and deceptively funny. It’s a truly staggering performance that won the actor a posthumous Academy Award after his untimely death. This, coupled with the effectively seedy performance he delivered in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus underscores how effective Ledger was at subverting his typical talents to create something frightening and unforgettable.

1

Jack Nicholson

A Great Cinematic Lead, But A Legendary Cinematic Villain

Jack Nicholson is one of the most accomplished actors in Hollywood history, with the performer showcasing a truly staggering wealth of skills across an illustrious career. Films like Something’s Gotta Give and As Good As It Gets highlight his charms. Dramas like One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Easy Rider, and Chinatown speak to his versatility as a leading man and supporting player alike. However, Jack Nicholson has always been best utilized as a villain, something that some of his most famous performances all have in common.

Nicholson has played plenty of villains, some standing out more than others Jack Torrence is the tragic driving force behind The Shining, unnerving and sympathetic as he slowly turns from man to monster. There’s less of a transformation in his performance as Joker in Batman, but Nicholson infuses his natural charms with a broad borderline campy performance as the Clown Prince of Crime. His most versatile villain is Frank Costello in The Departed, a performance that showcases his charm and sense of menace. Nicholson might be a great leading man, but he’s a legendary cinematic villain.

Source: Indiewire