# Actors who do a good job of playing evil or dark characters **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [August 31, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527 "2024-08-31T19:43:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/1 "2024-08-31T19:43:50Z")
Either in one film or multiple roles in multiple films and TV shows. My favorites are: Ron Perlman Clancy Brown Klaus Kinski ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/2 "2024-08-31T19:46:28Z")
David Warner ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/3 "2024-08-31T19:49:22Z")
I’m going with Jack Nicholson. He has that kinda look and the voice. Eeek ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/4 "2024-08-31T19:50:35Z")
Alan Rickman ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/5 "2024-08-31T19:51:21Z")
Gary Oldman as Zorg in _The Fifth Element_ (and as Stansfield in _Leon_) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/6 "2024-08-31T19:56:40Z")
[Danny Trejo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Trejo) looks the parts he plays. His life has been [quite eventful](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Trejo#Life_of_crime_and_incarceration) so far too! He is credible and can be self parodic! ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/7 "2024-08-31T19:58:35Z")
Surprised [Christopher Lee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lee) hasn’t been mentioned yet. Almost the prototype of this kind of actor. It seems he was a really nice guy IRL. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/8 "2024-08-31T20:04:07Z")
Brad Dourif. Absolutely terrific actor. Never phones it in, no matter how middling the role or how cheap the movie. And while he gets pigeonholed a lot in the weirdo greaseball parts, he can also do genuinely sweet and soulful. He deserves to be celebrated. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/9 "2024-08-31T20:05:04Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Alan Rickman As the Sheriff of Nottingham, he rescued that sad little action film from Costner. You find yourself rooting for the Sheriff. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I’m going with Jack Nicholson. He was a great Joker. And then we have the man with the perfect cultured evil voice- Vincent Price. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/10 "2024-08-31T20:11:18Z")
Albert Brooks as Hank Scorpio. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/11 "2024-08-31T20:14:15Z")
He was also pretty nasty in “Quigley Down Under” Professor Snape, of course, will forever be his legacy. He was a good English actor. He was the hero in one of those Merchant/Ivory movies. The Potter movies gobbled up lots of great English actors. (Don’t get me wrong, I love Harry Potter, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/12 "2024-08-31T20:19:46Z")
Bobby Cannavale He was masterful in Mr. Robot and Boardwalk Empire. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/13 "2024-08-31T20:23:38Z")
Richard Lynch made such a great villain that when I saw him as a hero in _Nightforce_ (with Linda Blair as the professional mercenary!) it just threw me for a loop. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/14 "2024-08-31T20:29:31Z")
For some reason Ray Wise’s performance as The Devil in the TV show _Reaper_ always stuck with me. His devil was affable. Friendly even. But he could switch to menacing evil in a split second. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/15 "2024-08-31T20:29:52Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Brad Dourif. > > Absolutely terrific actor. Never phones it in, no matter how middling the role or how cheap the movie. And while he gets pigeonholed a lot in the weirdo greaseball parts, he can also do genuinely sweet and soulful. > > He deserves to be celebrated. Good catch. I know hes mostly known for playing Chucky the killer doll, but my favorite role of his was playing a violent killer on Star trek Voyager. > **[Meld (Star Trek: Voyager)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meld_(Star_Trek:_Voyager))** > > "Meld" is the 32nd episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 16th episode of the second season. In this science fiction television show, a crewman is murdered aboard starship Voyager. Tuvok investigates and the character Suder is introduced. However, when Tuvok conducts a Vulcan mind meld, things go further awry. > The episode aired on UPN on February 5, 1996. > A crewmember named Darwin is found dead and an investigation soon uncovers a murder. It is discovered that Lon Suder, a Betazoid, killed him, be... He was good in Mississippi burning too ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/16 "2024-08-31T20:32:40Z")
I haven’t seen the movie, but I’ve also heard Nicholas Cage’s performance as a villian in the new movie Longlegs is extremely good. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/17 "2024-08-31T20:33:36Z")
Michael Madsen has convinced me he’s a bad, scary man. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/18 "2024-08-31T20:35:49Z")
Agreed. I get the same vibe from Michael Shannon. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/19 "2024-08-31T20:37:45Z")
Agreed. I get the same vibe from Christopher Walken. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527/20 "2024-08-31T20:38:16Z")
White corporate bastards? James Rebhorn, J. T. Walsh, Tracy Letts [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527.md?page=2)