Inspired by The film currently on BBC1 - JFK, Gary Oldman is playing Lee Harvey Oswald. Gary tends to play the ‘baddies’ so does John Malcovich. Those two are my favourite almost exclusively ‘baddie’ playing actors.
Who are/is yours?
Off the top of my head the best (or ‘worst’) role for Gary is his role in ‘Leon’ (or ‘the professional’ as I think was it’s European name)
And for John it was his role in In the Line of Fire (one of my fave Clint Eastwood films)
Tim Roth in Rob Roy. Hands down my favorite.
I agree with all of the above, and I’ll add Christopher Walken and Alan Rickman.
But doesn’t this thread belong in Cafe Society?
Jason Issacs is so wonderfully evil that I would watch in an movie.
Alan Rickman has the most delicious sneer and condescending look.
Although he’s played some good-guys too, I think Gene Hackman is one of my favorite bad-guys. He’s just so damn good at it.
I’ll give some secondary nods to Daniel Day-Lewis and Jack Nicholson.
Boris Karloff. Watch his performance in The Body Snatcher, one Oscar’s most overlooked roles.
Can’t forget about Malcolm McDowell!
It seems that anytime they need a British baddie they call up either McDowell, Alan Rickman, or Gary Oldman. They should all be in a movie together. Even if it was the most horrible movie ever, I’d still pay to see it.
Of course. I am not as much a movie connoisseur as many cafe society dopers but the few films I’ve seen him play a baddie in, he’s been a cool one. A Clockwork Orange (I have difficulty connecting the young him with the old him), Tank Girl, and Star Trek: Generations.
Tommy Lee Jones.
And Caligula. The movie was awful, but he was hilarious! A hilarious historical baddie.
He also plays great good guys (HG Wells, Mick Travis…), but the baddies are what he’ll be remembered for.
Shirley, I knew I liked you!
And they’re both so handsome and charming as well. Jason and Alan are my all time favorites. HPCofS is one of my all time fav movies precisely because we get both of them in “baddie” roles.
William Atherton - “Dickless” in Ghostbusters amongst other roles.
Always plays the smug bastard who always gets his comeuppance.
Geoffrey Rush - the Marquis de Sade, Casanova Frankenstein, Captain Barbossa, Nigel the Pelican…
James Woods.
[Mae West] Y’know, honey, when you’re good, you’re good, but when you’re bad, you’re better. [/MW]
Moving this from IMHO to Cafe Society.
For an actor who plays bad guys almost exlusively, i’ve got to agree with the OP’s nomination of Gary Oldman. One of his lesser-known roles that always sticks in my mind is that of Bex Bissell, the head football hooligan in The Firm.
And for good performances as a bad guy:
Kevin Spacey did an excellent job in The Usual Suspects and Seven. These were not your usual type of bad guy, however.
I second Turkey Curse’s nomination of Gene Hackman, having watched Unforgiven again just the other day. Hackman was also a fun bad guy as Lex Luthor in the Superman movies.
Although i often find it hard to take him very seriously, Richard Gere’s character in Internal Affairs was a pretty excellent bad guy.
Kris Kristoffersen in Lone Star, one of my favorite movies.
James Spader and Christopher Walken…good naughty baddies 
And I would add Tom Cruise after seeing Collateral . Never was a TC fan but noticed some lines in his face in this movie and they were very becoming. Maybe he just needed some maturity.
My favorite bad guy is Brian Cox.
He’s played villainous roles in many movies, recently including X2, Troy, and The Bourne Supremacy. He also played Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter, the earlier adaptation of Red Dragon.