1)Andrew Robinson (Scorpio) from Dirty Harry has to be at the top. His performance was so convincing, so disturbing, that it effectively derailed his career.
2)Robert Mitchum in either Cape Fear or The Night of the Hunter
3)Daniel Day Lewis in Gangs of New York…would have been even better if a more charismatic and dangerous actor played the DeCaprio role.
4)Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men
5)Eli Wallach as Tuco in The Good The Bad and the Ugly…he stole that film.
Honorable Mention female villains…Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz; Olivia de Haviland in Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte and Divine in Pink Flamingos.
I didnt think he was nearly a menacing HL as the character in the book. And he at least should have had the integrity to shave his head for the role. But an excellent choice anyway.
But he isnt a human being (I think) and the mask doesnt allow the actor to emote. I was thinking of performances where the actor conveys a real sense of menace. Bad Robert Mitchum is a scary man. Charismatic Daniel Day Lewis is menacing. Darth Vader is moor cartoonish IMO.
Idi Amin (Forrest Whitaker) in The Last King of Scotland.
The best because they were all utterly unpredictable. They might eviscerate you, or they might just let you go on a whim. Not knowing which made them great. (Yes, Amin was a real person, which is why real villains are more interesting than movie ones.
John Gray (Boris Karloff) in The Body Snatcher. Karloff’s best role, and a truly frightening villain marked by his urbane charm.
Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) in Notes on a Scandal. Barbara is grasping, cruel, manipulative, amoral, Machiavellian monster whois willing to destroy anyone in the path of her own desires, and so seemingly kindly and thoughtful that she draws her victims in too before they even begin to realize how evil she is.
(This is what came off the top of my head; I might make changes if I think about it more).
OMG…the scene where he breaks the coke bottle across the face of his girlfriend is still one of the most shocking scenes I have seen. Good call. Love the score too. I miss Robert Altman.
1)Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman in Die Hard) - "You hear that? Talk to me, where are my detonators? Where are they, or shall I shoot another one? Sooner or later, I might get to someone you do care about! "
The Joker (Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight) - You see, their morals, their code, it’s a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They’re only as good as the world allows them to be. I’ll show you. When the chips are down, these… these civilized people, they’ll eat each other. See, I’m not a monster. I’m just ahead of the curve.
Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) -* "But you know the pity is when I’m paid, I always follow my job through. You know that. "*
Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving in The Matrix) -* "I hate this place. This zoo. This prison. This reality, whatever you want to call it, I can’t stand it any longer. It’s the smell, if there is such a thing. I feel saturated by it. I can taste your stink and every time I do, I fear that I’ve somehow been infected by it. "*
Commodus (Joachin Phoenix in Gladiator) - *Your Emperor asks for your loyalty, Maximus. Take my hand, I only offer it once. *
Hans Gruber from Die Hard
Kasier Soze from the Usual Suspects
Hannibal Lechter from Silence of the Lambs
The Joker from The Dark Knight
Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men.
