# What's the best screen portrayal of the Devil? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [September 26, 2022, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235 "2022-09-26T03:56:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/1 "2022-09-26T03:56:53Z")
Satan. Lucifer. The Prince of Lies. Iblis. Beelzebub. Balial. Ol’ Nick. Mephistopholes. Many have played the Prince of Darkness, but who did the best job? I recently watched a few clips of “Lucifer” and that portrayal sucks. He’s just kind of a scamp. On the other hand, the version played by Peter Stormare in “Constantine” was unsettling and weird, a very interesting version. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/2 "2022-09-26T04:01:59Z")
Peter Cook in _Bedazzled_ ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/3 "2022-09-26T04:03:07Z")
George Burns in Oh God, You Devil. It’s a comedy, but he had an undertone of scariness. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/4 "2022-09-26T04:05:56Z")
I forgot to add that characters who seem to be the Devil but are not formally identified as such are fine to mention. In Needful Things, Max von Sydow plays a character not called the devil, but he kind of is. I always liked that story, both book and movie, because the devil never does anything evil… not directly. He just gets other people to do evil things out of desire. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/5 "2022-09-26T04:06:28Z")
Hmmm… I have a couple close runners up, but I’m going to go with the depiction in _O Brother, Where Art Thou?_ A lot less screen time than the others I have in mind, but he steals every scene he’s in. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/6 "2022-09-26T04:40:15Z")
**Robert DeNiro** in Angel Heart. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/7 "2022-09-26T06:06:02Z")
I liked Pacino in Devil’s Advocate. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/8 "2022-09-26T07:21:50Z")
Another vote for DeNiro in Angel Heart. But comedy wise, I love whatever the guy’s name is in Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/9 "2022-09-26T07:38:49Z")
I liked him in the 40’s Heaven Can Wait. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/10 "2022-09-26T07:55:26Z")
Viggo Mortensen in _The Prophecy_. He was mesmerizing - In a way, similar in feel to Stormare in _Constantine_ with the barely-covered-up insanity and violence, but … way, _way_ more attractive, as the Devil should be, IMO. This was before LOTR, so he was unknown to me, but fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/11 "2022-09-26T09:20:34Z")
I have to agree. He was great in a not very good movie. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/12 "2022-09-26T09:35:33Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > I liked Pacino in Devil’s Advocate. Same. Reeves let the film down IMHO but Pacino was brilliant. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere here, I’m enjoying the _Lucifer_ series but you can’t take Tom Ellis’s character seriously at all or the show doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/13 "2022-09-26T09:42:22Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Peter Cook in _Bedazzled_ +1. An example of his evil work is ripping out the last pages from a huge stack of Agatha Christie novels. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/14 "2022-09-26T11:10:14Z")
Laird Cregar in _Heaven Can Wait._ ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/15 "2022-09-26T11:13:51Z")
Tim Curry as Prince of Darkness in _Legend_, ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/16 "2022-09-26T12:45:29Z")
☝ This! Or also Him from Powerpuff Girls. And Stormare from Constantine is also great. Really Stormare always delivers. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/17 "2022-09-26T12:50:11Z")
Agree with that, and by the way, I _love_ that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/18 "2022-09-26T12:50:48Z")
I don’t know about the “best”, but I personally enjoyed the devil’s portrayal in the Keanu Reeves movie, “Constantine”. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/19 "2022-09-26T12:52:37Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > **Robert DeNiro** in Angel Heart. Yep, Lou Cypher is my call, too. Very much in the mold of the “please allow me to introduce myself, I’m a man of wealth and taste” style of devil. > “They say there’s just enough religion in the world to make men hate one another, but not enough to make them love.” ---
**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:** [September 26, 2022, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/20 "2022-09-26T12:54:51Z")
In a more classical vein [Gustav Gründgens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxOI3fTlBiA) in the old adaptation of Faust was very good. Of course he had Goethe put the words in his mouth. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235.md?page=2)