# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/41 "2022-09-26T23:02:12Z")
Then there was Ron Glass as the devil to Sherman Hemsley’s faust in the _Twilight Zone_ episode “I of Newton”. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/U0ZRKSoN7Vg/hqdefault.jpg "The Twilight Zone - I of Newton 666 - Sherman Hemsley & Ron Glass (1985)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0ZRKSoN7Vg) ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/42 "2022-09-26T23:24:06Z")
Another favorite. ---
**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, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/43 "2022-09-26T23:32:39Z")
I literally was coming back to mention the Ron Glass portrayal. I love how his T-shirt keeps changing. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/44 "2022-09-26T23:45:38Z")
Vincent Price as Mr. Scratch in **The Story of Mankind** > **[Vincent Price Movie of the Week | The Story of Mankind (1957)](http://thesoundofvincentprice.blogspot.com/2016/03/vincent-price-movie-of-week-story-of.html)** > > Welcome to this week's VP movie treat, courtesy of YouTube. Future ‘Master of Disaster’ Irwin Allen produced this 1957 big-screen adap... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/45 "2022-09-26T23:51:13Z")
Walter Huston as Mr. Scratch in **The Devil and Daniel Webster**? Burgess Meredith as Mr. Smith in the **Twilight Zone** episode “Printer’s Devil”? Ray Walston as Mr. Applegate in **Damn Yankees**? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/46 "2022-09-27T00:13:42Z")
I liked _The Ninth Gate,_ as a gestalt, anyway. Lucifer was portrayed by Emmanuelle Seigner (Polanski’s wife). ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/47 "2022-09-27T00:15:53Z")
Ernest Borgnine in ‘The Devil’s Rain’. Scary even now, but scared the piss out of me back in the 70s when I first saw it. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/48 "2022-09-27T00:24:29Z")
Remember when Shatner shrieked like a little girl? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/49 "2022-09-27T01:01:30Z")
My personal favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/50 "2022-09-27T01:07:35Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Oh, that reminds me, honourable mention to Dave Grohl in _Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny_ > _I’m the Devil, I love metal!_ ---
**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 27, 2022, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/51 "2022-09-27T01:10:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Walter Huston as Mr. Scratch in **The Devil and Daniel Webster**? He was one of my two runners up. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/52 "2022-09-27T03:08:28Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Matt Servitto in the Adult Swim series _Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell._ So funny! And this guy nails it. The Devil is Such A Dick! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/53 "2022-09-27T03:46:28Z")
Hugo Weaving as Old Georgie in Cloud Atlas. When he’s crawling down the side of Mauna Kea to tempt Tom Hanks’s Zachry to cut Meronym’s rope. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/54 "2022-09-27T03:56:17Z")
Walter Huston. His devil seemed to be having fun. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2022, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/55 "2022-09-27T04:48:03Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > > [@ZonexandScout](#): > > > > John Glover in the TV series _Brimstone_. Humorous, personable, cheerful…and with no pity or remorse. > > Compare to Ray Wise’s Devil in the [TV show “Reaper”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaper_(TV_series)). > > It’s essentially the same concept as “Brimstone”, but with a more comedic flair. I was going to say Ray Wise. He’s just so affable but the menace is there just below the surface. I love Mark Pellegrino as Lucifer in _Supernatural._ Particularly in later seasons when he had all the best lines. It’s not really fair to compare Tom Ellis to these other devils. The whole point of his character is that he’s not evil just a little wicked but he gets a bad wrap in the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/56 "2022-09-27T05:25:44Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Then there was Ron Glass as the devil to Sherman Hemsley’s faust in the _Twilight Zone_ episode “I of Newton”. Reminded me of Julie Newmar as Miss Devlin in “Of Late I Think of Cliffordville.” She’s not my favorite - I think I might like the above mentioned Peter Stormare and Viggo Mortenson portrayals the best. But she did have some savoir faire. [![](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1015/0*FbauBZZKhuH_GBMD.jpg) ](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1015/0*FbauBZZKhuH_GBMD.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/57 "2022-09-27T09:13:21Z")
I remember seeing The Prophecy and thinking, “This feels like they were making this up as they went along”…turns out they were. Viggo wrote most of his dialogue. ---
**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 27, 2022, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/58 "2022-09-27T09:20:57Z")
Robert Judd as “Scratch” in **Crossroads** (the Ralph Macchio one, not the Britney Spears one) did a great line in infernal menace but he didn’t get much screentime, alas. [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTAxNDg5MzUtN2Y3ZC00YjI2LTg3OTAtYzkxOGVkM2JkYmZlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI3MDk3MzQ@._V1_SX300_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTAxNDg5MzUtN2Y3ZC00YjI2LTg3OTAtYzkxOGVkM2JkYmZlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI3MDk3MzQ@._V1_SX300_.jpg) ---
**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:** [September 27, 2022, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/59 "2022-09-27T12:07:34Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Robert Judd as “Scratch” in **Crossroads** (the Ralph Macchio one, not the Britney Spears one) did a great line in infernal menace but he didn’t get much screentime, alas. > > [https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTAxNDg5MzUtN2Y3ZC00YjI2LTg3OTAtYzkxOGVkM2JkYmZlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI3MDk3MzQ@.\_V1\_SX300\_.jpg](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTAxNDg5MzUtN2Y3ZC00YjI2LTg3OTAtYzkxOGVkM2JkYmZlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTI3MDk3MzQ@._V1_SX300_.jpg) Between _Citizen Kane_ and _The Godfather_ on the list of greatest movies ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235/60 "2022-09-27T16:30:04Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > Viggo wrote most of his dialogue. And he did a pretty good job. Paraphrasing, “Gabriel would turn Heaven into a new Hell, and two Hells is one Hell too many…” It explains why Satan is helping the humans, he doesn’t want Gabe horning in on his racket. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-screen-portrayal-of-the-devil/972235.md?page=4)