# Which actor has the greatest 'bad guy' ratio? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 15, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548 "2020-03-15T22:45:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/21 "2020-03-16T00:18:01Z")
Well, Danny doesn’t make the ratio! The thing about Giancarlo is that he’s. . . pretty. Not scarred or exceptionally pumped or dumb. He’s always a really smart bad guy. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/22 "2020-03-16T00:40:45Z")
Did David Warner ever play a good guy? ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/23 "2020-03-16T00:45:40Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Did David Warner ever play a good guy? Terrible episode - good character [Babylon 5 - “Grail”](https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Grail) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/24 "2020-03-16T00:55:08Z")
Jack Palance. Timothy Carey. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/25 "2020-03-16T00:55:51Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Did David Warner ever play a good guy? He was Chancellor Gorkon — the Klingon leader who, on ‘being commendable’, was meant to be somewhere between, like, Gorbachev and Lincoln. Hey, wait a minute. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/26 "2020-03-16T01:15:51Z")
Kevin Tighe. He was a good guy on that “Emergency” TV show back in the 70s, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in anything since where he wasn’t just a complete sonofabitch. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/27 "2020-03-16T01:19:44Z")
Giancarlo Esposito was definitely a good guy in The Usual Suspects and Derailed. The former is not exactly a low-profile movie. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/28 "2020-03-16T01:20:50Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Kevin Tighe. He was a good guy on that “Emergency” TV show back in the 70s, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in anything since where he wasn’t just a complete sonofabitch. He was the club owner that hired Dalton (Patrick Swayze) in [Road House.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_House_(1989_film)) I thought he was a decent enough guy backed into a nasty situation. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/29 "2020-03-16T01:22:47Z")
double post - NM ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/30 "2020-03-16T03:22:34Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#): > > In _The Wrestler_, yeah, he’s pretty much a detestable person with a constant stream of selfish and destructive choices behind him. I’m not saying I don’t feel for the guy but he’s not a mensch by any means. He’s not a “scumbag” though, he’s a flawed character who has made mistakes and had ups and downs in life but generally tries to do the right thing. Micky Rourke would not have earned so much praise for that role if his character was totally unsymapthetic. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/31 "2020-03-16T05:15:57Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > Billy Drago has played a villain in everything I’ve seen him in. He’s an anti-hero in that _Tremors_ prequel. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/32 "2020-03-16T10:53:59Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > He’s not a “scumbag” though, he’s a flawed character who has made mistakes and had ups and downs in life but generally tries to do the right thing. “Scumbag” is such an infinitely debatable that it’s probably not worth discussing it here. Suffice it to say that I see that character as the kind of person who consistently make poor choices and uses them to drag down everyone around him. He’s not the kind of person with whom I would choose to associate. If that’s my flaw, so be it. I’ll own it. > [@Lamoral](#): > > Micky Rourke would not have earned so much praise for that role if his character was totally unsymapthetic. I would see this as high praise for Rourke’s talent. The fact that he can take such an unsympathetic character and let us _still_ feel something for him speaks volumes about the performer. Let’s be honest here as well, a character with “a constant stream of selfish and destructive choices behind him” cuts pretty close to the bone for Rourke. He understands that character in way that most of us couldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/33 "2020-03-16T11:01:39Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#): > > …I would see this as high praise for Rourke’s talent. The fact that he can take such an unsympathetic character and let us _still_ feel something for him speaks volumes about the performer. Let’s be honest here as well, a character with “a constant stream of selfish and destructive choices behind him” cuts pretty close to the bone for Rourke. He understands that character in way that most of us couldn’t. Don’t you think that’s part of the job description? Of course only the good ones can pull it off. I’m thinking Newman, Hoffman, Pacino… I haven’t seen The Wrestler. ---
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/34 "2020-03-16T11:02:08Z")
Bruce Dern would have to be up there ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/35 "2020-03-16T11:43:47Z")
How about Wilford Brimley? When the characters he portrays aren’t dangerous or sinister, they’re stern and surly. I haven’t seen him in many films, though, so I don’t know about his career average. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/36 "2020-03-16T11:56:32Z")
> [@jerez](#): > > How about Wilford Brimley? When the characters he portrays aren’t dangerous or sinister, they’re stern and surly. I haven’t seen him in many films, though, so I don’t know about his career average. I’ve seen Cocoon and cannot think of him as a bad guy. He also wants me to eat my oatmeal so I don’t get diabeetus, so he can’t be all bad. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/37 "2020-03-16T13:06:39Z")
I don’t get to see a large number of things, but Frank Langella springs to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/38 "2020-03-16T13:21:05Z")
I can’t believe no one has mentioned Alan Rickman. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/39 "2020-03-16T13:45:37Z")
I can think of two good-guy roles for Wilford Brimley off the top of my head. He was the assistant nuclear engineer in _The China Syndrome_ who heroically speaks up at the end of the movie, defending the Jack Lemmon character against the corporate slander that was trying make him out to be a nut. That was actually the first movie I ever saw him in. He also was the kick-ass-and-take-no-prisoners assistant U.S. attorney general at the end of _Absence of Malice_ who came in, almost as a _deus ex machina_ character, to mete out judgment. A great scene: [Absence of Malice Inquiry - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btqBJJF2yvE&list=PLVat6AsoeViHndZ0REK_t29JR3DjlPWor&index=1) Other than _The Firm_, I can’t think of any bad-guy roles for him. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548/40 "2020-03-16T15:26:40Z")
> [@steepone](#): > > Bruce Dern would have to be up there Greatest “crazy guy” ratio, maybe… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-actor-has-the-greatest-bad-guy-ratio/849548.md?page=3)