# Your favorite villains **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841 "2020-09-04T20:52:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/1 "2020-09-04T20:52:47Z")
Khan from Star Trek Wrath of Khan. The Skeksis from the Dark Crystal. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/2 "2020-09-04T20:57:31Z")
The late Alan Rickman in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves as the Sheriff of Nottingham. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZhCCu-2gbw) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/3 "2020-09-04T21:01:51Z")
Good one! ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/4 "2020-09-04T21:03:48Z")
Nick Bockwinkel, The Mongolian Stomper, and Ron “Motormouth” Wright. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/5 "2020-09-04T21:37:29Z")
Alan Rickman in “Die Hard.” Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Mission Impossible 3” I second Ricardo Montalban in "Wrath of Khan. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/6 "2020-09-04T21:40:28Z")
Count Rugen “And remember, this is for science so please - be honest” ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/7 "2020-09-04T21:48:19Z")
HAL in 2001. So subtle and polite. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/8 "2020-09-04T21:57:55Z")
Christopher Waltz in Inglorious Basterds was an excellent villain as Col. Hans Landa. Cercies Lanister in Game of Thrones was a great villain as well. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/9 "2020-09-04T22:12:13Z")
Lalo from _Better Call Saul._ Todd from _Breaking Bad_—a stone-cold sociopath who doesn’t even know he’s a villain. Clarence Boddicker in _Robocop_. “Well, I guess we’re gonna be friends after all … _Richard_.” Frank Underwood from _House of Cards_. Boss Jim Gettys in _Citizen Kane_. “I’m not a gentleman. I don’t even know what a gentleman is.” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/10 "2020-09-04T22:36:37Z")
Brian Donlevy as Sergeant Markoff in the 1939 version of _Beau Geste_ The entire supporting cast of _The Maltese Falcon_ Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., as Rupert of Hentzau in the 1937 version of _The Prisoner of Zenda_. In the 1952 version, James Mason is a better actor, but I don’t think he was quite right for the role. Raul Julia as M. Bison in _Streetfighter_. He knew it was a silly, over-the-top role, and he chewed the scenery til it screamed. Count Baltar in the original _Battlestar Galactica_. The writers wanted to give him more depth than ended up onscreen. King Richard III in the Shakespeare play. Laurence Olivier and Ian McKellen both did well with it. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/11 "2020-09-04T22:38:22Z")
Moishe in Unorthodox, I find him strangely compelling as his sect’s fix it guy. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/12 "2020-09-04T22:55:08Z")
Alan Bates as the extremely creepy stranger in [The Shout](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078259/) John Lithgow as Emilio Lizardo in Buckaroo Banzai ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/13 "2020-09-04T23:08:53Z")
This is a bit obscure but … Gatehouse from the BBC thriller _The Shadow Line_. A polite, civilised, sympathetic stone-cold psychopath. (And I didn’t even really like the show all that much by the end - but they had some phenomenal villians) Less obscure but slightly out of left field: Lady Catherine de Burgh. Now there’s a woman who knows exactly what she wants ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/14 "2020-09-04T23:15:01Z")
Anton Chigurh from _No Country For Old Men._ Completely implacable. Gus Fring from _Breaking Bad_ (but that’s a tough show to pick a villain since the protaganist is the worst one of all.) Negan from _The Walking Dead_ ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/15 "2020-09-04T23:29:10Z")
Barnes, from _Platoon_. Hans Gruber, _Die Hard_ ---
**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 4, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/16 "2020-09-04T23:29:25Z")
Malcolm McDowell ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/17 "2020-09-05T00:21:19Z")
Rudolf Klein-Rogge as Dr. Mabuse in _Dr. Mabuse the Gambler_ (1922) and _The Testament of Dr. Mabuse_ (1933) Charles Laughton as Dr. Moreau in _Island of Lost Souls_ (1932) Walter Huston as “Dead Legs” Flint in _Kongo_ (1932) - preceded by Lon Chaney, Sr. as Phroso in _West of Zanzibar_ (1928) Boris Karloff as Hjalmar Poelzig in _The Black Cat_ (1934) Walter Slezak as U-boat captain Willi in _Lifeboat_ (1943) George Macready as Ballin Mundson in _Gilda_ (1946) Orson Welles as Harry Lime in _The Third Man_ (1949) and as Cesare Borgia in _Prince of Foxes_ (1949) Robert Mitchum as Harry Powell in _Night of the Hunter_ (1955) and as Max Cady in _Cape Fear_ (1962) Gian Maria Volontè as Ramon in _A Fistful of Dollars_ (1964) - preceded by Tatsuya Nakadai as Unosuke in _Yojimbo_ (1961) Tatsuya Nakadai as Ryunosuke Tsukue in _The Sword of Doom_ (1966) Henry Fonda as Frank in _Once Upon a Time in the West_ (1969) Cesar Romero as Dr. Malic in _Latitude Zero_ (1969) Eric P. Caspar as Charlie Umlaut (“My name is Charlie Umlaut and I’m going to kill everybody now.”) in _Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street_ (1973) Brigitte Lin as Master Asia in _Swordsman II_ (1992) ---
**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:** [September 5, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/18 "2020-09-05T00:23:55Z")
Robert Patrick had an impossible challenge in TERMINATOR 2 and still hit it out of the park. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/19 "2020-09-05T00:28:45Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Gian Maria Volontè as Ramon in _A Fistful of Dollars_ (1964) - preceded by Tatsuya Nakadai as Unosuke in _Yojimbo_ (1961) > [@Dropo](#): > > Henry Fonda as Frank in _Once Upon a Time in the West_ (1969) Also Lee Van Cleef in “The Good, The Bad And The Ugly”. ---
**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 5, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841/20 "2020-09-05T00:40:57Z")
I like Blake Edwards’ over-the-top villians: Jack Lemmon as **Professor Fate** Herbert Lom as **Chief Inspector Dreyfus** [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-villains/919841.md?page=2)