Born Villain - The Greatest Antagonists in Film History

(During the course of my writing this article, on the very day I had just finished banging up all of these entries, I discovered that Rutger Hauer had passed away. Notwithstanding his presence on this list as a great screen antagonist, Hauer was one of my personal favourite actors, from his early work in Holland with Paul Verhoeven right up to the present day. An environmentalist who supported numerous causes, including the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, he also established his own AIDS awareness organisation, the Rutger Hauer Starfish Foundation. He is survived by his wife Ineke, his daughter Aysha, and grandson Leandro. He will be greatly missed.)

At the centre of great storytelling, we must have characters who we care about, sympathise with, understand. Everyone likes to have a hero to root for in the course of their plight, but we would not be able to do so if it were not for their antagonists. These agents of conflict and tension are what the hero bounce off of, and without them they would not be able to successfully navigate their way through the trials and tribulations of their struggles. Also, while most heroes, though varying in range, have their archetypes, their prototypes, general attributes, the same rules do not apply to the antagonists. As such (and this is speaking personally as well as generally), we cannot help but be drawn to the elusive, mysterious qualities of the antagonist, their level of distance from us as viewers, identifying with the hero. So, with that being said, we are focusing here on the greatest antagonists in film history. Before we get started, I want to establish some ground rules, for this being a subjective judgement, I would like to define to you what exactly makes, in my eyes, an antagonist.

1. Agent of conflict - the antagonist causes challenges for the protagonist to overcome over the course of the film.

2. Negative energy - for me, a true antagonist is that of a dark force to that of the protagonist's light. There may be varying shades of grey, but we're going to be talking about black-and-white/good-and-evil psychology. 

3. No protagonists - this is perhaps the most contentious of my ground rules. However, in my opinion if the antagonist is the main character/protagonist in a work, than they cannot be a true antagonist; for all intents and purposes, they are the hero of their respective worlds, so no Alexander De Larges or Travis Bickles.

Also, as a quick preface, I do have to admit a more than slight bias towards the less-celebrated antagonists in film history, so you perhaps may see a few unfamiliar faces in lieu of some notable absences. 

So, here it is!

(In alphabetical order)

Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes (Platoon), played by Tom Berenger

I saw Platoon at a young age (probably about ten or eleven), and since then it has been one of my favourite pictures. It has stood the test of time and repeated viewing as a strong, humanist depiction of conflict. At the crux of it's drama is the battle of ideologies between the compassionate Elias (played by Willem Dafoe) and the brutal Barnes. As Charlie Sheen's protagonist Chris Taylor states, "There are times since, I've felt like a child, born of those two fathers." This is Shakespearean tragedy placed right in the centre of the Vietnam War. As a boy, I hated Barnes for his brutality and cold dispensing of his interpretation of justice, to keep the machine from breaking down. As a man, I understand him a lot more, but detest him nonetheless. 

Norman Bates (Psycho), played by Anthony Perkins

When prepping and researching this article, I repeatedly stated and had in mind Norman Bates as the kind of antagonist I gravitated towards. In many ways, to use a cliche, he has almost become an archetype. The first factor in that process is that he is a three-dimensional character and not a mere pantomime. Without spoiling anything, there are lots of little nooks and crannies in the different aspects of Norman. Secondly, he's portrayed with a wonderfully nuanced performance by Anthony Perkins. He has the shy, boy-next-door charm, and executes the perfect balance in terms of dialling all his tics up and down, so he manages be simultaneously sympathetic and frightening.

Roy Batty (Blade Runner), played by Rutger Hauer

I recently watched Blade Runner again, sometime around the release of the delightfully brilliant surprise that was Denis Villeneuve's 2017 sequel Blade Runner 2049. As with every time I watch Blade Runner (and any truly great film), I see something new, and this time it was how little actual screentime there is of Roy Batty. Yet, despite this, his shadow looms long among the many over the whole picture. As strong as Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard is as a protagonist, I've always gravitated towards Rutger Hauer's android replicant Batty. His primary focus towards prolonging life is a relatable end goal, and while this is going on he's still learning what it means to be alive. Thus, Deckard, and by proxy us as viewers, are asked to question our values and the meaning of existence. Batty is an intelligent, receptive, seductive and philosophical foil, a perfect piece, perhaps the perfect piece, for the world of Blade Runner (and Rutger Hauer delivers perhaps the greatest soliloquy in film history in his final scene). Spellbinding.

Hans Beckert (M), played by Peter Lorre

When I was a teenager broadening my palette into international cinema, one of the pictures that I came across was Fritz Lang's M. Notwithstanding the fact that it is all-round a majestically constructed work, it is a major achievement on the part of Peter Lorre that he was able to make Hans Beckert a sympathetic character. A serial killer who preys on and murders children, he is introduced to us in a manner akin to that of a phantom boogeyman, whistling the leitmotif of Edvard Grieg's In The Hall Of The Mountain King from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1. The whole film builds itself around the manhunt and bases itself upon the predication that Beckert is a monster. By the end, however, it is clear that Beckert is not a ghoul or a fiend, but a person, a deranged and insane one, but a human being nonetheless. It is another classic case of an antagonist being used to question our morals and ethics, and the torment and anguish which this man so clearly suffers makes him a sorrowful figure indeed.

Frank Booth (Blue Velvet), played by Dennis Hopper

And now we head into altogether different territory. For each of these entries I use Google Images to find an appropriate picture. In the case of Frank Booth, I found it hard to find one that was relatively neutral. Dennis Hopper's wild-eyed and foul-mouthed Booth is sexually aggressive and violently psychotic. Every time he is onscreen in the presence of Kyle MacLachlan's poor Jeffrey Beaumont, like him, we are on edge, because Frank is the epitome of human evil cranked up to eleven. At a moment's notice, with his hair-trigger temperament, helped in no part by his gas-inhaling habit, he could snap and fly into a rage. Hopper is a force of nature who wreaks havoc wherever he walks in this part, chewing people up and spitting them out for his pleasure and delight. Of all the antagonists on this list, Frank Booth may well be the most terrifying.

Anton Chigurh (No Country For Old Men), played by Javier Bardem

Described as the Unstoppable Evil archetype that recurs throughout Cormac McCarthy's literature (think the Judge from Blood Meridian), Javier Bardem's acclaimed performance in the Coen brothers' Academy-Award winning adaptation of No Country For Old Men as Anton Chigurh is already the stuff of legend. Chigurh is one of those characters that when he walks into a room the whole atmosphere changes. The air becomes cooler, the tempo of your heartbeat speeds up, sensing the element of danger, and yet you can't tear your eyes from this strange-looking mop-headed hitman. He is ruthless, remorseless and completely lacking in compassion, but what separates him from the pack is that he has a philosophy. Living by a very specific and deliberate set of morals and principles, he is relentlessly determined in executing his tasks, but abides by a code in doing so. Perhaps that, along with Bardem's unique delivery, is what makes him so fascinating. 

Commodus (Gladiator), played by Joaquin Phoenix

I could write a book about my love for Gladiator. Although widely celebrated when first released in 2000, it has been in the years since then been subject to on-off spats of negative criticism. I first saw it when I was nine years old on the DVD copy my uncle bought me for Christmas (which remains in my possession) and it still carries for me the sheer scope, the spectacle, the awe and wonder of the majesty of Ancient Rome that so entranced me as a boy. But anyway, I digress. One of the things about Gladiator that never changes, though, is that Commodus is an out-and-out bastard. Jealous, insecure, vicious with an insatiable bloodlust, his cruelty knows no bounds of moral transgression in the pursuit of getting what he wants. Played by a young Joaquin Phoenix, who has since went on to have an incredible career with a wide body of work, this was the first time I and many others no doubt saw him on the big screen. I'd be lying if I didn't say there's times I find it hard to get rid of that initial impression.

Sherrif "Little" Bill Daggett (Unforgiven), played by Gene Hackman

This is what I meant earlier by rule number three, because in another picture "Little" Bill Daggett would be hero of the piece, while Clint Eastwood's Will Munny would be the villain. However, in the Eastwood-directed Unforgiven, the lines are blurred. While Munny is no saint in this world of sinners, Gene Hackman, who also gave us one of cinema's great protagonists in "Popeye" Doyle, his "Little" Bill Daggett is clearly anything but an angel. The sheriff of Big Whiskey is a sadistic scoffer who in the course dispensing justice mocks, berates and revels in the downfall of his enemies. Far from the firm but fair objective lawman, he takes pleasure in making grand gestures and displays, all the while exhibiting a rough and ready violent streak. Unforgiven is not just one of the great screen westerns, but one of the great works of the screen period, and "Little" Bill Daggett is a notable part of that.

Death (The Seventh Seal), played by Bengt Ekerot

Ingmar Bergman was a master with a vast body of work spanning multiple decades, and which I have no doubt will continue to live on many centuries after his passing. We will be speaking of Bergman as canon in the same way we do of Shakespeare. However, of all the many great things Bergman did as an artist, no image of his is so indelibly burned into the popular consciousness than the opening scene of Bengt Ekerot's Death playing chess on the beach with Max Von Sydow's knight Antonius Block. Not a regular screen player of Bergman's, Ekerot, although caked in white paint and shrouded in black clothing, depicts Death not as a pantomime figure, a frothing devil with a twist in his tail, but as a self-aware individual whose mere concern is the inevitable fulfilment of his purpose, that of delivering the souls of the living from one realm to another. It's as strong a performance as that of the innumerable greats from the wide oeuvre of The Great Swede, and is certainly the most influential depiction of Death in contemporary culture.

Lady Eboshi (Princess Monoke), played by Yuko Tanaka

There's a lot to admire about Lady Eboshi. She's a strong and determined woman in a world of men, the courageous leader of Irontown, a proud individual not above self-sacrifice in following her beliefs. Unfortunately, though, she's batting for the wrong side. In the pursuit of industrial advancement, Lady Eboshi's cause has a negative impact on the environment and natural wildlife in the world that the characters inhabit. In her steadfast refusal to accept compromise or accept any opposition, she's sincere in her stubborn belief that what she is doing for the greater good of her people. Yuko Tanaka injects Eboshi with a sense of humanity. A pet peeve of mine when watching works by left-wing/liberal filmmakers is the depiction of 'The Big Bad' as a two-dimensional cartoon, a cardboard-cutout caricature of a fascistic demagogue. With thorough fleshing out and three-dimensional complexity, there's none of that with Eboshi.

Terence Fletcher (Whiplash), played by J.K. Simmons

Earlier on I mentioned about how whenever certain characters walk into a room the atmosphere changes. While with Anton Chigurh the temperature drops Terence Fletcher cranks things up high, to the point that, like Miles Teller's Andrew Neiman, you're sweating buckets because you're with him on the edge of that stool behind the drumkit. The dramatic tension of Damien Chazelle's Whiplash is predicated around the mercurial relationship of young jazz student Neiman and his teacher Fletcher. After years of quietly stealing the show, J.K. Simmons took the ball that was this gift of a part and ran with it. His Terence Fletcher is a foul-mouthed tyrant, a perfectionist wound up like a coiled spring and as such has everyone else on edge through the film. Even Fletcher's quieter moments are nerve-wracking. They're like the calm before the storm, and what lies underneath is a human tornado.

Alexandra "Alex" Forrest (Fatal Attraction), played by Glenn Close

When Fatal Attraction was first released in 1987, it caused a sensation. In the midst of the uproar, it became the highest-grossing film of 1987 and was nominated for six Academy Awards. Now, while I will say the film as a whole is terrific, standing up against retrospective negative criticism, it would not work on the level that it does without the extraordinary performance of Glenn Close. Now, I am an unabashed fan of Close, but what she does her with Alexandra Forrest goes above and beyond. Although Fatal Attraction is designed around the tension Close brings to Michael Douglas' Dan Gallagher's life, Alex is no two-dimensional wailing banshee of a woman scorned. Close's Alex is a deeply troubled, disturbed individual with mental health issues who develops a dangerous infatuation. I can't say enough about the brilliance of this performance, certainly up there among my personal favourites. Alex may have become the prototypical 'bunny boiler' in the popular conscious, but Close plays her with such humanity that you cannot help but sympathise with her. In today's day and age and in light of the recent Me Too movement, it seems especially prescient, and that's perhaps why men find Alex so terrifying.

Hans Gruber (Die Hard), played by Alan Rickman

And now we go back into the realm of more famous antagonists. Bruce Willis' John McClane is one of the great screen protagonists, but McClane would not have come across as successfully without the work of Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber. In the forty-two year old's first screen performance, Rickman revels in the opportunity. In another man's hands, Hans would be another two-dimensional terrorist. With Rickman, Gruber portrays the extremist as an intelligent, sophisticated and ruthless gentleman will go to all lengths to get what he wants (namely his detonators!). Just look at the smooth versatility with which he (as an Englishman) floats between an American accent, German and German-accented English when he and McClane meet face-to-face (in a scene which was not originally in the script but only written in once it was found out that Rickman could do an American accent). It's a small scene, but absolute genius. 

Doyle Hargraves (Sling Blade), played by Dwight Yoakam

John Ritter's Vaughan describes Doyle Hargraves as a "monster," and in Billy Bob Thorton's 1996 contemporary classic Sling Blade, Dwight Yoakam's Doyle is the definition of the concept that sometimes the greatest of monsters are often the most human. Doyle is no slasher movie villain, but in the context of this drama, he carries similar attributes where the fear surrounding him is concerned. A violent and abusive alcoholic, he perpetually torments those closest to him, namely his girlfriend Linda, her son Frank, and the various members of his band. He also bullies Vaughan for his homosexuality and our protagonist, Billy Boy Thornton's Karl Childers, feeling that his intellectual disability makes him an easy target. Country musician Yoakam, a non-professional actor, fits right into the Southern Gothic fairy tale world of Sling Blade, and his Doyle is the perfect opposing force to Thornton's Karl.

Matthew Hopkins (Witchfinder General), played by Vincent Price

The late great Vincent Price, a cult favourite of many (and yours truly), played many parts over the course of his career, which spanned seven different decades, but was mostly known for his work in the horror genre. Alternating between protagonist and antagonist, no role in the case of the latter was as deliriously malevolent as that of Matthew Hopkins in Witchfinder General. Despite constant clashes on-set with young director Michael Reeves, Price gives perhaps his most subtle performance. His Hopkins is a suitably restrained menace, and the cool, calm demeanour of this religious zealot in the face of heinous brutality is very unnerving. Price would later admit when he saw the picture that he understood what Reeves had been getting at, and for the rest of his life held it up as one of his personal favourite works. I too believe it to be up there.  

El Indio (For A Few Dollars More), played by Gian Maria Volonte

Sergio Leone, the great master of the Spaghetti Western, was a production powerhouse with five terrific pictures under his belt from 1964-1971, two of which, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly and Once Upon A Time In The West are consider among the greatest films of all time. However, of all the many rogues in the gallery of his antagonists, none is more villainous and dastardly as the laughing face of El Indio. Played by Gian Maria Volonte, himself described as a volatile actor behind the scenes, Indio has been bust out of prison by members of his gang, and while getting back to his old ways displays a savagery going beyond reason and revenge. Merciless, the drug habit which distracts him from haunting memories in fact feeds his cruelty, creating a cyclical process of violence in which he relishes the rules of the games he makes, playing out his duels by the chilling chimes of his pocket watch, designed of course by the Maestro Morricone. Consider the church scene; Alex Cox describes Indio as the "most diabolical Western villain of all time." However fascinating, it's hard to disagree.

Joker (The Dark Knight), played by Heath Ledger

It's hard to say anything that hasn't already been said about Heath Ledger's iconic turn as the Joker in The Dark Knight. Having been played in the past by the likes of Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson and Mark Hamill, initially there was great opposition to Ledger's casting. However, whereas all previous depictions of the character were variations on the same theme, Ledger threw out the rule book and went in a whole other direction. The agent of chaos to the order of Christian Bale's Batman ("You complete me!"), Ledger is that character body and soul, from the lip-smacking scrunched face and yellow teeth under the smeared makeup to his physical movements right down to that voice, his Joker is anarchy personified in a manner which is cerebral, intense, occasionally funny, and always frightening. To say that Ledger's passing at the age of twenty-eight was untimely is an understatement, for he left us with something that will go down in the history of pop culture ("Why so serious?") and one of the classic performances of the screen. 

Lina Lamont (Singin' In The Rain), played by Jean Hagen

Singin' In The Rain is a wonderful cinematic experience: charming, heartfelt, whimsical, satirical and at times outrageously funny, it remains to this day one of the warmest and spiritually uplifting motion pictures ever made. In the midst of all this, though, there's a proverbial "devil in a red dress," or in this case, several different garish, lavish colours. Jean Hagen's Lina Lamont is a prototypical screen 'bitch,' the ancestor of all those high-school bullies that later became steadfast fixtures as foils for our protagonists. Insecure, vindictive and neurotic (with a horrendously screechy voice to boot), Lina has a cold-blooded nasty streak, willing to throw anyone under a speeding train in order to advance her career. It's hard not to feel indignant threatens to sabotage the career of co-star Gene Kelly's Don Lockwood and attempts to use and usurp the budding talents of poor Debbie Reynolds' Kathy Selden. None of this could pulled off as successfully without Hagen's spot-on turn.

SS Colonel Hans Landa (Inglourious Basterds), played by Christoph Waltz

I have a contentious relationship with Inglourious Basterds (and Quentin Tarantino's wider oeuvre as a whole). Famously, back when it was first released, I fell asleep for a couple of minutes only to wake up and see that nothing new had happened and we were still in the middle of the same scene. I have since seen it again, and while I may still have those opines, I've never been anything less than convinced by the sheer magnetism and force of Christoph Waltz' turn as Hans Landa. The film's opening ("Once Upon A Time In Nazi-Occupied France"), in which Landa interrogates a dairy farmer suspected of hiding a Jewish family, is absolutely nerve-wracking, down to Waltz's mercurial talents. Polite, eloquent and charming in his demeanour, Waltz nevertheless manages to get across entirely the cruel economy and intelligent ruthlessness of the self-styled "Jew Hunter." This extended sequence is the highlight of the film and one of the best things Tarantino, a master wordsmith, has ever written. While the rest of the movie may not be entirely up to scratch, every time Waltz's Landa is onscreen we are hooked, line and sinker.

Lots-O-Huggin' Bear "Lotso" (Toy Story 3), played by Ned Beatty

Speaking of Tarantino, who would name Toy Story 3 his favourite film of 2010, this here's a pretty personal pick of mine. Also my favourite film of 2010 and single-favourite picture of the past twenty years, I can't say enough about my absolute love for Toy Story 3. Part of what works so well here, from a general perspective, is the time, craft and exceptional care that goes into establishing and fleshing out (or rather, fluffing out) these characters. In the case of Lotso, who is, on the surface, a kind-natured soul, a good 'ole boy, underneath the warm veneer he's a benevolent dictator ruling the toys of Sunnyside Daycare with an iron fist. He punishes troublemakers with abominable cruelty, all in his belief that it is being the done for the greater good. Ultimately, though, Lotso's darkness emerges from heartbreak and trauma. However bitter and miserable he may be, Ned Beatty ensures that he is, if not sympathetic, then certainly an understandable and relatable antagonist. 

Pazazu (The Exorcist), played by Eileen Dietz/Mercedes McCambridge/Ron Faber/Linda Blair

I have some slight issues with AFI's 100 Years... list of Heroes & Villains. As I mentioned at the beginning, there were some individual characters who, for all intents and purposes, are the heroes as the film's protagonists, such as Travis Bickle, Alexander de Large, Michael Corleone, but one I absolutely object to is Regan MacNeil being classed among the mugshots. It is quite clearly the demon Pazazu that is the film's antagonist. Evil in all it's purity, Pazazu takes possession of the twelve-year-old Regan as a pawn to be used in his inevitable showdown with the priests Merrin and Karras. A dark force throwing down the gauntlet to challenge God's agents of the faith, Pazazu strips down the glory of battle to it's bare bones, and through the various incarnations, guises of a raw, putrid, ugly self, takes our protagonists (and the audience) to otherwise unimaginable territory. 

Reverend Harry Powell (The Night Of The Hunter), played by Robert Mitchum

I saw The Night Of The Hunter for the first time very recently and was completely entranced. I've seen it a second time since, and will probably soon enough watch it again. Although maligned upon release, it is one of the most unique of Hollywood studio pictures. Part of this lasting appeal is down to the incredible performance of Robert Mitchum as the Reverend Harry Powell. With a sinister charm that belies the ruthless efficiency with which he regularly carves his way through people, manipulating them every which way for his purposes like playthings, behind the deep-voiced, sonorous tones of this singing priest are so many questions. He's an enigma, a mystery. Is he really a man of the cloth, or simply or a con man? Is he really a misogynist who despises sex? Does he truly believe in the divine pact worked up betwixt him and God, or is this part of the act? Regardless, it doesn't matter. He is The Preacher. Verbal Kint once said that "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." By the end of The Night Of The Hunter, Mitchum has you convinced otherwise. This character was the inspiration and impetus behind my doing up this list. Death rides a white horse, and his name is Harry Powell.

John Ryder (The Hitcher), played by Rutger Hauer

The only actor to appear twice on this list, I couldn't not include the mighty Rutger Hauer's John Ryder in Robert Harmon's 1986 feature directorial debut, The Hitcher. Another film with a strange history, but unlike The Night Of The Hunter, The Hitcher's retrospective reputation seems set to remain as that of a minor cult classic. Yet, over the years I have talked with many people who express their love for the film as a whole, some of whom were absolutely terrified by John Ryder. He may be a malevolent psychopath tormenting C. Thomas Howell's Jim Halsey, but the presence of Hauer makes him into an existential figure that forces Jim to question and challenge himself. He's a dark phantom who wreaks havoc and destruction before vanishing into the desert from whence he came. It's an extraordinary turn in a criminally underrated picture. 

Norman Stansfield (Leon: The Professional), played by Gary Oldman

This is one of those times when an actor takes what could be a stock villain and injects it with so much energy and pazazz that it takes on a whole other life of it's own. Not known for doing things with half a heart, Gary Oldman throws himself entirely into the character of Norman Stansfield. A perfect flipside to the reserved, calm demeanour of Jean Reno's Leon, Oldman twitches like a tiger full of tics. His delivery is sabre-tongued, lashing out and frightening even his colleagues as he philosophises and speaks at length about his devotion to classical music. This bent copper is one unpredictable cat who, when faced with the wholesale massacre of a family and having been shot, is relatively nonplussed bar a mild concern that his suit has been ruined. However, even in the "calm little moments before the storm" which remind him of a Beethoven, you get the impression that underneath it all there's a ticking timebomb waiting to explode.

The Terminator (The Terminator), played by Arnold Schwarzenegger

Obvious Callum is obvious, right? It's the greatest film of all time, so no list of the greatest antagonists in film history would be complete without Arnold Schwarzenegger in the role of a lifetime as The Terminator. Whatever various incarnations (of mixed quality) appeared over the years and have been put through the popular culture wringer, first impressions mean everything, and the original set the standard for everything that followed. Doing a lot by doing nothing, the cold, menacing stare, the focused precision, the slowly tracking eyes, the trained precision, Schwarzenegger's cyborg is like something out of a neon nightmare, a merciless killing machine who, as Michael Biehn's Kyle Reese says to Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor, "absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead." In the battle between good and evil, the light and the dark, the ages-old story updated into our contemporary world, Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator is the Man-Machine Incarnate. 

And, there you have it with our list. Be sure to engage if you should feel that way inclined. What were your favourite antagonists in film history? Are there some you feel I have left out here? Is there anyone who shouldn't be on this list? Let me know what you think, and don't forget to keep your eyes posted!

Dedicated to

Rutger Hauer (1944-2019)