50 Actors Who Played Villains So Perfectly That People Hate Their Faces Now
Earlier this year, we asked the BuzzFeed Community which actors they can't stand the sight of because they played a villain role so well. We got so many responses that we figured it was time to give ALL of these actors some praise for their evil performances.
This post will also contain suggestions from this Reddit thread. Oh, and this post contains spoilers, so watch out!
1.Antony Starr as Homelander in The Boys
"Only 11 episodes and I think if I passed him on the street, I'd have a strong desire to punch him in the face. He does such a good job."
2.Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
"I still can't get past Imelda Staunton's portrayal of Dolores Umbridge. I will always think of that horrible, evil, despicable woman whenever I see her."
3.Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus in Gladiator
"I usually have empathy for the villains, but I wanted him dead so badly the entire movie and it had me concerned about him as a person. Absolutely disgusting villain character played concerningly well."
4.Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton in Game of Thrones
"I thought I'd never be able to watch him in anything else, but there he was in The Dirt, as crotchety-yet-cuddly Mick Mars."
5.Jesse Plemons as Todd in Breaking Bad
"I can’t look at him the same after seeing him as Todd in Breaking Bad. I don’t hate him as an actor, but Todd is so creepy and awful."
6.Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal
"After Hannibal, if Mads Mikkelsen ever invited me to dinner IRL, I’d call every single person I know to tell them I love them before going."
7.And Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, too, in The Silence of the Lambs
"He will always be Hannibal Lecter in whatever I’m watching him in."
8.Misha Collins as Paul in Karla
"I thought it was just a normal horror movie and BOY was I wrong. I used to love Supernatural, but now I get uncomfortable at the mere mention of his name."
9.Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man
"Don't get me wrong, I think he is a fantastic actor, but when Spider-Man came out in 2002, his Green Goblin/Norman Osborn scared the ever-living shit out of me. I have never been able to look at him the same. Norman was such a good villain and that mask just captured Mr. Dafoe’s likeness in the creepiest way."
10.James Spader as Robert California in The Office
"I know he’s not necessarily a villain, but he’s a terrible person and I hate him, any time I see James Spader on anything else I just want to slap his face because he bugged me."
11.Stanley Tucci as George Harvey in The Lovely Bones
"Ever since I saw him play George Harvey, a creepy serial killer in The Lovely Bones, I always get creeped out by him a little bit."
12.Michael Emerson as Benjamin Linus in Lost
"He played manipulative, intelligent, and evil soooo well. I respect his skills as an actor, because he made me hate his villainous character with every fiber of my being."
13.Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho
"Christian Bale. American Psycho. Batman was not OK for me."
14.John Lithgow in multiple roles (but especially the Trinity Killer in Dexter)
"John Lithgow! Arthur Mitchell in Dexter, Winston Churchill in The Crown, the anti-dance pastor in Footloose, Lord Farquaad in Shrek, the guy in the airplane who sees the troll or whatever in The Twilight Zone movie and finally, HE PLAYED BARNEY STINSON'S FATHER."
15.Chiwetel Ejiofor as The Operative in Serenity
"He was such a good villain in Serenity that I just can't see him in anything else — even when he is playing a good character — without getting cross at what a tosser he was in that film."
16.Tobias Menzies as Black Jack Randall in Outlander
"After watching him in Outlander, just being the pinnacle of evil, seeing him in anything else is ruined. I couldn't watch The Crown with him in it! All I think of are the things he had done to Claire and Jamie. He played soulless absolutely flawlessly."
17.Sarah Michelle Gellar as Kathryn in Cruel Intentions
"I know, I know, she is Buffy...but I first saw her in Cruel Intentions and it ruined her for me! Stop coming on to your stepbrother, you creep!"
18.Anjelica Huston as Rodmilla in Ever After
"I think of that movie whenever I see her. She’s a great actor and I’m sure she’s a great person, but she just sold that villain role so perfectly that I have to remind myself she isn’t actually cruel."
19.Saoirse Ronan as Briony in Atonement
"For years, I couldn’t stand Saoirse Ronan because of how well she played Briony in Atonement!"
20.Donald Sutherland as President Snow in The Hunger Games
"I always think of him when I hear the orange juice commercials and think, 'I am never going to buy that orange juice.'"
21.Katey Sagal as Gemma in Sons of Anarchy
"I love, love, love Katey Sagal, but I will admit that her turn as Gemma Teller in Sons of Anarchy just about made me hate her personally. I hated how she swore everything was 'for the club' or 'for her boys' but it was all really for her, to feed her need to be the queen bee. She was a narcissistic nightmare!"
22.Elaine Hendrix as Meredith Blake in The Parent Trap
23.Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook in The Help
"I can’t see her face anywhere without thinking of the racist bitch from The Help!"
24.David Tennant as Kilgrave in Jessica Jones
"After seeing Jessica Jones, I just can't not see him as an evil murderer."
25.Jacob Elordi as Nate in Euphoria...and as Noah in The Kissing Booth (don't @ me)
"I despise his stupid face because of his character in Euphoria."
"Jacob Elordi in Euphoria AND The Kissing Booth. I said what I said."
26.Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow in Batman Begins
"This is probably unpopular, but it’s Cillian Murphy for me. After seeing him in Red Eye and Batman Begins, he just gives me the creeps."
27.Justin Prentice as Bryce Walker in 13 Reasons Why
"I never finished the show, so this is all from Season 1, but anytime I see him in something else I just instantly dislike the character and feel icky. I guess he must be a pretty good actor to make me hate the character so much it translates to him. I’m sure he's a perfectly nice guy, but I just have a hard time seeing him as anything but the rapist and abuser he portrayed in 13 Reasons Why."
28.Ralph Fiennes in multiple roles
"Ralph Fiennes plays the most evil characters! Voldemort, Schindler's List, The Duchess, etc. He’s always a controlling tormenter of others. I couldn’t even watch Maid in Manhattan because I couldn’t get past seeing him as a love interest instead of a villain."
29.Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds
"I know he’s going to be the bad guy before anything even happens. He’s evillll."
30.Tilda Swinton as the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
"She was just so good as the White Witch that I couldn't see her in any other movie for a few years. Maybe it was the fact that I was a child when it came out, but she was so perfect for the role that it terrified me."
—rot7
31.Jason Isaacs as Colonel Tavington in The Patriot
"He’s literally always the villain, you just know when he shows up, it can’t be good. His best villain was William Tavington in The Patriot. Absolutely savage."
32.Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones
"Pretty much every major villain from GOT could be here. Lena Headey? I actively rooted for her death in The Purge because Cersei was awful."
33.Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men
"I have to put Javier Bardem in this. He is absolutely diabolical in No Country for Old Men. He has so little care for human life that he makes a game of it basing killing on the toss of a coin. And the fact that the only thing he cares about afterwards is whether his shoes have gotten dirty. He was so good in Skyfall that I just despised him. When I think of a villain, he's one of the first people that come to mind."
34.Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter
"Literally the most hated person for like eight movies. Voldemort ain’t got nothin on Draco..."
35.Bradley Cooper as Sack in Wedding Crashers
"This is a real phenomenon because I have never forgiven Bradley Cooper for his role in Wedding Crashers, he was the absolute worst! I’ve never been able to enjoy him in anything else."
36.Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl
"Rosamund Pike was an absolute monster in Gone Girl and I can never look at her the same way again, which is sad because my wife loves Pride and Prejudice but I just keep feeling bad for Mr. Bingley."
37.Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter
"She is an amazing actor, without a doubt, but she is always gonna be the one who killed Sirius Black. I really can't watch her without thinking that."
38.Andrew Scott as Moriarty in Sherlock
![<div><p>"Andrew Scott’s portrayal of Jim Moriarty in <i>Sherlock</i> was BRILLIANT! His ability to turn on a dime from cool and calculated to charmingly quirky to raging and murderous always gives me the chills!"</p><p>—<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/siameseblue" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:siameseblue;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">siameseblue</a></p><p><i>[Editor's note: The best cure for this is</i> Fleabag <i>Season 2!]</i></p></div><span> BBC / Via <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6df1H0QudFY&t=18s" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:youtube.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">youtube.com</a></span>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/FTJxyjccLQrqZOn5AgHpwQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0Nw--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/buzzfeed_articles_778/bff90b39d6645092fe415230fdc492dc)
"Andrew Scott’s portrayal of Jim Moriarty in Sherlock was BRILLIANT! His ability to turn on a dime from cool and calculated to charmingly quirky to raging and murderous always gives me the chills!"
[Editor's note: The best cure for this is Fleabag Season 2!]
39.Sam Neill as Inspector Campbell in Peaky Blinders
![<div><p>"I feel sick whenever I see him now."</p><p>—<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/badwolf03" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:badwolf03;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">badwolf03</a></p><p><i>[Editor's note: I will forever hear him creepily saying the name "Grace" in that accent of his!]</i></p></div><span> Netflix / Everett Collection</span>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/UZTASL2LckvgtRb5S8Wa.w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU4Ng--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/buzzfeed_articles_778/7f37badd3642fd5abb2beea66290bb6e)
"I feel sick whenever I see him now."
[Editor's note: I will forever hear him creepily saying the name "Grace" in that accent of his!]
40.Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia in The Handmaid's Tale and other roles
"She is also really awful in The Leftovers. She may just be someone who plays evil too well!"
41.Jon Bernthal as Shane in The Walking Dead
"Jon Bernthal will never be anyone but the despicable Shane Walsh from The Walking Dead to me. I love Marvel, but I can't watch The Punisher because every time I see his face I just want to punch him in the throat."
42.Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris in Training Day
"Denzel Washington played Alonzo Harris so well that I hated him for a minute lol. It took me a while to be able to watch another Denzel movie, I had never seen him play such an evil character and he was so believable that it totally freaked me out."
43.Olivia Colman as the Godmother in Fleabag
"After watching Fleabag, I had to watch so many Olivia Colman interviews to remind myself she’s not a prick in real life. Even now, when I see her I get a little mad."
44.Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad
"I can't look at Giancarlo Esposito without thinking of all the horrible things Gus Fring did in Breaking Bad, no one else could've played this character like him."
45.Alexander Skarsgård as Perry in Big Little Lies
"I really liked him before that, but now I can’t even look at him. He was so physically abusive and manipulative toward his wife (Nicole Kidman) that I would almost shudder when he came on screen. It’s a testament to his acting ability."
46.Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones and Iosef Tarasov in John Wick
"I HATE what Theon Greyjoy did to the Starks and to Robb. People who betray friends are the worst. It doesn't matter what Ramsay Bolton did to him, he didn't pay enough for what he did. And every time I see Alfie Allen, my hate comes back."
"He also killed John Wick’s puppy and then stole his car."
47.JK Simmons as Vern Schillinger in Oz and as Terence in Whiplash
In Oz, he came across as so mundane, but he was the most vile, evil Nazi bastard ever. He really screwed me up and when I see him in films or on the insurance commercials I'm like, 'Nope! That's Vern Schillinger.'"
48.Jack Gleeson as Joffrey in Game of Thrones
"Every time I see him, I feel uncomfortable and I know he's nothing like his character, but I wanted Joffrey to die so much! Let's not forget that he's an actor who had people cheer, clap, and scream with joy when playing a teenage boy who died a pretty gruesome death in his mother's arms..."
49.Aiden Gillen as Petyr Baelish in Game of Thrones
"I don't trust him in anything. As soon as i saw him as John Reed in Bohemian Rhapsody I was like 'oooohhhh fuck that guy.'"
50.Christopher McDonald in Happy Gilmore
"Twenty years later and I still hate Shooter McGavin."
