“Chigurh is great not only because he’s a terrifying killer, but he holds the delusion of being an agent of fate — then, the car crash which nearly kills him happens in the end. Chigurh obviously isn’t immune to fate; he’s just bonkers.” —u/jetstreamsam89 “Every time I thought he couldn’t get any worse, he’d do something even more depraved. Completely selfish and self-centered and gets away with it because he’s so powerful. Oh, and what makes him the most dangerous is that he’s actually pretty dumb to boot.” —u/chapsd “Homelander is an incredible antagonist! I got shivers down my spine in the Season 2 finale when he calmly shut the door and asked the SWAT team where his son was. And again in the latest season when he’s talking to Starlight and says, ‘Sure, I’ll lose everything, but then I’ll have nothing to lose.’ Antony Starr embodies terror flawlessly.” —u/babycallmemabel “I happened upon that film once when it was aired on TV…just somehow flicked to it when it was just starting. By the end, I couldn’t believe I had never heard of it before. What an amazing performance. Plus, I learned what hobbling was. Fuck.” —u/pastdense “Stephen King called her the greatest make-believe villain since Hannibal Lecter.” —u/Rex_Digsdale “The thing with her, is that she is such a REAL, COMMON character to everyday life. You’re not going to encounter Darth Vader, Sauron, or Gus from Breaking Bad, but chances are that you have already met someone like Umbridge. She is almost the perfect definition of a lawful evil character.” —u/algavez “100% agreed. She’s particularly fantastic and terrifying because she is still a force to be reckoned with when she doesn’t have her firebending. (Like during the Eclipse or when she’s playing Long Feng in Ba Sing Se.) Long Feng: ‘You’ve beaten me at my own game.’ Azula: ‘Don’t flatter yourself. You were never even a player.’ What an incredible character.” —u/jynsersos —u/TJTrapJesus —u/ActingAspie “How can you go wrong with Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender? The combination did an outstanding job with Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto — surely one of the best younger and older acting combinations ever.” —u/urkldajrkl —u/Chef_Ventus “Joffrey was just evil to his core. Even when there is nothing to gain, he is shooting sex workers.” —u/SkyNightZ “I absolutely loved Ramsay, and I strongly believe that he is the best villain out of any TV show.” —u/meatwagonman “The most sadistic and taunting character there is. Goes to show how quality acting, directing, and scripts can evoke strong feelings.” —u/TraditionCapable1596 —u/LeaflessTree1 “Can you imagine reading the script on the page, and then Bill Nighy comes in with all that accent, affectation, and just dripping character with that voice work, and you’re like…holy shit, I know how we have to animate his squidface now!” —u/jtechvfx “His character really strikes me. He’s the claimer of all souls of the dead men of the sea. Cool. He’s got this peculiar, menacing but somewhat humorous accent, with an almost cute but cheeky chortle of a laugh. Excellent. He’s made out of sea creatures. And had an octopus for a head. And he plays his organ with said octopus’s tentacles. Brilliant.” —u/WonderfulBlackberry9 “I watched Sherlock and kept thinking, ‘I really don’t like this actor,’ and then, I see him in some other roles, and finally, it hits me that it’s not that I don’t like this guy…it’s that his specific acting as Moriarty is so good he is subconsciously bothering me in a way that no one had managed to do before!” —u/OldeFortran77 —u/mmollica “He got to a point where he just seemed untouchable. He was only human, but damn, did he seem like more than that. For a street level villain, he was incredible.” —u/jardedCollinsky “If you hire David Tennant, you’re gonna get a good performance.” —u/sharrrper “Tennant is a great actor, but a lot of it is just the whole concept of the villain. He overrides your free will just by talking. One would think that would make him a big, high-profile player, but instead, he’s a sadistic and often petty, evil bastard who often comes at you from the shadows.” —u/phormix “John Lithgow was absolutely impressive and beyond disturbing in this role.” —u/SnooRadishes8372 “Still shudder every time I see John Lithgow because of this show. He scares me legitimately.” —u/shes_a_jar “She was such a good evil actress; I instantly hated her as Kai Winn in DS9, too.” —u/PrayForMojo “She apparently couldn’t watch the film for years because of her own performance. Imagine playing a villain so well that it psychs you out.” —u/EvlMinion —u/Cpt_Bartholomew “It’s funny — I thought I was getting a typical mustache-twirling baddie. He dresses in black and red, has a gnarly scar, a gang of intimidating thugs, a British bad-guy accent reminiscent of Jeremy Irons. … I was so, so wrong. He broke my heart.” —u/imspooky “Gus really helped me understand that Walt was truly evil. When the villain is more honorable than the protagonist, there may be a problem with the protagonist (morally, not thematically).” —u/Drabby “I came here to say this, and more broadly, Giancarlo Esposito. He plays villains who are so nuanced and just…terrifying. As Gus, he has an amazing ability to go from affable, mild-mannered, and at times even warm. But then suddenly…ice cold. Terrifying. His brain is constantly 10 steps ahead. He never takes a cheap shot. He is meticulous and deadly calm in his rage, and that makes him all the more frightening. When they poison Don Eladio, and it also includes himself and Walt…whew. I’ve never hated anyone enough to poison myself.” —u/raeknowsnaught “He was only in the original Star Wars for nine minutes, and he made a global impact.” —u/Run_PBJ
