Coolest movie villains

[L4Linux]

What is your favourite movie villain of all time? In no particular order, my favourite 9 (+other!)
Video games characters are not included.

EDIT: You can select many villains

[Freston]

I voted 'other'

Among others:
The Smoking Man (X-Files)
The Daleks (Doctor Who)

[techieMoe]

Now why'd you have to go and lump the James Earl Jones Darth Vader together with the Hayden Christenson version? The original Darth is hands down my favorite, but because I hated the Hayden version I ended up voting for the Joker. Nicholson and Ledger had very different approaches, but I liked them both in their roles.

[aluminumspleen]

I voted 'other' for Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. In the movie, it was Christian Bale who played him, and he had some shining moments. Obviously, the movie fell way short of the book, but it was still pretty good nonetheless.

[L4Linux]

I forgot to mention that you can select many villains.

I didn't find Hayden Christenson bad at Anakin turning into Darth Vader.

[Dapper Dan]

I had to choose "other" too.

1. Frank Usher (Richard Boone) - "The Tall T"
2. Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) - "Goldfinger"
3. Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) - "Gladiator"
4. Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) - "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"
5. Longshanks (Patrick McGoohan) - "Braveheart"

[techieMoe]

I didn't find Hayden Christenson bad at Anakin turning into Darth Vader.

Hmm.. actor who cannot emote his way out of a paper bag becoming a half-human cyborg with a facemask that prevents him from expressing any visual emotion... Yes, I'm beginning to see your point.

[L4Linux]

Hmm.. actor who cannot emote his way out of a paper bag becoming a half-human cyborg with a facemask that prevents him from expressing any visual emotion... Yes, I'm beginning to see your point.

It was never the "acting" & "emotion expression" that made Darth Vader super-cool. The original "actor" just wore the suit and moved around while the voice belonged to James Earl Jones, for crying out loud!!
It is the concept of Darth Vader that made him cool. Becoming corrupted, from a hero turning into a villain and redeeming in the end.
As far as acting is concerned, all of the above actors were a lot better than David Prowse/James Earl Jones & Hayden Christensen.

[rokytnji]

My vote goes to

1. Jonathan Teatime in Hogfather
2. Wicked Witch in the Wizard of OZ
3. The Alien in the movie Alien (he made me jump)

[questio verum]

Interesting topic, L4. Regardless of how you view it, the possibilities are legion. The 'coolest villain'. Hmmm... Now... is that 'cool' as an aesthetic of style, attitude, and appearance? Cool' as a social distinction? 'Cool' as in a calm, controlled, and composed demeanor. Or 'cool' as in the European sense of using nonchalance and detachment as a form of defensive irony? Or is it something else?


Hey... pay me no mind. I'm just jerkin' your chain, man. I know what you mean.

Well, there are many interesting candidates to choose from. Heath Ledger's 'Joker' immediately comes to mind. Such an interesting and nuanced character. Very well fleshed out. But... he's not really what I would call cool. Compelling... Yeah. But he's only able to hold cool for a short time before that temper gets the best of him. Still, I give him a 9.5 for style, and a 10 for screen presence. Hannibal Lector is a little cooler, but still not my top pick. Too obssessive and moody to be considered cool. I guess for me, 'coolest' would have to be a toss-up between Jack Nicholson's Darryl Van Horn, in The Witches of Eastwick; and Kevin Spacey's John Doe in Se7en. Van Horn meets deffinitions 1,2, & 3, while Doe meets 2 & 4. Yes, I know what you're going to say... DVH did lose his temper there for a little bit. But you must admit, he did regain his composure at the end. And he delivered us one of villainy's most memorable rants in the church scene. Ha! ha! Priceless!

George Clooney made a great run at villainous cool too, with his Seth Gecko character in From Dusk til Dawn. But... I don't know, maybe it was the veering off into the ridiculous vampire sequences that puts me off. Otherwise he would have been a serious contender.

For scariest, it's hands down the Predator for me. That is one scary ass M***** F*****! The stuff that nightmares and night terrors are made of. I think that creature just raises something primeval in the subconscious. A threat you can't see until you've been gutted or blasted into splattering bits. No thanks. Btw... am I the only one who thinks "Jamaican cyborg" when they see the Predator in full regalia?

qv


-edit- p.s. Was it just me, or was anybody else laughing 'til tears ran down their face when Heath Ledger came meandering out of the hospital in a nurses uniform and Joker makeup. I laughed so hard I thought I was gonna piss myself.