13 Wicked Movie Villains That Also Used to Be Young and Harmless

Most actors from this article are famous for their roles as villains. We forgot what some of them looked like in their youth: some of them started their movie careers or became famous only when they were already pretty old (for example, Alan Rickman), and others are very connected with the appearance of the characters they created.

13. Imelda Staunton

• Played villains in: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010).

The actress was so convincing in the role as the assistant of the Minister of Magic and Hogwarts professor Dolores Jane Umbridge that all of the fans of the Harry Potter franchise absolutely hated the character, which was the ultimate goal.

Aside from the Harry Potter movies, Imelda Staunton has had many other important roles. In 2006, Imelda was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her achievements in cinema. In 2016, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire. One of her latest roles is in the TV series Downton Abbey.

12. Tim Curry

• Played villains in: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), It (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).

On the big screen, Tim Curry mostly played bad guys. Because of how great his job as Pennywise was, some easily-impressed viewers still can’t sleep well.

Aside from his movie career, Tim Curry was quite successful on the theater stage, and also as a voice actor. An interesting fact is that thanks to a very specific tone in his voice, the actor mostly voiced villains. His voice also has appeared in video games. In 2012, he had a massive stroke, and is now disabled.

11. Glenn Close

• Played villains in: Fatal Attraction (1987), 101 Dalmatians (1996), 102 Dalmatians (2000).

For the first time in her career, Close played the role of a villain in 1987 in Fatal Attraction. She portrayed Alex Forest who was ready to do anything to win a man’s heart. Her screen partner was Michael Douglas.

The most famous villain role of the actress is probably Cruella De Vil. The owner of a fashion house, Cruella dreams about making a fur coat out of real Dalmatians. The legendary villain, with black and white hair, scared children back in the 1961 cartoon, but it was Close that made her truly terrifying. Her laughter alone gives even the strongest viewers the shivers.

10. John Malkovich

• Played villains in: Dangerous Liaisons (1988), In the Line of Fire (1993), Con Air (1997), The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), The Libertine (2005), The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Eragon (2006).

2-time Oscar nominee, John Malkovich, often appears in movies in the roles of villains, sadists, maniacs, and bad guys. So, in the adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s novel Dangerous Liaisons, the actor played the role of Valmont, an immoral schemer, that does bad things to people for no reason.

9. Robert Patrick

• Played villains in: Die Hard 2 (1990), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), The Faculty (1998).

The first thing that comes to mind when the name of this actor is mentioned is the liquid Terminator T-1000 played by Robert Patrick in James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Once, the actor said this in an interview, “First I was killed by Bruce Willis, then Schwarzenegger, then Stallone. And in Charlie’s Angels 2, I was killed by the former Mrs. Bruce Willis. Someday...someday!...maybe I won’t get killed...”

8. Anjelica Huston

• Played villains in: The Witches (1990), Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)

Morticia Addams, portrayed by Anjelica Huston, was such a bright character, that she still inspires thousands of fans to dress as her on Halloween. Granted, Morticia isn’t exactly a villain, but she’s the type of delightfully dark character who’d probably be flattered by the comparison.

Throughout her career, Huston has often been cast as fairytale villains and witches: the wicked stepmother in Ever After: A Cinderella Story, the witch Gothel in Barbie as Rapunzel, the Grand High Witch in The Witches, and she even appeared in Faerie Tale Theatre as one of the wicked sisters in its version of Beauty and the Beast.

At the moment, Anjelica Huston continues to appear in movies. One of her latest roles was in John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum.

7. Alan Rickman

• Played villains in: Die Hard (1988), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Harry Potter (2001–2011).

Alan Rickman’s movie career started with the role of an evil man in Die Hard (before that, he was a theater actor). One of his most popular acting jobs is the role of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter franchise. In this role, he managed to portray a controversial, multi-faced, and mysterious character.

Unfortunately, the amazing actor, the winner of a Golden Globe and a BAFTA died in 2016 because of cancer, just before he turned 70 years old.

6. Lena Headey

• Played villains in: Game of Thrones (2011–2019), Dredd (2012)

In Game of Thrones, Lena Headey had one of the key roles — she was the beautiful, but cunning and merciless Cersei, the wife of the king and later Queen mother for her young and evil son. This work was a true breakthrough in the career of the actress — she got a Golden Globe nomination and several Emmy nominations.

5. Daryl Hannah

• Played villains in: Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004).

Daryl Hannah is most famous for her role as the one-eyed villain Elle Driver in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. But she has also had many other bright roles in her filmography. She appeared in Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner and in Splash with Tom Hanks.

4. Hugo Weaving

• Played villains in: The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003).

The role of the mysterious Agent Smith in The Matrix franchise that Weaving played made him famous worldwide. The actor continued to play this role in the sequels.

His other famous work is his role as the elf Elrond, in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. And he also had a great role in V for Vendetta.

3. Christopher Lee

• Played villains in: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Dracula (1958), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1965), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003), Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002).

Christopher Lee is probably the biggest villain in the world of cinema — he played the role of Dracula 9 times, in very different films and he was the antagonist in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. And his most famous villain role, that many people of today know of, is Saruman the White from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Lee’s filmography has about 280 roles. He died in 2015 at the age of 93.

2. Louise Fletcher

• Played villains in: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Louise Fletcher was cast as Mildred Ratched, the nurse in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest a week before filming began. And this is despite the fact that for 6 months, she was invited to participate in auditions more than once. Director Milos Forman told her every time that she just got the part wrong but kept calling her back. “And in the end, I chose her and I was right. For the role of a beautiful nurse with an icy heart, who with the help of passive aggression methodically breaks the personalities entrusted to her patients.” The actress received not only an Academy Award but also a BAFTA award and a Golden Globe Award.

1. Kathy Bates

• Played villains in: Misery (1990), American Horror Story: Coven (2013)

Stephen King has come up with many villains throughout his legendary career, but it seems to many that the simple nurse Annie Wilkes has surpassed all fantastic creatures. Kathy Bates was great at playing a woman who is so sure that only she knows what is right, that she is ready to get her way by any means. For the role of Annie, the actress received an Oscar.

In 2013 Kathy Bates portrayed a heavily fictionalized version of the serial killer Delphine LaLaurie in the third season of the anthology television series American Horror Story.

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