27 Movie Stars Who Were Just Too Good At Playing Villains

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

Li Xin’ai as Chang Le in The Princess Weiyoung

“It’s a historic-fiction soap opera show in Mandarin Chinese currently on Netflix. Li Xin’ai plays the evil sister, Chang Le, who works with her mom against Princess Weiyoung, and she does a scary fantastic job at it! The further the show goes, the WORSE she gets.”

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 Osborne scared the ever-living s@#t 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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho

“Christian Bale. American Psycho. Batman was not OK for me.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.'”

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!”

David Tennant as Kilgrave in Jessica Jones and Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

“After seeing Jessica Jones, I just can’t not see him as an evil murderer.”

“Barty Crouch, Jr. was such a strong character that I couldn’t differentiate the actor from the character when I started watching Doctor Who. Took forever to get into him as the Doctor.”

Saoirse Ronan as Briony in Atonement

“For years, I couldn’t stand Saoirse Ronan because of how well she played Briony in Atonement!”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

Jacob Elordi as Nate in Euphoria…and as Noah in The Kissing Booth

“I despise his stupid face because of his character in Euphoria.”

“Jacob Elordi in Euphoria AND The Kissing Booth. I said what I said.”