10. Darth Maul – Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Ray Park will probably never be mistaken for one of the
all-time great actors, but his scary Sith apprentice in the spectacularly
disappointing follow-up to the original Star Wars trilogy was by far the
coolest thing to come out of that updated cinematic universe. From his red and
black tribal face-paint and horns to his acrobatic double-bladed lightsaber
moves, Maul was the new generation’s Boba Fett.
9. Catherine Tramell – Basic Instinct (1992)
Sure, it's entitled Bad “Guys”, but that’s just a figure of
speech. I recently caught Basic Instinct on cable and watched it for the
umpteenth time. I was reminded of how great Sharon Stone was in this part. She
was amazingly sexy of course, but more than that, she was genuinely
frightening. Tough guy Michael Douglas truly seemed over his head against her
as the cop trying to solve a murder mystery and you weren't sure if he was
going to survive it even up to the final seconds of the film.
8. Colonel Hans Landa – Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Christoph Waltz was a relative unknown in the United States
until Quentin Tarantino introduced him to us as the intelligent but chillingly
evil Nazi known as The Jew Hunter. While this film isn't one of my favorites in
Tarantino's impressive oeuvre, Waltz shines as the man every European Jew fears
in a fictional version of WWII. The opening scene alone marked Waltz as a star
to be reckoned with.
7. Anton Chigurh – No Country for Old Men (2007)
Oscar winner, Javier Bardem was fantastic as the
pitiless assassin in this Coen Brothers thriller about a man that stumbles upon
a large amount of cash lost in a drug deal gone bad and makes the mistake of
trying to keep it. Bardem has been excellent in quite a few films, often as the
antagonist, but this one is still my favorite.
6. Detective Alonzo Harris – Training Day (2001)
We're used to seeing handsome leading man, Denzel
Washington, play the hero which made this gritty cop drama from director
Antoine Fuqua that much more intriguing. Washington was perfect as the dirty
cop that reels new detective Jake Hoyt into his elaborate scheme in order to
pay back the powerful gangsters to whom he owes money. This role earned Washington the second Oscar
of his career and tops a long list of impressive performances on his résumé.
5. Tom Cruise – Collateral (2004)
Cruise catches some well-deserved flak for often choosing
roles that are more about his good looks and star power than his talent as an
actor, but make no mistake, the man can act. Like Washington in Training Day,
Cruise played against type in this Michael Mann film and it paid off big. The
cat-and-mouse game he plays with cabbie Max as he attempts to kill every person on his hit
list provides a tension-filled 120 minutes that shouldn't be missed.
4. Drexl Spivey – True Romance (1993)
Gary Oldman is a fantastic actor who has a reputation for
being a bit over-the-top. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. His
dreadlocked, wanna-be black pimp in this modern crime drama is probably my
favorite of the 80 and counting roles he’s played over a long and distinguished
career. How about this quip when confronted by Christian Slater as the
combative boyfriend of one of his hookers? “He must have thought it was white
boy day. It ain't white boy day, is it?”
3. Vincenzo Coccotti – True Romance (1993)
Yes, I picked two bad guys from the same movie. It's that
good. Christopher Walken's gangster in the Tarantino penned script doesn't get
a lot of screen time, but man does he make the most of it. His interrogation
scene with Dennis Hopper is an absolute classic. Tarantino has created plenty
of great roles, but this character is one of his best. How's this for an
introduction? “I'm the Anti-Christ. You got me in a vendetta kind of mood. You
tell the angels in heaven you never seen evil so singularly personified as you
did in the face of the man who killed you.”
2. Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight (2008)
A career-defining, and ending, role, Ledger's Joker was the
perfect foil for Christian Bale's dark and tormented Batman. His genius and
demented take on this classic villain redefined what a comic-book bad guy could
be and won him a posthumous and well-deserved Oscar. Here's a taste of The
Joker's world-view: “You see, their morals, their code, it's a bad joke.
Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows
them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these... these civilized
people, they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the
curve.”
1. Dr. Hannibal Lecter – The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
And finally, my favorite cinematic villain of the past 25
years is Anthony Hopkins' Oscar-winning cannibal, Hannibal Lecter. Nowhere will
you find a more chilling or a more compelling bad guy. Hopkins owns every scene
he's in. You can't take your eyes off of him. He's like a mesmerizing snake,
all you can do is helplessly watch until he decides to sink his teeth into you
and savor every juicy morsel. A few others have tried to play this part in
various projects, but no one will ever come close to this acting masterpiece.
So there's my Top 10. I left out tons of great roles and
I'll bet plenty of readers could argue the merits of my choices. What do you
think? Who would you add or remove from the list?
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