10 Greatest Movie Villains of the 21st Century, Ranked
Few things are more important to the success of a movie than a great villain. After all, a hero is a hero, but everybody loves a good villain. In the history of motion pictures, some of the art form’s most iconic characters are the villains, those dastardly figures that we all love to hate. Be it Hans Gruber in Die Hard or Regina Giddens in The Little Foxes, great villains leave an indelible mark that often eclipses the hero and perhaps even surpasses the film itself. The 21st century has been particularly good for on-screen villainy. From major stars to character actors, and from ambitious blockbusters to quieter, more visceral dramas, the villains of the new millennium have shocked and provoked us, leaving behind strong legacies that might just be impossible to live up to. This list will rank the best movie villains of the 21st century based on their roles in their movies, the performance of the actors, and their overall contributions to the seventh art.
10
The Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) – ‘Shrek 2’ (2004)
Can Fairy Godmother get a whoop whoop?Image via DreamWorks Pictures
Animation has thrived throughout the 21st century, but few movies are as original, delightful, or hilarious as Shrek 2. The 2004 sequel to 2001’s game-changing juggernaut sees Shrek (Mike Myers) travelling to the kingdom of Far, Far Away to meet Fiona’s (Cameron Diaz) parents. Little does he know that King Harold (John Cleese) made a binding arrangement with the manipulative Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders), one that pretty much threatens to undo his newfound happiness. Bolder, funnier, and more unrestrained than its predecessor, Shrek 2 rises on the strength of a confident story and a perfect voice cast. Still, no one is better or having more fun than Saunders, who steals the film as the twisted and scheming Fairy Godmother. A great spin on the classic fairy tale trope, Saunders plays this deceptively changing character like an unhinged grandmother from hell. Cruel and ambitious, the Fairy Godmother is as hilarious as she’s sinister, and Saunders injects her with so much vibrancy that she becomes irresistible. Her now-iconic rendition of “Holding Out for a Hero” while channeling her inner Suzie Diamond is the stuff of animated dreams.
9
Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) – ‘Nosferatu’ (2024)
It wouldn’t be an overstatement to call Bill Skarsgård the most versatile performer of his generation. Something of a modern Lon Chaney, Skarsgård has the unique and near-uncanny ability to bring to life all kinds of horrors, making him an icon of horror cinema. His talents are on full display in Robert Eggers’ remake of the classic Nosferatu, where Skarsgård plays the undead Count Orlok, a Transylvanian vampire who becomes fixated on young English bride Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp). It’s not an easy task to step into a role as iconic as Count Orlok — indeed, Max Schreck’s timeless portrayal is part of horror cinema’s very DNA. Skarsgård wisely opts for a new approach when playing Orlok, starting with a radically different physical appearance. With a booming, deep voice and the slow, creeping strength of a force of nature, Skarsgård becomes more of a presence, the embodiment of an ancient horror desperate to consume. Aided by Eggers’ deliberate, careful approach and suitably complemented by Depp’s bravura performance, Skarsgård crafts a new icon for the digital age, an eldritch terror that blends seduction with dread.
8
Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) – ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ (2007)
Dolores Umbridge standing proud and looking to the distance in ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
The Harry Potter series was a defining part of the 2010s, with six out of the eight movies coming out throughout the decade. The story of Harry Potter’s (Daniel Radcliffe) fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) captivated millions, launching a multimedia franchise that endures to this day. Voldemort is the saga’s primary antagonist, and while he’s a solid villain, the standout antagonist from this fantastical story is the wicked and unhinged Dolores Umbridge. Played by Oscar nominee Imelda Staunton, Umbridge is the Ministry of Magic-appointed Professor Against the Dark Arts teacher during Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts. Unlike the other villains of the series, Umbridge’s evil feels remarkably and eerily real — relatable, even. How many of us haven’t had an abusive authority figure relishing the pain they cause? Umbridge is so chilling because she represents the ever-present villainy of institutions: she’s transparent in her intentions, monolithic even, a figurehead drunk with power and loving every minute of it. Staunton squeezes every last drop of honey from Umbridge’s brand of saccharine poison, crafting a realistic villain who’s far more terrifying than the other creatures that Harry faces.
7
Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) – ‘Training Day’ (2001)
Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris looking intently in Training Day.Image via Warner Bros.
Denzel Washington is among the greatest actors in history. Over a forty-year-plus career, Washington has played all types of characters, both heroes and villains, leading and supporting. Among his most celebrated, however, is corrupt cop Alonzo Harris in Antoine Fuqua’s 2001 crime drama Training Day. The plot follows one day in Harris’ life as he takes ambitious LAPD office Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) on an evaluation to judge his suitability to join the Narcotics division. As Harris, Washington is a true force of nature, a hurricane destroying everything in his path; he takes what he wants and discards the rest, not caring about the damage he leaves in his wake. The actor goes all-out here, with a balls-to-the-walls performance that puts everything on the line; it’s not that he chews the scenery, it’s that he swallows the movie entirely. It’s an electrifying turn from one of cinema’s most accomplished actors, an unrestrained portrayal that fully embraces the character’s corrupt, broken morality. Naturally, Washington won the Oscar for his villainous turn, making him the first and so far only Black actor to take home two acting statuettes. King Kong really got s—t on him.
6
Amy Elliott Dunne (Rosamund Pike) – ‘Gone Girl’ (2014)
Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne on the tub in Gone Girl.Image via 20th Century Studios
David Fincher’s sleek, tight adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novel is among the best thrillers of the last two decades — possibly of all time. Its main asset is Rosamund Pike’s shifting, elusive performance as the modern femme fatale Amy Elliott Dunne, a vengeful, calculating, and highly intelligent woman who fakes her kidnapping to punish her cheating husband’s (Ben Affleck) infidelities. As Amy, Pike delivers one of the greatest thriller performances of the 21st century. She is the embodiment of calculated detachment, an ice-cold psychopath with the patience of a saint and the ruthlessness of a politician. The key to her success is in her delicate balancing act: one minute she’s the ideal wife, the perfect cool girl, and the next she’s a knife ready to strike, a predator buying her time before launching what will ultimately become her deadly strike. Gone Girl lives and dies with Amy, and Pike rises to the challenge, crafting a genuinely chilling portrayal of revenge and female rage that did for this generation of men what Glenn Close’s Alex Forrest did in the ’80s.
5
The Joker (Heath Ledger) – ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)
Joker (Heath Ledger) sits on a floor in an interrogation room with his back against a wall in The Dark Knight.Image via Warner Bros.
By now, Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning take on the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is the stuff of movie legend. The late Australian actor stars opposite Christian Bale’s Batman in this story of escalation and the price of justice. When the Joker threatens to destroy Gotham City through anarchy, Batman must ally with future Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Gotham’s DA, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), to stop him. Ledger’s Joker is, quite simply, a masterclass of acting. Equal parts terrifying and engaging, this take on the Clown Prince of Crime lives up to the comic books’ legacy, embracing all of the character’s theatrical qualities. However, Ledger grounds them on uncomfortable themes, far too easy for the audience to identify. The result is the most realistic comic book villains to ever grace the silver screen, the perfect mix of the superhero genre’s heightened sensibilities and the crime thriller’s more urgent, anxiety-inducing impulses. Ledger disappears into the role, surrendering to the madness to create the embodiment of chaos. It’s a towering achievement that hasn’t yet been surpassed, and probably never will be.
4
Mary Lee Johnston (Mo’Nique) – ‘Precious’ (2009)
Mo’Nique as Mary smoking a cigarette while sitting on a couch in Precious.Image via Lionsgate
Often, cinema’s most terrifying villains are the ones that ring uncomfortably true to the shared reality of millions. In the 21st century, perhaps no movie villain has been as harrowingly realistic as Mary Lee Johnston, the mother of the titular character in Lee Daniels’ 2009 drama Precious. The film centers on Precious (Gabourey Sidibe), a teenager with a child and pregnant with another, both from her own father, who attempts to turn her life around by enrolling in an alternative school. In an Oscar-winning performance, Mo’Nique crafts a genuinely horrifying depiction of motherhood that not only shook cinema at the time but also left a profound mark in its wake. Mary is nothing short of a monster, a cruel and unforgiving woman who physically, emotionally, and sexually abuses her daughter. Yet, Mo’Nique keeps a steady hand on the material; she doesn’t flinch at Mary’s horrors but rather faces them head-on. She faces the abyss and strikes up a conversation with it. The result is a searing, scarring, and outright traumatizing portrayal that’s as agonizing as it is unforgettable. For her efforts, Mo’Nique won an Oscar, and few victories have ever been so deserved.
3
Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) – ‘No Country for Old Men’ (2007)
Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh looking at a man with a scary expression on in No Country for Old Men.Image via Miramax Films
The Coen Brothers’ neo-Western crime thriller No Country for Old Men adapts Cormac McCarthy’s notoriously grim novel into a notoriously grim movie. Josh Brolin stars as Llewelyn Moss, a Vietnam War Veteran who stumbles upon a large money in the desert and takes it. Suddenly, he becomes the target of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a ruthless, calculating, clinical killer in pursuit of the money.
Chigurh has been described as the most realistic depiction of a psychopath on screen, and it’s easy to see why. Bardem is titanic in the role, more a monolith than a character, to the point where he comes across more as a supernatural force rather than the average movie killer. Bardem is precise, patient, and frighteningly effective, delivering each of his well-chosen words with the strength of a warhammer. The coin scene might just be the tensest and most uncomfortable of the 21st century, and it’s all thanks to Bardem’s skill. Like others on this list, the Spaniard won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but his legacy goes beyond that. Chugurh is modern cinema’s ultimate boogeyman, the manifestation of what happens when brute force meets intent.
2
Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) – ‘Inglourious Basterds’ (2009)
Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa in ‘Inglourious Basterds’Image via The Weinstein Company
Yet another Oscar winner on this list, this time courtesy of Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 historical revisionist war epic. Inglourious Basterds follows several characters in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Among them is the SS Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), a clever and determined high-ranking member of the Austrian Nazi Party, nicknamed “the Jew Hunter” for his remarkable ability to locate Jews in hiding. Landa is Tarantino’s most fascinating creation, a charming and deadly opportunist who effortlessly walks the line between terror and absurdity. Within the landscape of war movies, Landa is unlike any other antagonist, more a performer than a colonel. Waltz is key to the character’s success, imbuing him with so much charm and poise that it’s often wild to remember just what a dastardly man he is. Landa is a carnival of mannerism, a one-man circus who uses the same approach with his victims as he does with his audience. We fall for his allure before he drops the face; we take his hand, not quite anticipating the blade underneath. In the pantheon of great movie villains, Landa has a place of honor as one of the most complex depictions of evil ever.
1
Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) – ‘There Will Be Blood’ (2007)
Daniel Day-Lewis looking stern as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be BloodImage via Paramount Vantage
A towering, titanic achievement of acting, Daniel Day-Lewis’ Oscar-winning portrayal of oil prospector Daniel Plainview is already legendary. The actor leads what is arguably Paul Thomas Anderson’s greatest achievement to date, There Will Be Blood, an epic character study about ambition and the American spirit set in California during the oil boom. Along with his adopted son, Plainview fights to build an empire and embarks on a violent ideological clash against a young preacher. There Will Be Blood is among the darkest depictions of greed and ambition ever made, and Plainview is the perfect vessel to do it. In Day-Lewis’ capable hands, Plainview becomes an icon of capitalism, the living, breathing representation of the poison behind the American Dream. Day-Lewis presents us with the deconstruction of a man and the construction of a myth; there’s a calculated coldness that makes him mesmerizing, and a go-for-broke approach that makes him unforgettable. Villains may come and go, but few will ever be able to reach the gonzo heights that Day-Lewis achieves here. It’s not always that you get to watch the corrosion of the soul in Panavision XL.
已发布: 2025-12-26 02:40:00
来源: collider.com
