Across movies and television, the villain is often a crucial character to the story. Depending on the setting, the villains can be funny, sympathetic, ludicrous, or so abhorrently despicable in their actions that audiences love to hate them. Regardless of whether it is movies or TV, a successful villain is incomplete without the right actor or actress to play the part.
Some movie and TV villains have become iconic in their own right thanks to perfect casting. In fact, in some cases, they outshine the rest of the cast, regardless of whether they are likable or loathsome. These ten villains from movies and TV are particularly outstanding examples of casting the villain perfectly.
Lena Headey As Cersei Lannister (Game Of Thrones)
Because of its controversial final season, it is understandable that most fans would like to forget that Game of Thrones ever happened. However, before that, the series was a hit with audiences everywhere and one reason is down to the characters, whether they were likable or not.
One fantastic example is the brilliant Cersei Lannister, considered one of the greatest villains of the TV series due to her complexity and ultimately cruel actions. Executing the role perfectly is Leda Headey, who brings an appropriately stone-cold and unflappable performance as the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Headey has received widespread acclaim for the part of Cersei, along with a whopping six Emmy nominations during her time on the show.
Michael Keaton As Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice)
Tim Burton has created some fantastic and memorable villains in his career but none are as memorable as the zany ghost Beetlejuice, brought to manic life by Michael Keaton. Keaton also played Burton's Batman that same year, and the two characters he portrayed could not have been more different.
The self-proclaimed "bio-exorcist" is so eccentric, gross, funny, and (ironically) full of life that he practically steals every single scene he is in. Even though he is the villain of the movie, it's extremely hard to dislike him because of how funny he is, and Keaton's wacky performance as Beetlejuice is one of a kind and utter perfection. It's impossible to imagine anyone else playing the role.
Mads Mikkelsen As Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal)
The notorious villain Hannibal Lecter has been bought to life by such talented actors as Brian Cox, Anthony Hopkins, and Mads Mikkelsen. While Hopkins was definitely the perfect choice for Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, Mikkelsen was the perfect choice of playing the villain in his youth during Hannibal, the prequel television series.
While Hopkins bought Lecter to life with fiendish glee in the movies, Mikkelsen helps flesh out Lecter's character and backstory further in ways that the audience can actually find him sympathetic. Digital Spy comments on Mikkelsen's performance, calling it "so convincingly predatory... and so simultaneously scary and sad..." The chemistry between Mikkelsen and fellow lead actor Hugh Dancy is flawless and it couldn't have asked for better casting.
Pam Ferris As Miss Trunchbull (Matilda)
Roald Dahl created a number of delightfully dark villains that are ridiculous, horrendous, and someone readers loved to hate. So to bring them to life for the screen, the casting has to be just right. And no Dahl villain casting is more perfect than Pam Ferris playing the horrifying headmistress Miss Trunchbull from Matilda.
From imprisoning kids in the dreaded Chokey to forcing Bruce Bogtrotter to eat an entire chocolate cake, Ferris brought an absurd, sweaty and wicked charm as Trunchbull as she terrorized not just the school but the teachers as well. She commands the presence of any room she is in, both literally and figuratively, and audiences love to hate her. Even if Matilda was recast today, it would be difficult to replace Ferris as Trunchbull.
Mark Hamill As The Joker (Batman: The Animated Series)
Batman's most famous nemesis, the Joker, has been portrayed countless times across movies and television. But if there is one casting that is unanimously considered perfect by Batman fans, it's Mark Hamill's voice acting in Batman: The Animated Series.
There have been some very commendable performances as the Joker, such as Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson. But what makes Hamill's performance stand out above the rest is that he captures practically every single aspect of what makes the Joker a successful and iconic villain: humor, wackiness, unhinged and thoughtless acts of villainy, and lack of regard for other people. Yet despite the flaws, he is extremely charismatic and impossible to look away from.
Christoph Waltz As Hans Landa (Inglourious Basterds)
Inglourious Basterds is a war movie directed by Quentin Tarantino, set in an alternative timeline during World War II. The movie was a huge success and went on to be nominated for numerous Academy Awards. It won Best Supporting Actor for Christoph Waltz and it is easy to see why.
Waltz plays Hans Landa, a ruthless Nazi colonel who yet somehow steals every scene whenever he is onscreen. Audiences find Landa and his actions understandably abhorrent, but what makes Landa even more terrifying is that he believes he is in the right. This faux-affable appearance adds more to Waltz's already chilling performance, and it's little wonder why the villain is considered Christoph Waltz's best role in a Tarantino movie.
Simon Pegg As The Chamberlain (The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance)
Jim Henson's all-puppetry movie The Dark Crystal is fondly remembered in part due to the villainous and terrifying Skeksis. So to recast and bring various Skeksis back to life for the prequel series Age of Resistance was perhaps not an easy choice but it is fair to say that it was a success. Arguably, the most perfectly cast of all the Skeksis (and perhaps the entire cast) was Simon Pegg as the devious Chamberlain.
Simon Pegg is more noted for his comedy roles, so to cast him as the sneaky Chamberlain should seem like an unlikely choice. Yet Pegg not only captures the Chamberlain's iconic simpering voice perfectly but adds a new layer of two-faced villainy to the role (perhaps most notably when he murders the Skeksis General in cold blood for taking his place as the Emperor's advisor.) This is an example of how an unlikely casting choice can end up being a perfect one.
James Woods As Hades (Hercules)
There's perhaps no other villain more beloved and popular in mainstream culture than the Disney villains from the classic animated movies. While most of them could arguably be on this list, the Disney villain that perhaps deserves it the most is James Woods' iconic performance as Hades, the villain of Hercules.
Numerous actors were considered to play the part of Hades, especially when the character was intended to be darker and more serious in nature, but Woods both surprised and delighted the directors with an ad-libbed dry wit and a sleazy car salesman persona. Woods' performance as Hades is easily one of the greatest things about Hercules and is one of the main reasons why the evil god is considered one of Disney's most popular villains.
Bryan Cranston As Walter White (Breaking Bad)
One perfectly cast TV character that Reddit users agree on is Bryan Cranston as Walter White, the villainous chemistry teacher-turned-drug lord of the hit TV show Breaking Bad.
Walter White is ultimately an extremely tragic character and his heartbreaking character arc from protagonist to villain while remaining sympathetic shouldn't work but it does, and this is partially because of Cranston's excellent performance as the character. This can be testified even further by the number of awards and accolades he has won and been nominated for portraying White.
Imelda Staunton As Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix)
One of the most famous villains in modern fiction is without question Lord Voldemort, the nemesis of Harry Potter. But while Ralph Fiennes did a fantastic job of portraying the evil wizard, it perhaps does not quite match up to the perfect casting of another Wizarding World villain - Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge.
In the books, Umbridge is a chilling and sinister figure because she hides her horrifying deeds behind a pink and fluffy mask of sweetness and a fondness for kittens. Staunton captures that false sugary sweetness to the role perfectly, her mask cracking when things do not go her way. It is fair to say that it's thanks to Staunton's flawless performance that Umbridge is perhaps the most disliked character in the entire Wizarding World movie franchise.