50 Actors Who Played Villains So Perfectly That People Hate Their Faces Now

    You know an actor is good when you're afraid of them forever because of ONE role.

    Andy Golder
    by Andy Golder

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Earlier this year, we asked the BuzzFeed Community which actors they can't stand the sight of because they played a villain role so well. We got so many responses that we figured it was time to give ALL of these actors some praise for their evil performances.

    This post will also contain suggestions from this Reddit thread. Oh, and this post contains spoilers, so watch out!

    1. Antony Starr as Homelander on The Boys.

    Amazon / Everett Collection

    "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."

    —thelategreatnobody

    2. Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

    Warner Bros. / Everett Collection

    "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."

    —GrednForge

    3. Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus in Gladiator.

    Dreamworks / Everett Collection

    "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."

    —lizzyericksen

    4. Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton on Game of Thrones.

    HBO

    "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."

    —Devi Girl

    5. Jesse Plemons as Todd on Breaking Bad.

    AMC / Everett Collection

    "I can’t look at him the same after seeing him as Todd on Breaking Bad. I don’t hate him as an actor, but Todd is so creepy and awful."

    —ryerickson

    6. Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter on Hannibal.

    NBC / Everett Collection

    "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."

    —PhilTittola

    7. And Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter too in The Silence of the Lambs.

    MGM / Everett Collection

    "He will always be Hannibal Lecter in whatever I’m watching him in."

    —pamalahj

    8. Misha Collins as Paul in Karla.

    Christal Films

    "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."

    —Sunny

    9. Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man.

    Sony Pictures / Everett Collection

    "Don't get me wrong, I think he is a fantastic actor, but when Spider-Man came out in 2002, his Green Goblin/Norman Osborn scared the ever-living shit 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 Willem Dafoe’s likeness in the creepiest way."

    —mandarin

    10. James Spader as Robert California on The Office.

    NBC / Everett Collection

    "I know he’s not necessarily a villain, but he’s a terrible person and I hate him. Anytime I see James Spader on anything else, I just want to slap his face because he bugged me."

    —cammiekinz

    11. Stanley Tucci as George Harvey in The Lovely Bones.

    Dreamworks / Everett Collection

    "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."

    —sparklesherlock

    12. Michael Emerson as Benjamin Linus on Lost.

    ABC / Via youtube.com

    "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."

    —bellao496fa8d93

    13. Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.

    Lions Gate / Everett Collection

    "Christian Bale. American Psycho. Batman was not OK for me."

    —katie83

    14. John Lithgow in multiple roles (but especially the Trinity Killer on Dexter).

    Showtime / Everett Collection

    "John Lithgow! Arthur Mitchell on Dexter, Winston Churchill on 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."

    —MzzBunee

    15. Chiwetel Ejiofor as the Operative in Serenity.

    Universal Pictures / Everett Collection

    "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."

    —m464a908e6

    16. Tobias Menzies as Black Jack Randall on Outlander.

    Starz / Everett Collection

    "After watching him on 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."

    —kristanp2

    17. Sarah Michelle Gellar as Kathryn in Cruel Intentions.

    Columbia Pictures / Everett Collection

    "I know, I know, she is Buffy...but I first saw her in Cruel Intentions, and it ruined her for me! Stop coming on to your stepbrother, you creep!"

    —jessicae41565508b

    18. Anjelica Huston as Rodmilla in Ever After.

    20th Century Fox / Everett Collection

    "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."

    —lilcorndog

    19. Saoirse Ronan as Briony in Atonement.

    Universal / Via youtube.com

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

    —kristeng4076058e8

    20. Donald Sutherland as President Snow in The Hunger Games.

    Lions Gate / Everett Collection

    "I always think of him when I hear the orange juice commercials and think, I am never going to buy that orange juice."

    —em1023

    21. Katey Sagal as Gemma on Sons of Anarchy.

    FX

    "I love, love, love Katey Sagal, but I will admit that her turn as Gemma Teller on 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!"

    —shellezbellez

    22. Elaine Hendrix as Meredith Blake in The Parent Trap.

    Disney / Via youtube.com

    —kherman16

    23. Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook in The Help.

    Disney / Everett Collection

    "I can’t see her face anywhere without thinking of the racist bitch from The Help!"

    —OtterlyBridget

    24. David Tennant as Kilgrave on Marvel's Jessica Jones.

    Netflix / Everett Collection

    "After seeing Jessica Jones, I just can't not see him as an evil murderer."

    —rachele47ba33f84

    25. Jacob Elordi as Nate on Euphoria...and as Noah in The Kissing Booth (don't @ me).

    HBO, Netflix / Everett Collection

    "I despise his stupid face because of his character in Euphoria."

    —Megan Hudson

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

    —Emma Craigen

    26. Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow in Batman Begins.

    Warner Bros.

    "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."

    —shan

    27. Justin Prentice as Bryce Walker on 13 Reasons Why.

    Netflix

    "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 on 13 Reasons Why."

    —keflynn02

    28. Ralph Fiennes in multiple roles.

    Universal / Everett Collection

    "Ralph Fiennes plays the most evil characters! Voldemort, roles in Schindler's List and 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."

    —aby

    29. Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds.

    Universal / Everett Collection

    "I know he’s going to be the bad guy before anything even happens. He’s evillll."

    —pencilmatemc

    30. Tilda Swinton as the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

    Disney

    "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."

    —Rot7

    31. Jason Isaacs as Colonel Tavington in The Patriot.

    Columbia Pictures

    "He’s literally always the villain; you just know when he shows up, it can’t be good. His best villain was William Tavington in The Patriot. Absolutely savage."

    —meghang44f1a00d1

    32. Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones.

    HBO / Via youtube.com

    "Pretty much every major villain from Game of Thrones could be here. Lena Headey? I actively rooted for her death in The Purge because Cersei was awful."

    —ryanotis09

    33. Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men.

    Miramax / Everett Collection

    "I have to put Javier Bardem on this list. He is absolutely diabolical in No Country for Old Men. He has so little care for human life that he makes a game of it, basing killing on the toss of a coin. And the fact that the only thing he cares about afterward is whether his shoes have gotten dirty. He was so good in Skyfall that I just despised him. When I think of a villain, he's one of the first people that come to mind."

    —violentwalking

    34. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter.

    Warner Bros. /  Everett Collection

    "Literally the most hated person for like eight movies. Voldemort ain’t got nothin' on Draco..."

    —[deleted]

    35. Bradley Cooper as Sack in Wedding Crashers.

    New Line Cinema / Everett Collection

    "This is a real phenomenon because I have never forgiven Bradley Cooper for his role in Wedding Crashers; he was the absolute worst! I’ve never been able to enjoy him in anything else."

    —MrsEliot2013

    36. Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl.

    20th Century Fox / Everett Collection

    "Rosamund Pike was an absolute monster in Gone Girl, and I can never look at her the same way again — which is sad because my wife loves Pride and Prejudice, but I just keep feeling bad for Mr. Bingley."

    —u/mav_FIVE

    37. Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter.

    Warner Bros. / Everett Collection

    "She is an amazing actor, without a doubt, but she is always gonna be the one who killed Sirius Black. I really can't watch her without thinking that."

    —rby0893

    38. Andrew Scott as Moriarty on Sherlock.

    BBC / Via youtube.com

    "Andrew Scott’s portrayal of Jim Moriarty on Sherlock was BRILLIANT! His ability to turn on a dime from cool and calculated to charmingly quirky to raging and murderous always gives me the chills!"

    —siameseblue

    [Editor's note: The best cure for this is Fleabag Season 2!]

    39. Sam Neill as Inspector Campbell on Peaky Blinders.

    Netflix /  Everett Collection

    "I feel sick whenever I see him now."

    —badwolf03

    [Editor's note: I will forever hear him creepily saying the name "Grace" in that accent of his!]

    40. Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia on The Handmaid's Tale and other roles.

    Hulu / George Kraychyk / Everett Collection

    "She is also really awful on The Leftovers. She may just be someone who plays evil too well!"

    —rebeccasnuggs

    41. Jon Bernthal as Shane on The Walking Dead.

    AMC / Via youtube.com

    "Jon Bernthal will never be anyone but the despicable Shane Walsh from The Walking Dead to me. I love Marvel, but I can't watch The Punisher because every time I see his face, I just want to punch him in the throat."

    —nicoleg4fbf770b4

    42. Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris in Training Day.

    Warner Bros. / Everett Collection

    "Denzel Washington played Alonzo Harris so well that I hated him for a minute lol. It took me a while to be able to watch another Denzel movie. I had never seen him play such an evil character, and he was so believable that it totally freaked me out."

    —frostee612

    43. Olivia Colman as the Godmother on Fleabag.

    Amazon / Everett Collection

    "After watching Fleabag, I had to watch so many Olivia Colman interviews to remind myself she’s not a prick in real life. Even now, when I see her I get a little mad."

    —districtrue

    44. Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Fring on Breaking Bad.

    AMC / Everett Collection

    "I can't look at Giancarlo Esposito without thinking of all the horrible things Gus Fring did on Breaking Bad. No one else could've played this character the way he did."

    —isabelavidaldea

    45. Alexander Skarsgård as Perry on Big Little Lies.

    HBO / Via youtube.com

    "I really liked him before that, but now I can’t even look at him. He was so physically abusive and manipulative toward his wife (Nicole Kidman) that I would almost shudder when he came onscreen. It’s a testament to his acting ability."

    —hollandt3

    46. Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy on Game of Thrones and Iosef Tarasov in John Wick.

    HBO / Via youtube.com

    "I HATE what Theon Greyjoy did to the Starks and to Robb. People who betray friends are the worst. It doesn't matter what Ramsay Bolton did to him; he didn't pay enough for what he did. And every time I see Alfie Allen, my hate comes back."

    —Annarosa

    "He also killed John Wick’s puppy and then stole his car."

    —reginaldcartwright

    47. J.K. Simmons as Vern Schillinger on Oz and as Terence in Whiplash.

    Sony Pictures / Everett Collection

    "On Oz, he came across as so mundane, but he was the most vile, evil Nazi bastard ever. He really screwed me up, and when I see him in films or on the insurance commercials, I'm like, 'Nope! That's Vern Schillinger.'"

    —ThatOneElizabeth

    48. Jack Gleeson as Joffrey on Game of Thrones.

    HBO / Via youtube.com

    "Every time I see him, I feel uncomfortable. I know he's nothing like his character, but I wanted Joffrey to die so much! Let's not forget that he's an actor who had people cheer, clap, and scream with joy when he was playing a teenage boy who died a pretty gruesome death in his mother's arms..."

    —missswax

    49. Aiden Gillen as Petyr Baelish on Game of Thrones.

    HBO / Via youtube.com

    "I don't trust him in anything. As soon as I saw him as John Reed in Bohemian Rhapsody, I was like, 'Oooohhhh, fuck that guy.'"

    —k432086fbe

    50. Christopher McDonald in Happy Gilmore.

    Universal / Everett Collection

    "Twenty years later and I still hate Shooter McGavin."

    —u/UsernamIsToo

    Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.