Everyone Enjoys a Great Bad Guy

Why is it that everyone loves a great portrayal of a villain in the movies? Christopher Nolan, Ethan and Joel Coen, and Quentin Tarantino are some of the greatest directors working in the business today, but it’s the bad guy characters from their movies that seem to garner the most press. And, privately, I think they’re tickled pink about it. 

The Joker from Nolan’s The Dark Knight, Anton Chigurh from the Coen brother’s No Country for Old Men, and Col. Hans Landa from Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds were three of the most memorable bad guys ever to grace the silver screen. Their unforgettable portrayal by respectively, Heath Ledger, Javier Bardem, and Christoph Waltz catapulted the actors into immediate stardom and drove fans to their movies.

Exploring Unknowns

Every director and actor wants to explore the dark side of a character. For the director, it’s not so much about scaring the audience as it is about adding an extra dimension to the story. A completely amoral character adds an unknown element and direction to explore. The villains don’t think the same way that ‘normal’ people think, making them both dangerous and fascinating. This helps make the story memorable and more interesting. People want to see the twists the story takes and be satisfied that the villain earns the justice they have coming to them at the end. 

For the actor, it’s a chance to spread their wings and play a character without boundaries and rules to follow. Most actors jump at the chance to play a completely hateful character. It’s freeing for the actor. They can approach the character from whatever direction they like and explore their own fears and dark side in bringing the character to life. 

Great villains elevate a movie into something everyone wants to see. They can make a so-so story incredibly exciting, sell tickets, and be a defining role in an actor’s career.