The Top Ten Most Enjoyably Hateable Villains

Isn’t it fun to hate a character? Generally we seem to prefer likable heroes, whether they be triumphant larger-than-life pillars of good morals and virtue, or more flawed down-to-earth good intentioned people upon whom we can project ourselves. But there’s that saying that a hero is only as good as their villain. And there have been plenty of great villains in the history of fiction! Actors always talk about how playing a villain is more fun because generally it’s a greater departure and challenge from what they’re used to. There are plenty of villains we enjoy, but what about those villains we hate. Some are evil but in a way that we root for them, their power and gravitas overcoming the fact that they have bad intentions. These are characters like Darth Vader, the Joker, Magneto, Maleficent (before she was Angelina Jolie), and even Loki! But what about those villains who are just so despicable that they’re so much fun to follow! The ones who for instance don’t deserve their power, who take greater pleasure in and are generally more successful in tormenting our heroes. We enjoy to hate them, to root for their downfall and with every victory of theirs, we become more invested in the story and the hero winning the day. They are some of the greatest characters and here are the best. These are my Top Ten Most Enjoyably Hateable Villains:

10. Otto West from A Fish Called Wanda. It may seem strange that a comedy film could produce such a detestable character as Kevin Kline’s moustachioed, temperamental, intellectually insecure, British hating diamond thief. But this guy is scum of the earth in the best way possible. His overconfidence and superiority complex in spite of his ignorance is funny, but is also infuriating. What’s even more is he has such a charisma and screen presence, manipulating everyone with deplorable ease. Of course there is a pleasure in the comedy surrounding Otto, how everything doesn’t always go right for him, and his sex scene is by far the funniest I’ve ever seen! But his disgusting contempt of the British gets on my nerves and he proves a few times he’s capable of terrible cruelty. The scene where he eats the title fish alive while a bound and gagged Michael Palin as Ken (an animal lover mind, who’s already accidentally killed several dogs) watches, is pretty uncomfortable. He’s a mean-spirited asshole who doesn’t realize his stupidity and is an utter delight to watch and hate. Kevin Kline certainly earned that Academy Award!

9. Miss Havisham from Great Expectations. Yes this list isn’t reserved for only movie characters. Dickens’ classic spinster is an iconic character and terrific villain. She’s creepy enough as a reclusive old maid living her entire life in a dilapidated mansion (characterized in the novel as a witch) wearing her wedding dress and keeping her wedding feast decaying on the table allowing for an infestation of cobwebs and termites, but her actions in the novel are reprehensible. All that’s left of her is bitterness, vengeance, and denial and she torments our protagonist Pip not physically or verbally but psychologically. Having had her heart broken on her wedding day, she encourages Pip’s devotion to her adopted daughter Estella, a love Estella does not return, so he an innocent child at the time will eventually suffer the same heartbreak as her. She influences his social skills and behaviour to the point that when he comes into his mysterious fortune, he’s convinced it was her doing. Though she doesn’t actively oppose him, she creates in him the aspirations and struggle that will lead to his fall. In some ways she is a tragic character for her loss and brokenness, but still lovably hateable for her warping a young man’s mind out of selfish spite.

8. Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. This may be the first character on the list you want to physically kill. She’s the abusive head nurse of a mental institution, forceful and intolerant despite the range of psychological ailments of the hospital’s patients. Louise Fletcher won an Oscar for her role and her capability to embody this ignorant, vindictive and cold control freak. Through fear and threat she maintains order until Jack Nicholson shows up (as was inevitable). His character Randall McMurphy undermines her authority encouraging the other inmates to do so as well. He takes them all out on a boat (admittedly illegally) and throws a grand Christmas party with music and girls. And while his methods are extreme, you can understand them and side with him seeing how unlikable his opposition is. Nurse Ratched deprives the institution of any fun or expression, withholding drugs if she is displeased. And that’s life threatening. Hell, she is responsible for one character’s suicide, and neither admits to it nor cares. The fact that she treats these people whose psychological and mental capacity necessitates care and patience, in this utterly treacherous way riles you up! It’s infuriating, but makes all the destabilization of her influence feel more triumphant.

7. Daniel Quilp from The Old Curiosity Shop. Dickens created plenty of enjoyably hateable characters from Bill Sikes, Wackford Squeers, and Edward Murdstone to Josiah Bounderby and the already mentioned Miss Havisham. But of them all the one who sticks out as most despicable is the diminutive villain of The Old Curiosity Shop, Daniel Quilp.  A two-faced wife abusing ill-mannered but still cunning and power-hungry rat, he plots to take over the titular Curiosity Shop from Little Nell’s ailing grandfather. Even when he does though, it proves to be not enough as he continues to torment our main characters for the duration of the novel. Like Bill Sikes he’s something of a sadist, delighting in hurting animals and people alike. But one of the biggest things that makes him loathsome is that even after he’s acquired the Shop, Dickens continues to share his story parallel to Little Nell and her grandfather. We don’t necessarily need to witness any of his cruelty to Betsy or his manipulations of Kit, Dick Swiveller, or anyone else, but we’re forced to. It seems especially cruel to the reader given Quilp’s unpleasant deeds and the already poor direction and sad ending to the main storyline of the novel. It makes The Old Curiosity Shop perhaps Dickens’ most depressing work and makes Daniel Quilp another literary character you have an immediate need to strangle!

6. Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Both Avatar and Korra gave us plenty of great villains including Kuvira, Amon, and of course the Fire Lord himself. But the most calculated, manipulative, and most interesting was definitely Azula, the ruthless daughter of the Fire Lord. The primary antagonist of season two and secondary antagonist of season three, Azula (voiced by Grey DeLisle) arrived on the scene to do what her brother Zuko couldn’t, capture the Avatar as well as consolidate more power for the Fire Nation. She is one of the best benders in the world and uses her power both physically and regally to intimidate and oppress. Particularly of note is her antagonistic relationship with Zuko, who she constantly taunts and belittles. And with Zuko arguably the most sympathetic character already, it quickly turns the audience against her. As does the fact she rarely loses. However Azula is a very developed multi-faceted villain. You can see the legacy of her father and keeping his favour is what drives her. That and some of her later more human developments, as well as her backstory and unstable relationship with her mother makes her almost sympathetic. But her actions still speak louder, her cunningness, stubbornness, and malice shine through. She’s a horrible person, but we always loved the show more when she was onscreen.

5. Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In all honesty, we hated this cruel power-hungry toad a lot more than Voldemort and were rooting for her death much more actively than his. She’s the personification of controlling governments and institutionalized repression. Her cheery demeanour and condescending attitude in addition to her propagating of ignorance is grating. What’s even worse is that she’s not on Voldemort’s side. She’s representing a third party, an opponent of Harry’s who comes from a completely different ideology and agenda. It really blurs the lines of good and evil and Umbridge is by far the best part of the fifth Harry Potter book and film. I remember reading the book and thinking ‘how’s anyone going to play this character well when they get to making this movie?’ But Imelda Staunton turned out a terrific and loathing performance. I know she appeared in the seventh book too, but I’m not counting that here as though it adds hypocrisy to her abhorrent qualities, I think it really takes away from her character and what she represented by making her just another Dark Lord servant. So though she may have been ruined by that conclusion, in the fifth installment of this powerhouse series, Umbridge is one of the most bitingly detestable characters ever written.

4. Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Yes the Disney movie. He may be really unlikable in the book, but in the context of Disney he’s all the more disturbing and fascinating a villain. With the glorious voice of the late Tony Jay, Frollo is menacing enough as the guardian of Quasimodo, but his actions single-handedly turn this into Disney’s darkest film. He’s a man capable of infanticide AND genocide! How Disney does that sound to you? He is driven by hypocrisy and a sense of self-righteousness, a pious man who commits evil and spreads fear. And what’s so odious is how he justifies it by a twisted sense of religious morality. Not only is this surprisingly close to the dark nature of the Victor Hugo book, as well as the attitudes of real people in authority during that time, but it makes religion, specifically Catholicism the primary weapon of an already treacherous villain. But only when it suits him. He’s the only villain in a Disney movie who lusts after another character and he convinces himself that her only way to escape death and damnation is essentially to have sex with him. Which adds more lecherous and creepy layers to the guy. A lot of this is emphasized through the song “Hellfire” which is a terrific examination of a character’s inner battle, coloured by immorality and doctrinal obligations; and makes for the best villain song I’ve ever heard. He’s by far, the studio’s best villain. No Disney villain makes you more uncomfortable, disturbed, and intrigued, as well as anxious for the bastard to get his comeuppance.

3. Warden Norton from The Shawshank Redemption. One of cinema’s most obtuse characters. Does this guy ever get under your skin? He’s a Bible thumping disciplinarian in charge of Shawshank Penitentiary; but he’s also corrupt and immoral, fortunate enough to find Andy Dufresne a former banker whom he takes on to assist him with the finances of the prison, and to launder money for him. But Andy gets in too deep, which reveals the callous depths Norton will go to hide his crimes. When Andy’s wrongful imprisonment comes to light, Norton does everything in his power to stop him and his own corruption getting out; including putting Andy through a dangerously long stay in solitary and murdering another inmate. Played contemptibly by the wonderful Bob Gunton, he’s one of those figures who makes your skin crawl because of his powerful and authoritative persona masking a ruthless cunning and criminal streak that makes him no better than the inmates under his control. As a strict warden he’s not likable to begin with, but his hypocritical, malicious, and cowardly nature makes him someone impossible not to revile. This characterization really services the story and makes the final act all the more triumphant. It’s a mark of his despicability that in a film all about prisoners -whose two protagonists are imprisoned (one of whom for a legitimate murder), it’s the Warden who’s the most thoroughly hateable bad guy.

2. Lady Macbeth from …well, Shakespeare’s Macbeth. English literature’s First Lady of Femme Fatales, Lady Macbeth is the conniving mind behind the ambition and downfall of her husband Macbeth. This power hungry woman has considerable influence over her man and through her goading he becomes King of Scotland with her as his Queen. While the Shakespeare tragedy doesn’t have an explicit villain, she (and maybe the witches) comes closest, as the physical instigator of most of Macbeth’s actions. She urges him to kill King Duncan and is his constant counsel afterwards. She’s a very complicated female character for the time but also someone you love to root against because of what she’s turning Macbeth into, and the slippery slope its leading them both down. You could argue Macbeth had it in him to make these choices all along but her vindictive encouragement of it and power over him and everyone else she comes in contact with, makes her reprehensible and the one who steals the show. She is one of the greatest, most interesting characters in English theatre and literature and has been brought to life by hundreds of actresses including Vivien Leigh, Judi Dench, and Glenda Jackson! Unfortunately I haven’t seen the latest incarnation of the classic play where the wonderful Marion Cotillard plays her, and I am immensely looking forward to it. But she’s a character you crave to see and hate regardless of who’s playing her which is a pretty amazing thing.

1. Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones. Yeah a lot of you probably saw this coming. George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones is full of these kind of hateable characters including Cersei Lannister and Ramsey Bolton, but the crowned king of them all (literally) is Joffrey! Who doesn’t hate this spoiled, sadistic little punk?! Jack Gleeson terrifically brings to life the maniacal child king who wields unlimited power with no sense of responsibility. He’s the product of incest, he rules Westeros with an iron fist, has no sympathy for anyone, and expects everything to go his way. Joffrey is so contemptible because for the most part he’s very familiar. Not only does he resemble historical tyrants like Nero, but he’s every bratty bully we knew growing up. We may not all have been the victims, but everyone knew someone like Joffrey who with absolute power at so young an age could have been capable of monstrosities. Joffrey was the kid we all wished we’d punched on the schoolyard. The fact that he delights in torturing and killing others for his own pleasure certainly doesn’t earn him any popularity. Few other characters on the show like him, not even his mother. His grandfather Tywin doesn’t take him seriously and his uncle Tyrion constantly mocks and belittles him. Hell, that’s one of the main reasons Tyrion is the fan favourite character! And in stark (get it!) contrast, Joffrey very quickly became famous worldwide for the hateful reaction he received! Through his despicable actions and personality he made the show so interesting, and became the number one most enjoyably hateable character of all time.