Have you ever seen someone take to the role of villain so easily and so well that you forever associate them with that role from then on?
Whether or not it's the first time you saw Othello in your community or the first time you saw What Lies Beneath with Harrison Ford as a murdering, unfaithful husband—it sticks with you.
It can become difficult to separate the human actor behind the role from the role when you're younger and even more so, when you are deeply affected by the movie. They become the face of something you loathe, and it's difficult to divorce them from that.
Redditor Cutiebeautypie asked:
"Which actor/actress was so good at playing a villain role that you almost hated them in real life?"
Here were some of those answers.
Joffrey Was Always Doomed
"Jack Gleeson, the actor who played Joffrey Baratheon on Game of Thrones."-Ashesza
"GoT wasn’t perfect, but boy did they knock it out of the park when it came to casting. Especially the Lannisters."-Jockobutters
"Such an incredible actor! I read stories that people would yell at him and spit on him when they would see him in public. Super f**ked up."-Breezy_Luv
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That Breaking Bad Energy
"Jesse Plemons. He’s always f**king Todd to me. F**king Todd. Shooting that kid. F**k you Todd."-hamtronn
"Oh god same!! I hate his face.. I know that's mean."
"He is so awful in BB. He's somehow kinda childlike and a psychopath at the same time. Sorry Jesse Plemons, and credit due for your epic acting skills."-Ilikezombiemovie
All Hail
"Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator. Such a great actor for the role. He was terrible and also tragic, an overgrown child who was spoiled by his father who didn't love him and simply let him play around so he wouldn't need to deal with him, leaving him spoiled but empty inside."
"And the one time his father showed him any love it was when he was trying to take away all he had known to give it to someone else after he'd been promised it all his life. He was a f**ked up character, but you could see what f**ked him up."-JazzmansRevenge
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See anybody you had a full body negative reaction to on this list?
Art School
"JK Simmons in 'Whiplash'. I can’t stand the guy now and shudder at his name because he was so damn good."-TravelSized504
"You know what really bothered me about that movie? He won, in the end. He (spoilers, movie is amazing go see it) abused students to the extent that they killed themselves, and the absolute emotional climax of the movie featured his student...listening to him."
"And letting himself be directed, and they produced amazing music together. It vindicated him. It essentially said, it's okay to treat your students like sh*t because you are pushing them and that drives them to become exceptional."-thebaehavens
George Is A Loser
"Not me, and not really a villain, but my wife absolutely and irrationally hates Jason Alexander, all because of George Costanza."
"I try to tell her that he must be a great actor to instill that kind of emotion but she won't listen."-ParsifalJones
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When It Becomes Confusing
"I have a hard time deciding between John Lithgow in 'Third Rock From the Sun/Dexter' and Bryan Cranston in 'Malcolm in the Middle/Breaking Bad' for most jarring character change."
"Dick and Hal were both great lovably goofy characters and the later roles were both so brilliantly ruthless. It also makes me wonder what other actors also had polar opposite roles like those."-Buddahrific
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Have you ever worked one of those jobs that paid you to kinda sit there? If you have, you know the joy that comes with watching the entirety of Breaking Bad ...All Work And No Play
"Jack Nicholson in the 'Shining'. The disdain he has for his wife in that movie is so real. Like you almost think that for him to access this level of contempt for his wife it must come from a real place."
"Brilliant acting. 'You think that MAAYYYBBEE we should get DAANNYYYY to a Doctor?!'”-user7890123456789
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And these villains are very likely responsible for moments of TV and film that still haunt you to this day.
A Mimetic Polyalloy
"Robert Patrick in 'Terminator 2'. Patrick did some really amazing training and preparation for that role, including things like learning to shoot without ever blinking."
"Also, when he's running to chase Furlong on the dirt bike, it's not sped up; he was really running like a machine and not even breathing through his mouth."-guitarz333
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Mike Flanagan Loves His Villains
"Samantha Sloyan as Bev keane in 'Midnight Mass'. She's so disgusting and horrible. She talks down to everyone, is obviously prejudice and revels at being a holier than thou person."
"Everybody in their life, especially if you're a church goer, knows a Bev Keane. It's on netflix and it's a seriously great show by the guy who did haunting of hill/bly manor and geralds game."-FlynnLight
Love To Hate
"Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan in 'The Walking Dead'. That guy just oozes charisma. I find him hard to hate while simultaneously hard to forgive. I gotta respect both the actor and writers for doing such a great job with that character."
"In the later seasons, I find him easier to respect than most of the other main characters. Like the paranoia and PTSD most of the characters have is totally understandable, but it's frustrating seeing it cause so many issues."-Buddahrific
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While these villains are endlessly irritating, no story is complete without its antagonists. They are just as important to telling the story as the heroes.
And the actors aren't responsible for the things their characters do--or else, we need to have a serious conversation with everybody who has ever played "Iago" in Othello.
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