A quick experiment: Anthony Hopkins is one of historys most celebrated thesps, a star of stage and screen for more than 60 years. Picture him. What do you see? Is it John Quincy Adams in Amistad? Frederick Treves in The Elephant Man? Or is it Hannibal Lecter, leering through plexiglass, theth-theth-thething into the camera? If you said its anything other than that last one, then congratulations. Why not pour yourself a nice glass of chianti to wash down your LIES.
Of course it was Lecter. That is no slight on those other roles, either. Nor is it an insult to Javier Bardem to posit that hell for ever be the coin-tossing, mop-headed wrong un from No Country for Old Men. And Kathy Bates is a phenomenal actor, but even she must be aware that she hasnt met anyone for 30 years who didnt, at some point in the conversation, calculate how far she was from the nearest hammer. These actors are exceptional at what they do, yet it was that same brilliance in these roles (for which each of them won an Oscar) that turned Lecter, Anton Chigurh and Miserys Annie Wilkes into such inescapable, career-defining figures. The real Hopkins, Bardem and Bates almost seemed like their final victims.
Why these characters in particular? Brian Cox played Lecter in Michael Manns Manhunter in 1986, five years before Anthony Hopkinss adroit wine pairing for human liver in The Silence of the Lambs. Yet Hopkinss interpretation lives on, ever-quotably, in the common consciousness. Coxs Succession stablemate Matthew Macfadyen played the Sheriff of Nottingham in Ridley Scotts Robin Hood. Is it Macfadyen you think of when you imagine the sheriff? Of course not. The sheriff is a lithe Alan Rickman, threatening to remove someones heart with a spoon, and it always will be. You might argue this is because Scotts Robin Hood wasnt very good. But rewatch Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and youll find that, besides Rickman, its appalling.
These actors synonymy with villainy may appear to be an alchemic, almost accidental intersection between the perfect actor and role, but it isnt as serendipitous as it appears. Hopkins played Lecter three times, presumably on purpose. Rickman alone is responsible for not one, not two, but three of the great baddies: the sheriff, Harry Potters Snape and Die Hards Hans Gruber. It is a deliberate, more-is-more approach pioneered by Boris Karloff in the 30s then perfected by the mighty Christopher Lee, who would cheerfully ham it up as the big evil in the majority of his 260-odd (!) films, including 10 (!!) appearances at Dracula, as well as Saruman in The Lord of the Rings, and as Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels. Through a chimera of tone of voice, fortuitous evil-faced physiognomy and sheer gung-ho enthusiasm, some actors excel at playing villains, and clearly have a ball doing it. It cannot be typecasting if the actors are typecasting themselves.
They also get the meatiest, showiest roles. Both Joaquin Phoenix and Heath Ledgers Jokers won Oscars. Christoph Waltz bagged one for Inglourious Basterds. Louise Fletcher won best actress in 1976 as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood, MoNique for Precious, JK Simmons in Whiplash, Charlize Theron in Monster all winners. Villains are critical darlings every inch as much as they are fan favourites.
Most actors say it is much more fun playing the knave than the hero, so its easy to see why Lena Headey created one of TVs great monsters in Game of Thrones Cersei Lannister, but also stole 2012s Dredd as the joyously psychopathic drug kingpin Ma-Ma Madrigal. Anything in which Jason Isaacs plays a right bastard Potter, The OA, The Patriot is essential viewing. Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham Carter, Ruth Wilson: if they are playing a baddie in something, people will watch it for no other reason. Theres such an embarrassment of larks and accolades in being bad its a wonder anyone strives to be good.
An actor doesnt have to be born with a permanent sneer and an arched brow, either. Robin Williams made a chilling nasty in Insomnia and One Hour Photo. Denzel Washington is spellbinding as the unhinged bent copper in Training Day. Americas sweetheart Meryl Streep was a next-level sod in The Devil Wears Prada. David Tennants ascent to full-blown national treasure has been assured by a post-Doctor volte face in which he has played every manner of swine, from Dennis Nilsen to Jessica Joness gaslighter general Kilgrave. And the sooner Tom Cruise abandons his midlife crisis, accepts hes creepy AF and gets back to the Magnolias, Interview With the Vampires and Collaterals to which hes far more suited, the better.
Heroes are fine, but they come and go, more or less interchangeably: Arnie begat Bruce who begat Will Smith who begat Dwayne The Rock Johnson. Those few actors lucky enough to play neer-do-wells know this: that it is great villains who linger, who sink their claws into us, needle away at our subconscious, delighting and disgusting us decade after decade. Perhaps they dont want to change. Theyre not trapped at all by their God-given bastardry. Theyre freed by it. Only by being bad can they get to be this good, and they love it. And who can blame them? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaa.
Here is the original post:
Bad to the bone: why actors find it so hard to leave their darkest roles behind - The Guardian
- Christopher Lee Was Furious About This 'Lord of the Rings' Moment - Collider - April 2nd, 2024
- Airdate: The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee - TV Tonight - April 2nd, 2024
- Christopher Lee's casual shorts and slippers outfit in Taiwan made heads turn - TODAY - March 16th, 2024
- Christopher Lee Dead: Horror Icon and Legendary Movie Villain Was 93 ... - February 19th, 2024
- "Chris wasn't hearing a bar of it": Christopher Lee Forcefully Auditioned For Another Lord of the Rings Character Before ... - FandomWire - February 11th, 2024
- 'Cancel everything': How Christopher Lee disciplines his son with this one phrase - Yahoo Singapore News - February 3rd, 2024
- Actress Fann Wong surprised by husband Christopher Lee on birthday - The Straits Times - February 3rd, 2024
- Fann Wong surprised by husband Christopher Lee on birthday - The New Paper - February 3rd, 2024
- Christopher Lee: The actor and hunter of Nazi war criminals - Far Out Magazine - January 9th, 2024
- Sir Christopher Lee's Favorite Performance is in a Film You've Never Heard Of - MovieWeb - December 12th, 2023
- Christopher Lee dies at the age of 93 - The Guardian - April 27th, 2023
- Christopher Lee - Tolkien Gateway - March 31st, 2023
- Christopher Lee filmography - Wikipedia - February 10th, 2023
- Where to Start with Christopher Lee - The Film Magazine - October 19th, 2022
- 'Were you desperate to get proposed to?' Christopher Lee crashes Rebecca Lim's new show and roasts her while dishing out relationship advice - AsiaOne - October 19th, 2022
- The Wicker Man TV Series In Development With Andy Serkis The Imaginarium And Studiocanal-Backed Urban Myth - Deadline - October 19th, 2022
- Tim Burton names his five favourite horror movies of all time - Far Out Magazine - October 19th, 2022
- Ten celebrities who served in the military, from Adam Driver to Prince Harry - The National - October 19th, 2022
- These 13 Actors Have Earned the Right to be Called Scream Kings - Dread Central - October 19th, 2022
- David W. Smith | Obituaries | thedailynewsonline.com - The Daily News Online - October 19th, 2022
- Jennifer Hudson Recounts "Fanning Out" Over Duet With Sheryl Lee Ralph: "I Wanted to Make Her Proud" - POPSUGAR - October 19th, 2022
- Tangipahoa Parish Jail - October 11th, 2022
- A monster calls: why the horror universe is an idea whose time has come - The Guardian - October 11th, 2022
- Oblong Box, The (Blu-ray Review) - The Digital Bits - October 11th, 2022
- Was that the balrog that killed Gandalf in the Rings of Power? - Polygon - October 11th, 2022
- Every James Bond movie ranked by critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes - Insider - October 11th, 2022
- Overwatch 2: All Voice Actors And Cast - eXputer - October 11th, 2022
- She got Covid-19 four times this year alone - The Star Online - October 11th, 2022
- Nursing School Collaborates with Nursing School in The Philippines - Boston College - October 2nd, 2022
- The Terrifying, Terrific Horror Movies of 1972 - Nerdist - October 2nd, 2022
- Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: A beautiful conclusion to the iconic trilogy - The Shield - October 2nd, 2022
- Tyson Fury through the years: Photo gallery - MMA Junkie - October 2nd, 2022
- Duncan man jailed, accused of madness on meth - The Lawton Constitution - September 24th, 2022
- Conor McGregor "can't believe" he's being paid to film Hollywood movie - The Mirror - September 24th, 2022
- The Government of Malaysia Launches the National Energy Policy 2022 - 2040: What it Means for the Renewables Landscape - Lexology - September 24th, 2022
- New Brockton native Brandon Lee part of team cherishing NASCAR win at Bristol - Dothan Eagle - September 24th, 2022
- Cape Cod theater reviewers' thoughts on 2 scary plays and a comedy - Cape Cod Times - September 24th, 2022
- 'His presence is going to be there': Lee Roy Selmon will attend in spirit as trio of OU brothers honored with statue - The Oklahoma Daily - September 24th, 2022
- Nicolas Cage inspired by Christopher Lee for vampire movie Renfield - The Digital Fix - September 16th, 2022
- Reece Shearsmith Tells Richard Herring About Christopher Lee - Beyond The Joke - September 16th, 2022
- 8 Horror Movies So Awful They Were Pulled From The Cinema - WhatCulture - September 16th, 2022
- Man-Thing Makes his MCU Debut in Werewolf by Night - Here's what we know about Man-Thing - Attack of the Fanboy - September 16th, 2022
- Summer of Blood (Blu-ray Review) - The Digital Bits - September 16th, 2022
- Get it over with: Suspect in Kokomo child exploitation case tells police to arrest him on the spot - FOX 59 Indianapolis - September 16th, 2022
- Alabama says it won't be ready to use nitrogen hypoxia method at Sept. 22 execution - USA TODAY - September 16th, 2022
- Christopher Lee, The Real-Life "Most Interesting Man In The World" - August 31st, 2022
- Inside The Fact And Fiction Of Christopher Lee's World War II Service - August 31st, 2022
- How to watch The Lord of the Rings movies and the series in chronological order - Lifestyle Asia India - August 31st, 2022
- Court and arrest reports for Martinsville and Henry County - Martinsville Bulletin - August 31st, 2022
- Every Tim Burton Movie Ranked from Worst to Best - Consequence - August 31st, 2022
- Court lists defendants to appear in Criminal Division on Thursday - Magnoliareporter - August 31st, 2022
- Lee County School Board makes minor revision to Parents' Bill of Rights - Wink News - August 31st, 2022
- A Cardiologist Breaks Down the AHA's New Report on the Most Common Heart Disease Symptoms Best Life - Best Life - August 31st, 2022
- Exclusive Interview: Director Philippe Mora On His Films With Christopher Lee - FANGORIA - August 14th, 2022
- 10 films turning 10 in 2022 - NewsNation Now - August 14th, 2022
- Persephone and the Poultry of the Night | Thumper Forge - Patheos - August 14th, 2022
- Unexpected Demands Made By Lord Of The Rings Actors - Looper - August 14th, 2022
- Rings of Power: Everything you need to know about Amazon's 1bn Lord of the Rings prequel - The Mirror - August 14th, 2022
- Slash Tells Us Why There Will Never Be a Guns N Roses Movie - MovieMaker Magazine - August 6th, 2022
- On the record for Aug. 4 - Seymour Tribune - August 6th, 2022
- Judge Talley will hear criminal docket on Thursday - Magnoliareporter - August 6th, 2022
- Dr. Christopher Reber Receives ACCT 2022 Northeast Regional Chief Executive Officer Award - The Hudson Reporter - August 6th, 2022
- Theatre Review: This 101 Dalmatians is barking up the wrong tree - The New European - August 6th, 2022
- Christopher Lee Euro Films, Dennis Hopper's 'Out of the Blue' Among Titles Due on Disc From Severin and MVD July 26 Media Play News - Media Play News - July 28th, 2022
- 25 Scariest Movies of All Time (2022 Edition) - Cultured Vultures - July 28th, 2022
- Fans Wonder Why a Fantasy Epic Too Big to Fail Did Just That - We Got This Covered - July 28th, 2022
- The Best Witch Movies of all Time, Ranked - The Mary Sue - July 28th, 2022
- NASCAR Driver Christopher Bell and CRAFTSMAN Raise Awareness for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals; No. 20 Special Edition Paint Scheme to be... - July 28th, 2022
- Singer Stefanie Sun turns 44 with cakes and loved ones - The Straits Times - July 28th, 2022
- Tony Dow dead: Wally Cleaver 'Leave It to Beaver' actor was 77 - USA TODAY - July 28th, 2022
- Roane Co. authorities looking for man convicted of neglecting and murdering an elderly relative - WBIR.com - July 20th, 2022
- 22 Incredible Facts About The Life and Career Of Sir Christopher Lee - July 20th, 2022
- Police and Fire Report - Winchester Sun - Winchester Sun - July 20th, 2022
- What We Do in the Shadows cast shares their favorite vampire movies, books, and more - Polygon - July 20th, 2022
- Courteney Cox Set To Make Horror Movie History With 'Scream 6' - We Got This Covered - July 20th, 2022
- Every James Bond Movie, Ranked: The Best of Bond - CNET - July 20th, 2022
- Grandparents of Dean Kerrie say he was just defending his mother and should not be jailed - Sunday World - July 20th, 2022
- Ray Wise Has Always Been More Than "That Guy" - Defector - July 20th, 2022
- Angela Ledgerwood on the Psychic Relief of Reading - Literary Hub - July 20th, 2022
- Athens man charged with manslaughter in fatal hit and run - News Courier - July 12th, 2022
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero