We all know what happens to snitches... Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most memorable movie characters who gave up their former allies to the enemy for their own self-interest…and occasionally to their eventual undoing.
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00:00 Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut.
00:04 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most memorable movie
00:08 characters who gave up their former allies to the enemy for their own self-interest,
00:12 and occasional legitimate eventual undoing.
00:14 Why oh why didn't I take the blue pill?
00:19 Number 10.
00:20 Mr. Orange, Reservoir Dogs
00:21 Look man, undercover cops gotta be Marlon Brando, right?
00:23 To do this job, you gotta be a great actor.
00:26 The act of going undercover within a criminal organization involves deception right from
00:30 the jump.
00:31 Yet it's not uncommon for some law enforcement agents to feel remorse when it comes time
00:34 to reveal themselves.
00:35 The final revelation that Tim Roth's Mr. Orange has, in fact, been a cop all along is devastating
00:40 to Harvey Keitel's Mr. White.
00:41 "We're out of there in two minutes, not one second longer.
00:46 What happens if the manager won't give you the diamonds?"
00:48 Although a deleted scene softens the impact of this scene a bit since it reveals Mr. White's
00:52 cop-killing past, the end results remain the same.
00:55 Keitel's character is overcome with rage at not listening to nice guy Eddie Cabot's warning,
00:59 as well as shame for letting his potentially fatherly instincts toward Mr. Orange blind
01:03 his intuition.
01:04 "Joe, trust me on this.
01:06 You've made a mistake.
01:08 He's a good kid."
01:09 Number 9.
01:10 Carter Burke, Aliens
01:11 "What if that ship didn't even exist?
01:12 Did you ever think about that?
01:13 I didn't know."
01:14 This junior executive proudly admits to being a company man the moment he introduces himself
01:18 to Ellen Ripley in Aliens.
01:20 "I work for the company.
01:22 But don't let that fool you.
01:23 I'm really an okay guy."
01:25 Carter Burke is successful in his attempts to convince Ripley to return to deep space
01:28 on a rescue mission.
01:29 However, what Ripley doesn't know is that Burke's agenda has always been to research
01:33 and bring back samples of xenomorph life.
01:35 It's through Burke's deception that the colony of Hadley's Hope is overtaken by the aliens,
01:40 and he effectively sends the space marines off to their deaths.
01:42 "I made a decision and it was wrong.
01:45 It was a bad call, Ripley.
01:47 It was a bad call."
01:48 "Bad call?"
01:49 "Right."
01:50 "These people are dead, Burke!
01:51 Don't you have any idea what you've done here?"
01:54 You know the old saying, "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight?"
01:56 Well, the decisions of both Burke and Gorman doomed their team to a horribly violent death,
02:00 thanks to their lack of firepower.
02:02 "Ripley, I, you know, I expected more from you.
02:07 I thought you'd be smarter than this."
02:10 "I'm happy to disappoint you."
02:13 Number 8.
02:14 Peter Pettigrew - Harry Potter Franchise
02:15 "My old friend!"
02:18 The wizarding world of Harry Potter is chock-full of individuals whose true motivations remain
02:23 hidden - until just the right moment.
02:25 Peter Pettigrew was an opportunist and a sycophant.
02:28 "You're the reason they're dead."
02:29 "No, Harry, it wasn't him.
02:31 Somebody did betray your parents, but it was somebody who, until quite recently, I believe
02:36 to be dead."
02:37 "Who was it then?"
02:38 "Peter Pettigrew!"
02:39 A wizard always looking out for Number One and often doing so via his social connections,
02:44 it's his betrayal that results in the deaths of Harry Potter's parents.
02:47 This is despite Pettigrew initially being a close friend of Harry's father, James.
02:51 "Harry, look at you.
02:53 You look so much like your father, like James.
02:55 We were the best of friends here in Harry's house."
02:58 "How dare you speak to Harry!
02:59 How dare you talk about James in front of him!"
03:02 Yet old Wormtail was looking over the horizon.
03:05 He saw Voldemort's power growing and decided to throw in his lot with evil.
03:08 "The Dark Lord.
03:09 You have no idea the weapons he possesses.
03:10 I'm such a fool.
03:11 What would you have done?
03:12 What would you have done?"
03:13 "I would have died!
03:14 I would have died rather than betray my friend!"
03:19 Number 7.
03:20 Elsa Schneider - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
03:23 "I knew it was you.
03:25 You have your father's eyes."
03:26 "And my mother's ears.
03:30 But the rest belongs to you."
03:33 The Jones boys always were a sucker for a pretty face.
03:35 This is essentially why Dr. Elsa Schneider managed to get one over on both Indiana Jones
03:40 and his father.
03:41 "My guess is Dad found out more than he was looking for.
03:44 And until I'm sure, I'm gonna continue to do things the way I think they should be done."
03:50 "How dare you kiss me?"
03:55 Her seductive nature and manipulative mannerisms hide her true intentions.
03:58 "You came back for the book?"
04:00 To acquire the Holy Grail for her employers in Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party.
04:04 She betrays the trust of Indiana's father without a second thought and is eventually
04:08 successful in finding the Grail.
04:10 Schneider's greed remains with her right to the end and winds up becoming her undoing.
04:14 Indiana attempts to save her as she dangles from a dangerous precipice.
04:17 But her desire to grab the Grail, which is just out of her reach, results in a fatal
04:21 fall.
04:22 "Give me your hand.
04:23 Give me your other hand."
04:24 "Help me!"
04:25 "Number 6.
04:26 Dennis Nedry.
04:27 Jurassic Park."
04:28 "Our lives are in your hands and you have butterfingers?"
04:29 "I'm totally unappreciated in my time.
04:30 You can run this whole park from this room with minimal staff for up to three days.
04:31 You think that kind of automation is easy?"
04:46 John Hammond hired Dennis Nedry to work as a computer programmer for his vision of Jurassic
04:50 Park.
04:51 However, Nedry's greed and disloyalty would kick off the first film's disastrous chain
04:54 of events.
04:55 Struggling with significant debt, Nedry begins to feel that he's underpaid for the work
04:59 he puts in at the park.
05:00 "See, I'm trying."
05:01 "I'm sorry about your financial problems, Dennis.
05:02 I really am, but they are your problems."
05:05 "Oh, you're right, John.
05:06 You're absolutely right.
05:07 You know everything's my problem."
05:08 "I will not get drawn into another financial debate with you, Dennis."
05:12 This dissatisfaction leads him to betray Hammond's trust and attempt to smuggle dinosaur embryos
05:17 out of the park.
05:18 In order to accomplish this, the programmer deactivates nearly all of the security systems,
05:22 thereby putting the entire island in jeopardy.
05:24 Nedry eventually gets his just desserts, however, as he's ambushed and killed by a Tylophosaurus
05:30 before he can escape Jurassic Park.
05:32 "You shouldn't use my name."
05:34 "Dodgson.
05:35 Dodgson.
05:36 We've got Dodgson here!"
05:37 "See, nobody cares."
05:38 Number 5.
05:42 Saruman the White, The Lord of the Rings franchise.
05:44 "Sauron has regained much of his former strength.
05:47 He cannot yet take physical form, but his spirit has lost none of its potency."
05:53 They say that power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
05:57 Saruman the White is hungry for that power.
05:59 Saruman was the leader of the Istari Wizards, the group of sorcerers who were sent to Middle
06:03 Earth to oppose Sauron, the Dark Lord.
06:05 However, Saruman begins to crave Sauron's power and forms an alliance with him, betraying
06:09 all of Middle Earth in the process, including his former friends like Gandalf the Grey.
06:13 "Against the power of mortal, there can be no victory.
06:19 We must join with him, Gandalf.
06:25 We must join with Sauron."
06:27 His desire for knowledge, order, and power further blinds him to the knives pointed at
06:31 his back.
06:32 "Save your pity and your mercy!"
06:34 This was seen in the extended version of Return of the King, where Saruman gets his comeuppance
06:38 at the hands of his long-suffering servant, Grima Wormtongue.
06:41 "Something festers in the heart of Middle Earth.
06:44 Something that you have failed to see.
06:47 But the Great Eye has seen it.
06:54 Even now, he presses his advantage.
06:59 His attack will come soon."
07:01 #4.
07:02 Lando Calrissian - Star Wars Franchise
07:09 Those were the fateful words uttered by Cloud City Administrator Lando Calrissian after
07:13 it was revealed that he had betrayed his friend Han Solo.
07:16 Lando initially forsakes Han and company with altruistic intentions as he sought to distance
07:20 Cloud City from the influence and control of the Galactic Empire.
07:23 However, he soon realizes the grave consequences of his actions as they result in Han being
07:27 frozen in carbonite and bring the galaxy one step closer to being ruled by the Empire.
07:31 "Lord Vader, we only use this facility for carbon freezing.
07:35 You put him in there, it might kill him."
07:36 "I do not want the Emperor's prize damaged.
07:39 We will test it on Captain Solo."
07:42 Ultimately, Lando undergoes a redemption arc.
07:44 He ends up joining the Rebel Alliance, frees Han Solo, and atones for his earlier betrayal.
07:48 "Look at you, a general, huh?
07:51 Someone must have told him about my little maneuver at the Battle of Denev."
07:54 "Well, don't look at me, pal.
07:56 I just said you were a fair pilot.
07:57 I didn't know they were looking for somebody to lead this crazy attack."
08:00 3.
08:01 Henry Hill - Goodfellas
08:02 "We ran everything.
08:03 We paid off cops, we paid off lawyers, we paid off judges.
08:09 Everybody had their hands out.
08:11 Everything was for the taking.
08:14 And now it's all over."
08:15 We could have easily populated this list with figures from the seedy underworld of organized
08:19 crime.
08:20 That said, Ray Liotta's fictionalized portrayal of real-life monster Henry Hill just has to
08:24 be one of the most memorable.
08:26 This is thanks not only to the gravity of Hill's actions, but also due to their consequences.
08:30 We follow Hill's violent rise to power throughout the 1990 film Goodfellas, but all of that
08:34 influence is gone in an instant once he's nabbed by the FBI.
08:37 "You know, whenever you move me, I ask you once and I'm gonna tell you again, I don't
08:40 wanna go any place that's cold.
08:42 You really don't have a choice in that matter."
08:45 He testifies against his former colleagues and winds up entering the Witness Protection
08:49 Program.
08:50 Yet it's Hill who has to live with himself and the decisions he's made, as he lives out
08:53 his days in safe but anonymous freedom.
08:55 "I have to wait around like everyone else.
08:58 Can't even get decent food.
09:00 Right after I got here, I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce and I got egg noodles
09:04 and ketchup.
09:05 I'm an average nobody.
09:06 I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook."
09:11 2.
09:12 Frito-Corleone - The Godfather Part II
09:14 "There's a plane waiting for us to take us to Miami in an hour.
09:20 I know it was you, Fredo."
09:27 It's one of the most famous betrayals in movie history, as well as perhaps the most iconic
09:30 reactions to a betrayal.
09:32 Al Pacino's aggressive kiss of death to co-star John Cazale ensures that both Cazale's Frito-Corleone
09:37 and the audience know everything that's about to go down.
09:40 "What about Fredo?
09:41 What does he know?"
09:42 "He says he doesn't know anything, and I believe him.
09:47 Roth believed him.
09:48 Played this one beautifully."
09:51 Frito has forgotten his family ties while working under Moe Green in Las Vegas, and
09:55 outright betrays Michael by colluding with Johnny Ola and Hyman Roth.
09:58 This results in an assassination attempt on Michael, which creates a permanent rift between
10:02 the two siblings.
10:03 "You're nothing to me now.
10:04 You're not a brother.
10:05 You're not a friend.
10:06 I don't want to know you or what you do."
10:14 Frito's eventually killed on Michael's orders, although the youngest Corleone waits until
10:17 their mother's passing to have the deed done.
10:19 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:23 Guy Woodhouse, Rosemary's baby, forsakes his wife to Satanists for a career in show business.
10:27 "All they said was get a second opinion."
10:30 "Rosemary, you got the best doctor in New York.
10:32 You know who Dr. Hill is?
10:33 He's a Charlie Nobody.
10:34 That's who he is."
10:35 "I'm tired of hearing how great Dr. Saperstein is."
10:40 Harry Ellis, diehard.
10:41 The ultimate negotiator fails to convince Nakatomi terrorists and pays the price.
10:46 "Let's be straight, okay?
10:49 It's obvious you're not some dumb schmuck up here to snatch a few purses, am I right?"
10:52 "You're very perceptive."
10:54 Riley Hicks, Fast and Furious 6, revealed as Shaw's secret lover and has to leave the
10:58 team.
10:59 "Come in, babe."
11:00 "Of course."
11:07 Colin Sullivan, The Departed, a Massachusetts State Police officer working for the mob.
11:11 "They're suiting up for a raid right now.
11:14 I don't know where they're going, but they do.
11:17 And so do you.
11:20 So make the call."
11:21 Daniel Cielo, Prince of the City, gray morality and perverse loyalties among crooked cops.
11:26 "You run it!
11:28 Starting with assistant DA's who plea bargain murder one down to a misdemeanor."
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11:48 Number 1.
11:49 Cipher, The Matrix
11:50 "You know, I know this steak doesn't exist.
11:56 I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy
12:04 and delicious."
12:05 What would you do if you were in Cipher's shoes in The Matrix?
12:08 On one hand, we can certainly understand the desire for a return to normalcy, the yearning
12:12 to eat a steak.
12:13 This is despite Cipher's own admission that the steak doesn't exist.
12:16 "I don't want to be rich.
12:19 I want someone important.
12:24 Like an actor."
12:25 "Whatever you want, Mr. Reagan."
12:29 Yet it's Cipher's betrayal of the team that gets members Apoc, Switch, and Dozer killed,
12:33 and alerts Agent Smith to their location.
12:35 Actor Joe Pantoliano defended Cipher's actions in a 2023 interview with AV Club, countering
12:40 that Cipher didn't think that Neo was the guy and that he'd bet on the wrong horse.
12:44 "I'm tired, Trinity.
12:46 I'm tired of this war.
12:49 I'm tired of fighting.
12:50 I'm tired of this ship."
12:52 Cipher's desired switch from red pill to blue pill may have erased his memory, but we'll
12:56 never forget this betrayal of the Nebuchadnezzar.
12:59 What's the most infamous movie betrayal?
13:00 Let us know in the comments.
13:01 "Start with you agree there is a rat."
13:04 "You said there is one, alright?"
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13:14 [Music]