TV bad guys are some of the most dramatic! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most epically evil performances across television from the past ten years.
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00:00And then you turned up the temperature.
00:01See if you could burn my skin.
00:03You remember that, right?
00:07Your turn.
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:11for the most epically evil performances across television
00:14from the past 10 years.
00:16Imagine what we could do together.
00:19We could reshape the world.
00:22Remake it however we see fit.
00:2510. Christian Slater as Mr. Robot
00:30Mr. Robot
00:32Rough night.
00:38As an anarchist mastermind, Christian Slater expertly embodies the titular provocateur
00:44in USA Network's lauded dramatic thriller Mr. Robot.
00:47When the time is right, I'll expose them.
00:52Do you get it now?
00:53Slater's portrayal of the digital age specter is as charismatic as it is mysterious,
00:59not to mention dangerous.
01:00You see, Mr. Robot is a construct within Elliot's mind
01:04who takes the representation of his departed dad, Edward.
01:07You're starting to attract some attention.
01:09I recommend you get one of those Bluetooth headsets.
01:11That way people just think you're the local douche.
01:13Created to instigate war against E-Corp and bring about major change,
01:17Mr. Robot has no issues taking control of Elliot to put his plans into action.
01:22We can take them all down if we work together.
01:26And thanks to a performance that blurs the lines between reality and illusion,
01:30Mr. Robot, through Slater, always kept us on our toes.
01:34We are all together now, whether you like it or not.
01:499. Jeremy Irons as Ozymandias
01:52Watchmen
01:53Guilty.
01:57HBO's Watchmen takes us many years after the events of the iconic graphic novel,
02:02and finds Ozymandias paying the price for his warped actions.
02:06After saving the world from nuclear extinction by uniting it through fear,
02:10Ozymandias is sent to a remote destination where he is nearly driven mad.
02:14It's the bee's knees.
02:16Acting great, Jeremy Irons is effortless in his embodiment of a former superhero,
02:21who has become disillusioned by his own utopian dreams.
02:24The performance can perhaps best be described as a masterclass in vanity laced with regret.
02:29For while I may be your master, I am most definitely not your maker.
02:35After all, we are talking about a character who's described as the smartest man on Earth.
02:40It's lucky then that we got one of the coolest characters in the show,
02:43It's lucky then that we got one of the greatest actors on the planet to portray him.
03:008. J.K. Simmons as Omni-Man
03:03Invincible
03:04When Amazon launched its adult animated superhero series Invincible,
03:13J.K. Simmons wowed audiences as the voice of Omni-Man, Earth's most powerful hero.
03:26While a hero who harbors many dark secrets beneath his cape,
03:30namely the fact that he killed the Guardians of the Globe
03:32in an effort to kick off his plan to weaken Earth's defenses so his alien race,
03:37the Viltrumites, could take over.
03:39You know, no biggie.
03:41However, thanks to a season two redemption and Simmons' commanding voice work,
03:45Omni-Man also embodies plenty of paternal warmth.
03:48Of course, he can switch to terrifying rage in an instant.
03:52As far as villainous reads go, we'd say this one is definitely our tempo.
04:007. Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin, Daredevil
04:06Towering over Hell's Kitchen both physically and figuratively,
04:09Vincent D'Onofrio brings chilling depth to iconic Marvel baddie Wilson Fisk,
04:14aka The Kingpin.
04:16D'Onofrio won over audiences by presenting Fisk as both a cultured art lover
04:21and brutal crime lord in the celebrated Netflix series Daredevil.
04:25He's a man whose love for his city is matched only by his ruthlessness in controlling it.
04:46I'm counting on it.
04:49And with D'Onofrio's presence proving especially pitch perfect,
04:53he was brought back to reprise the role for Disney Plus' Hawkeye and Echo.
04:58Like you said, it's been a good relationship.
05:02Which is why I'm a little confused at where you're headed with this.
05:05It won't be long for this Kingpin to face off against his horned nemesis once more though,
05:10as D'Onofrio's villain is set to return for the highly anticipated Daredevil born again.
05:15The people need to be reminded that the city belongs to me.
05:24Number 6.
05:24Brian Cox as Logan Roy
05:26Succession
05:28Some actors are seemingly born to play compelling villains.
05:31Brian Cox is one of them.
05:33I'm gonna build something better.
05:35Something faster, lighter, meaner, wilder.
05:39As family patriarch and media mogul Logan Roy in Succession,
05:43Cox dominates every scene he's in.
05:45Heck, his portrayal reverberates in scenes he's not in.
05:49The character is constantly playing human chess with those around him,
05:53family included, and he does so with calculated malice.
05:56Or is it tough love?
06:04One thing's for sure, nobody, and we mean nobody, is safe from his vocal wrath.
06:09Beyond the cutting dialogue,
06:11Cox expertly showcases the vulnerability behind Logan's tyrannical facade.
06:16I love you, but you are not serious people.
06:26And thanks to this exceptional portrayal,
06:28audiences are left hanging on to every word he growls out.
06:32Number 5.
06:33Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, the Walking Dead
06:36You can breathe.
06:38You can blink.
06:40You can cry.
06:42Hell, you're all gonna be doing that.
06:45Armed with twisted charm and his trusty baseball bat Lucille,
06:49Negan burst onto the scene in The Walking Dead by ruling through widespread fear.
06:53Yet the deadly leader of the Saviors exuded inexplicable magnetism,
06:58making him impossible not to watch.
07:00And thanks to Jeffrey Dean Morgan's layered portrayal,
07:03Negan became the definition of a character that you can't help but love to hate.
07:07Now, when I see red, it's just a question of what I am capable of.
07:13Of course, The Walking Dead has seen its share of other standout villains.
07:17David Morrissey's turn as the heinous governor
07:19especially stands as a celebrated page-to-screen depiction.
07:29Yep, when it comes to antagonists on The Walking Dead,
07:32zombie hordes will always take a backseat to the living, breathing maniacs around.
07:37We kill the right people in the wrongest way possible, and we make them all watch.
07:43Number 4.
07:44Ewan Rayon as Ramsay Snow, Game of Thrones
07:48When it comes to memorable small-screen villains,
07:50perhaps no show can match the impressive output of Game of Thrones.
07:54Killing you would send your brother a message.
07:57But my mother insists on keeping you alive.
08:01Stone.
08:02From the downright hated King Joffrey to the categorically despised Cersei Lannister,
08:06the series and its actors always delivered exceptionally evil characters.
08:11However, it's Ewan Rayon as Ramsay Snow, later Bolton,
08:15who stands out the most among Westeros' rogues' gallery.
08:18You've known Sansa since she was a girl.
08:23Now watch her be.
08:24Well, now watch her become a woman.
08:28With sheer cruelty masked by eerie charm,
08:31Rayon personifies sadistically so convincingly
08:34that it sends shivers down collective spines whenever he's on screen.
08:38Please, please, no, please don't leave me.
08:41Please, please, please, please don't go, please.
08:45To say that the equal parts enthralling and horrifying portrayal is unforgettable
08:49would be a major understatement.
08:51Next time you think about naked girls, will you feel an itch?
08:57Number 3.
08:58Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna, aka Henry Creel.
09:02Stranger Things.
09:03With a sensational season 4 unveiling,
09:06Vecna immediately turned the world of Stranger Things, well, upside down.
09:10The ominous and grotesque character became an overnight sensation,
09:14unleashing terrors never before seen in the series.
09:17Don't cry, Chrissy.
09:22It's time for your suffering to end.
09:30In fact, he made all the other threats the residents of Hawkins faced
09:34seem like child's play.
09:36And whether he's covered under Freddy Krueger-esque prosthetics
09:39or taking on the human form of Henry Creel,
09:42Jamie Campbell Bower mesmerizes in the role.
09:45Seconds.
09:46Minutes.
09:47Hours.
09:48Days.
09:48Weeks.
09:49Months.
09:50Years.
09:51Decades.
09:52Each life a faded lesser copy of the one before.
09:56Wake up.
09:57Eat.
09:58Work.
09:58Sleep.
09:59Reproduce and die.
10:01Bower's hauntingly serene delivery,
10:03juxtaposed against all the nightmarish visuals,
10:06is more than enough to make your skin crawl.
10:09I want you to join me.
10:14If this villain doesn't send you running up that hill,
10:17then we don't know what will.
10:18You're not really here.
10:22Oh, but I am, Max.
10:27I am.
10:30Number Two.
10:31Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo Fring.
10:34Better call Saul.
10:35A dog who bites every owner he's had
10:40can only be disciplined with a firm hand or put down.
10:48Bringing new dimensions to an already iconic character,
10:51Giancarlo Esposito reprised his role as drug lord Gustavo Gus Fring
10:55on the Breaking Bad prequel series Better Call Saul.
10:59The character is a relentless and cunning businessman
11:02who is meticulous in his calculations,
11:04viewing the world's inhabitants as pieces on a chessboard.
11:08I can't allow you to kill Hector.
11:10However, I am not completely unsympathetic to your sense of justice.
11:15Esposito plays Fring with icy precision.
11:18He's a convincingly courteous businessman on one side,
11:21but a calculative killer on another,
11:24mastering duality like few others can.
11:27From now on, you are mine.
11:33It's in large part thanks to Giancarlo's brilliant performance
11:36that Gus has been immortalized as one of TV's all-time great villains.
11:40We'd be remiss if we didn't also tip our hat to Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca,
11:45a true standout antagonist in the series.
11:54Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
11:57Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobell
11:59Severance
12:00Arquette's controlled demeanor perfectly masks Harmony's sinister intentions.
12:06What is it we actually do here?
12:08We serve here, you child!
12:12Billy Bob Thornton as Lorne Malveaux
12:14Fargo
12:15Thornton imbues Malveaux with a calm, philosophical detachment from morality.
12:20I gotta say, if that were me in your position,
12:27I would have killed that man.
12:28Matthew Watterson as Magneto
12:30X-Men 97
12:32Watterson makes Magneto's motives understandable,
12:35even if his methods are extreme.
12:38And that my kind, like yours, have the right to live in it.
12:44I am trying to be better.
12:51Please, do not make me let you down.
12:58Katherine Hahn as Agatha
13:00WandaVision
13:01Hahn's captivating performance balances cheeky humor with genuine threats.
13:14And I killed Sparky, too.
13:18Martin Cove as John Kreese
13:20Cobra Kai
13:22Cove captures the essence of a man stuck in the past, driven by a no-mercy belief.
13:27Cobra Kai's back where it belongs.
13:31Back on top.
13:34Everyone closed the book on us.
13:38They thought we were done.
13:41But now they see...
13:48that the real story's only just begun.
14:01If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
14:08Anthony Starr as Homelander
14:10The Boys
14:11The only man in the sky is me.
14:15In a show that fiercely satirizes the superhero genre,
14:18Homelander serves as an extremely violent Superman-like figure.
14:23With exceedingly sociopathic tendencies,
14:26this god among men stands as one of the most dangerous characters in all of pop culture.
14:31And what can we say?
14:32As the laser-eyed leader of the Seven,
14:34Anthony Starr is as impressive as he is terrifying.
14:38There's always been so, so many things I want to do,
14:41and now I can do them all, finally.
14:45I'm so proud of you, Anthony Starr.
14:46I'm so proud of you, Anthony Starr.
14:49And now I can do them all, finally.
14:53No one can stop me.
14:54Starr portrays America's mightiest hero-turned-celebrity-psycho
14:58with bone-chilling brilliance.
15:00He delivers instant GIF-worthy smiles for the cameras,
15:03all while hiding monstrous impulses behind those big blue eyes.
15:08It's a high-flying act balancing public adoration against private instability,
15:13and it all culminates into one heck of an explosive performance of TV villainy.
15:18Wow.
15:19Being feared is A-1 Noki, don't buy me.
15:23Which villainous performance had you glued to your screen?
15:26Share your favorite heinous portrayals in the comments below.
15:39To the fence.
15:42Rest.
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