The Most Overqualified Villain Performances In Movie History

Alan Rickman is a true cinematic powerhouse -- he completely redefined what an action movie villain could be with his performance Die Hard,  and his magical appearance as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter franchise charmed us beyond words. If only all of Rickman's films were quite on his level.

Rickman played the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which was arguably a long vehicle for Bryan Adams's "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You." Rickman actually took the script aside with two friends of his and rewrote much of the Sheriff's material. The result is a movie that alternates between legitimately funny scenes of Rickman having tons of fun as Robin Hood's nemesis, then Kevin Costner not even attempting a British accent as Robin Hood. In his review of the film, Roger Ebert admitted that Rickman's scenes have nothing to do with the rest of the movie, but "at least when Rickman appears on the screen we perk up, because we know we'll be entertained."

Tim Curry is the undisputed king of unconventional roles. He scared the living daylights out of us as the sadistic Pennywise in the original It miniseries. He delighted us as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, proving that mad scientists can be fierce and rock pearls like no other. And he was frantic and hilarious in the widely-revered 80s whodunit-comedy Clue.

In another one of Curry's unusual roles, he also plays the literal devil - or, sorry, "The Lord of Darkness" - in the 1985 fantasy film Legend. Curry is memorably scary in his demonic prosthetics (especially if you were a little kid when you first saw this), and is SO standout-terrifying in a movie that's otherwise extremely light and pastoral. He really does feel like he's in a completely different movie. In a good way.

Back in her heyday, Jean Marsh was one of Alfred Hitchcock's 'It' girls, featured in Frenzy and renowned for her film noir spirit. She also appeared in several other classics like The Love Lottery and The Rebel.

The 1980s were a strange time for Marsh, and she found herself in one of the era's most beloved and weirdest cult classics, playing Queen Bavmorda in Willow. Willow remains a fan favorite for many people of a certain age, though it's still striking to see Marsh deliver such a next-level performance in a fun, children's fantasy film.

I mean, it's Darth Vader himself. James Earl Jones made his name portraying the dark lord of the galaxy, so there wasn't much question whether or not he could handle playing Thulsa Doom, a villainous fantasy emperor who literally turns into a snake.

Conan The Barbarian is a big-time cult favorite, but mostly for its wild and creative fantasy plot, its epic scope, and its off-the-wall violence - it's not exactly what Hollywood usually refers to as an 'acting vehicle.' But James Earl Jones brings it big time regardless. We'd expect nothing less.

Christopher Walken is a household name for all sorts of reasons, from his reliable roles in blockbusters like Batman Forever and Catch Me If You Can, to his more comedic turns in Pulp Fiction and Saturday Night Live. He won an Oscar for his performance in the Vietnam epic The Deer Hunter, then a few years later, played the villain in the Bond movie A View To A Kill.

Walken is fantastic in the movie, as a crazed, bleached-blond industrialist hell-bent on blowing up Silicon Valley. But the rest of the movie is largely forgettable (aside from an appearance by Grace Jones.) Roger Moore retired from the franchise right after this film, later quipping, "I had to retire from the Bond films. The girls were getting younger, or I was just getting too old."

Max von Sydow is a legacy actor who made his name eleven Ingmar Bergman films and the all-time classic The Exorcist. Decades later, he'd go on to star in Needful Things, an adaptation of a lesser-known 90s Stephen King novel, playing a creepy old man and with a gift shop.

Needful Things remains a cult favorite, and von Sydow's performance is probably the single biggest thing rescuing the film from "forgotten Stephen King movie adaptation" obscurity. Roles like this also likely helped Von Sydow transition to his latter-career resurgence as a mainstream character actor, where he played memorable roles in Minority Report, Game Of Thrones, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.