Sometimes a movie or TV character is not just unlikable, but hateable. They're mean, creepy, unethical, annoying - maybe all of the above. Regardless, you pretty much hate them.
Some actors own their odious on-screen persona with such intensity that people actually hated them, too, or still do. Many of these performers appeared in our favorite nostalgic movies and TV shows - sometimes more than one. People on Reddit are sharing the actors they think do the best job at being the most hateable.
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- Game of Thrones
- HBO
From Redditor u/novato1995:
Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon [in Game of Thrones].
Never once did I hate a character and admire an actor so much. This guy absolutely ate every single scene he was in.
U/ChineseChaiTea put it into perspective:
Yeah, as a parent it's kind of bad when you say, "I hope that little f*cking bastard dies," and actually cheer on his death. His character brought me to a new low, but the acting was f*cking great.
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- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Warner Bros. Pictures
From Redditor u/funnyflabs:
Imelda Staunton, Umbridge in Harry Potter.
U/TardisCoreST chimed in:
YES. She is unbelievably horrible, and that's a good thing. Imelda Staunton is a genius actress.
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- Gladiator
- DreamWorks Distribution LLC
From Redditor u/pinche881:
Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator.
U/floorwantshugs agreed:
Yes! He did such a good job that I suspect him of being villainous in everything else I see him in.
U/ftmcx shared:
Joaquin Phoenix did such an amazing job in Gladiator that my mom refuses to watch anything Joaquin is in because she cannot stand the fact his character killed Maximus.
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- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- United Artists
From Redditor u/penny_can:
Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched and later as Kai Winn in [One Flew Over the] Cuckoo's Nest and Star Trek DS9, [respectively].
U/Kuriakon added:
Was hoping someone would have said Louise Fletcher. She was perfect as Kai Winn on DS9. 10/10 performance. Skin-crawlingly well-played villain.
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- Game of Thrones
- HBO
From Redditor u/ImJaredItsMyName:
I thought Lena Headey did phenomenal with Cersei [in Game of Thrones]. She just hit such a perfect look with her face... calculated anger, rage/aggression. A look of complete superiority.
U/Plant_Parlour agreed:
Her evil smirks while gulping wine... Chef‘s kiss.
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- Inglorious Basterds
- The Weinstein Company
From Redditor u/Sinisterslushy:
Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds. His ability to play a villain was remarkable, but the utter smugness he brought to the character is what truly made him feel so real and so hateable.
U/Phoenix042 added:
This is the one that immediately came to mind.
The opening scene, the subtlety, and nuance of the acting, the tiny power plays, or (for example) asking for a glass of milk, asking the others to wait outside, making the farmer say his nickname and his reputation, all so polite, all carrying the weight of his implicit threat behind them.
Such an amazing scene, and such a good character. No one else could have done it justice.
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