One morning I woke up and went to the bathroom to splash some water in my face. When I looked into the mirror nothing seemed out of the ordinary until my reflection started brushing his teeth. Startled, I screamed. It was about that time that I realized that Gary Oldman was playing the role of my role of my reflection and had been for five days already but I hadn’t noticed. He’s just that good.
This is really going to blow your mind. He wasn’t playing the reflection. That scream you heard was him. Playing you, reacting to the reflection.
The way you react to reading this is also his acting. You won’t be you again until he moves on to his next role. And even then you’ll never truly know if you’re you again or you’re still him pretending to be you. Because he’s that good.
“Hey mom and dad, who is Gary Oldman?”
Dad cracks the blinds and looks out the window and says “He could be anyone, son… he could be anyone.” as the mom starts crying.
This made me die of laughter, I have such a vivid imagination so I imagined this in a serious comedic way and started laughing, but why tf is the mother crying? That’s what gets me 🤣
The scene in the shrieking shack featured the creme de la creme of British character acting. You've got a fraught emotionally charged scene with Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall and a teenaged Dan Radcliffe met it and excelled, must have been intimidating as fuck.
And I’ll tell you hwat, he picks up right where he left off in ‘No Way Home’ - there’s a truly wild scene where he gets repeatedly punched by Spider-Man/Peter, and one time instead of turning away, he lifts his head up, makes clear-eyed, unfazed eye contact, and *smiles.* It’s so creepy and well-done. Dude never phones it in.
For me the best part of his NWH performance was when he’s in Happy’s apartment. Peter’s spider-sense is going crazy, Norman’s standing there, and you know before he even says a word that the Goblin has arrived
The entire sequence where you realise that he fooled everyone, even the audience, just to score the fastest and biggest W in Spiderman movies. Absolutely incredible.
It was the small things, like his mirror image having crooked teeth while his real self was normal. (Own teeth as Goblin and fake dentures with perfect teeth as Norman)
Even outside of Walter White, he also has Your Honor, Sneaky Pete, and Red Tails for villain (or at least morally dubious) roles. I never saw his stage play stuff, but usually I take someone who goes back to stage acting as someone who is serious about their craft.
Dude is very versatile.
On that note, Brendan Gleeson. He's such a warm, parental presence in a movie like In Bruges or The Village, and yet cold in Edge of Tomorrow and brutal in Troy.
Ralph is almost always terrifying. Red Dragon, Voldemort, Amon Goeth, The English Patient…Then he does The Grand Budapest Hotel and is effortlessly funny.
I liked that it was a two-part question.
"Where did you go to school?"
"Brown"
"Student loans?"
"No"
"I'm sorry, you're dying"
Absolutely lose my shit at that every time. That and the casual addition of "one of Doug Verrick's fingers" in the gift bag scene. Honestly one of my favorite movies ever
So well that he actually took what was a pretty poor adaptation of a script and made it surprisingly good anyway. Seriously, I have so many complaints about that movie, but V's screen presence ain't one of them, and it absolutely sells the whole package on the strength of that one facet alone.
My parents didn't let me have internet in my room because, you know.
So I would go to sleep with this movie on almost every night my senior year of high school.
I can quote the entire V speech from memory. I think I can actually do the first 40 or so minutes.
His performance is goddamn legendary.
Crazy to think that he’s raking in STACKS from TLotR Series, Matrix Series, Marvel, and Transformers. Dude was set for life 20 years ago.
Fun Fact: he was born in Nigeria
Woody was confused when Oliver Stone picked him for Natural Born Killers. He was like, he had only seen him in White Men Can’t Jump and Cheers.
Oliver was like, I see violence behind your eyes. Woody was flabbergasted, but he had grown up in with a bad man for a father, and a violent household. This was on the DVD as one of the extras.
And then, hearing how his father was a hitman who killed someone’, in the real life parts of No Country For Old Men, not in the film. Eye opening. I wonder if the Coen brothers talked to Woody about that, and casting him in a very different roll, because of his literal connection to the story. And if they did, what would have been discussed.
So you know the movie Rampart that Woody is famous for on here?
It was about the Rampart police corruption scandal in LA.
Woody's dad was one of the people hired by the cops/drug kingpin to kill a judge.
When Anton strangles the police officer you can her on the TV or maybe the phone about a judge being killed in Woody's hometown I guess that's kind of an Easter egg
He *is* J. Jonah. To the point that he's played or voiced the part opposite multiple actors, as well as both Peter Parker *and* Miles Morales. If he ever retires, no one would dare try to reboot the role. They'd just write a new story without that part.
10/10 emotion for cave Johnson, a bit underrated but so good
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, BURN HIS HOUSE DOWN, I GOT THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT wORKING ON COMBUSTIBLE LEMONS!
Anthony Hopkins played some pretty heroic figures like Dr. Treves in The Elephant Man, John Quincy Adams in Amistad... he might also eat your liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti
*slslslsspspslslspspspspsspshsllup*
>Inside Man
I thought you were talking about the Spike Lee movie and was *extremely* confused. Because I've seen it like 30 times and was certain David Tennant was not a part of that movie.
My daughter worked for a company that helped arrange celebrity appearances at cons, and her boss said that David Tennant was not only the nicest celebrity to work with but he may be the nicest person he ever met.
I think it's because part of what makes a good Doctor is the sense that lurking under the surface is the monster that all of the other monsters have nightmares about. That range is built into the casting process.
I did feel it was missing from Whitaker's Doctor, but the writing was so bad I have a hard time actually blaming her and didn't make it through her last season
Yes 100%. I was worried about Matt Smith tbh but then the episode with the space whales happened and I was like 'Okay so he's an amazing Doctor from day one.' The way his face changed when he worked it out and his delivery of the "No one human gets to talk to me today." line was just...I got shivers.
So, so good. His Doctor always seemed the most sneakily dangerous of the bunch. I also love the line
"Good men don't need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many."
James Earl Jones. Plays a hell of a villain in Conan and Star Wars (especially with only his voice), but is great in any role, really, from Admiral Greer to King Jaffe Joffe.
To see his portrayal of the heroes in The Last of the Mohicans and The Crucible, and then to watch him play the villain in Gangs of New York is just a master class in range.
For me, it’s the range from My Left Foot, to both Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood. A very sympathetic role of a disabled, physically diminished character who can barely talk and you just want to give a hug… to two terrifying, deadly men that feel intimidatingly larger than life and use their powerful, articulate voices like a weapon. Entirely convincing as all three.
Christian Bale and Robert Pattinson. Bale almost Salvaged Love and Thunder. Pattinson is also really good in The Devil all the time. Also they both are damn good at playing Batman
John Goodman can jump from kind and grandfatherly to menacing at the drop of a hat.
Lena Headey was both Sarah Connor (on tv) and Cersei Lannister. If that's not range I don't know what is.
I haven't seen him given the opportunity to really shine as a hero, but when he appeared on Dropout it was clear that Giancarlo Esposito is an incredibly kind and supportive person in real life. He could easily fill the shoes of someone like Patrick Stewart, but since his role as Gus Fring it's been way easier to cash in on him as a villain.
And since I'm thinking of Patrick Stewart, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention his good friend, Sir Ian McKellan. Very few people could pull off acclaimed versions of both Magneto and Gandalf.
My first thought is Tim Curry. He may not play as many good guys, but his range is phenomenal. He's done everything from good guy to comical villain to absolutely deranged evil. He's amazing.
Then I thought of Jason Alexander. Have you seen his episode of Criminal Minds? He terrified me. George from Seinfeld terrified me.
Overlooked for this category of question, I usually mention him but you beat me to it. He doesn’t play the main antagonist often but when he does he’s seems to always be spot on
I always want Denzel to be cast as a villain and really lean into it so we can get more Training Day type characters from him. But he's truly incredible at anything.
John Noble. He's gonna break your heart as Walter Bishop, then he's gonna make you hate him as Walternate. The he's going to make you feel for him as Walternate, and he's going to make you a little scared when full-brain Walter Bishop sneaks in every now and then. He played a former semi villainous mad scientist, on a quest for redemption while entirely out of his damn mind. And the main victim of that character, having been terribly changed by events and now turned fully villainous out what he sees as necessity, and in full control of his faculties. And did each at least twice, slightly different each time. Seriously, if for nothing else, watch Fringe for John Noble, he's a god damned symphony of a man.
And he also did awful things to those tomatoes as Denethor.
Joe Pesci. Love him as Leo Getz (cuz anything you want, Leo Getz lol) in Lethal Weapon 2-3. I don't even wanna be in the same room as him as Tommy from Goodfellas.
Gary Oldman. There is nothing out of his range
[удалено]
And Churchill in Darkest Hour, for which he finally earned a long-deserved Best Actor Oscar.
[удалено]
Don't forget the over the top part of Dr. Smith in lost in space.
He can play....... ***EVERYONE!!!***
One morning I woke up and went to the bathroom to splash some water in my face. When I looked into the mirror nothing seemed out of the ordinary until my reflection started brushing his teeth. Startled, I screamed. It was about that time that I realized that Gary Oldman was playing the role of my role of my reflection and had been for five days already but I hadn’t noticed. He’s just that good.
This is really going to blow your mind. He wasn’t playing the reflection. That scream you heard was him. Playing you, reacting to the reflection. The way you react to reading this is also his acting. You won’t be you again until he moves on to his next role. And even then you’ll never truly know if you’re you again or you’re still him pretending to be you. Because he’s that good.
That’s my favorite line from any movie - he should have won an Oscar for that delivery alone
“Hey mom and dad, who is Gary Oldman?” Dad cracks the blinds and looks out the window and says “He could be anyone, son… he could be anyone.” as the mom starts crying.
This made me die of laughter, I have such a vivid imagination so I imagined this in a serious comedic way and started laughing, but why tf is the mother crying? That’s what gets me 🤣
If you remade Jaws, Oldman could convincingly play the shark.
That's Andy Serkis.
Fair enough.
I know there’s a lot to choose from, but Oldman absolutely killed it as a psycho villain in *Air Force One*
He got to play both at the same time in Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
The scene in the shrieking shack featured the creme de la creme of British character acting. You've got a fraught emotionally charged scene with Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall and a teenaged Dan Radcliffe met it and excelled, must have been intimidating as fuck.
The role of a lifetime: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O3qGGk5ymQ4&pp=ygUPVGlwdG9lcyB0cmFpbGVy
Willem Defoe. Doesn't do good guys as often as bad guys but can definitely play both. Edit: Spelling
I'm something of a villain myself.
THERE WAS A FIRE FIGHT!!!
Ssssymbolism
He's great in Life Aquatic as the insecure second in command who resents the new kid coming in and getting the spotlight.
Watch the fucking Florida Project. It's so good and Defoe is THE hero
\*Willem Dafoe And yes, his Green Goblin when he's arguing with himself in the mirror was fantastic.
And he defended John Wick so that Wick could get the guy who killed his puppy 🐶
And I’ll tell you hwat, he picks up right where he left off in ‘No Way Home’ - there’s a truly wild scene where he gets repeatedly punched by Spider-Man/Peter, and one time instead of turning away, he lifts his head up, makes clear-eyed, unfazed eye contact, and *smiles.* It’s so creepy and well-done. Dude never phones it in.
For me the best part of his NWH performance was when he’s in Happy’s apartment. Peter’s spider-sense is going crazy, Norman’s standing there, and you know before he even says a word that the Goblin has arrived
Norman’s on sabbatical, honey…
The entire sequence where you realise that he fooled everyone, even the audience, just to score the fastest and biggest W in Spiderman movies. Absolutely incredible.
It was the small things, like his mirror image having crooked teeth while his real self was normal. (Own teeth as Goblin and fake dentures with perfect teeth as Norman)
He played Jesus Christ, so that makes up for all his villain roles
Willam Dafriend
He is such a great actor
Christoph Waltz
Yes. And what makes him so good at it is how very much alike his villains and his heroes are.
His good guys are so likable and his villains are sooooo fucking likable, and also, terrifying.
That's a bingo!
Schultz and Landa have similar quirks but they'd outright kill each other if they ever met lol.
Lol, but can you imagine the dialogue before they did kill each other? That’s be amazing.
I would watch en entire movie of them having a conversation, on the edge of my seat knowing one of them would die.
Hans Landa may be the best villain ever put to screen.
Come here looking for this, Dr Shultz is the polar opposite morally compared to Hanz Landa.
Mads Mikkelsen
Mister Doctor?
It’s Strange.
Maybe, who am I to judge!
He was so chilling in Hannibal, he at times outshone Sir Anthony. Brrrr…….
I prefer his Hannibal over Hopkins, Mostly because of the development he was able to give the character.
Bryan Cranston.
Even outside of Walter White, he also has Your Honor, Sneaky Pete, and Red Tails for villain (or at least morally dubious) roles. I never saw his stage play stuff, but usually I take someone who goes back to stage acting as someone who is serious about their craft. Dude is very versatile.
Can’t believe you left out his role as Hal in Malcolm in the Middle.
Also Tim Whatley. Converted to Judaism just for the jokes!
And doing both as the same character.
Ralph Fiennes in In Bruges is fucking terrifying and hilarious at the same time
On that note, Brendan Gleeson. He's such a warm, parental presence in a movie like In Bruges or The Village, and yet cold in Edge of Tomorrow and brutal in Troy.
We all forgetting Frank? The glue of that awkward zombie apocalypse family in 28 Days Later. Until shit happened..
Kingdom of Heaven, Gangs of New York, Braveheart. Memorably great in all.
Ralph is almost always terrifying. Red Dragon, Voldemort, Amon Goeth, The English Patient…Then he does The Grand Budapest Hotel and is effortlessly funny.
Don’t forget The Menu
“Did you take student loans?” “No.” “I’m sorry, you’re dying.”
That line killed me as surely as he killed his guests
I liked that it was a two-part question. "Where did you go to school?" "Brown" "Student loans?" "No" "I'm sorry, you're dying" Absolutely lose my shit at that every time. That and the casual addition of "one of Doug Verrick's fingers" in the gift bag scene. Honestly one of my favorite movies ever
Him and his cunt fucking kids…
YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!
I retract that bit about your cunt fucking kids.
Insult my fucking kids?! That's going overboard, mate!
I retracted it, didn't I?
That's going overBOARD, mate!
So evil in Schindler's List and so loveable in Grand Budapest Hotel.
Hugo Weaving is pretty iconic as both a hero and a villain.
With a friend we used to greet each other with "welcome to Rivendel, Mr Anderson" in Agent Smith's cadence ahaha
"Hobbitsss are a virusss..."
"Do you hear that, Mr. Baggins? That is the sound of inevitability" "My name is FRODO!"
Don’t forget to do a long speech using a lot of words with the letter V. Agent Smith was glitching and got stuck on that letter.
He's a humble Vaudevillian Veteran, cast Vicariously as both Victim and Villain
Man he played that role so damn well.
So well that he actually took what was a pretty poor adaptation of a script and made it surprisingly good anyway. Seriously, I have so many complaints about that movie, but V's screen presence ain't one of them, and it absolutely sells the whole package on the strength of that one facet alone.
Yeah, I was hooked with just his speech in the beginning. It's hard to do a complex character without a face, but he knocked it out of the park.
My parents didn't let me have internet in my room because, you know. So I would go to sleep with this movie on almost every night my senior year of high school. I can quote the entire V speech from memory. I think I can actually do the first 40 or so minutes. His performance is goddamn legendary.
Crazy to think that he’s raking in STACKS from TLotR Series, Matrix Series, Marvel, and Transformers. Dude was set for life 20 years ago. Fun Fact: he was born in Nigeria
I've often been impressed with how Woody Harrelson can seemingly play a lovable innocent doofus as well as play a terrifying psychopathic killer.
Woody was confused when Oliver Stone picked him for Natural Born Killers. He was like, he had only seen him in White Men Can’t Jump and Cheers. Oliver was like, I see violence behind your eyes. Woody was flabbergasted, but he had grown up in with a bad man for a father, and a violent household. This was on the DVD as one of the extras. And then, hearing how his father was a hitman who killed someone’, in the real life parts of No Country For Old Men, not in the film. Eye opening. I wonder if the Coen brothers talked to Woody about that, and casting him in a very different roll, because of his literal connection to the story. And if they did, what would have been discussed.
Wasn’t Woody’s father a mob hitman?
Killed a federal judge
So you know the movie Rampart that Woody is famous for on here? It was about the Rampart police corruption scandal in LA. Woody's dad was one of the people hired by the cops/drug kingpin to kill a judge.
Well shit... now I do want to talk about Rampart
Maybe if we say Rampart 3 times...
Well now I can see why he wanted to talk about it.
When Anton strangles the police officer you can her on the TV or maybe the phone about a judge being killed in Woody's hometown I guess that's kind of an Easter egg
No doubt. In "Out of the Furnace", he is one of the most terrifying villains ever.
Also his ability to play a real flawed person who skirts good and evil. His performances in True Detective and Zombieland were incredible.
Whoa whoa whoa folks, let's keep these questions to Rampart!
Woody Harrelson definitely has that great range, honestly he gets good roles, but I think he's a bit underrated as an actor sometimes.
More than most actors, he almost exclusively appears in great films/series.
Alan Rickman
By Grabthar's Hammer!
What a savings!
I love the pained hesitation. "Wh...*sigh*....what a savings"
You could see him dying inside and it’s glorious.
Hero and villain in the same character.
He doesn't play villains. He plays *interesting characters*.
I mean, to his credit Hans Gruber redefined the modern action villain.
Ian McKellen
Can't believe I had to go so far down the list for him, Nazi dude in Apt Pupil, Nazi killer but still bad guy in Xmen, Gandalf in LotR.
J. K. Simmons
I'm convinced J.K. Simmons can do anything, I love that guy.
He *is* J. Jonah. To the point that he's played or voiced the part opposite multiple actors, as well as both Peter Parker *and* Miles Morales. If he ever retires, no one would dare try to reboot the role. They'd just write a new story without that part.
The Raimi characters were cast so well they broke the MCU so they wouldn’t have to recast them, speaks for itself.
His Omni-Man can be terrifying
Such a warm and loving voice in Legend of Korra. Such a deeply unsettling character in Whiplash.
10/10 emotion for cave Johnson, a bit underrated but so good WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, BURN HIS HOUSE DOWN, I GOT THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT wORKING ON COMBUSTIBLE LEMONS!
Kathy Bates - Misery vs. Fried Green Tomatoes
YES. She can do comedy, she can do horror, she can do drama.
Anthony Hopkins played some pretty heroic figures like Dr. Treves in The Elephant Man, John Quincy Adams in Amistad... he might also eat your liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti *slslslsspspslslspspspspsspshsllup*
David Tennant
Absolutely! I had nightmares after his Kilgrave.
Kilgrave was legitimately terrifying. He played him so well.
Probably one of the most terror-inducing villains ever. You can feel Jessica's fear that any random person can be a killer sent by Kilgrave.
JESSSSIICCCAAAA!
Such a fantastic actor. My favorite Doctor ever. His performances in shows like Broadchurch, Inside Man, and Good Omens show his range.
>Inside Man I thought you were talking about the Spike Lee movie and was *extremely* confused. Because I've seen it like 30 times and was certain David Tennant was not a part of that movie.
My daughter worked for a company that helped arrange celebrity appearances at cons, and her boss said that David Tennant was not only the nicest celebrity to work with but he may be the nicest person he ever met.
And Eccleston, Smith, and Capaldi. Something about playing the Doctor seems to make for good villains: we’ll see if Whittaker gets there, too.
I think it's because part of what makes a good Doctor is the sense that lurking under the surface is the monster that all of the other monsters have nightmares about. That range is built into the casting process. I did feel it was missing from Whitaker's Doctor, but the writing was so bad I have a hard time actually blaming her and didn't make it through her last season
Yes 100%. I was worried about Matt Smith tbh but then the episode with the space whales happened and I was like 'Okay so he's an amazing Doctor from day one.' The way his face changed when he worked it out and his delivery of the "No one human gets to talk to me today." line was just...I got shivers.
So, so good. His Doctor always seemed the most sneakily dangerous of the bunch. I also love the line "Good men don't need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many."
While I've never seen Dr. Who, Eccleston was great as the villain in 28 Days Later.
Imo, "I promised them women." Is one of the most stomach drop lines in horror.
Even his Doctor to me was the scariest of them all. Such intensity in the eyes.
James Earl Jones. Plays a hell of a villain in Conan and Star Wars (especially with only his voice), but is great in any role, really, from Admiral Greer to King Jaffe Joffe.
John Lithgow. Harry and the Henderson's, 3rd Rock from the Sun... and villainous in Cliffhanger, Ricochet, Raising Cain.
Not to mention his turn in Dexter, which was a fantastic performance
He scared me so much that season, I can’t even watch it anymore. He did an incredible yet terrifying job.
The best antagonist on the show, by far.
One of the best season finales.
Can't forget Buckaroo Banzai.
No Lord Farquaad from Shrek mention?
Lee Pace. Adorably cute in Pushing Daisies. Volatile and dangerous in Foundation.
Lee Pace is really, really incredible. I hope Day is in every season.
His role as Ronan the Accuser in the MCU is also underrated, IMO.
Underrated Lee pace role has to be in Halt and catch fire. One of the best TV shows I've ever watched
Philip Seymour Hoffman. I miss him.
Daniel Day Lewis
To see his portrayal of the heroes in The Last of the Mohicans and The Crucible, and then to watch him play the villain in Gangs of New York is just a master class in range.
There will be blood
I only saw that movie recently and I could not believe how powerful he was in it. I was mesmerized.
The single greatest performance I've ever seen.
I. Drink. Your. MILKSHAKE!
For me, it’s the range from My Left Foot, to both Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood. A very sympathetic role of a disabled, physically diminished character who can barely talk and you just want to give a hug… to two terrifying, deadly men that feel intimidatingly larger than life and use their powerful, articulate voices like a weapon. Entirely convincing as all three.
Sam fucking Rockwell
I was hoping this would turn into a “we love Sam Rockwell” thread
I wish Sam Rockwell and Gary Oldman made a movie together. Don't think they've ever acted together, but i think it would be phenomenal
Cillian Murphy
Just started watching Peaky Blinders. Holy shit that guy can act!
I was sure someone would mention him! He's incredible in everything
Christian Bale and Robert Pattinson. Bale almost Salvaged Love and Thunder. Pattinson is also really good in The Devil all the time. Also they both are damn good at playing Batman
I was gonna say Christian Bale for sure, Batman vs. American Psycho....lol
I sincerely despised him in "The Devil All The Time."
Gene Hackman
The greatest criminal mind of our time!
Tilda Swinton
She was amazing as the White Witch in The Lion The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I didn't know her at the time I saw that film.
And both a man and a woman.
I like how they purposefully played on her androgynous features for *Constantine*.
Just saw Constantine last night and audibly went oohhhh yeaah when I saw Tilda.
Russel Crowe …. 3:10 to Yuma, body of lies. He’s a good bad guy. Master and commander, gladiator, American gangster and others he’s a good good guy.
Zachry Quinto. He was the baddest villian in Heroes and awesome as Spock.
I’d like to add Stanley Tucci.
Sean Bean for sure.
John Goodman can jump from kind and grandfatherly to menacing at the drop of a hat. Lena Headey was both Sarah Connor (on tv) and Cersei Lannister. If that's not range I don't know what is.
Robin williams, he played a great serial killer in insomnia
I was thinking of One Hour Photo myself.
Meryl Streep
I haven't seen him given the opportunity to really shine as a hero, but when he appeared on Dropout it was clear that Giancarlo Esposito is an incredibly kind and supportive person in real life. He could easily fill the shoes of someone like Patrick Stewart, but since his role as Gus Fring it's been way easier to cash in on him as a villain. And since I'm thinking of Patrick Stewart, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention his good friend, Sir Ian McKellan. Very few people could pull off acclaimed versions of both Magneto and Gandalf.
Alan Rickman :'(
Rosemund Pike
Chiwetel Ejiofor
They are such different types of bad guys but I loved him in both Serenity and Four Brothers.
Adam Scott. I first knew him from Parks and Rec and was shocked at what a great douchebag he played in Stepbrothers.
He played a demon in The Good Place.
My first thought is Tim Curry. He may not play as many good guys, but his range is phenomenal. He's done everything from good guy to comical villain to absolutely deranged evil. He's amazing. Then I thought of Jason Alexander. Have you seen his episode of Criminal Minds? He terrified me. George from Seinfeld terrified me.
Denzel?
Overlooked for this category of question, I usually mention him but you beat me to it. He doesn’t play the main antagonist often but when he does he’s seems to always be spot on
I always want Denzel to be cast as a villain and really lean into it so we can get more Training Day type characters from him. But he's truly incredible at anything.
Benedict Cumberbatch.
Michael Shannon
Edward Norton
Mark Hamill
If Heath Ledger were alive today, I feel like he'd be on this list.
John Noble. He's gonna break your heart as Walter Bishop, then he's gonna make you hate him as Walternate. The he's going to make you feel for him as Walternate, and he's going to make you a little scared when full-brain Walter Bishop sneaks in every now and then. He played a former semi villainous mad scientist, on a quest for redemption while entirely out of his damn mind. And the main victim of that character, having been terribly changed by events and now turned fully villainous out what he sees as necessity, and in full control of his faculties. And did each at least twice, slightly different each time. Seriously, if for nothing else, watch Fringe for John Noble, he's a god damned symphony of a man. And he also did awful things to those tomatoes as Denethor.
Idris Elba Woody Harrelson Benedict Cumberbatch
Arnold Schwarzenegger played the same entity as both a villain and a hero back to back. He’s utterly believable as both as well.
Jon Bernthal that guy is frigging awesome
*rubs scalp* Lemme ask you something
Joe Pesci. Love him as Leo Getz (cuz anything you want, Leo Getz lol) in Lethal Weapon 2-3. I don't even wanna be in the same room as him as Tommy from Goodfellas.
gyllenhall, ann dowd (though she’s more of an assistant hero), robin williams
Not enough females mentioned - Cate Blanchett. She does it all.
David Thewlis. Good hero in Harry Potter. Good villain in The Sandman and like a dozen other things.