Actors Who Decided to Play Bad Guys

Our relationships with actors center mostly on their choices for movie roles. Some actors naturally fit into the role of a protagonist we love.  However, sometimes, actors completely flip our expectations and go full evil.  Here is a list of my favorite actors transforming into bad guys.. 

WARNING: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

Chris Evans – Knives Out

Amazon Prime ($3.49)

Although I did enjoy Chris Evans’ most recent villainous stint in The Gray Man, I believe he was even more successful in Knives Out.  In this comedic whodunnit, Evans plays Ransom, the grandson of the late Harlan Thrombey, a superstar novelist recently murdered on his 85^th birthday.  Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is hired to solve this murder mystery, where all family members had some motive. 

Coming immediately off the heels of his legendary role as Captain America, Evans playing such a pretentious, sleazy, self-entitled prick was a bit of a shock.  He is so terrible that you immediately rule him out as the prime suspect, as it could never be someone so obvious, right?

Tom Cruise – Collateral

HBO Max (Free)

Tom Cruise plays Vincent; a hitman tasked to take out several targets in LA.  Under the guise of a real estate broker, Vincent coerces the taxi driver Max (Jamie Foxx) to drive him around town for the night so he can meet with business partners.  Max is horrified to have a corpse fall onto his car at the first stop, with Vincent revealing his true intentions and motive soon after.

I love Tom Cruise in Collateral. He goes about his business with a calm and controlled demeanor you would expect from a professional assassin. In any other story, Vincent would have easily been the protagonist. However, when viewed through the lens of Jamie Foxx’s character, the experiences move from cool to horrifying.

Octavia Spencer – Ma

Amazon Prime ($3.99)

In Ma, Octavia Spencer plays Sue Ann “Ma” Ellington, who “befriends” teenagers by buying them alcohol and allowing them to throw parties at her home.  Ma is emotionally scarred by memories of high school bullying within the small town.  It turns out the parents of the teenagers were Ma’s tormenters.  After feeling slighted by the teenagers for rightfully thinking she was a creep, Ma’s murderous spree begins.

Look, I know Ma is not a good movie.  And still, you must love Octavia Spencer in the titular role. There is plenty of unintentional comedy in her portrayal and some often-hilarious death scenes. There is a wink and a nod from her, acknowledging how much fun she is having playing this outlandish character. Finally, the movie producing one of the best gifs on the internet was the icing on the cake.

Chris Hemsworth – Bad Times at the El Royale

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Bad Times at the El Royale is an ensemble movie of characters staying at the run-down El Royale hotel, nestled on the border of Nevada and California.  One of the characters we meet is Billy Lee (Chris Hemsworth), a dangerous cult leader who arrives at the El Royale to retrieve one of his stranded followers.  

Like his Avengers counterpart Chris Evans, most only recognized Hemsworth as Earth’s mightiest Avenger, Thor.  Even in some of his other projects, like Snow White and the Huntsman, Hemsworth was the good guy you cheered. Seeing him transform into a manipulative cult leader with a following willing to kill and die for him was a shocker.

Robin Williams – One Hour Photo

Amazon Prime (3.99)

During the 90s, fewer actors on the planet were more beloved than Robin Williams. He was the energetic, frenetic, and loveable guy in so many classics that you just lit up when you saw him on film.  That is why his role as Sy in One Hour Photo may be the most shocking entry on this list.

Sy works in the photo department of SavMart.  He loves his work, but not in a way that could be considered healthy. He gets particularly fascinated with the Yorkin family, to the point of printing extra photos and making a shrine of them.  In the age of smartphones, the movie does feel dated.  Yet, as impossible as it may sound, Robin Williams makes your skin crawl.   

Patrick Stewart – Green Room

Showtime (Free)

Patrick Stewart as a skinhead?  There isn’t a role I could imagine as more opposite than everyone’s favorite Star Trek captain.  Yet, in Green Room, Patrick Stewart does play the leader of a Nazi skinhead faction in the middle of Oregon.  The Ain’t Rights, a young punk rock band, unwittingly takes a gig at the skinhead bar under Darcy’s (Patrick Stewart) control.  The band witnesses some things they shouldn’t have and have been ordered by Darcy to be killed.

Stewart plays against type not just morally but also regarding his intelligence. Unlike his other characters, Darcy isn’t a very smart or witty leader that is creating some diabolical plan.  He is just a fascist with a bunch of idiots under him. However, the idea of “normal” skinheads pursuing you brings a sort of realism to the terror.

Macaulay Culkin – The Good Son

Amazon Prime ($3.99)

In The Good Son, Macaulay Culkin plays Henry, the cousin of Mark (Elijah Woods), who recently came to stay with Henry’s family after the passing of his mother.  Mark quickly realizes something is off about his cousin, who is obsessed with death and causes harm to others around him.  Henry plays sweet and innocent in front of his parents while acting homicidal when they are away.

The Good Son is another movie that is elevated by the shocking turn of its lead actor.  There may have never been a child actor as famous as Macaulay Culkin was in the late 80s and early 90s.  You cannot believe the kid from Home Alone and My Girl was this psychotic child killer. Yet, as the movie crescendos, Culkin makes you think it.  Never do you see a child actor of this stature take such a risk. The Good Son came towards the end of Culkin’s childhood fame.  The movie may have helped derail his career but is now considered a cult classic, and rightfully so.