Where would movies be without action? It’s practically written into the DNA of the medium. And wherever you find action, you’ll almost always find villains doing their dastardly deeds. And while villains may not get the love that heroes get, they’re every bit as important. Sometimes more so. A weak or forgettable villain can deep-six a perfectly good movie.
But what makes a memorable villain? Is it the mustache twirling? The costume? Choice of weapon? Or the actor who brings him to life? Who can say? But one thing is certain: we all know a great villain when we see one. They make their marks on the pop culture and stick with us for decades after their first appearances.
But that’s enough talk. Let’s get to the action.
These are the 50 Greatest Action Movie Villains of All Time.
20. Clarence J. Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) | RoboCop (1987)
There are debonair villains, barely deigning to get their hands dirty while orchestrating massacres, like Blofeld. There are blunt instrument villains, masses of muscle (or bristling with weapons) (or both) – like The Kurgan. And then there are weaselly, sadistic creeps like Clarence J. Boddicker. I mean, come on, he’s named Clarence! Kurtwood Smith makes us hate the character so much that for years I couldn’t stand watching him in almost anything. It might not have been until That 70’s Show before my inner dislike of the character dimmed enough to appreciate his performances, at least as anything other than a bad guy. There are villains on this list that are complicated, layered people, with motivations and backgrounds and stuff. Clarence has none of that. He’s getting paid to do slimy, evil crap, and that’s his dream job. He doesn’t even have any real loyalty, easily giving up his bosses when faced with real opposition. Much as I hate him, he’s a great part of Robocop, and has some of the best lines. A truly evil SOB, he totally deserved to die ugly, and Robocop was only too happy to oblige.
–Bob Cram
19. Sheriff of Nottingham (Various) | Robin Hood (Franchise)
Like his counterpart Robin Hood, the Sheriff of Nottingham has had many iterations. Serving as the right-hand man (or sometimes subordinate) to Prince John, it’s the Sheriff who has many of the direct interactions with Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Most often some mix of coward and schemer, he often employs some of the cruelest actions on the locals of Nottingham along with his own right-hand and muscle, Guy of Gisborne. In many ways, he’s the classic villain: implementing evil schemes only to have them foiled, leaving him shaking his fist and vowing vengeance another day. There have been hundreds of versions of this character, each with their own quirks and charm. While most people are familiar with the Sheriff of Nottingham from the Disney animated film, voiced by Pat Buttram of Green Acres fame, I’m fond of the BBC version played by comedian Keith Allen. He strikes a great mix of funny and sinister, and he’s just a ton of fun to watch.
–Valerie Morreale
18. Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) | Gladiator (2000)
Of all of Ridley Scott’s villains, Commodus is the easiest to hate. Pompous, self-important, and whiny, he’s awful the second he appears on screen, flaunting across the battlefield as though he had anything to do with Maximus’s victory. As the story progresses, he only becomes more cruel, implementing the games and keeping his sister isolated and afraid for her son’s life. It’s this character that makes his final downfall (though with a bittersweet end) so deliciously satisfying. Even with everything in his favor, he still can’t win. A sad pathetic little man, but a great villain in a fantastic film.
–Valerie Morreale
17. Lee Woo-jin (Yoo Ji-tae) | Oldboy (2003)
There are revenge movies, and then there’s Oldboy. Any good revenge tale has to have a great villain – if we don’t want the antagonist just as dead as the hero does, then what the hell are we even doing here? Oldboy doesn’t make things that easy for us, though. Lee Woo-jin is a tormented tormenter, a broken man who has to break another to even come close to feeling whole. You can almost understand why he does what he does, but you can never forgive him for it. I won’t go into any details, in case you haven’t seen the film, but even now I’m filled with both pity and hate for the character. Le Woo-jin has planned years in advance, with infernal patience, for his own vengeance. What it is and how he does it makes him one of the greatest villains of all time.
–Bob Cram
16. Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) | Point Break (1991)
As the leader of the Ex-Presidents, a gang of bank-robbing surfers, Bodhi combines physicality with a Zen-like worldview, viewing his heists as a rebellion against societal constraints. His seductive charm and genuine camaraderie with his crew, paired with his willingness to kill for his cause, make him a complex antagonist who blurs the line between villain and antihero. Swayze’s electrifying performance, especially in high-octane chase scenes and surfing sequences, elevates Bodhi into a captivating figure who challenges the hero, Johnny Utah, and makes us root for the bad guy.
–Vincent Kane
15. Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) | Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
“Witness me!” Part Baron Harkonnen, part Thulsa Doom and all Hugh Keays-Byrne, Immortan Joe is the apex predator of the wasteland. He’s the cult leader, throwing waves of metal-mouthed Warboys at any enemies. He’s the autocratic and charismatic ruler with the only water supply for hundreds of klicks. He’s the strategic master, holding together a triad of competing interests in a world gone mad. He’s also dying, and he holds a harem of women hostage, hoping to father a child that can carry on his legacy. (None of his current progeny having what it takes.) When Furiosa frees the women and steals his gas tanker he has no choice but to send his whole army after them. It was awesome to see Hugh Keays-Byrne return to the franchise, and he holds his own in a film with Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. There might be villains higher on the list than Immortan Joe, but I know just what he’d say about them. “Mediocre.”
–Bob Cram
14. Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) | Demolition Man (1993)
I reluctantly love Simon Phoenix. He’s part Joker, part techno villain, and all 90’s cheese. A being of pure chaos, he lives for violence and anarchy. Snipes never fails to bring swagger, serious energy, and believable action chops to any role, and in Phoenix he gives us all this with a bad-guy twist.
Simon is the nemesis of the titular Demolition Man (Sylvester Stallone), but he’s definitely a force of destruction himself. He’s bad enough back in the 90s, but when he’s frozen as part of his sentence, he comes out of it in the future with crazy skills he didn’t possess before. Now he has improved hand-to-hand abilities, computer hacking skills with a working knowledge of the future networks, and improved demolitions know-how.
With his upgraded skill set, cunning and chaotic mind, combined with backing from those hoping to overturn the status quo, Phoenix is a villain we certainly believe will give our hero a run for his money!
–Jeff Cram
13. Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage & John Travolta) | Face/Off (1997)
Nic Cage’s manic performance elevates Castor Troy beyond just your typical bad guy. He is an unhinged menace highlighted in the scene where he is dressed as a priest, weirdly dancing to a church choir, and caressing one of the female singers. All of this after he just planted a bomb at the LA convention center during a major event to cause the most damage.
Troy’s relentless pursuit of destruction, coupled with his twisted charm, creates a villain who is as captivating as he is dangerous, redefining the archetype of the action movie foe. By blending over-the-top villainy with the high-octane action of John Woo’s direction, Castor Troy helped redefine the genre’s antagonists, making them not just obstacles but unforgettable forces of anarchy that rival the hero in screen presence.
–Vincent Kane
12. Han (Shih Kien) | Enter the Dragon (1973)
Han is a villain in whom, if I squint at, I can see the DNA of some of George Lucas’ world-building with Star Wars. He’s a “real world” example of a Dark Jedi, a student of the Shaolin Temple who goes bad and uses his powers for evil! Okay, I might be stretching it because of my Star Wars fanaticism, but there’s something there!
By the time of Enter the Dragon, Shih Kien had been in scores of Hong Kong films and television shows, and even though the character’s lines are dubbed by Keye Luke, that experience shows through in his performance of Han. He chews up the scenery, projecting the sense that Han revels in his depraved nature. I mean, he keeps the bones of his own severed hand in his torture dungeon just for the lols. That ain’t right, man.
There’s no question that Han needs to be put down, and his whole empire of drugs, larceny, and human trafficking are offensive to all things espoused by the temple he left behind. It’s a good thing they have Bruce Lee to launch at him, like a human tac nuke of kickass!
–Jeff Cram
11. Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman) | Léon: The Professional (1994)
It would be easy to fill this entry with nothing but memes and GIFs. You’ve seen them, you know them. “Everyone” is the most famous and for good reason. I don’t think any other actor has made more of a meal of a single word. Oldman is allowed to chew every inch of the scenery, and he does so in the most spectacular way possible. It’s over the top, yes, but it’s never cartoonish. Even when he’s at his most outrageous, he never loses menace. He’s an actual threat. There have been a million corrupt cops in film, and a couple even appeared on this list, but none are as memorable or as dangerous as Stansfield.
–Sailor Monsoon
30-21 | 10-1
Who are some of your favorite action movie villains? Maybe they will show up in the Top 10!