Best villain of each decade

This might be tough. I'll try as best as I can, but might need help. Oh BTW, humans only! So you can't say Jaws, Alien, or Predator.

2010s: JK Simmons in Whiplash
2000s: Anton Chigurh, NCFOM
1990s: I'm gonna go with a sleeper and say John Malkovich's character in In The Line of Fire.
1980s: Hans Gruber, Die Hard.
1970s: Robert Shaw in Taking of Pelham One Two Three
1960s: Norman Bates, Psycho

Keep it going.

BTW, no one say Michael Corleone for the 70s, because Corleone is an antihero, not a villain.

 

For 2010's i'd give it to Hans Landa.

1990's perhaps Annie Wilkes.

 

Inglorious Basterds came out in 09, so it's a 00s movie.

 

Albert Brooks in "Drive" was one of the best villains of the 2010s.

 

That's your opinion.

 

Wilkes is a good call.

I thought Seymore Hoffman was really good in Mission Impossible.

 

Alec Baldwin played a really good villain in "The Cooler."

I think he's probably top 5 of the 2000s.

 

Pesci in the 90's?

 

Joker in the 10’s

 

Darth Vader owns everybody's villain's name in any decade.

Ming the Merciless honorable mention.

 

Joker / Arthur Fleck
Whiplash / Terence Fletcher
Thanos / MCU

 

Joker was extremely overrated.

 

Colonel Nathan Jessup deserves honorable mention in the 90s.

"I'm a fair man, but this fucking heat is making me crazy."

 

Cool thread. For 70s i feel like nurse ratchet deserves mention.

 

Good one. Also, for women, Faye Dunaway in Network deserves mention.

 

Word. Joker is a good pick for the villain of 00s though (Dark Knight)

 

the lady in Misery is a top villain since its a character you can really hate, rather than a cool bad villain

 

Agreed. Most famous movie villains at a minimum have some charisma.

 

Yes, Heath Ledger's Joker is a top 5 villain of the 00s, definitely.

00s had a shitload of excellent villains. Chigurh, Joker, Patrick Bateman, Hans Landa, and then of course Daniel DL played two iconic villains in the 00s with Bill the Butcher and Daniel Plainview.

 

For the 90s, I think Kevin Bacon in Sleepers deserves mention. Gotta be top 10.

Tim Robbins in Arlington Road was a great villain.

Chris Walken was so fuckin good in his ONE and ONLY scene in True Romance that he probably deserves mention for that scene alone.

 

Regarding Joker, the Phoenix version, I don't even think even think it was Phoenix's best villain.

I think Commodus was a better villain than Joker, and Commodus is a top 10 villain of the 00s. Phoenix's performance was really what made Gladiator a solid movie instead of a mediocre one.

 

Another 90s villain that deserves mention, Michael Biehn as Johnny Ringo.

 

Quintessential Christopher Walken villain - Frank White:

 

She was one of the funniest villains though. When she would freak out and go on a rant or imitate the pig.

“He didn’t get out of the cockadoodie car!”

Funniest villain is Snoop in Baby Boy, which is an unintentional comedy.

1990s has a lot of good villains. Anne Wilkes, Hannibal Lecter, Verbal Kint, John Doe (Se7en). 2 of the best Supporting Actor nominees for 93’ were John Malkovich for In the Line of Fire and Ralph Fiennes in Schindler’s List, and both were great in those roles.

I liked Nino Brown as a villain a lot too. Not sure if Tom Ripley falls under villain or anti-hero.

It may be the ‘safe’ choice but it’s hard to go against Anthony Hopkins.

 

1960s: Norman Bates in Psycho.

I’ve never seen Once Upon a a Time in the West in its entirety, but I know Henry Fonda’s performance and character of Frank is well regarded. I really haven’t seen that many movies from this decade.

1970s: Nurse Ratched for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange. Alex seems like he could fall under either villain or anti-hero.

1980s: Hans Grover from Die Hard.

Others would be Frank Booth from Blue Velvet, Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction, Jack Torrance in The Shining, Morgan Freeman’s pimp character in Street Smart.

For the fun/cheesy villains, Killian (Running Man), Bennett (Commando), and Shonuff (Last Dragon)

 

Who the fuck is Hans Grover?

And Sho'nuff slightly beats out Bennett for best cheesy villain of the 80s. Sho'nuff is just more iconic.

 

T1000 in the 90’s has gotta be up there too.

 

I'm trying to think of which villains had the most defining impact on a decade. Based on that, I'd probably go with:

60s - Bates (this seems to be a consensus pick)
70s - Vader (though if animals/monsters counted, the shark in Jaws would be neck-and-neck)
80s - Terminator (runner-up: Gordon Gekko)
90s - Lecter
00s - Ledger's Joker

 

I wouldn't argue with anyone who said Vader was the GOAT movie villain.

 

"I have something to say about that. Actually I don't".