Like Batman without Joker wouldn’t be entertaining, a movie plot would be incomplete without a despicable antagonist or villain. We sympathise with the villain who is the product of their circumstances. Erik Lenhsherr or Magnito from the Marvel universe, whose mother was murdered in front of him and is always treated as a weapon will always have a soft spot in viewers’ hearts.
Sometimes actors perform their roles so well that we forget the fictionality of the character. However, the character is not necessarily the villain. In many movies, characters are despised but are not the film’s antagonists. Some characters get on our nerves. Let us see the ten most hated movie characters of all time.
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10. Dolores Umbridge
Played by Imelda Staunton, Dolores Umbridge first appeared in ‘Harry Potter And The Order Of Phoenix‘ in 2007. Although Voldermort is the primary antagonist of the J. K. Rowling book series, she might be the most despicable. A short witch diabetically obsessed with pink, Victorian china, and cats. She appears to hold politically right-wing ideals in the wizarding universe. Hardly few people did not get annoyed by her wicked smile.
In the fifth installation of the Potter series, she made radical changes in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She is an arrogant woman blinded to other perspectives and misuses her authority to implement her views. Moreover, she made herself the most hated character in the Potter universe after she made Harry write, “I must not tell lies,” with a magical quill that carved the same on his hand.
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9. Yon-Suk – ‘Train To Busan’
We believe that in the face of adversity, humanity will stick together. But Yon-Suk in ‘Train To Busan’ pushes others in front to shield himself. He is selfish and cowardly. Although he reveals in the end that he only wishes to reach his family, it does not redeem him. Like Gong Yoo, Yon Suk is also concerned with his survival but he does not inflict it at the cost of others.
Ultimately, Gong Yoo learns self-sacrifice and is pitied by viewers as he turns into a zombie. However, we feel Yon-Suk deserves it when he gets what he fears most-getting bitten and infected. Wanting to survive is a basic instinct. And apparently Yon Suk’s was to throw people at zombies.
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8. Percy Wetmore – ‘The Green Mile’
Nothing infuriates viewers more than a run-of-the-mill fragile ego sadist in a movie. And Percy Wetmore of 1999 ‘The Green Mile’ fits the role perfectly. Played by Doug Hutchison, Percy is a prison guard at a death row prison. Incredibly sensitive to insults, he indulges in torturing people and animals to satisfy his ego. He abuses his power and plays with the inmates on whom he wishes to inflict his cruelty.
Percy is not high on the list to be invited to people’s parties. However, Percy crossed the line when he executed a prisoner who insulted him. Moreover, Percy cannot bear to see the sights of his crimes. The awkward mixture of Percy’s cowardice and self-inflated ego makes him one of the most repulsive characters.
7. Archibald Cunningham – ‘Rob Roy’
A periodic film calls for an equally despicable villain. Archibald Cunningham played by Tim Roth brilliantly portrays an arrogant aristocrat in 1995 ‘Rob Roy’. The film directed by Michael Calton-Jones is set in 18th-century Scotland and based on the titular folk hero. Archibald is a sadist who enjoys murder and rape and has no sense of guilt for his crimes.
Cunningham is clever and manipulative. He abuses his power for his advantage and own delight. He deliberately ruins Rob’s cattle and misinforms his patron that Rob’s debt is stolen. When Rob goes into hiding, Cunningham rapes his wife to bring him out. Viewers rejoice as Rob avenges his wrongs.
6. Nurse Ratched – ‘One Over Flew The Cuckoo’s Nest’
‘One Over Flew The Cuckoo’s Nest’ was not the first time Jack Nicholson was trapped in psychological terror. In this 1975 film, Nurse Ratched is the cruel, manipulative torturer of psychiatric inmates. She is an unfeeling, barbarous nurse who performs unnecessary surgeries on inmates who insult her. Her very presence is an abomination in the institution.
Fletcher’s character fetched her an Academy Award. She looks down upon the inmates who are placed under her care. Ratched’s chillingly calm demeanor makes her personality more creepy. Although Randle McMurphy escapes justice by faking insanity, we cannot help but sneer over Nurse Ratched. Her practice of medical care makes her a hated character in this cinematic classic.
5. Briony Tallis – ‘Atonement’
Don’t let this teenager’s innocent face fool you. Briony Tallis in 2007 ‘Atonement’ destroys what she touches. Briony like any other child has great hopes of becoming a writer and has a crush on a boy. However, when she learns Robbie is in love with Briony’s sister, she makes a decision that destroys many lives in her family.
The entire film is revealed to be Briony’s attempt at atonement. However, when we learn that the happy ending of Cecilia and Robbie is fictitious, we find Briony more pathetic. Her selfish desire and irredeemable actions cannot be forgiven not even by Briony herself. In the end, she is filled with regret as she pictures the happy ending Robbie and Cecilia could have had if not for her.
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4. Biff Tannen – ‘Back To The Future’
Thomas Wilson played the ‘Back To The Future’ series antagonist. Biff Tannen is a man who rarely receives a good word from anyone. He is a typical high school bully. Biff is despised in the time-traveling franchise when he forces himself on Marty’s mother. He is brutish and moronic and enjoys dominating people. Perhaps, that is why Marty’s win over him is savored more sweetly.
Unlike present American bullies are portrayed, Biff does not have a strictly orthodox father who belittles him. Viewers laugh at his dim-wittedness. Wilson played the antagonist in all the installments of ‘Back To The Future’. Each time fans celebrate Marty’s win but not without taking pleasure in Biff’s fall.
3. Commodus – ‘Gladiator’
Joaquin Phoenix’s outstanding performance as a loathsome Ceasar in the 2000 ‘Gladiator‘ made him one of the most hated characters in cinematic history. Commodus is a spoiled, royal coward who believes he is entitled to anything. He murders his father because he feels less loved and banishes his most loyal friend. Commodus’ intention to marry his sister makes his character more repulsive.
We sympathize with Maximus as we hate Commodus. On Commodus’s orders, Maximus’ family is brutally murdered. Removed from his position and shattered, Maximus is sold as a slave in a gladiator ring. He fights and wins fame only for the eccentric tyrant to order his execution. Commodus’ inflated ego and lack of wit for politics make the perfect unlikeable antagonist.
2. Warden Norton – ‘Shawshank Redemption’
‘Shawshank Redemption’ (1993) is an all-time favorite that never misses to entertain. However, one of the greatest movies also includes one of the greatest villains. Norton is the warden of the titular prison played by Bob Gunton. He is a typical evil character who takes pleasure in the suffering of others. Hence being the inhuman warden of a prison could not be more fitting.
Although he calls himself religious, he does not live by the scriptures. Viewers despise him when he destroys evidence of Andy Defresne’s innocence. He goes to the length of murdering an inmate to keep Andy in Shawshank. His sadistic and manipulative personality produces only hatred for him.
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1. Marla Grayson – ‘I Care A Lot’
2021’s ‘I Care A Lot’ is a brilliant Netflix original where viewers hate the protagonist. Rosamund Pike’s beautiful face and despicable actions make her character even more sickly. Marla is a legal guardian who steals from her elderly wards. Her cover is untraceable as she takes onwards who are deemed incapacitated and neglected by their family. Then she steals from their estate to pay for her extravagant life.
What makes her character hateful is that Marla has no sense of guilt for her actions. She believes that she has done nothing wrong. Marla genuinely feels she is a guardian angel for her victims. J Blakeson brilliantly directs this anti-hero.
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