Who Are Your Favorite Classic Villain Actors in Hollywood?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around participants sharing their favorite classic villain actors in Hollywood, focusing on the actors themselves rather than their specific roles. The conversation includes a variety of perspectives on what constitutes a "heavy" in film.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants highlight actors like Jack Palance, Ernest Borgnine, and Peter Lorre for their ability to portray menacing characters.
  • Others mention Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman, and Gene Wilder as favorites, though their roles may not always align with traditional villainy.
  • There is a suggestion that actors like Henry Fonda and Kathy Bates also fit the "heavy" archetype.
  • Russell Crowe's role in "LA Confidential" is debated, with some arguing he embodies a heavy while others contend he displays moral ambiguity.
  • Definitions of what constitutes a "heavy" vary among participants, leading to differing opinions on certain actors' classifications.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on who qualifies as a classic villain actor, with no consensus on definitions of a "heavy." Disagreements arise particularly around the moral complexity of certain characters, such as Russell Crowe's.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various actors from different eras and genres, indicating a broad interpretation of villainy that includes both traditional and morally ambiguous characters.

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Movie "Heavies"

Long's we're having fun w' Tinseltown, who are your favorite "heavies?" I'm looking for the actors/actresses rather than their roles. Palance for consistently scaring the hell out of me as a child. Borgnine for gleeful menace. Lorre for deadpan, cold fish "death at the door." Davi and Drago for "Colombian necktie" ruthlessness. Elam and Dern for black hats. Brennan for "isn't he supposed to play the 'good guy'?"

Edit: Shoot! Forgot Marvin (Liberty Valance), and van Cleef. Sorry.
 
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Borgnine here too, for one. I have to think about this one.
 
I'm not terribly familiar with more than just the more popular of actors but I'll list a few I like.

Chrsitopher Walken
Morgan Freeman
Gene Wilder (RIP)
Patrick Stewart
 
Definitely Davi and Walken!

Hackman occasionally makes a great heavy as well, but has just as often been on the other side (i.e., good guy).
For pure nostalgia, no one can beat Karloff.
Dennehy made a great heavy the few times I've seen him do it.
 
Karloff? Hmmm. He, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Lon Chaney, Vincent Price, Bela Lugosi, and the rest of the "monster, vampire, horror film" gang definitely fit the definition of "heavy" that I put in the OP. So, too late to restrict things, and I'll nominate Tony Perkins as being right up there to give you the willies with either the pop-eyed or slyly smiling Norman Bates.
 
Henry Fonda played a pretty ruthless heavy in "Once Upon a Time In The West" (he even shot the kids :bugeye: )
 
Charles Laughton
Robert Mitchum
Edward G. Robinson
Humphrey Bogart (an authentic bad guy in many of his roles)
Rod Steiger
Sterling Hayden
 
Kathy Bates is a heavy actress, and IMO, a great one.
 
russell crowe in la confidential. he was intense, angry and didn't say much. he let his fist do the talking.
 
  • #10
The_Professional said:
russell crowe in la confidential. he was intense, angry and didn't say much. he let his fist do the talking.
Besides, he's cute.
 
  • #11
arildno said:
Besides, he's cute.

i wouldn't go there.
 
  • #12
The_Professional said:
russell crowe in la confidential. he was intense, angry and didn't say much. he let his fist do the talking.
That's not a heavy. A heavy is a bad guy with no conscience. Russel Crowe was always struggling with morality, right and wrong, in that role.
 
  • #13
Nobody beats Annie Wilkes, in whatever sort of heaviness you're talking about.
 
  • #14
zoobyshoe said:
That's not a heavy. A heavy is a bad guy with no conscience. Russel Crowe was always struggling with morality, right and wrong, in that role.

we have diff. definitions of heavy. his character was morally ambiguous but he was heavy when he was beating people up.
 
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  • #15
The_Professional said:
we have diff. definitions of heavy. his character was morally ambiguous but he was heavy when he was beating people up.
It's been a while since I've see it, but as I recall all his violence boiled down to outrage about violence against women. Eventually we see he's struggling with the same impulse in himself. He's certainly not a hero, but he has too much of a conscience to be a "heavy".

Noun 1. heavy - an actor who plays villainous roles

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/heavy
 
  • #16
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