Andrew (24)
Dave Enkosky (15)
Wayne (13)
Pete (12)
Mike (11)
Sir Phobos (11)
Andy (9)
justin (9)
Lauren (8)
Fitz (7)
When the bloom is off the rose, when we’ve seen the hero save the damsel in distress time and time again, it becomes time to try something new.
Often, stars turn to villainous roles because that’s all they have left in them – Val Kilmer, for a number of reasons, just isn’t the same viable leading man (or even sidekick) that he was as few as ten years ago. Thus, he becomes the evil Dieter Von Cunth in MacGruber. Tom Cruise was Hollywood’s #1 “face” for more than a decade, but when the prime roles started drying up, he turned to more nefarious work and found a heaping of critical acclaim that wasn’t always there in the past (Collateral, Tropic Thunder, Lions for Lambs). Harrison Ford was tremendous in the under-loved What Lies Beneath…Robert DeNiro scared us all to death in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle Cape Fear and The Untouchables, and has embraced his heel turns, evident in such fare as Machete.
You get the point. Most times, a change of pace is needed simply because we (and possibly the actors as well) have grown tired of seeing them play the same kinds of roles. Other times, a change comes about due to events in the star’s real life (Robert Downey, Jr. was perfect for a bad guy run after all his zany misadventures; if only U.S. Marshals had been a better overall vehicle). But mostly, it’s due to a combination of the first reason thrown together with age. They get wrinkled and/or fat, and suddenly, the studios no longer want them to play the leads (not surprisingly).
So, who is due for a juicy villain role, and who do we think would excel given the opportunity? The ground rules I tried to limit myself to were as such:
* A-lister, or close enough to it. People that aren’t quite on the radar ofteh make their dough playing villains. For a prime example, see Jeremy Renner in S.W.A.T. or Adam Scott in Torque (on second thought, perhaps you don’t want to see those after all).
* Said star hasn’t played a villain previously, or at least not since getting famous. George Clooney (our resident example for the next few points) might have played the bad guy in Return of the Killer Tomatoes (which I doubt he did), but it wouldn’t count anyway since no one knew who he was at the time. (See above ground rule.)
* Assholes don’t count; only villains do. Intolerable Cruelty, Burn After Reading…George was no villain. Imperfect yes, but that’s it. We get into kind of a gray area with anithero roles like in From Dusk Till Dawn, but no one can convince me that that’s a proper heel turn, either.
* I haven’t seen every movie ever made and can only do so much research. If Clooney was tabbed by his pal Robert Rodriguez to cameo as a villain in Spy Kids, well, you’ll just have to excuse me not not knowing that. Besides, I’m talking HIGH profile villains here – think Collateral or Cage/Travolta in Face/Off. Just correct me if I’m wrong.
Honorable mentions:
* Brad Pitt – I so wanted to put him not only on the list, but at the top. However, even I couldn’t b.s. myself out of knowing that between Early Grayce and Tyler Durden, he’s played a villain in one form or another. He’s also played antiheroes a number of times.
* Orlando Bloom – He’s in need of a career resurgence – why not give it a shot?
5. ADAM SANDLER
He can certainly look scary (Jack and Jill), and he loves to do accents. Marry the two and don’t smirk at the end for the kiddies.
4. GEORGE CLOONEY
Hey, whaddaya know – it’s like we’ve been here before! Anyway, we know the guy can act, and we know the guy can overact when he wants to (Intolerable Cruelty again). I’d love to see him throw on an accent and really turn the screws on someone.
3. NATALIE PORTMAN
So typecast as the virginal goody-two-shoes is Ms. Portman that she took a role in which that was the major arc for her character. Better yet, I think she could actually pull it off quite nicely, either by playing up her girlie charms and then stabbing the hero in the back or by playing it straight with the intensity she showed at the end of Black Swan.
2. HUGH JACKMAN
Not too dissimilar from my number one choice, Jackman is in dire need of some edge. Sure, he brings some of it to the role of Wolverine, but never has there been a cuddlier vermin than there is inhabited by Mr. Song and Dance. He can snarl and flare his nostrils all he wants, but we know the pearly whites that lie beneath.
1. WILL SMITH
There was some talk not long ago of Smith playing Cain in a film titled, creatively, The Legend of Cain, in which he would take down Abel, but there’s no record of the film on his IMDb page, and the last bit of chatter about it was in July of last year. And yet, is there a more golden boy (man) in all of Hollywood right now? True, he hasn’t been in much lately, but when he has, he hits big, and is this generation’s equivalent of Tom Cruise if ever there was one. It’s time to go sinister, Fresh Prince. Just ask Family Guy:
Twitter: ReelInsightBlog
December 30, 2011 8:27 am
What about actors who need to play a good guy? Mark Strong, anyone?
I like your list, particularly Portman’s inclusion. But as for your rules, do they have to be an over-the-top villain from beginning to end? I only ask because Jackman played quite the evil bastard in The Prestige, but his true colors aren’t really revealed until the very end of the film and it’s much more subtle.
Twitter: manilovefilms
December 30, 2011 12:13 pm
Oh fuck yeah with Strong. As you may well know, that guy’s been pissing me off for 2+ years with his insistence on playing the same role over and over and over.
HOWEVER, I will grant him this: his baddie is pretty damn funny in The Guard (with Brendan Gleeson). And he’s not a villain in Tinker Tailor, though he’s not exactly warm and cuddly, either. At least it’s an attempt at diversifying.
Great call on Jackman – I’m not sure if The Prestige counts, the main reason being that both of them are assholes – neither is the villain nor the hero, as far as I’m concerned.
Where is Will Smith anyways? He has become a pageant mum… he really does need to do something edgy.
I cannot imagine Adam Sandler as a villain though. Totally agree with everyone else
Twitter: manilovefilms
December 30, 2011 12:15 pm
MIB3, of course!
I admit that Sandler is a bit of a stretch, but basically, stretch is what I’d like to see him do the most. He can stay making Happy Madison films every year for the next 20 as far as I’m concerned, but mix it up once in a while, guy.
Twitter: fandangogroover
December 30, 2011 9:24 am
I think Orlando Bloom had the same idea and looked like he was having a lot of fun playing the Duke of Buckingham in The Three Musketeers. Unfortunately the film was a bit ropey and grossed about $10. Still, he has the blonde wig and point ears to fall back on.
Twitter: manilovefilms
December 30, 2011 12:16 pm
I heard about this on Twitter after publishing; never saw 3 Muskets, so I didn’t really know his role in it. And it’s as though the movie never happened, it bombed so much.
Twitter: twscritic
December 30, 2011 10:17 am
I was just talking to a friend the other day about how cool it would be to see Will Smith play a villain, or even star in a more edgy film. It’ll be a great moment when/if that finally happens.
Twitter: manilovefilms
December 30, 2011 12:17 pm
Seriously – he makes these weak attempts at doing so (Seven Pounds, The Pursuit of Happyness), but he would be AMAZING as a full-on baddie, right?
I love this idea for a list.
I know this film is before you time, but the greatest heel turn ever was Henry Ford as a villain in Once Upon a Time in the West. There’s the guy who has been a good guy hero, an exemplar of kindness and decency…and in the first 15 minutes of the film, he murders a child in cold blood.
Of your list, I’d most like to see Hugh Jackman go evil.
Shit. Henry Fonda. I’m tired and a little lightheaded. Sorry.
Twitter: manilovefilms
December 30, 2011 12:18 pm
Haha – I knew who you were referencing. Believe it or not, I’ve actually seen it.
Ok, that’s not true, but I had heard about it. That’s the kind of heel turn I’m talking about here! Pow – right in the kisser!
Twitter: fandangogroover
December 30, 2011 12:21 pm
How about Matthew McConaughey.
Twitter: manilovefilms
December 30, 2011 12:29 pm
That’s a good call. Right when I read it, I was thinking that I could swear he’d already been one, but I can’t really track one down. Sounds like he played one in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre redux, but that would be excluded since it came out before he was famous at all. I think the same could be said for Lone Star, but it’s been forever since I’ve seen it.
Reign of Fire is an antihero role if I recall correctly, but surely not a villain. Tropic Thunder he’s a douche, but a good one.
Yeah, he’s due as well, and he’d be pretty good, too.
Frailty.
I have a project that has been shelved for a few years which I hope to revisit next years as I’m working on new script ideas for right now. The shelved project that I had an idea for had Natalie Portman as the lead villain. I would say that it’s a project that won’t be for the faint of heart in terms of the nihilistic violence that I’m aiming for.
Fun list Dylan. It certainly would be amazing to see Adam Sandler play a serious villain. Actually, it would be a total shock lol. And Will Smith certainly is a great pick as well although he is probably too image-conscious to ever do it.