98 Fun Facts About Villain

Which character tops the American Film Institute's 2003 list of the 50 greatest screen villains?

Hannibal Lecter ranked first on the AFI's 2003 list of screen villains, ahead of Norman Bates and Darth Vader; Anthony Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar for the role.

The cannibal psychiatrist Dr Lecter first appeared in a small role in which 1981 Thomas Harris novel?

Red Dragon (1981) introduced Lecter in a supporting role; it was filmed as Manhunter in 1986 with Brian Cox as the doctor, spelled 'Lecktor'.

Thomas Harris's cannibal psychiatrist is written as having been born in which country?

Thomas Harris's novels Hannibal and Hannibal Rising make Lecter the Lithuanian-born son of an aristocrat, raised at Lecter Castle until his family is killed during the Second World War.

Norman Bates was loosely based on which real-life killer?

Ed Gein, the Plainfield, Wisconsin killer arrested in 1957, inspired Robert Bloch, who lived about 40 miles away, to write the 1959 novel Psycho that introduced Norman Bates.

Who physically played Darth Vader in the original trilogy, with James Earl Jones as the voice?

David Prowse, a former bodybuilder and weightlifter, wore the Vader suit in all three original films; Sebastian Shaw played the unmasked Anakin in Return of the Jedi.

Which actress played the Wicked Witch of the West in 1939 and introduced her green skin?

Margaret Hamilton played the Wicked Witch in MGM's 1939 film; the green skin was the studio's invention, absent from L. Frank Baum's book, where the witch rules the Winkie Country.

Nurse Ratched, played by Louise Fletcher, was created by Ken Kesey in which 1962 novel?

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest won Fletcher an Academy Award on film; Sarah Paulson later played the character in the Netflix prequel Ratched.

According to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which Illinois city did HAL 9000 become operational?

In the film HAL says he became operational at the HAL plant in Urbana, Illinois, on 12 January 1992; Arthur C. Clarke's novel gives the year as 1997.

Which actor voiced HAL 9000?

The name stands for Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer, and Rain voiced HAL in both film adaptations.

Which 1928 silent-film character was shown to the Joker's creators as visual inspiration?

Conrad Veidt's fixed-grin Gwynplaine in The Man Who Laughs (1928) inspired the Joker's look; Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson each told a different story of who suggested it for Batman #1 in 1940.

Heath Ledger's Oscar for The Dark Knight was the first acting Oscar for what kind of movie?

Ledger's 2009 Best Supporting Actor win as the Joker was the first acting Oscar for a superhero film; Joaquin Phoenix later won Best Actor for Joker (2019).

"I am Lord Voldemort" is an anagram of what?

Tom Marvolo Riddle's letters rearrange; translators often had to change the name so the anagram still worked, and Voldemort echoes the French vol de mort, 'flight of death'.

Which Hogwarts teacher did Voldemort possess in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone?

Quirinus Quirrell, the stammering Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, carried Voldemort's face beneath his turban in Philosopher's Stone (1997) and died when Harry's touch burned him.

Sauron was originally the chief lieutenant of which first Dark Lord?

Sauron, a Maia, served Morgoth (Melkor), the first Dark Lord of The Silmarillion, before rising to power himself; in The Hobbit he appears only as the Necromancer.

Which actor gave Gollum his motion-capture performance in Peter Jackson's films?

Andy Serkis's motion-capture Gollum followed Brother Theodore in the Rankin-Bass cartoons and Peter Woodthorpe in Ralph Bakshi's film and the BBC radio version.

In A Nightmare on Elm Street, what did vigilante parents do to Freddy Krueger before he became a dream demon?

Burned him to death after he evaded prison; Wes Craven's child killer welded his own bladed glove, and Robert Englund played him for eight films.

Jason Voorhees first wore his trademark hockey mask in which film?

Jason first dons the hockey mask in Friday the 13th Part III (1982), taking it from the victim Shelly; in Part 2 he wore a burlap sack, and in the 1980 original he appears only as a boy.

Michael Myers' white mask in the original Halloween was made from a cast of which actor's face?

It was a Don Post Captain Kirk mask moulded from a life cast of William Shatner's face, bought for about $2 and painted white; Nick Castle wore it as The Shape.

How old is Michael Myers when he murders his sister Judith on Halloween night 1963?

He is six: the 1978 film opens on Halloween 1963 with young Michael stabbing his sister Judith, and fifteen years later he escapes Smith's Grove Sanitarium to stalk Laurie Strode.

Pennywise returns to prey on the children of Derry, Maine roughly how often?

It returns roughly every 27 years: the novel's Losers Club fights it in 1958 and again in 1985. Tim Curry (1990) and Bill Skarsgård (2017, 2019) played the clown.

Thanos creator Jim Starlin conceived the character during college classes in which subject?

Jim Starlin created Thanos during college psychology classes; the name nods to Freud's death drive, Thanatos. The character debuted in The Invincible Iron Man #55 in 1973.

In the 1991 comic The Infinity Gauntlet, why does Thanos wipe out half the universe?

In The Infinity Gauntlet Thanos kills half of all life as a gift to woo Mistress Death, the personification of death he loves; the films swapped in an overpopulation motive.

Which weapon, normally used to stun livestock, does Anton Chigurh carry in No Country for Old Men?

Chigurh carries a captive bolt pistol, a compressed-air slaughterhouse tool for stunning cattle, which he turns on door locks and victims; Javier Bardem won the 2008 Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

Cruella de Vil first appeared in a 1956 novel by which author?

Dodie Smith introduced Cruella in The Hundred and One Dalmatians (1956); for Disney's 1961 film, animators modelled her mannerisms on Tallulah Bankhead and her lanky frame on Mary Wickes.

Magneto's backstory as a Holocaust survivor was created by which writer?

Claremont compared him to Menachem Begin, though later commentators reached for Malcolm X; his birth name is Max Eisenhardt.

In his earliest 1940 comic appearances, Lex Luthor was drawn how?

Luthor debuted in Action Comics #23 (1940) with a full head of red hair; he became bald only after artist Leo Nowak mistakenly drew him that way in Superman #10 (1941).

Holmes's 'Napoleon of crime' phrase was lifted from a Scotland Yard description of which real criminal?

Adam Worth, the American master thief who stole Gainsborough's Duchess of Devonshire in 1876, was dubbed 'the Napoleon of the criminal world' by Scotland Yard's Robert Anderson, a phrase Doyle gave Moriarty.

Count Dracula claims descent from which historical conqueror?

In Stoker's novel the Count tells Jonathan Harker that 'the blood of Attila' runs in his Szekely veins, claiming descent from Attila the Hun.

Captain Hook's dying words in J. M. Barrie's play are the motto of which school?

'Floreat Etona' fits a villain implied to have gone from Eton to Balliol; in the novel his last words are simply 'bad form'.

By stage tradition begun in 1904, Captain Hook is played by the same actor as which other character?

Gerald du Maurier, already playing George Darling, talked Barrie into letting him double the role.

Which actor has played Palpatine in every Star Wars film in which the character physically appears?

Ian McDiarmid has played Palpatine from Return of the Jedi (1983) through the prequels to The Rise of Skywalker (2019); the 1980 Empire hologram, voiced by Clive Revill, was replaced with McDiarmid in 2004.

Hans Gruber in Die Hard aims to steal $640 million in what form?

Gruber's crew is after $640 million in negotiable bearer bonds locked in the Nakatomi vault; Die Hard (1988) was Alan Rickman's first film role.

In Die Hard, what name does Hans Gruber give when he poses as a hostage?

Caught without his gun, Gruber poses as escaped hostage 'Bill Clay', a name he reads off the Nakatomi office directory; McClane sees through it and hands him an unloaded pistol.

Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie found the name Keyser Söze in a dictionary of which language?

'Söze' came from a Turkish dictionary: the idiom 'söze boğmak', roughly 'to drown in words', suits narrator 'Verbal' Kint; 'Keyser' was borrowed from McQuarrie's former boss Keyser Sume.

Which actor played the Green Goblin in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and returned in No Way Home?

Willem Dafoe played Norman Osborn in Spider-Man (2002) and reprised him in No Way Home (2021); the Green Goblin debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 in 1964 with pumpkin bombs and a goblin glider.

Erik Killmonger's Wakandan birth name is what?

Born N'Jadaka, he took the name Erik Killmonger in exile; he debuted in Jungle Action #6 (1973), created by Don McGregor and Rich Buckler, and Michael B. Jordan played him in Black Panther (2018).

The Alien creature in Ridley Scott's 1979 film was designed by which artist?

H. R. Giger based the Alien on his 1976 lithograph Necronom IV and shared the film's visual-effects Oscar; Nigerian art student Bolaji Badejo wore the suit.

Which Hogwarts house was Dolores Umbridge sorted into?

Rowling's Pottermore biography places Umbridge in Slytherin and describes her as a disliked, ambitious student who joined the Ministry straight after leaving Hogwarts; Imelda Staunton played her in the films.

Count Olaf claims to be related to the Baudelaire orphans how?

In The Bad Beginning, Mr. Poe explains that Olaf is either the Baudelaires' third cousin four times removed or their fourth cousin three times removed; Jim Carrey (2004) and Neil Patrick Harris (Netflix) played him.

Which AFI-listed villain is a mechanical prop nicknamed 'Bruce' by its film crew?

The shark in Jaws (1975) was a mechanical prop the crew nicknamed 'Bruce' after Spielberg's lawyer Bruce Ramer; it ranked 18th on the AFI's 2003 villains list.

Which AFI-ranked villain from Bambi never speaks or appears on screen?

The unseen hunter who shot Bambi's mother placed 20th, one spot behind Captain Bligh.

Which character appears on both the AFI heroes list and the AFI villains list?

Arnold Schwarzenegger's killer machine from 1984 is the villain; the reprogrammed T-800 from Terminator 2 is the hero.

Scar in The Lion King is loosely based on which Shakespearean antagonist?

Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, is the model; animator Andreas Deja based Scar's look on Jeremy Irons, drawing on his Claus von Bülow performance in Reversal of Fortune.

Eleanor Audley, the original voice of Maleficent, had earlier voiced which other Disney villainess?

Lady Tremaine, Cinderella's stepmother, came first in 1950; Maleficent, the self-styled 'Mistress of All Evil', was animated by Marc Davis for 1959's Sleeping Beauty.

Why does Disney's sea witch Ursula have only six tentacles rather than an octopus's eight?

Six tentacles were cheaper and simpler to animate than eight, so the studio cut two to save money; her look also drew on the drag queen Divine, and Pat Carroll's voice mixed Shakespearean actress with used-car salesman.

Which actress was fired from voicing Ursula after clashing with Howard Ashman over 'Poor Unfortunate Souls'?

Elaine Stritch was cast as Ursula but dropped after she and lyricist Howard Ashman clashed over how to sing 'Poor Unfortunate Souls'; Pat Carroll replaced her.

Which two actors portray Agent Smith in The Matrix Resurrections (2021)?

Jonathan Groff and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II share the role, the latter doubling as Morpheus; Hugo Weaving played Smith in the original trilogy.

Besides a Shakespearean king, Scar's villainy was inspired by which real dictator?

Scar's 'Be Prepared' number has the hyenas goose-stepping past him on a high ledge, deliberately echoing Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi rally film Triumph of the Will and tying Scar to Adolf Hitler.

Which villain kidnaps Pauline in the 1981 Nintendo arcade hit that introduced Mario as a carpenter?

Donkey Kong began as the bad guy: Mario, then known as Jumpman, climbs a construction site to rescue Pauline from the giant gorilla.

Which bully torments Marty McFly's father in 1955 and becomes a gambling magnate in Back to the Future Part II?

Biff Tannen's rich, corrupt alternate-1985 self drew comparisons to Donald Trump, and writer Bob Gale said in 2015 that Trump had influenced the character.

Which rock star played Jareth the Goblin King, who takes Sarah's baby brother, in Jim Henson's Labyrinth?

David Bowie won the part after Jim Henson weighed up Sting, Prince, Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson for his Goblin King.

Which alien, originally cast with Jean-Claude Van Damme, stalks Arnold Schwarzenegger's team through a rainforest?

The Predator was recast partly because Van Damme, at 5 ft 9, looked small beside a cast of bodybuilders; Kevin Peter Hall, 7 ft 2, took the role.

Which Star Wars villain, born Ben Solo to Han Solo and Leia Organa, later kills his own father?

Kylo Ren kills both his father and his master, Supreme Leader Snoke, then takes Snoke's title for himself.

Christopher Lee played which former ally who imprisons Gandalf atop the tower of Orthanc in The Lord of the Rings?

Saruman's actor had a unique link to the books: Lee had once met Tolkien, the only person involved in the films who had.

Rachel McAdams played which queen bee, leader of the Plastics at North Shore High School, in Mean Girls?

Regina George was nearly played by Amanda Seyfried: the part came down to her and McAdams, and Seyfried was cast as Karen instead.

Dolph Lundgren played which boxer whose exhibition match ends in the death of Apollo Creed in Rocky IV?

Ivan Drago's punches were real enough to hurt: the two stars traded authentic blows on set, and one from Lundgren put Sylvester Stallone in intensive care.

Jim Carrey played which mad scientist, the arch-enemy of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, in a 2020 live-action movie?

Dr. Robotnik was called Eggman in Japan and renamed for the West by Sega of America; later games made Eggman a mocking nickname he embraced.

In Pirates of the Caribbean, Bill Nighy played which tentacle-bearded captain of the Flying Dutchman?

Davy Jones never appeared in the flesh: the character is completely computer-generated, built over Nighy's motion-capture performance.

Which former teacher in Stephen King's The Shining accepts a job maintaining the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado?

Jack Torrance ranks 25th on the American Film Institute's list of screen villains, though King's novel paints him far more sympathetically than the 1980 film does.

Helena Bonham Carter played which Death Eater who kills Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, in the Harry Potter films?

Bellatrix was first cast with Helen McCrory, who dropped out when she became pregnant and later joined the films as one of Bellatrix's sisters instead.

Donald Sutherland played which dictator, the president of Panem, in the first four Hunger Games films?

Coriolanus Snow looms larger on screen than on the page: the films expanded the role from the books, and Sutherland's performance won acclaim.

Which criminal mastermind confronts Sherlock Holmes at the top of the Reichenbach Falls in The Final Problem?

Professor Moriarty was invented as a way out: Conan Doyle created him chiefly as a device to kill Holmes and end the stories.

Which ensign in Shakespeare's Othello makes his general believe that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio?

Iago is the bigger part: with 1,097 lines, he speaks more than Othello himself.

Which one-legged ship's cook leads the mutiny aboard the Hispaniola in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island?

Long John Silver was partly inspired by Stevenson's friend William Henley, a writer and editor remembered for his big red beard and his crutch.

Which tyrannical headmistress of Crunchem Hall hurls a girl over a fence by her pigtails in Roald Dahl's Matilda?

Miss Trunchbull has an athlete's arm: the 1996 film makes her a former Olympic shot putter, hammer and javelin thrower.

Which actor won a BAFTA as the Sheriff of Nottingham in the Kevin Costner hit Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves?

Alan Rickman thought the script was terrible, so he secretly asked his friends Ruby Wax and Peter Barnes to write him better lines.

Which actor played Harry, one of the two Wet Bandits outwitted by young Kevin McCallister in Home Alone?

Joe Pesci took the part only after Robert De Niro was considered and Jon Lovitz turned it down.

Which Doctor Who villains did writer Terry Nation base on the Nazis and script as having no legs?

The Daleks were written without legs because Nation wanted an alien creature that did not look like a man in a suit.

Giancarlo Esposito played which Breaking Bad drug lord who hides behind the fried chicken chain Los Pollos Hermanos?

Gus Fring was first described to Esposito as very admirable and very polite, so the actor chose to play him as a man with some kind of secret.

Which boy king of Game of Thrones, played by Jack Gleeson, dies of poisoned wine at his own wedding feast?

Joffrey Baratheon dies at the feast for his marriage to Margaery Tyrell, moments after forcing his uncle Tyrion to act as his cupbearer.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan played which leader of the Saviors, armed with a barbed-wire bat, in The Walking Dead?

Negan dubs the bat Lucille, the name of his wife, who was diagnosed with cancer before the outbreak.

Which Stranger Things villain, played by Jamie Campbell Bower, appears to children in human form as Henry Creel?

Vecna got the name from Dustin and Eddie, who borrowed it from a character in their tabletop role-playing game, the source of the Mind Flayer's name too.

Larry Hagman played which scheming oil baron, shot by an unknown attacker in a famous 1980 Dallas cliffhanger?

J.R. Ewing kept Hagman busier than anyone else in the cast: he was the only actor to appear in all 357 episodes of the original series.

Which Star Trek collective turns its victims into cybernetic drones and assimilated Captain Picard as Locutus?

The Borg first appear when the omnipotent Q hurls the Enterprise across the galaxy to challenge Picard's claim that his crew is ready for anything.

Ricardo Montalbán played which genetically engineered Star Trek villain who escapes exile to take revenge on Kirk?

Khan keeps his right glove on throughout the 1982 film: director Nicholas Meyer told Montalbán to wear it at all times to give viewers a puzzle.

Gert Fröbe played which James Bond villain who targets Fort Knox in a scheme codenamed Operation Grand Slam?

Auric Goldfinger took his name from the architect Ernő Goldfinger, whose modernist buildings Fleming disliked; the architect consulted lawyers when the novel came out, then settled for his costs and six free copies.

Mike Myers modeled Dr. Evil of the Austin Powers films mainly on which cat-stroking James Bond villain?

Blofeld went faceless at first: the early films showed only a close-up of his hands stroking a white Persian cat.

Joaquin Phoenix played which emperor who murders his father, Marcus Aurelius, to seize the throne in Gladiator?

Commodus really did perform as a gladiator in the Colosseum, and he was strangled in his bath by his wrestling partner, Narcissus.

Christoph Waltz won an Oscar as which SS colonel who tracks down Jews hiding in Occupied France in Inglourious Basterds?

Hans Landa was a part Quentin Tarantino feared was unplayable, and he originally wanted Leonardo DiCaprio for it before casting Waltz.

Michael Douglas won the Best Actor Oscar as which wealthy, unscrupulous corporate raider in Oliver Stone's Wall Street?

Gordon Gekko is said to be loosely based on several real financiers, including the corporate raider Carl Icahn and Oliver Stone's own father.

Ted Levine played which serial killer, the main antagonist of the 1991 thriller The Silence of the Lambs?

Buffalo Bill is only a nickname: in both the novel and the film, the killer's real name is Jame Gumb.

Rutger Hauer played which leader of the renegade replicants pursued by Rick Deckard in Blade Runner?

Roy Batty is younger than he looks: activated in January 2016, he is just 3 years and 10 months old when the story takes place.

Marlon Brando played which renegade officer whom Captain Willard is sent up the Nung River to kill in Apocalypse Now?

Colonel Kurtz is based on an ivory trader of the same name in Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella Heart of Darkness.

Which doll, voiced by Brad Dourif, holds the soul of serial killer Charles Lee Ray in the Child's Play films?

Chucky is a Good Guy brand doll: the killer uses a voodoo ritual to move his soul into the toy after a detective shoots him.

Gunnar Hansen first played which silent, hulking member of a cannibal family in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre?

Leatherface is credited with inspiring the stereotype of the hulking, masked and silent killer that later slasher villains followed.

Which actor plays John Kramer, the dying engineer known as the Jigsaw Killer, in the Saw horror films?

Tobin Bell spends most of the first film in plain sight: his character is posing as a bloodied corpse on the bathroom floor.

Wayne Knight played which disgruntled programmer bribed to steal dinosaur embryos from Jurassic Park?

Dennis Nedry never delivers the embryos: he loses his way, crashes his jeep and is killed by a venom-spitting Dilophosaurus.

Leonardo DiCaprio played which Mississippi plantation owner who stages wrestling deathmatches in Django Unchained?

Calvin Candie's phrenology speech drew real blood: DiCaprio cut his left hand when he struck the table and smashed a small glass.

Which demon, king of the wind demons in Assyrian and Babylonian myth, possesses Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist?

Pazuzu first appears as a ruined statue that Father Merrin unearths on an archaeological dig in Iraq at the start of the film.

Amrish Puri played which Thuggee high priest who performs human sacrifices in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?

Mola Ram shares his name with a real person: the character is named after an 18th-century Indian painter.

Judith Anderson played which head housekeeper of Manderley in Alfred Hitchcock's film of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca?

Mrs. Danvers adored the dead Rebecca obsessively, and in the novel the fire that destroys the great house is implied to be her doing.

Which Inner Party member tortures Winston Smith into submission in Room 101 in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four?

O'Brien first draws Winston in by posing as a fellow rebel: he invites him to his comfortable flat and enlists him in the Brotherhood, then turns interrogator.

Which spy for Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers is branded on the shoulder with a fleur-de-lis?

Milady de Winter was never convicted of anything: an executioner branded her himself, blaming her for leading his brother, a priest, astray.

Robert Mitchum and Robert De Niro both played which ex-convict who terrorizes lawyer Sam Bowden's family in Cape Fear?

Max Cady learns all he can about law while in prison, nursing his hatred of the attorney who sent him there.

Denzel Washington won an Oscar as which LAPD narcotics detective evaluating rookie Jake Hoyt in Training Day?

Alonzo Harris fills the whole film with one shift: the story follows the two officers over a single 24-hour period in Los Angeles.

Which Mad Max: Fury Road warlord controls the Citadel, one of the last sources of fresh water in the wasteland?

Immortan Joe was played by Hugh Keays-Byrne, who had also played the Toecutter, the gang leader of the original Mad Max.

Daniel Day-Lewis played which gang leader, modeled on a real Bowery Boys chief, in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York?

Bill the Butcher was a real nickname: it belonged to William Poole, whom the film heavily fictionalized and renamed William Cutting.

Glenn Close played which associate editor who torments Dan Gallagher's family after their affair in Fatal Attraction?

Alex Forrest gave English the term bunny boiler, for an obsessive, spurned woman, after the scene in which she boils the family's pet rabbit.