10 Famous Movie Villains That Had Understandable Motives

We have to say: these well-known "villains" might not have been quite as bad as they've been made out to be (maybe we're pushing it with Leatherface, though).

For the most part, we're not supposed to root for the bad guys. Sometimes there's the odd exception whereby a villain is far cooler than the good guy and we can't help but love them: The Joker springs to mind. But whilst most evil madmen will have their heart set on some kind of ridiculous goal that is fueled by greed, blood lust or some other undesirable quality, there are the odd few that, when you think about it, are pretty easy to relate to. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not justifying the heinous acts committed by some of cinema's most formidable lunatics, but if you look at their reasoning, you can start to see it from their point of view and how the heroes might be a genuine annoyance to their plans. For this list, the only criteria is that the movie villain in question must strictly be an antagonist, I'm aware that there are a wide range of memorable villains that were actually the protagonist of their film, but this list will focus on the person or persons that poses a threat to the hero. Please note that there are spoilers here, so read on with caution...
Contributor
Contributor

Lifelong wrestling fan and film buff who consumes far too much caffeine. Currently working on a comic book and learning how to cook the perfect fried egg. Both of which are an ongoing process.