10. Leonardo DiCaprio As Calvin Candie (Django Unchained)
Django Unchained was packed full of mesmerising performances. You had Jamie Foxx being unfathomably badass, Christoph Waltz stealing the show and Samuel L. Jackson being utterly detestable. But the one that stood out as being completely hate-inspiring was Leonardo DiCaprio as plantation owner Calvin Candie. DiCaprio is known for two things: first, he's the rough around the edges romance interest for the female audience, and second, he's the star of more thoughtful thrillers. But more to the point, DiCaprio is almost always the good guy; he's the oppressed, not the oppressor. Turn that all upside down for Django, as DiCaprio is the main antagonist, a rich man with a plantation, slave owner and mandingo aficionado. He is stupendously racist, right down to thinking that there is a science which proves black people are inferior, and isn't frightened to demonstrate his beliefs, often with the use of a hammer and the skull of a victim. What made DiCaprio even more disturbing was the manner in which he portrayed the character with a fine balance of childish nature and suavity. He was very much the Southern Gentleman, but he had a bubbling fury which could burst out of him in a juvenile tantrum when things did not go to his plan.
