20 Greatest 90s Movie Villains

4. Goldeneye - Alec Trevelyan

Goldeneye's Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) is a strong contender for the greatest James Bond antagonist of all time. This guy is like everything we love about this particular archetype rolled into one.

He's an unhinged, larger-than-life maniac with a frightening scheme, he's a gently comical diva with an unmistakable air of camp, he's a ferocious physical and intellectual threat who profoundly challenges 007... he's all of those things, but with added layers. Trevelyan, a traitorous former MI6 agent who was once a close friend to Bond, is like a dark mirror to Bond himself. 

Both are brilliant agents who were orphaned at a young age but, while Bond fights for good and remains loyal to MI6, Trevelyan is now a sadistic psychopath driven by his overwhelming hatred of the British government that betrayed his Cossack parents to Stalin's kill squads when he was a child. He stands against everything Bond believes in, and the two have a fascinating dynamic together as a result. 

Factor in a stellar performance from Sean Bean and, of course, a truly Bean-worthy death scene, and you've got the complete package, a masterpiece of Bond villainy that the brand hasn't topped since.