20 Greatest Movie Villains Played By British Actors

Nobody plays bad guys quite like the Brits.

By Kristopher Powell /

Mustache twirling aficionados of evil all know that when Hollywood wants 'bad' they go British, regardless of the characters actual nationality. Hollywood's decision to cast Brits as bad guys started in the early days of cinema when American actors were reluctant to play villains so producers looked elsewhere. They settled on the British because their accent was thought to represent sophistication and intelligence (clearly Hollywood producers have never been to Essex) and had anti-imperialistic connotations from the big, bad British Empire of yesteryear. The British accent was to become a modern-day equivalent of the white hat/black hat stereotype of good and evil and was used to help audiences instantly recognize that one stereotype most people would never meet in real life; the evil genius. Almost a 100 years later and that tradition is still as strong as ever. Join us as we take a look at some of the greatest non-British villains in cinema history who were portrayed by British actors. There will be no home grown villains like Don Logan, Francis Begbie or Dolores Umbridge but, rest assured, you'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy in one list...

20. Count Dracula - Sir Christopher Lee

In the days to come, you will pray for death
Film Appearance(s): Horror Of Dracula (1958) Dracula Prince Of Darkness (1966) Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968) Count Dracula (1970) One More Time (1970) Taste The Blood Of Dracula (1970) Scars Of Dracula (1970) Dracula A.D. (1972) The Satanic Rites Of Dracula (1973) Dracula And Son (1976) Count Dracula, villain of Bram Stoker€™s 1897 Gothic horror novel, has been sucking blood, biting necks and terrifying buxom wenches in film for over 80 years. Dracula has been played by actors as varied as Bela Lugosi, Rutger Hauer, Jack Palance and Leslie Nielsen but Christopher Lee has played the character so many times his image is now most synonymous with the Count. Lee€™s physical presence, deep voice and classical background give the Count an aristocratic edge that horror greats Max Schreck and Bela Lugosi couldn't bring to the role and even though the quality of the Hammer Horror Dracula series lessened over the twenty years Lee played the role, his image is indelibly associated with one of the world€™s greatest villains of all time. Did You Know?...In the original 1958 film Christopher Lee only has 13 lines of dialogue and never speaks to anyone other than Jonathan Harker. Everyone else just gets hissed at.