10 Great Star Trek Performances That Made You Love Bad People

10. John Frederick Paxton - Peter Weller

This late addition to the series saw one of Enterprise's more dastardly villains, played by the wonderful Peter Weller. Fans who might not be as familiar with Enterprise would probably recognise him sooner as Admiral Marcus from Star Trek Into Darkness and, while he is great in that film, it is here that he is a truly awful person.

He is responsible for the creation and subsequent death of Trip and T'Pol's baby daughter. That alone would be enough to simply hate this character and consign him to the scrap heap in terms of the fans' memories. However, Weller delivers a tense and frustratingly endearing portrayal.

Paxton, like many zealots both on and off screen, wants to save Earth for Humanity only. He is willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen and through Weller's portrayal, while it is unlikely many will sympathize with him, there is an honesty in what he does that is hard to ignore.

The best villains are those who don't see themselves as evil. Paxton wants to save Humanity from inter-breeding and dilution of the so-called pure blood lines that are being ruined by other species. While this is an idea that is hardly unique to Star Trek, it was one of the first times that the idea had been explored in the franchise.

Much like his later character, Weller does what he can to stand by his beliefs. And thanks to his brilliant acting, it's hard to hate him for it.