10 Greatest Sci-Fi Movie Villains Of The 2020s (So Far)
5. Steven Merrick - The Old Guard
Wait, Dudley from Harry Potter grew up? And he's kind of hot now?
The world is indeed a strange place.
Harry Melling has undergone a bit of a career renaissance in recent years, and we are all here for it. Many years after playing the Dursleys' spoilt son, the star has found success in TV shows like The Queen's Gambit and movies like The Pale Blue Eye and The Tragedy of Macbeth.
He also plays the main villain in the 2020 superhero-style film The Old Guard. As Merrick, Melling portrays a young tech billionaire attempting to capture and experiment on a group of immortal warriors to learn their secrets.
Presumably he's going to lock them in a cupboard under the stairs.
Merrick is delightfully detestable as a sketchy businessman operating under noble pretences. His uptight Englishness contrasts nicely with the brutishness of the heroes of this film and, also, he works in big pharma.
How can you not hate someone like that?
Wretched corporate scumbag is clearly another feather that Melling can add to his cap and his performance here helps make an already-enjoyable action romp go down even smoother.