10 Movie Villains Who Turned Heroes Evil

Sauron is one of the most terrifying literary/movie villains. His origins as essentially a fallen angel in Tolkein's tales from Middle Earth make him the most powerful villain on this list - and that's accounting for the fact that he spends the majority of The Lord of the Rings as a shapeless blob.

Where others rely on threats or false promises, Sauron can corrupt the mind without any warning. Being in the vicinity of the One Ring is enough to turn even the strongest to darkness.

A few of Sauron's conquests include Saruman, a Maia or powerful wizard who makes life quite difficult for the Fellowship, Theoden, who eventually snaps out of it thanks to Gandalf the White's efforts, and (most heartbreakingly) Boromir.

Poor Boromir is a bit morally shakey from the outset, thinking that it'd be possible to wield the One Ring himself to take down Sauron. Good intentions, but misguided. Unfortunately, he ends up bearing the brunt of Sauron's manipulation.

It all comes to a head before the Fellowship are attacked by Uruk-hai (at the end of the first film, or the beginning of The Two Towers for all you book purists out there). Boromir's ambition and pride made him an easy target for corruption. He tries to take the Ring from Frodo, and had he been successful, it's probable he'd have been fully turned and given up the One Ring to its master.

Thankfully, he still maintained a strong enough character to resist, letting Frodo go on to eventually destroy the Ring at Mount Doom. Boromir didn't last much longer, but at least redeemed himself defending Merry and Pippin from orcs, and apologised for almost screwing up the entire mission.