10 Movie Villains You Didn't Realise Actually Won

5. Hans Landa - Inglourious Basterds

Beloved and despised in equal measure, Hans Landa is certainly a polarizing figure. On the one-hand he's a Nazi but on the other his charisma is hugely infectious. Launching the fantastic Christoph Waltz from obscurity to well deserved stardom, Landa is one of the most interesting characters in cinema history.

Introduced in a deliciously tense scene in which it is established that he is hunting down Jewish people and those harbouring them. His keen intellect and sparkling wit make him more than a match for anyone he interrogates, something which we see repeatedly throughout the film. He is clearly dangerous and not to be trifled with. He is able to turn any situation to his advantage, even using Hitler's downfall as an opportunity to create a new life for himself in the USA.

As we all know this doesn't go quite to plan for him as Brad Pitt's Lt. Aldo Raine wipes the wicked grin from his face by carving a swastika into it. Score one for America right? Wrong. It's not like they killed him, he's free to demand that the damage be repaired when he is flown over to the States. That scarring would be a relatively easy fix even back then leaving him to enjoy the new life he so cunningly manoeuvred himself into. The Basterds got their revenge but Landa is the real winner.