3. Malcolm McDowell
Rape, Beethoven, and milk. An unusual combination, but one which came together in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. It seems strange to call this film iconic when most associate it with the violence that got it banned from UK cinemas, but which by modern standards pales in comparison to likes of Pulp Fiction, which is itself twenty years old this year. More than just mindless violence however, the film arguably depicts mindful violence (or at least the act of depicting it is mindful, even if the violence itself isn't), as it follows Alex DeLarge through his crime, punishment, and also the 'cure' to his homicidal tendencies. The film, and indeed the novella it is based upon, takes on the form of a debate about whether it is better to be good through brainwashing, or to be evil through free will. This also culminates In one of those ambigious endings, where the audience is left wondering if Alex is indeed cured of being violent, or cured of the cure itself. Either way, his most infamous and unforgivable killing came some twenty years later. His victim: Captain James T. Kirk.