82. Scar - The Lion King
Played By: Jeremy Irons The parallels to Shakespeare's Hamlet are well noted with Scar's characterisation closely following that of Claudius in Shakespeare's epic of violence, death and insanity. Scar is a character with no redeeming features. Brutal, cunning and ruthless, he will stop at nothing to claim the throne of his own. The pursuit of that goal involves the murder of his brother and attempted murder of his orphan son, showing that family means nothing to him. The Lion King is one of Disney's very finest and the most disturbing thing about its antagonist is the unrestrained glee he shows as he watches Mufasa die.
81. Cruella De Vil - One Hundred And One Dalmations
Played By: Betty Lou Gerson Before you even hear Cruella speak you know she's not going to be a good guy. Everything from her very apt name to her demonic appearance make you fully aware you're dealing with nastiness. The first rule of cinema is never kill the dog and here she is wanting to kill a whole conglomerate of them and turn them into a single fur coat. She's despicable and as with all the finest Disney work, it's a film understood and loved by children but thoroughly engageable to an older audience also. Cruella Da Vil is the prime reason why you should never trust anyone wearing a fur coat.
80. Frank Costello - The Departed
Played By: Jack Nicholson Frank Costello is the most notorious and powerful man in the Boston underworld - responsible for everything from murder to large scale drug importation - he's the menacing psychopath which the whole film reverberates around. Martin Scorsese lets Nicholson off the leash, allowing him to put large amounts of improvisation into Wiliam Monahan's script. The improvised bits are the most terrifying, most notably the diner scene where he pulls out a gun on an unsuspecting Leonardo DiCaprio - the fear in Leo's face is very real as not even the director knew he was going to do that. With Costello there is an explicit link between sex and violence and the visceral intensity of Frank is raw and frightening. Costello is vicious and ruthless, only out for himself and this is Jack Nicholson's best performance in an age.