12 British Anti-Heroes Who Make Being Bad Look Good

6. Sirius Black €“ The Harry Potter Series

Black's death is easily one of the most profoundly affecting moments in the entire Harry Potter series, and his tragedy is enough to make him one of the most interesting characters created by JK Rowling, but while he lasts, he's the most irresistibly heroic of all of the Order Of The Phoenix. He was a rule-breaker and a maverick at Hogwarts, defiant of his lineage and he effectively worked as the good-aligned devil on Harry's shoulder, encouraging his courage and his flouting of the rules that let him succeed.

5. Jack Carter €“ Get Carter

Not only another Geordie working class anti-hero for the list, but also another character made famous by Michael Caine on the big screen, gangster Jack Carter is very nearly a dyed-in-the-wool villain. But he's a villain with morality, who cleans up a pornographic ring who not only killed his brother, but coerced his niece into starring in one of their sordid little films. Carter doesn't make violence look cool, but he doesn't half sell the idea of taking vengeance, and the bloody swathe he cuts through Newcastle and Gateshead remains a legendary moment from Caine's considerable repertoire.

4. Alex €“ A Clockwork Orange

Like Shakespeare's Iago, many words have been devoted to Alex, and whether he is more sinned against or sinning in A Clockwork Orange, but what is definite is that Malcolm McDowell's career-making performance as the swaggering maniac added a level of cool that turned villain into the darkest of anti-heroes.