12 Most Terrifying Action Movie Villains

Long before his Best Actor Oscar win for his turn as Arthur Fleck in Todd Phillips's Joker, a much younger Joaquin Phoenix appeared as Commodus, the sly and manipulative false Emperor in Ridley Scott's epic Gladiator.

Commodus is truly the child you would never want to parent, and it's no surprise he remains one of Phoenix's greatest roles to this day. It is the level of power he holds which makes him so frightening along with the way Phoenix plays him - a true, child-like tyrant who uses the people as his playthings. He is manipulative, power-hungry and bitter, traits which collectively lead him to strangle his own father to death, Marcus Aurelius, after he is informed he will not become Emperor of Rome. If that wasn't bad enough, he then orders his men to kill the family of Maximus (Russell Crowe), who the Emperor had asked to lead in his stead, before going on to stab the protagonist right before they engage in one-to-one combat.

If that wasn't bad enough, he also makes incestuous advances towards his sister, while also threatening to kill his nephew if she doesn't comply with his wishes. It's more a feeling of relief than anything when (spoilers) he is finally killed at the end of the film, his dastardly schemes put to an end for good.