2. Calvin Candie- Django Unchained
A very recent Tarantino creation to include so highly on my list Ill admit, but it is undeniable that Leonardo DiCaprios tobacco chewing, Mandingo fighting, brutal plantation owner is the star of the show, so much so that Will Smith has stated that the reason he didnt take the role of Django was that Django wasnt the star of the film, Candie was. This is questionable as Candie doesnt make an appearance till quite a while into the film, but the moment he is introduced there is no doubt that he becomes the main attraction, and it truly emphasises how far DiCaprio has come from Jack Dawson in Titanic, to have played Candie as a relentlessly evil and detestable man, even the characters creator, Tarantino himself, stated that Candie was by far the most unlikeable character he has ever created. Unlikeable? Definitely, but truly entertaining and captivating? Most definitely. I dont know what it is about villains and unhinged characters that I find so fascinating, maybe its their limited and therefore precious screen time, or maybe its because their characters are always more complex and eccentric than the hero of the film, who usually is rather normal and grounded, so as to make a connection between the hero and audience easier. Regardless, much like Waltzs Hans Landa and Michael Madsens Mr. Blonde, Calvin Candie and his loud and eccentric character is what I find most captivating in Django, and though I am a big fan of Waltz and was pleased he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor with the role of Dr. King Schultz from Django, I truly believed that the 2013 Oscars was Leos year, as out of all the films I had seen throughout 2012 and early 2013, I didnt see one performance that was as brilliant as Calvin Candie. The fact that DiCaprio actually cut his hand on a piece of glass while filming the tense dinner room scene, which then caused his hand to gush blood, yet he continued the scene and never broke character, and that is the take that thankfully remains in the film, made me feel it was impossible for him not to have won the Oscar. Both DiCaprio and Tarantino couldve toned down the character and it wouldve been totally reasonable and understandable. After all, the idea of a southern plantation owner who locks his slaves in boxes in the heat, sets dogs on them and makes them fight one another in a truly brutal manner just for his own entertainment is probably one of the most evil and dislikeable villains that you can possibly put on screen. But the fact that everyones favourite 90s heartthrob, and one of the noughties most popular and respected actors decided to play the role as evil, and therefore as realistically, as he did, means that DiCaprio has earned a lot of respect from me, as has Tarantino for continually pushing the boundaries of cinema with detestable, yet downright entertaining and brilliant characters like Calvin Candie. And now, in first place for Tarantino's greatest charater...