20 Greatest Movie Villains Of The 2000s

As the world said goodbye to the 1990s and welcomed in a new decade, a new century, and a new millennium, the cinematic world thrived. Some of the great franchises of the '90s continued through the 2000s, as well as new ones establishing themselves, with some of the greatest movies of all time debuting across this new ten-year stretch.

The noughties gave the world iconic heroes, the likes of a new and soon-to-be longest reigning James Bond ever, a new era of superhero movies that would change the game forever, and more than a few powerful wizards.

But what of the villains that faced such icons? As much as they so often take the spotlight, there wouldn't be much of a story to tell without a struggle for the protagonist, an obstacle for them to overcome, or an equally brilliant adversary to lock horns with, and the 2000s had such bad guys to spare.

Inventive serial killers, terrorists, heroes gone bad, corrupt cops, gang leaders, and even famous cannibals helped make some of the decade's best outings so great, and graced even weak or underwhelming films as some of their brightest lights. Yes, this was a good decade to be bad.

Though the character was first brought to life by Brian Cox in Michael Mann's 1986 Manhunter, it was with minimal screen time in The Silence of the Lambs that Anthony Hopkins turned Hannibal Lecter into one of the most famous movie villains of all time.

He wasn't even the main antagonist in 1992, with such a role being taken by Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). No, instead Hannibal had to wait until 2000, eight real-life years after escaping incarceration, to become the sole focus of Clarice Starling's (Julianne Moore) efforts.

Hannibal may not have been as well received as The Silence of the Lambs, but it did allow for more from the titular character. That same intensity and soft-spoken fear-mongering were brought to the table by Hopkins once more, as were clearer indicators of his violent and man-eating nature.

What was offered up in Hopkins' first performance was more a reputation for the character, whereas his villainous muscles were flexed far more in the sequel. He tested Clarice, he killed, tortured, and consumed flesh like it was nothing, and on top of all that, after feeding an innocent child human brains, no less, he got away scot-free.