20 Greatest Movie Villains Played By British Actors
13. Harlen Maguire - Jude Law
I shoot the dead...
Film Appearance(s): Road To Perdition (2002) Following roles which utilized his good looks, Jude Law transformed his appearance in Sam Mendes gangster film Road To Perdition. Gone was the Dickie Greenleaf blond hair. Gone was the polished good looks of Gigolo Joe. In their place was the balding pate, rotten teeth and sallow skin of sadistic hit-man Harlen Maguire. Hired by Paul Newmans gangster, Chicago native Maguire is tasked with killing Tom Hanks Michael Sullivan and pursues him across depression-era America. His character takes a perverse pleasure in his day job taking pictures of the dead as a crime scene photographer but thats nothing compared to the glee he exhibits when he gets to cause death rather than just take its picture. Starring opposite heavyweight actors like Tom Hanks and Paul Newman could have proven a real challenge for Law as those two actors are capable of overshadowing anyone in any film. However, Englands Jude Law more than holds his own and must be given great credit for his performance. Did You Know?...Director Sam Mendes wanted Jude Law to have a rodent-like appearance and insisted he remain paler than everyone else. Law hated how he looked so much that he wore a hat at all times when not being filmed.
12. Dr Otto Octavius - Alfred Molina
Find him...or i'll peel the flesh from her bones
Film Appearance(s): Spiderman II (2004) The first Spider-man film starring Tobey Maguire built on the promise of films like X-Men and Blade and set expectations of what a comic-book film could do. Those expectations were spectacularly exceeded when Spider-man II was released. A large part of that success is down to Alfred Molinas portrayal of Doc Ock. Dr. Otto Octavius begins the story as a good man with a noble dream but through a series of unfortunate events is overcome by evil. With deadly tentacles and an evil plan which could destroy New York, he ticks all the boxes of a big screen villain but also manages to instill his character with a certain pathos and tragedy which helps elevate the character beyond just evil. That nuanced performance from Londoner Molina, who entirely convinced as the New York-born doctor, has cast a long shadow that will be hard to live up to should the character make an appearance in the (so far) underwhelming Amazing reboots. Did You Know?...Doc Ock's four tentacles weighed a total of 75lbs and were given names by Alfred Molina. There was Larry, Harry, Flo and Moe. One can only assume Sleepy, Dopey, Bashful and Doc were taken...
