20 Greatest Movie Villains Played By British Actors
5. Stansfield - Gary Oldman
I like these calm little moments before the storm. It reminds me of Beethoven.
Film Appearance(s): Leon (1994) Luc Bessons stylish and violent take on the old Pygmalion story may be best known for giving cinema goers their first glimpse of Natalie Portman in action but it also provided an opportunity for one of the most versatile actors in the world to cut loose and deliver one of cinemas best bad guys. Sarf Londons Gary Oldman plays Corrupt DEA Agent Norman Stansfield who massacres a family and sets in motion the events of Leon (or The Professional as its known in America). Stansfield is a wildly sadistic, unrelenting force of psychopathy. In Oldmans hands the character becomes magnetic. When he is on screen you cant take your eyes off him. Before Oldman entered the mentor phase of career with roles in the likes of The Dark Knight trilogy and the Harry Potter franchise, he was Hollywoods go-to guy when you wanted an incredible villain. He was convincing as an American in films like True Romance, as a Romanian in Bram Stokers Dracula and as a Russian in Air Force One but the unhinged, drug-binging character of Stansfield stands out as the very best of the very worst. Did You Know?...The scene where Stansfield talks about his appreciation of Beethoven was completely improvised. The scene was filmed several times, with Oldman giving a different improvised story each time.
4. Edwin Epps - Michael Fassbender
A man does how he pleases with his property.
Film Appearance(s): 12 Years A Slave (2013) Next up is Michael Fassbenders plantation owner Edwin Epps, main antagonist in Steve McQueens Oscar winning film 12 Years A Slave. Epps is a cauldron of rage whose twisted Christian values are used to justify the sadistic treatment he inflicts on his slaves. The German-born, Irish raised (with a mother from Northern Ireland, which grants him entry on a British list) Fassbender might not sound like the perfect fit for this 18th century Louisiana-born character but in his capable hands he crafts a character that could have been nothing more than a two dimensional villain. His Epps is a complex villain that accurately conveys one mans descent into an uncontrollable abyss of cruelty, driven by a conflicted desire for slave girl Patsey which helps create one of the 21st centurys most memorable cinematic villains. Fassbender may have lost out to The Dallas Buyers Clubs' Jared Leto at the Oscars but its Fassbenders character that will be remembered for years to come. Did You Know?...Michael Fassbender had the make-up artists paint his mustache with alcohol so that the other actors would react naturally to the smell as they would to a man who had been drinking heavily...or that's what he told them anyway.
