8 Movie Villains Created Out Of Spite

7. Gaston (Beauty And The Beast)

Harvey Weinstein Gothmog orc Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King
Disney

Though he's now synonymous with the Beauty And The Beast story, the character of Gaston didn't actually exist in the original version of the classic fairytale.

He was created by Disney for the studio's animated adaptation in 1991, with the filmmakers feeling that the story needed a proper, out-and-out villain. From here, Gaston was born - a cocky, muscular, bone-headed dude who doesn't really care about anyone but himself. And his pecs.

Unfortunately for screenwriter Linda Woolverton, the type of arrogance displayed by Gaston was something she'd experienced in her personal life, and she drew upon this when creating the character.

"There's tinges of guys I used to date" she told the LA Times, indicating that Gaston was intended as something of a spiteful mockery of her hubristic ex-boyfriends.

It's odd to think that an exaggerated buffoon like Gaston has any sort of basis in reality. Let's just hope that none of Woolverton's exes also tried to lock her father in an insane asylum, eh?

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.