4. Javier Bardem
Bardem's Silva is unquestionably one of the best Bond villains in years, with the Oscar-winning actor being a particularly inspired choice for such a delirious character, who feels like a cross between The Joker and Hannibal Lecter. He arrives late to the party, otherwise directing traffic from the shadows, but once he shows up, he injects the film with an off-kilter quality that keeps it gliding along just when it had the potential to get bogged down. Madly eccentric, a little grotesque (you'll see), and traipsing in and out of the film with a certain ghostly quality, Silva is a classic Bond baddie, with Bardem playing up the camp - and the homo-eroticism in particular - in a way that nods to the films of old yet doesn't eschew the tone Mendes has carefully constructed. Really, one need only take one look at Bardem in Skyfall - what, with his dyed-blonde hair and piercing, crazed eyes - to see that not only is Bardem having an absolute ball, but that he has created a villain for the ages of Bond lore, who effortlessly slots into the pantheon but also brings something new and terrifying to the table.