10 Scariest Characters In Non-Horror TV Shows
5. Simon Adebisi (Oz)
Being an HBO drama set in a maximum security prison, it’s no surprise Oz is full of scary figures, from predatory white supremacist Vern Schillinger to arch schemer Ryan O’Reilly. To be the most frightening character amongst that lot is going some.
Enter Simon Adebisi. Played by the strapping Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, he’s immediately a physically imposing individual, but his fear factor goes way beyond that. At the start of the series he’s completely unhinged and proud of it. Incarcerated for life without the possibility of parole, there are really no consequences to him indulging in his every narcotic and sexual desire.
Over time, though, he becomes even worse. Upon getting control of his addictions, he realises that his gang has the numbers to take over the prison, and begins to ruthlessly implement his plan, with the guards in his pocket.
Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s spectacularly charismatic, otherworldly performance makes Adebisi feel more than human, and he ascends to a wrathful Godlike status within Oz’s Emerald City. Once he’s taken out of the show, it’s never quite the same again.