20 TV Villain Performances That Are Practically Flawless
1. Bryan Cranston - Walter White (Breaking Bad)
In the end, there could be only one, and if we're talking about flawless TV villain performances, you'll find none better than Bryan Cranston's revelatory turn as family man-turned-meth dealer Walter "Heisenberg" White.
Walt is a genius chemist with cancer who uses his skills to cook meth with a former student; he's a family man who thinks he's doing the right thing; and eventually he's a drug lord whose ego turns him into a monster.
Bryan Cranston's performance is a masterclass of subtle change, as he methodically allows Walt the Mild-Mannered Family Man melt away into Heisenberg the Kingpin. He makes Walt scary in his extreme actions, but pathetic in his desire for power.
Snivelling, violent, traitorous and eventually beyond redemption, Cranston completely envelops himself into Walt's life, and sells every aspect of his increasingly tragic, terrifying, and aggravating journey. Villainy doesn't get any better than this.