32 Villains Who Were Miscast In Movies And Television

Many actors have said that a villain is one of the most fun types of roles that you can play. Unfortunately, not every actor knows how to be menacing, or at least just not in a way that matches the tone or intent of their given story. The following are some of the most notable examples of movies and TV shows that might have benefited from searching a bit harder for the right person to play the enemy.

Lex Luthor (Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice)

There are few superhero movies as polarizing as 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but one thing most audiences agree about director Zack Snyder's crossover epic is that it misses the mark with Lex Luthor. It seems Academy Award nominee Jessie Eisenberg, who blamed himself for his role's poor reception, is trying more to be a clone of Heath Ledger's Joker without the makeup than portray a fitting take on Superman's archnemesis with his manic, almost childish, performance.

Walter Padick (The Dark Tower)

Some fans of Stephen King's acclaimed book series, The Dark Tower, have said that Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey might have been a better fit to portray the heroic gunslinger, Roland, allowing Idris Elba to shine stronger as the demonic sorcerer Walter Padick instead. Of course, the casting is one of the least pivotal reasons why this 2017 adaptation from director Nikolaj Arcel received such horrid backlash.

Eddie Brock (Spider-Man 3)

On an episode of MovieFone’s Unscripted, Topher Grace admitted that he felt he was an unlikely choice to star in 2007's Spider-Man 3 as Eddie Brock, also known as Venom, given the character looks more like... well, Tom Hardy. What convinced him to take the part was director Sam Raimi's idea of depicting the photojournalist, who becomes attached to a symbiotic alien, as, essentially, Peter Parker's evil twin. With all due respect to the man behind the Evil Dead movies and to the former That '70s Show cast member, that might not have been the best call.

Gellert Grindelwald (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald)

While his presence alone is distracting enough, fans and critics alike thought Johnny Depp was too cartoonishly over-the-top as the villainous title role of the Harry Potter movie prequel, 2018's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The performance especially pales in comparison to Mads Mikkelsen, who succeeded the Oscar nominee in the part for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore to greater acclaim.

Jafar (Aladdin)

I am not saying that no one else could play Jafar better than how Jonathan Freeman voiced the ruthless tyrant in the original 1992 classic Disney animated movie, Aladdin. However, I do believe that Marwan Kenzari is simply too reserved, too earnest, and not having enough fun with this iconic, dastardly role in Guy Ritchie's live-action remake from 2019.

Mr. Freeze (Batman & Robin)

I must admit, I actually think Arnold Schwarzenegger's shamelessly over-the-top performance and incessantly punny dialogue as the "coldhearted" Gotham criminal, Mr. Freeze, almost makes the reviled Batman & Robin worth watching. However, I would also agree that the 1997 DC flick offers a poor representation of the tragic character, especially after Batman: The Animated Series handled him to such wonderful acclaim a few years before.

Javert (Les Misérables)

With 2012's Les Misérables, director Tom Hooper did not just adapt Victor Hugo's novel, but the acclaimed, operatic stage musical it inspired. Perhaps if it had been a more traditionally dramatized version of the story instead, the Academy Award-winning non-singer Russell Crowe's casting as Inspector Javert would have been perfect.

Obadiah Stane (Iron Man)

This may be a hot take, but I believe 2008's otherwise terrific premiere installment of the Marvel Movies in order suffers from a third act that does not quite live up to its promises, and I think Obadiah Stane is to blame. As a longtime fan of Jeff Bridges, I hate to admit that the Academy Award winner's performance in Iron Man is not menacing or memorable enough to make an enduring impression or match Robert Downey Jr.'s fun, nuanced, and tone-setting performance as Tony Stark

Balem Abrasax (Jupiter Ascending)

There are many reasons why Lana and Lily Wachowski's 2015 sci-fi epic Jupiter Ascending ended up being a critical and commercial failure, and many critics cite Eddie Redmayne as a key reason. Even the Oscar winner himself agreed, while filming a video for GQ, that his over-the-top performance as Balem Abrasax, consisting of a gravelly whisper often interrupted by irritating screams, was "pretty bad."

Norman Bates (Psycho)

Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's classic film, Psycho, sees Vince Vaughn succeed Anthony Perkins in the role of disturbed motel manager Norman Bates. The actor was already an unlikely choice to play a murderer then, fresh off his hilarious performance in Swingers, and seems even more unlikely today after his many other iconic comedic roles.

The Joker (Suicide Squad)

For many, Jared Leto's Joker in Suicide Squad is the go-to example of a badly cast villain, but having seen his more subdued take on the Clown Prince of Crime in Zack Snyder's Justice League, I disagree that the Oscar winner was the wrong choice. I will agree that his performance in David Ayer's 2016 DC supervillain crossover is a misfire, but I also feel that this particular iteration of Batman's archnemesis fails mostly because of how the disparagingly rushed screenplay depicts him.

Dracula (Blade: Trinity)

I will say that I give credit to writer and director David S. Goyer for attempting to try something different when incorporating the most powerful vampire of all into the third installment of the Wesley Snipes-led Marvel movie franchise. However, Dominic Purcell just does not fit the bill as Dracula, aesthetically or otherwise, contributing substantially to the unremarkable legacy of Blade: Trinity.

Thomas Gabriel (Live Free Or Die Hard)

I remember hearing movie critic Richard Roeper, on an episode of Ebert & Roeper, say he would have rather seen Maggie Q, who plays a henchperson, take over the main villain role in Bruce Willis' fourth adventure as John McClane instead of Timothy Olyphant. As much as I enjoy the actor in almost everything he does, I cannot help but agree that he might have been a better henchperson than the mustache-twirling lead cyberterrorist in 2007's Live Free or Die Hard.

Ares (Wonder Woman)

I realize that casting David Thewlis as the God of War, disguised as the speaker for the peace Sir Patrick Morgan, was meant to be a misdirect, and I respect the intent. However, most people agree that the final act reveal was one of the weakest parts of 2017's Wonder Woman, which is otherwise considered one of the better installments of the DC Extended Universe.

Griffin (The Watcher)

In defense of Keanu Reeves, the actor told The Guardian he was tricked into starring in 2000's The Watcher, which he never found interesting, after a "friend" forged his signature onto a casting agreement and, since he had no evidence to prove it, he decided it would be easier to go through with it than getting sued. This explains his phoned-in performance in the panned serial killer drama as a menacing murderer, whom star James Spader probably would have handled much better instead of playing the hero.

Lex Luthor (Supergirl)

Forgive me, but I just find it so difficult to see Jon Cryer outside of his longtime role as Alan Harper on Two and a Half Men. Even with the shaved scalp and beard drastically altering his appearance, the Pretty in Pink actor is simply not very believable as the ruthless Lex Luthor on Supergirl and other installments of the Arrowverse.

Two-Face (Batman Forever)

Harvey "Two-Face" Dent may be an unstable psychopath, but he is not the cackling maniac that Tommy Lee Jones portrayed him as, as if he were trying to one-up Jim Carrey's scenery-chewing energy as The Riddler. It really makes you wonder why the otherwise brilliant Academy Award winner told the comedian that he "could not sanction [his] buffoonery" when he ultimately gives the more buffoonish performance in 1995's Batman Forever anyway.

Carlton "Riot" Drake (Venom)

Riz Ahmed is typically sensational in just about everything he does, from his Emmy-winning performance in The Night Of to his Oscar-nominated turn in Sound of Metal. However, he gives one of his most boring performances in 2018's Venom as Carlton Drake, a scientist who obsessively and insidiously leads a study of extraterrestrial symbiotes.

The White Death (Bullet Train)

Michael Shannon has played some fantastic antagonistic roles in the past, such as in Premium Rush and 99 Homes, and even in the otherwise polarizing Man of Steel. However, his attempt at playing an Eastern European criminal known as "The White Death" is almost too silly, even for a consciously silly action flick like Bullet Train.

Stanley Kowalski (A Streetcar Named Desire)

Perhaps it is a controversial choice to choose one of the great Marlon Brando's most praised performances as a miscast villain. However, the Tennessee Williams-penned play that inspired 1951's A Streetcar Named Desire is really about Blanche (Vivien Leigh), and you could argue that casting Stella's (Kim Hunter) abusive husband with one of Hollywood's most handsome and charismatic actors shifts the focus in the wrong direction.

Poppy Adams (Kingsman: The Golden Circle)

I would not say that Julianne Moore is necessarily bad in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, the 2017 sequel to Matthew Vaughn's hit comedic spy thriller. However, there is something about seeing her gleefully chewing the scenery as the unusually charming, but psychopathic, cartel leader, Poppy Adams, that still feels a bit off.

Rodney Alcala (Woman Of The Hour)

Star and director Anna Kendrick's Woman of the Hour is based on the true story of Rodney Alcala, a convicted serial killer whose charming personality and classic good looks earned him a win on The Dating Game. However, Daniel Zovatto not only looks barely anything like the guy, but also does not quite pull off the same charm when trying to court Cheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick) in the game show scenes. He is quite terrifying in depictions of his murder spree, though.

Blackheart (Ghost Rider)

Wes Bentley plays a strong, antagonistic force in the Yellowstone cast as Jamie Dutton, so I suppose the secret is casting him in more grounded, vindictive roles. However, he is not quite the right match for powerful, supernatural entities like Blackheart, whom he plays in 2007's Nicolas Cage-led Marvel movie, Ghost Rider.

Travis Marshall (Dexter)

In theory, Colin Hanks is a perfect choice for the big bad of Dexter's sixth season, Travis Marshall – a seemingly mild-mannered man driven to murder by religious fanatic, Prof. James Gellar (played by Edward James Olmos). However, the moment he realizes Gellar is a figment of his imagination and embraces his dark side is the moment the otherwise affable actor's performance as a sinister killer becomes a tragic misfire.

Miranda Tate/Talia Al Ghul (The Dark Knight Rises)

Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard is not a bad choice to play Miranda Tate, who is really Ra's Al Ghul's vengeful daughter, Talia, in disguise, in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises. Unfortunately, the French actor's performance in the polarizing finale to Christopher Nolan's trilogy of Batman films will forever be overshadowed by her hilariously inept death scene.

Adrian (Oldboy)

The world never needed Spike Lee's remake of Oldboy in the first place. However, the usually impressive Sharlto Copley makes an especially convincing case for its needlessness with a performance that paints his villainous role as more of a whiney brat than a vengeful sadist.

Gabriel (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning)

In a series that has only ever had one enduringly memorable villain (Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Owen Davian in Mission: Impossible III), the rest seem as scary as they come when compared to the egregious, mustache-twirling nature of Esai Morales' role, who gives an even more ridiculous performance in 2025's Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.

Dr. Norman Spencer (What Lies Beneath)

Following a career defined by heroic characters like Star Wars' Han Solo, Indiana Jones, and President James Marshall in Air Force One, it is just really hard to picture Harrison Ford as a murderer. You could argue that the actor's reputation makes the chilling reveal in What Lies Beneath even more shocking, but others have argued it just comes off as unbelievable.

Raymond Blossom (Playing God)

Based on his Academy Award-winning role in Ordinary People, Timothy Hutton is an undeniably fantastic actor, but his role as Raymond Blossom in 1997's Playing God is not his best work. He plays the ruthless counterfeiter a little too cheesily to match the tone of this crime thriller starring David Duchovny as a disgraced surgeon hired on Blossom's payroll.

Col. Tom Parker (Elvis)

There may be a heightened sense of reality in 2022's Elvis, Baz Luhrmann's biopic of the legendary musician. However, Tom Hanks' prosthetic makeup and faux European accent as Elvis Presley's manager, Col. Tom Parker, is too inauthentic and silly to be taken seriously.

Abigail Williams (The Crucible)

With all due respect to the otherwise talented Winona Ryder, her casting in 1996's The Crucible as a young woman who corrupts her entire village with lies about witchcraft is just not very believable, from her subpar accent to her lack of chemistry with Daniel Day-Lewis as a married man she shares an affair with.

Dr. Newton "Newt" Geiszler (Pacific Rim Uprising)

Charlie Day starred in Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim in the obligatory role you see in all kinds of sci-fi/disaster flicks: the plucky comic relief who is never taken seriously despite having all the right answers. For 2018's Pacific Rim Uprising, Dr. Newton "Newt" Geiszler is brought back as the villain, which is already a tough sell before his motivation (being corrupted by an alien he has had a romantic relationship with) descends the sequel into unforgivable levels of cheesiness.