15 Movie Characters You Wanted to See Bad Things Happen To

Of course we watch movies to root for the protagonist, but was also watch them so we can root against the villains. And the best movies have villains that make you so mad you can’t wait to see terrible things happen to them. Here are some of the best examples of that kind of villain.
15. Warden Norton – Shawshank Redemption

Warden Norton and Andy Dufresne develop a mutual relationship as the prisoner performs tasks as he looks to get out of jail. But soon Dufresne becomes too valuable to the Warden who decides to sabotage the prisoner after he proves his innocence.
14. Regina George – Mean Girls

Regina George was the personification of every bully people faced in their middle and high school years, played to perfection by Rachel McAdams. George does eventually try to change her bullying ways but has to be hit by a school bus before that happens.
13. Colonel William Tavington – The Patriot

In The Patriot, which takes place during the Revolutionary War, the British Colonel Tavington enrages Benjamin Martin by murdering his son and burning his house down. Following several more family killings and house burnings, Tavington is killed by Martin in personal combat.
12. Bob Ewell – To Kill a Mockingbird

Bob Ewell drove much of the action in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird by accusing a Black man, Tom Robinson, of abusing his daughter. After being humiliated by Atticus Finch, Ewell then attacks his two children, only to be stopped by Boo Radley.
11. Dolores Umbridge – Harry Potter Series

The Harry Potter saga had plenty of villains who were all hated for different reasons, but none was more hated that Dolores Umbridge. The prejudiced, buttoned-up teacher was the perfect illustration of the evil that our heroes were fighting against.
10. Mayor Larry Vaughn – Jaws

The world of film is chock-full of incompetent politicians, but Larry Vaughn, the mayor of Amity Island takes the cake. Rather than letting beach-goers know about dangerous shark attacks, he encourages them to visit his town despite the danger. Amazingly, Vaughn is still the mayor during the sequel.
9. Arjen Rudd – Lethal Weapon II

Arjen Rudd, the main villain in Lethal Weapon II, isn’t just a South African racist with government connections, he’s also a drug trafficker. In the film’s final scene, Rudd shoots Martin Riggs in the back before Roger Murtaugh revokes his diplomatic immunity with a hail of bullets.
8. Cal Hockley – Titanic

Played by Billy Zane, Cal Hockley was the fiancee of Rose (Kate Winslet) and jealous over her affections for Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio). But it was no surprise Rose would cheat on a man as demeaning and arrogant as Cal, who survives the sinking by pretending to be a child’s father.
7. Biff Tannen – Back to the Future

Early on in Back to the Future, Biff just seems like an awful bully. Things turn criminal later on though when Biff tries to force himself on Lorraine. He was such an effective villain that be was brought back for Back to the Future Parts II and III.
6. Scar – The Lion King

A lot of kids went in to see The Lion King and ended up encountering their first villain in Scar. The cowardly lion kills his brother and attempts to kill his nephew to rise in power. A truly evil and deceitful character in a beloved children’s film.
5. Nurse Mildred Ratched – One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

Scarred from her time as a nurse during World War II, Nurse Ratched rules over the Salem State Mental Hospital with an iron fist. Caring little for those entrusted to her care, Ratched abuses the vulnerable patients for her own pleasure.
4. Briony Tallis – Atonement

The lies and deceit from 13-year-old Briony sets off a string of tragedies in the 2007 film, Atonement. Over the course of the movie, the audience gets to see just how devastating her actions were as her life moves along.
3. Percy Wetmore – The Green Mile

Percy Wetmore was one of the prison guards who worked at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. Wetmore utilized his political connections so that he could abuse his position at the hospital, causing pain and anguish. In the end, he ends up a patient in a mental institution.
2. Hans Gruber – Die Hard

Hans Gruber, played to smarmy perfection by Alan Rickman, should have had an easy time stealing hundreds of millions from Nakatomi Plaza. The presence of John McClain, though led to Gruber performing increasingly terrible deeds before he falls to his death.
1. Commodus – Gladiator

Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus, based of the Roman Emperor of the same name, was pretty much the opposite of the film’s hero Maximus. Weak, power-hungry and vain, Commodus killed his own father and tried to establish absolute power prior being stabbed in the neck by Maximus.