The Best Villains (An Oxymoron)

 

Have you ever watched a movie where the villain is more memorable than the hero? Look closely at your own antagonists and consider how they compare to the villains described in these famous quotes:

I like villains because there’s something so attractive about a committed person – they have a plan, an ideology, no matter how twisted. They’re motivated. — Russell Crowe

I definitely need to understand the villains I play. The best [villains] cause pain to anesthetize themselves against their own pain. — Ron Perlman

… usually villains don’t know that they’re evil. — Danny Huston

I think all villains have something in common: they have something that they need or want very, very badly. The stakes are very high and they are not bound by moral codes or being ethical, so they can do anything and will do anything to get what they want. — Donna Murphy

Both villains and heroes need to have a steadfast belief in themselves. — Jack Gleeson

I’d prefer to play the villain because there’s a reason, there’s a motive behind their madness. — Ryan Kwanten

My theory of characterization is basically this: Put some dirt on a hero, and put some sunshine on the villain, one brush stroke of beauty on the villain. — Justin Cronin

I believe the most intricate plot won’t matter much to readers if they don’t care about the characters …. So I try to focus hard on making each character, whether villain or hero, have an interesting flaw that readers can relate to. —  Jeff Abbott

I try to give both my heroes and villains an emotional dimensionality which provides the motivation for their actions. — Sidney Sheldon

Many writers make the mistake of trying to create villains who are stagnant. They are bad simply because they are evil. But a far more interesting villain is one who is faced with moral choices, who struggles with them, and does not always do what is evil. He sometimes shows mercy. He sometimes is benevolent. But in the end, when faced with his biggest challenge of all, he falls. In other words, your story should not start with a villain, but should grow a villain. – David Farland (Million Dollar Outlines)