Few things unite moviegoers quite like a character that everyone loves to despise. Cruel, manipulative, or just plain pesky, these notorious characters have generated online rants, inspired a million memes, and even caused audiences to fast-forward simply in order to skip them. Here’s a new top ten countdown of ten movie characters who’ve become permanent fixtures on Hollywood’s wall of shame.
10. Margaret White – Carrie
If you thought your mother was tough, Margaret White will have you counting your blessings. She is Carrie’s religiously fanatical and emotionally abusive mother who interprets “discipline” to horrific limits. She is not only overbearing—she is frightening. Margaret thinks she is cleansing her daughter of sin, when in fact she is the horror fan’s and adult child of a toxic parent’s worst nightmare.
9. Commodus – Gladiator
Joaquin Phoenix provided us with a villain we booed, not just, but essentially wanted to strangle. In the power-crazed and insecure Commodus, he injected insecurity and cruelty into the Roman Empire. This is what you get when you take an arrogant man-child and give him carte blanche and no morals. If Game of Thrones’ Joffrey had any kind of Roman heritage, this is the guy.
8. Miss Trunchbull – Matilda
This monstrous headmistress is what you’d get if a gym teacher became a tyrant. Miss Trunchbull doesn’t just dislike kids—she loathes them. From force-feeding cake to throwing children by their pigtails, her brand of discipline is downright abusive. She’s so cruel; she claims she was never a child. She’s the nightmare of every elementary school memory.
7. Jenny Curran – Forrest Gump
Jenny is not your standard villain, but she has ruffled plenty of feathers throughout the years. Some viewers look at her as a person who abused Forrest, appearing only when convenient. But others claim her behavior is indicative of severe trauma and the turmoil of her time. Whatever your opinion, Jenny is one of the most contentious and polarizing film characters.
6. Hans Landa – Inglourious Basterds
Charismatic, urbane, and downright terrifying—Hans Landa is a bad guy who insinuates himself into your psyche. Christoph Waltz’s performance as the sly “Jew Hunter” is a tutorial in subtle menace. He smiles as he ruins lives and changes allegiances at will when it benefits him. Few evils have ever looked so well-groomed.
5. Cal Hockley – Titanic
If arrogance were an Olympic sport, Cal would take the gold. Rose’s possessive and elitist fiancé is the poster child for toxic entitlement. He insults the lower class, manipulates those around him, and doesn’t hesitate to exploit a child just to save himself. In a film full of tragedy, he’s the one you’re glad didn’t get a happy ending.
4. Scar – The Lion King
Animated or not, Scar is one of the coolest villains of all time. He killed his brother, caused his nephew to think he was at fault, and destroyed the Pride Lands to boot—all because he could not bear to be second best. His sneering tone and dramatic flair only make his treachery more memorable.
3. Dolores Umbridge – Harry Potter Series
It’s not easy to disgust audiences more than Voldemort. Meet Dolores Umbridge—smiling sweetly as she harms. Her rose-colored dresses and tea sets cover a warped appetite for dominance. From quill-torment to persecuting Muggle-born students, she’s a testament that evil needn’t wear a black robe.
2. President Alma Coin – The Hunger Games
President Coin begins as a self-proclaimed messiah, but she soon reveals that she is simply another tyrant in disguise. Manipulative and cruel, she is willing to kill anyone to pursue her definition of victory—even innocent children. Her chilly ambition and ultimate betrayal put her on the list of the most hated fictional leaders in history.
1. Judge Claude Frollo – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
At the top of the list is one of Disney’s darkest, most chilling villains. Judge Frollo masquerades as piety while burning with poisonous lust and bitter hatred. His efforts to kill Esmeralda for defying him while insisting on his moral high ground make him a chilling figure of religious hypocrisy and abuse of power. He’s not only a villain—he’s a warning.
Whether they skeeved you out or just made you scream at your monitor, these actors have won their spot in the annals of cinema history—not as heroes, exactly, but as infamous reminders of just how horrible a role can be.