Role-Play: Hollywood’s Ultimate Hero & Villain actors
Sometimes at the movies you can figure out who the hero or villain is based just on the actors. So, we’ve dug through the archives to find out which modern-era Hollywood stars have played the most heroes and villains. We searched for actors of all genders but, unsurprisingly, the results for both bad and good 'guys’ were mostly men. Find out who made the cut...
![The ultimate hero vs villain actor](./assets/images/intro-collage-mob.jpg)
Playing the Hero
So which actors have played the most heroes and villains at the movies? View our dropdown lists below to discover which famous faces may have a hero complex and who just loves being bad. You can also find out which films and roles gave them their heroic or villainous breakthroughs…
![Accents](./assets/images/bg-accents.png)
- Villains
- HEROES
appear in as a villain
![Robert De Niro](./assets/images/robert-de-niro.png)
![The Godfather Part II](./assets/images/poster-godfather.png)
![Peter Stormare](./assets/images/peter-stormare.png)
![The Big Lebowski](./assets/images/poster-the-big-lebowski.png)
![Ron Perlman](./assets/images/ron-perlman.png)
![Alien Resurrection](./assets/images/poster-alien.png)
![Tim Curry](./assets/images/tim-curry.png)
![The Shadow](./assets/images/poster-the-shadow.png)
![James Woods](./assets/images/james-woods.png)
![The Specialist](./assets/images/poster-the-specialist.png)
![Vinnie Jones](./assets/images/vinnie-jones.png)
![X - Men: The Last Stand](./assets/images/poster-x-men-the-last-stand.png)
![Gary Oldman](./assets/images/gary-oldman.png)
![The Book of Eli](./assets/images/poster-the-book-of-eli.png)
![Christopher Walken](./assets/images/christopher-walken.png)
![A View to a Kill](./assets/images/poster-a-view-to-a-kill.png)
![Malcolm McDowell](./assets/images/malcolm-mcdowell.png)
![A Clockwork Orange](./assets/images/poster-a-clockwork-orange.png)
![Samuel L Jackson](./assets/images/samuel-l-jackson.png)
![Unbreakable](./assets/images/poster-unbreakable.png)
appear in as a hero
![Henry Fonda](./assets/images/henry-fonda.png)
![Tom Joad](./assets/images/poster-tom-joad.png)
![Tom Hanks](./assets/images/tom-hanks.png)
![Apollo 13](./assets/images/poster-apollo13.png)
![Robin Williams](./assets/images/robin-williams.png)
![DEAD POETS SOCIETY](./assets/images/poster-dead-poets-society.png)
![Kevin Costner](./assets/images/kevin-costner.png)
![Field of Dreams](./assets/images/poster-field-of-dreams.png)
![Denzel Washington](./assets/images/denzel-washington.png)
![Malcolm X](./assets/images/poster-malcolm-x.png)
![Harrison Ford](./assets/images/harrison-ford.png)
![Star Wars](./assets/images/poster-star-wars.png)
![Tom Cruise](./assets/images/tom-cruise.png)
![Mission: Impossible](./assets/images/poster-mission-impossible.png)
![Frank Sinatra](./assets/images/frank-sinatra.png)
![Anchors Aweigh](./assets/images/poster-anchors-aweigh.png)
![Steve Carell](./assets/images/steve-carell.png)
![The 40-Year-Old Virgin](./assets/images/poster-the-40-year-old-virgin.png)
![Leonardo DiCaprio](./assets/images/leonardo-dicaprio.png)
![Titanic](./assets/images/poster-titanic.png)
Some of these roles can be described as ‘modern heroes’, when an actor portrays ‘the good guy’ in the movie.
Brit-Picking: Voices of Villainy
What did Scar from the Lion King and Aladdin’s Jafar have in common? A British accent, of course. British English accents are the most ‘wicked’ foreign accent of all, according to a recent study of kids’ TV shows, which analyzed over 30 programs and around 1,500 characters.
The study, conducted by sociolinguist Calvin Gidney and Julie Dobrow, a senior lecturer who specializes in children’s media issues, found that the British accent is the most commonly attributed to villains. German and Slavic accents were close behind but if there’s a Brit in your movie, the smart money says they are a baddie.
![Cartoons.png](./assets/images/cartoons.png)
All American Heroes: What Are the Accents of Hollywood’s Top Villains & Heroes?
- villains
- heroes
![Peter Stormare](./assets/images/peter-stormare.png)
![Tim Curry](./assets/images/tim-curry.png)
![Vinnie Jones](./assets/images/vinnie-jones.png)
![Gary Oldman](./assets/images/gary-oldman.png)
![Malcolm McDowell](./assets/images/malcolm-mcdowell.png)
![Robert De Niro](./assets/images/robert-de-niro.png)
![Ron Perlman](./assets/images/ron-perlman.png)
![James Woods](./assets/images/james-woods.png)
![Christopher Walken](./assets/images/christopher-walken.png)
![Samuel L Jackson](./assets/images/samuel-l-jackson.png)
![Henry Fonda](./assets/images/henry-fonda.png)
![Tom Hanks](./assets/images/tom-hanks.png)
![Robin Williams](./assets/images/robin-williams.png)
![Kevin Costner](./assets/images/kevin-costner.png)
![Denzel Washington](./assets/images/denzel-washington.png)
![Harrison Ford](./assets/images/harrison-ford.png)
![Tom Cruise](./assets/images/tom-cruise.png)
![Frank Sinatra](./assets/images/frank-sinatra.png)
![Steve Carell](./assets/images/steve-carell.png)
![Leonardo DiCaprio](./assets/images/leonardo-dicaprio.png)
![The Shadow.png](./assets/images/collage-the-shadow.jpg)
Methodology
We worked out which actors play heroes and villains most often in the modern Hollywood era, so we could calculate which stars are the ultimate goodies and baddies of US cinema. But we didn’t stop there - we also explored whether there was a pattern between which type of role each actor played and their accent. As mentioned in the intro, our research found only male actors for both the hero and villain roles.
![Accents](./assets/images/bg-methodology.jpg)
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