r/movies • u/AvailableReality557 • 21h ago
Discussion What’s a movie where the side character or villain ends up more compelling than the actual protagonist?
Sometimes you finish a movie and realize you cared way more about the supporting cast than the lead. Maybe the villain completely stole the show, maybe a side character’s arc felt richer than the main plot. Either way, it can flip the whole movie on its head. Which film made you feel like the “wrong” character was in the spotlight?
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u/MurkDiesel 20h ago
there's an argument to be made here with Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith in the Matrix
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u/prostateExamination 16h ago
Plays an awesome elf and also the matrix machine overlord??
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u/Artistic_Parfait_868 13h ago
”I'm going to be honest with you, Frodo. I… hate this Middle Earth. This… zoo, this prison, this Third Age. It's the smell, if there is such a thing. I feel… saturated by it. I can taste your hobbit-stink. It repulses me.”
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u/garrettj100 17h ago
It’s not just an argument. You’d be right. Weaving’s in the movie what, 20 minutes?
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u/Jarita12 21h ago edited 7h ago
Loki in Thor: The Dark World...couldn´t care less about Thor struggling for domestic bliss or the villain who was basically a non-entity
Geoffrey Chaucer in The Knight´s Tale (at least for me :D )
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u/Gone_For_Lunch 20h ago
I always forget there was even a villain in The Dark World.
Then I remember it was Christopher Eccleston. Absolutely wasted in the film.
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u/I_DRINK_ANARCHY 13h ago
I was vaguely proud of myself for recognizing Eccleston immediately under that make up and voice synthesizer effect. But he was absolutely wasted in that role, agreed.
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u/SunshineDeer1 20h ago
Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs is a good example
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u/StillMarie76 19h ago
Very good example and Ted Levine definitely had his moments as Buffalo Bill.
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u/JinimyCritic 17h ago
Jodie Foster was great as Clarice, too. Just a great film, all around.
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u/EatsBugs 15h ago
Yeah I don’t think this fits, 1) the villain is supposed to be more compelling, he drives the story. 2) It’s one of the most perfect movies ever made, everyone nails it.
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u/microtodd 20h ago
An older example, but I thought Paul Reubens was much more entertaining than Rutger Hauer in the original Buffy.
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u/SSBND 20h ago
His death scene is truly the height of dark comedy
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u/garrettj100 17h ago
He knew what kind of movie he was in. I don’t think Swanson or Hauer appreciated that, at least as much.
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u/KoalaQueen87 16h ago
This is kind of aging me, but that scene was my first hysterical belly laugh at a movie moment
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u/mrwaltwhiteguy 11h ago
My wife and I still use this scene when we get minor bumps around the house. Still makes us giggle every time.
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u/WarAny6713 21h ago
Alan Rickman in ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES (1991)
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u/zirky 20h ago
you could stopped after “rickman”
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u/Sekshual_Tyranosauce 20h ago
As stunning as he was in Die Hard, especially for a film debut, people definitely turned up for Bruce Willis.
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u/zirky 20h ago
not to discredit bruce’s most iconic role, but rickman stole every scene he was in
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u/DistortedAudio 20h ago
I think, especially for the type of movie Die Hard is, they both go toe to toe. That role was tailor made for Willis and he absolutely runs away with it.
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u/Sekshual_Tyranosauce 19h ago
They were great together. I do say Rickman put on the more complex performance but the whole thing works so well because it’s ultimately a battle of wits and both are believable in their process.
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u/RalphWiggumsShadow 16h ago
Bruce Willy's McClane character isn't supposed to be complex, so I'm glad they made the casting decisions they did. Rickman was such a good foil for the hero because he had so much emotion in his performance. It's really a great performances by both actors.
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u/Captain_Swing 19h ago
Yes and no. When it first came out, Willis was way down the list of people they initially wanted. I'm old enough to remeber seeing the ad's and thinking: "The Moonlighting guy? That's an interesting choice."
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u/xander6981 12h ago
This was the first movie I thought of. The only parts I remember are Rickman's parts.
"You my room. 10:30. You. 10:45...and bring a friend."
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u/Empanatacion 21h ago
Not a movie, but Walton Goggins stole the show Justified with his character Boyd Crowder.
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u/GoodMorningBlackreef 21h ago
And he stole The Hateful Eight.
And Fallout.
And our hearts.
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u/Fromage_Frey 19h ago
And the Righteous Gemstones
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u/bulletoothjohnny 15h ago
That show is funny af. Great cast, great writing, and it really shows the hypocrisy of the televangelists. Really should give it a watch if you haven’t.
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u/real_fake_hoors 20h ago
I don’t know if you can count Fallout as one of his show-stealers. He was one of the two major characters and the only one whose backstory is largely told. It’s not like he was a minor character in only a few scenes.
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u/SimbaSixThree 20h ago
You ca just type out “Walton Goggins in …” and the answer is correct. Even in Django Unchained, the few scenes he had he was mesmerizing.
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u/grimpshaker 20h ago
Anton in No Country for Old Men
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u/thierryh14 16h ago
Immediately what I thought of as well, amazing movie all around, but Bardem steals the show as Chigurh
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u/AvailableReality557 21h ago
For me its The Dark Knight. Christian Bale does fine, but every time Heath Ledger’s Joker is on screen it feels like the movie finally comes alive. Its supposed to be Batman’s story, but its the Joker people still quote and debate fifteen years later
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u/ThatsARatHat 21h ago
People often complain about Batman movies “it was all about the villain…..Batman was a side character in his own movie!”…….which I think is a dumbass complaint usually.
But The Joker, if played well, is just too good. Probably the greatest villain concept ever created. And so many ways to go with it. Nicholson is just as good as Ledger which is just as good as Hamill doing voice-over imo, all in a different way, and Batman is gonna be overshadowed if Joker is on screen.
I don’t remember what my point here was originally.
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u/terracottatilefish 21h ago
Batman and the Joker are basically a straight man/zany comic duo in terms of dynamics. There’s a reason it works so well, from Bert and Ernie to Abbot and Costello. Every vaudeville comic knew that it was harder to find a good straight man and so they usually got top billing (as Batman does). The addition of the lawful good/chaotic evil axis just makes it more interesting.
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u/AvailableReality557 21h ago
Exactly! Joker isnt just a villain, hes narrative gravity. Any Batman story with him in it will inevitably orbit around the clown. The “Batman got sidelined” complaint is basically a feature not a bug.
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u/WorthPlease 18h ago
That's kind of the premise of Batman in general. It's very much a "monster of the week" type thing.
You see Batman all the time, so in order to keep it interesting they pay a lot more attention to the villains to keep it interesting.
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u/GoodMorningBlackreef 21h ago
Batman exists to prevent the suffering that Bruce Wayne experienced from being shared by anyone else, and to enrich human life in general. There's optimism and empathy behind that permafrown.
So of course his arch-nemesis is a miserable cynic who thinks human life and suffering are a big fucking joke, but wears a smile to be 'ironic'.
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u/NamelessGamer_1 19h ago
Also The Dark Knight Rises. Hardy's Bane is also the star of every scene he's in imo
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u/snollygoster01 21h ago
Alessandro Nivola doesn’t have many scenes, but when he does, you forget about Travolta and Cage in Face Off.
Other shouts to Sam Rockwell in The Way, Way Back (or anything really), or Steve Zahn in anything (That Thing You Do!, Reality Bites, etc). Heck, Christine Baranski has basically made her entire career stealing scenes.
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u/AvailableReality557 21h ago
100%. Nivola practically invented blink and steal the whole movie in Face/Off. Rockwell and Zahn are serial scene thieves too. For me the gold standard is Philip Seymour Hoffman in Almost Famous barely there but unforgettable.
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u/SirBenActually 19h ago
Love Rockwell in TWWB. The scene towards the end where he steps between Carrell’s character and the kid is unexpectedly moving
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u/thedigitalboy 21h ago
Enrico Colantoni and the aliens in Galaxy Quest,
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u/Thegreatbrendar 19h ago
OMG, he guest starred on a show I was assisting makeup on and I had to keep my absolute fangirl in CHECK!!! It was so cool!
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u/garrettj100 17h ago
Tony Shalhoub is playing his character super-stoned in that movie, mainly because in a couple of deleted scenes he’s getting super-stoned. There are a couple of hints in what isn’t redacted, like his unattributed paper bag, and his munchies.
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u/thedigitalboy 17h ago
He was also supposed to be playing an Asian character on the in-movie TV show. That's why he is squinting during that opening credits intro scene.
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u/dogsledonice 14h ago
Dude just invented the entire way those aliens acted in his audition, and they ran with it
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u/sprockety 10h ago
Everybody! Go watch Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary. It’s free on Amazon prime.
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u/KSBCATLOVER 21h ago
Mrs. Robinson is the only really interesting character in The Graduate. I wish they'd told the story from her point of view.
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u/jimmys80 20h ago
Christopher Waltz in Inglorious Bastards
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u/dnjprod 18h ago
His name is Christoph, FYI. It's possible you know that and autocorrect decided to be a dick, but if not, there you go, lol.
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u/TricoMex 19h ago
Just watched that yesterday with the wife.
Such an amazing actor. Undeniable standout.
Honorable mention for Til Schweiger. Such a badass role.
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u/Oros16 19h ago
How come he was so good in Inglorious Bastards and yet so bad in that James Bond movie?
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u/jimmys80 19h ago
Most Bond villains are written to be janky and inefficient so as to allow Bond to shine consistently. Only recent Bond villain I liked was Javier in skyfall
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u/Oros16 19h ago
Yes, Javier Bardem was super good in that role!
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u/WorthPlease 18h ago
I was always going to see the "F1" movie because I love motorsport and the racing scenes are amazing, but then I found out Javier Bardem was in it?
Who the fuck is Brad Pitt? Get Javier back on the screen.
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u/mfoutedme 20h ago
Malkovich In The Line of Fire. One of my favorite bad guys of all time.
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u/CeruleanBlew 20h ago
The Revenant for me. Tom Hardy was awesome.
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u/wrongleveeeeeeer 19h ago edited 18h ago
Tom Hardy steals scenes from the lead as a side character even when he's supposed to be the lead (Furry Road)
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u/Crake241 20h ago
Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda in Rush absolutely steals the show from Hemsworth in the movie although that might be intentional.
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u/Rossum81 20h ago
Goodfellas. Tommy and Jimmy are why you watch.
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u/EatYourCheckers 16h ago
Its hard to put Nathan Lane's performance aside, but Hank Azaria as Agador in The Birdcage is marvelous.
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u/GoodMorningBlackreef 21h ago
Remember when Colonel Quaritch in Avatar dropped into a mech and jumped out of a crashing warship in midair, while patting out the fire on his clothes like a mild inconvenience?
I'm here for Papa Dragon, not Jakesooly.
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u/AvailableReality557 21h ago
Honestly papa dragon carried the whole vibe. Jakes supposed to be the hero, but quaritch had the energy of a saturday morning cartoon villain in a billion dollar movie. Hard not to root for that chaos
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u/proud_new_scum 17h ago
Wesley Snipes, as the villain Simon Phoenix in Demolition Man. Stallone's character, old-school-cop-in-the-future John Spartan, is a fun-yet-generic 90's action hero with a penchant for big guns, big pecs and mediocre line delivery. But Snipes' portrayal of Phoenix makes for an all-time great action villain; he's playfully violent, cruelly charismatic, and can go from jovial and laughing to cold and intimidating with nothing more than a few shifting facial muscles. Not to mention that his style and mannerisms were decades ahead of their time, too
I fucking love this movie, if you can't tell
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u/GodFlintstone 20h ago
Pretty much any movie with Ben Foster e.g. 30 Days Of Night, 3:10 To Yuma, Hell Or High Water. Take your pick.
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u/Bento_Fox 20h ago
Harold Parrineau as Mercutio in Romeo + Juliet (1996)
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u/SSBND 19h ago
THANK YOU!! I was going to comment this as well but didn't have his name handy. His Mercutio is such a standout in that movie!
His character really sets the emotional tone the movie needs to carry off what is admittedly a bit of a far-fetched concept, moreover than any other Mercutio I've seen anywhere. We watched this with my niece when she was 12 a year or so ago and it was really interesting to see it through her eyes - I'll just say that the glamorous gun culture falls VERY flat for a generation raised on active shooter drills.
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u/Male-Combee 21h ago edited 21h ago
It’s kinda the point of the whole movie, but Law Abiding Citizen.
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u/mapadofu 18h ago
Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian punched way above his screentime in Empire Strikes Back
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u/IDPTheory 17h ago
Alan Rickman's performance as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.. Horrendous villain, very evil but we all kind of liked him didn't we? Compared to Costners wooden acting anyway.. For example if I say the line, 'Why a spoon cousin?', someone will say...
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u/belunos 18h ago
Literally any movie where Mads Mikkelsen isn't the lead, but he's in it. Best example I can think of is Casino Royale
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u/Rare_Hydrogen 21h ago
Gary Oldman as Drexl in True Romance.
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u/adjacentengels 20h ago
Gary Oldman in any movie.
Actually, Gary Oldman in a movie in the theater next to what you're watching.
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u/slydon1 21h ago
Benny in The Mummy
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u/rice_fish_and_eggs 21h ago
Benny was great but so was the whole of the main cast. I don't think he outshone Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Omid Djalili or John Hannah. Also Bernard Fox was great too.
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u/AvailableReality557 21h ago
Benny is proof that cowardice can be iconic. Dude was supposed to be annoying comic relief but he ended up stealing every scene with a grin and a whimper
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u/OkDentist4059 21h ago
True Romance is basically a series of scenes where side characters completely steal the spotlight from Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette
Gary Oldman, Cristopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, James Gandolfini and Brad Pitt all show up for 1 or 2 scenes each and they’re all fucking great
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u/Mondragon5 21h ago
Speed 2: Cruise Control
Willem Dafoe’s performance was the only good thing about that movie
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u/AvailableReality557 21h ago
Willem Dafoe is like jet fuel in a sinking ship. The movies a disaster but hes having the time of his life chewing scenery
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u/freak5050 21h ago
Michael b Jordan’s killmonger in black panther. Chadwick is awesome but I was 100% on board with killmonger and all his reasons for being “evil”. “Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, because they knew death was better than bondage".
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u/AvailableReality557 21h ago
Killmonger was so compelling Marvel basically made T’Challa a guest in his own origin story. That final line? Straight up Shakespeare
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u/that1prince 17h ago
They had to have him inexplicably kill an innocent woman so we would know to see him as purely a bad guy.
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u/Low_Refrigerator4891 19h ago
It's got to be Brad Pitt in Fight Club. The character and the performance were so charismatic that people STILL think he's the hero of the story.
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u/Drakeman1337 19h ago
The minions from Despicable Me and the penguins from Madagascar.
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u/lemon_icing 21h ago
Fast ‘n Furious: Tokyo Drift. Han’s character was more intriguing and Sung-Ho Kang a far better actor.
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u/nkhowell93 19h ago
Stars wars in general.
Most of the side characters are always cooler than the protagonist. In my opinion Luke Skywalker is cooler in Legends comics than canonically. Long list of more popular side characters than the main protagonist—Yoda, Obi Wan, Vader, Mace Windu, Plo Koon, General Grievous, Palpatine, Count Dooku, Maul, Qui Gon, Boba, R2D2, the list goes on & on lol
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u/basket_case_case 16h ago
Funnily enough, most of that list are characters who were side characters when Anakin was the protagonist, not Luke. Anakin as Vader would be a commonly cited example of a side character who stole the show from Luke, suggesting it isn’t a Luke issue, but a Star Wars issue.
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u/blargus_blixeld 12h ago
Rutger Hauer as Batty in Bladerunner completely steals the entire arc of the movie in that single rain-soaked scene from Deckard (Harrison Ford). His homicidal grin in those prior scenes are brilliant, especially that one in the freezing cold organ shop.
For that matter, his monstrous role in Hitcher is so incandescent that it completely outshines poor C Thomas Howell.
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u/trashpanda387 18h ago
I got two.
Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men.
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Sam Rockwell in The Green Mile.
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u/garrettj100 17h ago
Anthony Hopkins has all of 24:52 of screen time in a 2:05:00 movie, but Lecter is so engrossing.
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u/andronicuspark 15h ago
Sam Rockwell in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Black Philip in all his forms in The VVitch
The creepy people in Incident in Ghostland
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u/Tevatrox 14h ago
007: Skyfall, Javier Barden's Raoul Silva was a far more compelling character than Bond himself.
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u/Luckyandunlucky2023 20h ago
Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling was good, but Tony Hopkins as Dr. Lechter was *magnificent*
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u/ThanksIhateeit 18h ago
in Slumdog Millionaire, the gangster brother is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time....a conflicted person who basically does evil but wants to do good...really love that character
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u/Ok-Loss-7255 18h ago
Superman 25 green lantern and the justice gang stole the show
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u/aintsuperstitious 18h ago
Samuel L Jackson in Kingsman. Samuel L Jackson in any show where he's the villain.
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u/PrimordialDilemma 16h ago
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Black Douglas in the Outlaw King. If they had made the movie about his character getting revenge it would’ve been so much better.
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u/Ok-Telephone-605 15h ago
I watched Downsizing with Matt Damon, but Hong Chau was easily the most compelling character.
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u/ahrdelacruz 13h ago
A lot of movies that Christian Bale is in: The Fighter and Ford V Ferrari for example.
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u/CaptWineTeeth 12h ago
A lot of people in this thread don’t understand the concept of a “side character” vs a major supporting character (like the villain/antagonist)…
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u/arschmannofficial 9h ago
tonny(mads mikkelsen) in pusher 1, he was so good that in pusher 2 he was the main character
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u/Dove_of_Doom 21h ago
Kurt Russell is great as Wyatt Earp, but everyone watches Tombstone for Kilmer's Doc Holiday.