14 Heroic Actors You Liked More When They Played Villains
by Gary Susman
After 20 years of playing planet-saving heroes, it's no wonder Will Smith wanted a change of pace by joining the cast of "Suicide Squad" and playing a villain. Here are a few more of your favorite good guys that you loved to hate when they played baddies.
Will Smith In 'Suicide Squad' (2016)
As part of the team of DC Comics villains recruited to fight an even greater menace, Smith is the marquee name in "Suicide Squad" as frequent Batman antagonist Deadshot.
Tom Cruise In 'Collateral' (2004)
In his heroic roles, Cruise makes a point of showing how hard he's working. But as the silver-haired hitman in 2004's "Collateral," he's smooth, laid back, and confident -- oozing lethal menace with ease.
Liam Neeson In 'Batman Begins' (2005)
After nearly 20 years of playing two-fisted heroes and mentors, Neeson brought his Jedi cred to 2005's "Batman Begins" as Bruce Wayne's sensei. The twist? Ducard is really ultravillain Ra's Al Ghul. Nice head fake, Christopher Nolan.
Denzel Washington In 'Training Day' (2000)
Washington's heroes are dignified almost to the point of stiffness, but his handful of villainous performances are wonderfully loose and fun. Best is his Oscar-winning turn as the corrupt cop in "Training Day," but his entrepreneurial drug lord in "American Gangster" (2007) is a close second. His international heavy in "Safe House" is a distant third.
Henry Fonda In 'Once Upon a Time In the West' (1969)
Fonda had spent 30 years playing staunch do-gooders, so it was a genuine shock to see him play an ice-cold gunman in Sergio Leone's classic western. This is the blueprint for all heroic-stars-playing-against-type performances ever since.
Kevin Costner In 'Mr. Brooks' (2007)
Who better than the usually stolid Costner to play a pillar of the community who's secretly a serial killer? In "Mr. Brooks," he's so evil that he has Dane Cook as a protégé.
Matt Damon In 'The Departed' (2006)
Damon's usual irreverent heroism is a disguise in "The Departed," where he's a cop who's really an undercover mobster. He's all the more dangerous because he has no qualms about whacking his fellow gangsters as well as cops.
Leonardo DiCaprio In 'Django Unchained'
DiCaprio's fraudulent financier Jordan Belfort in "The Wolf of Wall Street" may be a sociopathic crook, but he's a mere D-bag next to the actor's Calvin Candie. You'll remember him as the gleefully sadistic plantation owner who enjoys staging gladiator fights among slaves in "Django Unchained."
Harrison Ford In 'What Lies Beneath' (2000)
In "What Lies Beneath," Ford seems to be playing his usual part, a family man defending his home from malevolent outside forces. So it's especially terrifying when he turns out to be the very killer that threatens his own household.
Michael Keaton In 'Pacific Heights' (1990)
Keaton followed up "Batman" with 1990's "Pacific Heights," arching his eyebrows effectively as an evil tenant who destroys landlady Melanie Griffith's life after trashing her townhouse. He's even creepier (and jacked!) as an escaped killer in 1997's "Desperate Measures."
Ben Kingsley In 'Sexy Beast' (2000) and 'Iron Man 3' (2013)
Kingsley first horrified viewers in "Sexy Beast" in the role of Don Logan -- a violent, foul-mouthed cockney thug who's as implacable and destructive as a tornado. Oh, and don't forget his clever turn as The Mandarin in "Iron Man 3."
Robert Redford In 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' (2014)
At age 77, Redford finally played his first real heavy, HYDRA honcho Alexander Pierce. Well, okay, there was also his wealthy lech in "Indecent Proposal," but that guy was more a rich creep than an outright villain.
Patrick Swayze In 'Point Break' (1991)
In "Point Break," the Zen surfer bank-robber character doesn't really make sense, but Swayze gives him undeniable charisma and -- late in the movie, when his cover is blown -- a slippery, frightening air of menace.
John Travolta In 'Broken Arrow' (1996)
"Pulp Fiction" freed up Travolta to play violent crooks, which he's done a handful of times now. Scariest was his cackling nuclear-warhead thief in John Woo's "Broken Arrow." And in Woo's follow-up, he played both hero and baddie in the most '90s action movie ever made, "Face/Off." The less said about his alien invader in "Battlefield: Earth," the better.
