You’d think that movie villains exist to be the bad guy, someone to instill a feeling of fear or hatred in the audience. But that would make them very one dimensional wouldn’t it? So instead they’re made to make us question our better judgement. And oh boy do they, in more ways than one. Let’s take a look at the villains that were so good they actually succeeded in tempting us to switch over to the the dark side.
1. Kylo Ren — Star Wars: The Force Awakens
It’s hard to tell if it’s the all black outfit, the brooding, emotionally volatile personality, the dramatic hair or just Adam Driver’s face. But once that awful mask was off, you can’t deny that what you felt for Kylo Ren wasn’t an instant crush. Something about Kylo Ren feels vulnerable and combine with his goof looks it just makes the ladies want to make him feel better, not run away in fear.
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2. Harley Quinn — Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad is full of villains, but we all know that it’s Harley Quinn that’s got everyone’s attention. You just can’t ignore those pigtails and the chaotic energy and confidence that comes with that character. Once she’s on the screen you can’t look away.
3. Gaston — Beauty and the Beast
Gaston is awful. He’s arrogant and controlling, and has very serious ego issues. But Disney designed him to be handsome and muscular and impeccably groomed on purposed. His blind confidence is equally annoying and undeserved. But if you ignore his personality it’s not hard to see why some people had a childhood crush on him.
4. The Joker — The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger’s joker had smeared makeup all over his face, scars and greasy hair. You would’t exactly call that crush-worthy, especially combined with his psychotic personality. But Heath Ledger made his incredibly charismatic and funny, and that voice just does things to you, doesn’t it? That’s more than enough to fascinate the audiences. It’s hard to explain why you’re attracted to a psychopathic clown, but when he’s played by Heath Ledger it just makes sense.
5. Loki — Thor
Do you ever wonder if Tom Hiddleston was born to play Loki? He made that character into the most beloved Marvel villain in a blink of an eye. He lies, steals, manipulates, betrays and is constantly power hungry. On the page that’s not attractive at all. But add Tom Hiddleston’s looks, British accent, wit and sarcasm, the elegant costumes, the dark hair and a truly insane amount of confidence and he’s got us wrapped around his finger in a heartbeat.
6. Tom Riddle — Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
This one is very specific, because while Ralph Fines did a great job making Voldemort terrifying, it was the young Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that makes it easy to see how Voldemort rose to power the first time around. Tom riddle was exceptionally handsome, well mannered, charming and eerily composed Hogwarts student. And unfortunately for Harry Potter fans, the fact that this young boy was experimenting with immortality doesn’t make his any less attractive.
7. Pennywise — It
And we’re back to terrifying murderous clowns again. Because somehow Bill Skarsgard managed that in full prosthetics in It and we don’t really want to analyse it too much. It’s just a thing, ok. Some people have the hots for certain scary clown and Pennywise is an example of that. Now let’s move on before we start psychoanalysing what childhood trauma made us feel this way.
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8. Kathryn Merteuil — Cruel Intentions
Sarah Michelle Gellar doesn’t play a villain too often but in Cruel Intentions she did such a good job with Kathryn Merteuil that we just codlin’t help but be attracted to her. She’s calculating, manipulative, self-assured, and seems to enjoy playing with people’s emotions and ruining their lives just for the fun of it. But you can’t deny that she looks hot doing it. And her character’s kiss with Cecile definitely contributed to many teenage fantasies at the time.
9. Hans Gruber — Die Hard
Hans Gruber wouldn’t be on this list if it wasn’t for Alan Rickman. Sure, some of the appeal was in the tailoring, some in that bad guy confidence, but it was that deep sophisticated voice that got us hooked. He made hostage negotiations sound sexy and sophisticated.
10. Jareth — Labyrinth
Every fan will tell you that the man, the myth, the legend – David Bowie possesses some otherworldly magnetism that you just can’t ignore. But it feels like David Bowie decided to use that special power of his to the maximum when he played Jareth the Goblin King in Labyrinth. He’s intentionally unsettling in the movie, and yet he instantly became everybody’s crush. In fact we’d go as far as to say that perhaps this was the beginning of the attractive villain.
