Your Favorite Baddies.

From the Guardian:

Ever since Milton gave Satan all the best lines, the allure of villains in literature has been widely recognised. I'm certainly not immune to their charms. When I was little, for instance, my chief heroine was Cruella de Vil. Similarly, Naughty Amelia Jane was my most dog-eared Blyton. (Katy Carr, Jo March and Anne Shirley, meanwhile, seemed to me at their best at the beginning of their respective novels - when they were untamed and disobedient.)

I don't agree with all of her picks -- we all know how I feel about Heathcliff, for one, and even though it might make me horribly insensitive, I'm not on Team Bertha, either... -- but the question is a fun one.  I saw an interview with Patrick Stewart ages ago in which he talked quite a bit about playing heroes vs. villains.  He said most actors preferred villains because, assuming they're written well, they're much more interesting.  I buy that.

So.  I love Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert.  He's way (way way way) more fun than Ivanhoe.  Aaron Echolls from Veronica Mars, especially in the second season.  The villain from A Drowned Maiden's Hair*.  And I always love anti-heroes -- like Dexter the Crime-Fighting Serial Killer.  Your faves?

*I don't want to give the identity away to anyone who hasn't read it yet.  Why haven't you read it yet?

Comments

[jessmonster]

Sir Brian just reminds me of Edward Eager's Knight's Castle, as I've never read Ivanhoe, but that's good enough for me.

If Snape turns out to be a villain (although I don't believe he is) he would definitely be up there on the list.

[Sarah I.]

Ooo, I remember that I was almost in love with Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert when he was played by Ciarán Hinds in the 1997 TV ministries. And I have a thing for the Mummy. :)

[Brian F.]

Archie from THE CHOCOLATE WAR.