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In Hollywood actors are often typecast into a certain role - leaning towards mostly playing either a heroic or a villainous character. But there are a handful of actors who have proven themselves and their talent in both archetypes and both comedy and drama. There are also those actors who we always see sticking to the same side, and we wished would explore the other.
These are just some of the actors who always play a hero that we wish would just indulge in their more villainous side and portray a criminal mastermind or a depraved leader.
8 Jack Black
While Black has tipped his toes into playing a villain, mostly appearing as what can only be described as a school bully with his character Slip in The NeverEnding Story III, he's stuck mostly to playing lovable goofball heroes and reluctant protagonists. We'd love to see this comic actor fully give into portraying a despicable character that is without fantasy or comedic elements.
While he's set to portray the iconic Nintendo Super Mario villain Bowser in the upcoming The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023, he's still never played a villain in a serious feature where audiences felt chilled by his performance, and it would be interesting to see him try.
7 Adam Sandler
Sandler is in almost the same boat as Black, as he's taken qualities of antagonists and sprinkled them into some of his performances, he's never fully went to the dark side before. The closest Sandler ever gets is with performances like in the crime thriller Uncut Gems where he plays a jeweler and gambling addict who will go to whatever means to always try to end up on top.
He's good at making you root for some questionable, morally gray protagonists, but we want to see him dive into playing a full-fledged villain - without any slapstick comedy.
6 Zooey Deschanel
Deschanel falls in the same situation as Sandler, as she's never played a true villain, only sometimes villainous protagonists like with her character in the film 500 Days of Summer. Her characters might not always be liked, but her charm often leads her away from playing anyone truly despicable.
For someone considered one of Hollywood's darlings, we'd love to see her push herself and take on the role of the villain for once - proving she can play more than one type of role.
5 Daniel Craig
With his most famous roles as the suave 007 James Bond and detective Benoit Blanc in the Knives Out franchise, it's hard to picture Craig as anything other than a cinematic hero.
While some of his characters have made questionable choices, he's never had added an iconic villainous performance to his roster, besides in smaller roles like his animated voice performance as the antagonist in the film The Adventures of Tintin. It's time this Bond turned in a Bond villain type performance.
4 Reese Witherspoon
Witherspoon is known for both her sweet girl roles in romantic comedies like Legally Blonde and her grounded performances in films like the Academy nominated Wild. She's found a way to balance the good and bad within realistic, grounded characters, more than proving she could go full villain if she chose to.
Seeing some of our favorite actors who often play the hero, especially one like Witherspoon who takes up a special place in many people's hearts, transform into some truly wicked people would be refreshing to see.
3 Jackie Chan
Besides a few minor film performances as villainous characters in Young Tiger and The Killer Meteors, Chan is synonymous with beloved heroes in cinema. Among only a small circle of Hollywood heroic icons, Chan is known for saving the day and his incredible stunt work doing it - completely overshadowing any of his early antagonistic performances.
While Chan has stated he prefers choosing roles where he gets to play the hero, it would certainly be something to see one of cinema's finest champions play a truly vicious bad guy for once - though if Sylvester Stallone can't convince him we're not sure who could.
2 Emma Watson
Watson is beloved like Chan but for another reason. After playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter franchise, it would be hard to ever picture her playing a villain, especially with her latest roles solidifying her stance as a protagonist like with her turn as Belle in the live action Beauty and the Beast or in the 2019 adaptation of Little Women.
The closest we've seen her indulge in playing the antagonist is with her performance in The Bling Ring, but she was still seen as a likable, if not morally corrupt character. While Watson has branched out to different types of protagonists, we want to see her branch out and play an antagonist for once.
1 Vin Diesel
While he plays some iconic anti-heroes like Richard B. Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick or even the Guardians of the Galaxy favorite, Groot, Diesel has never fully stepped into the role of the bad guy before. Like many other actors, his protagonists are often faced with difficult choices that often go against our moral, but he seems to prefer playing the hero and the paycheck that comes with playing one in franchises like The Fast & Furious.
It would be a sight to see the man who played a Navy SEAL babysitter in The Pacifier taking on the title of villain, but it wouldn't be quite a stretch either due to his antihero roles stacking up on his roster.
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