10. Briony Tallis, Atonement (2007)
If they’ve done their job right, the top 10 hated movie characters will be here. Briony is just a teen, but that doesn’t stop her. Atonement is a British family saga novel written by author Ian McEwan.
Set in three time periods, 1935 England, World War II in England and France and the present-day England, it covers a young upper-class girl Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) and her half-innocent mistake that ruins lives.
Director: Joe Wright
Cast: James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, Vanessa Redgrave
Release date: December 7, 2007
Runtime: 123 minutes
9. Colin Sullivan, The Departed (2006)
We’re big fans of Matt Damon around the Movieplenty offices, but he plays a real sleazeball in this title role. As the police force attempts to reign in the increasingly powerful Irish mafia, authorities are faced with the prospect of sending in an undercover agent or seeing their already frail grip on the criminal underworld slip even further.
Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a street-smart criminal who has successfully infiltrated the police department with the sole intention of reporting their every move to ruthless syndicate head Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson).
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, Alec Baldwin
Release date: October 6, 2006
Runtime: 151 minutes
8. Greg Weinstein, Boiler Room (2000)
In this drama that explores greed and corruption in American business, Giovanni Ribisi plays Seth Davis, an intelligent and ambitious college dropout who runs a casino in his apartment. Eager to show his father that he can succeed, Seth lands a job with a small stock brokerage firm.
He is given a space in the company’s “boiler room,” where he makes cold calls to prospective clients. One of his trainers, Greg Weinstein (Nicky Katt), is a major jerk, and causes problems for Seth every step of the way.
Director: Ben Younger
Cast: Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nia Long, Nicky Katt, Scott Caan, Ben Affleck
Release date: February 18, 2000
Runtime: 120 minutes
The most hated movie characters say something like, “Hello, Peter, what’s happening?”
7. Dreverhaven, Character (1997)
Could the most loathed performers in history treat their offspring like they were less than nothing? Apparently so.
What makes a person successful in life? Is it overcoming challenges, a good education, or maybe family support? In the case of Jacob Katadreuffe, it wasn’t help from the latter.
His father Dreverhaven created obstacles to impede his success. Jacob Willem Katadreuffe (van Huêt) spends the greater part of his adult life trying to overcome this movie villain. Despite tremendous odds Katadreuffe becomes a successful lawyer, but not before facing life-threatening circumstances.
Director: Mike van Diem
Cast: Jan Decleir, Fedja van Huêt, Betty Schuurman, Tamar van den Dop, Victor Löw, Hans Kesting
Release date: April 17, 1997
Runtime: 122 minutes
6. Samuel Norton, The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Samuel Norton ranks next on our despicable villain tally. The Shawshank Redemption actor pretends to be holier-than-thou but look out!
If you were receiving free tax services for years, would you treat your tax preparer kindly? Unfortunately, in the case of prison inmate Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) you are taken advantage of by Warden Norton (Bob Gunton).
Although the shady warden presents himself as a God-fearing Christian, his evil ways are amoral and cruel. Despite the evil, Andy, and his prison pal Ellis Boyd ‘Red’ Redding (Morgan Freeman), makes the best of things.
Director: Frank Darabont
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, James Whitmore
Release date: September 23, 1994
Runtime: 142 minutes
5. Ed Rooney, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Skipping school and getting away with it is not as easy as one might think. Ed Rooney’s (Jeffrey Jones) sole purpose in life is to catch Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) in the act of playing hooky from school.
In addition to making it onto our roundup, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was an 80’s phenomenon. Throughout a turn of events that will keep you in stitches, Rooney gets an “A” for being one of the most annoying movie characters ever.
Director: John Hughes
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, Alan Ruck, Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey, Ben Stein, Charlie Sheen
Release date: June 11, 1986
Runtime: 103 minutes
4. Jane Hudson, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) gives new meaning to the word psychopath. The former child acting star has never gotten over the fact that she is no longer one, and that the bane of her existence–her sister Blanche Hudson (Joan Crawford)–still receives notoriety.
To say Baby Jane is jealous of her sister would be the understatement of the year. She absolutely terrorizes Blanche time after time. A delusional Jane Hudson wants to return to the bright lights and center stage.
Unquestionably, she blames Blanche for her low standing in life and is really a bad person. Audiences will loathe the Bette Davis character like very few others.
Director: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford
Release date: October 31, 1962
Runtime: 134 minutes
3. Percy Wetmore, The Green Mile (1999)
Kinda makes sense that the average prison guard could act like a jerk. And this is probably a good thing based on the job requirements. But this guy takes our most hateable movie characters list to another level.
It brings a great deal of satisfaction to see someone filled with so much hate–like Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison)–receive back what they put out.
An outright sadist with the temper of a spoiled toddler, Percy’s fellow guards don’t care very much for him, his abilities, or his attitude. Nepotism (family connections to the governor) prevents Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) from simply firing the troublemaker. And oh, what an agitator he is.
Director: Frank Darabont
Cast: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton
Release date: December 10, 1999
Runtime: 188 minutes
2. Bill Lumbergh, Office Space (1999)
This famous Office Space star just misses the award for the ultimate scumbag to appear on the big screen.
Um yeah – the office manager from hell. What else would you call a guy that walks around your office all day with the sole intent of wreaking havoc on everyone?
If you’ve made plans for the weekend, this worst character in the office will make certain they change. And if you didn’t get that memo about some new office procedure, he will email it to you again. Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole) is great film jerk.
Director: Mike Judge
Cast: Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Stephen Root, Gary Cole
Release date: February 19, 1999
Runtime: 89 minutes
1. Nurse Ratched, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Boy, do we dislike this lady. There’s just no other way to put it. Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) performs her role so well that the mere sight of here makes the blood boil.
The most despised protagonist of all time has got to be this nurse from hell. The queen of the psychiatric ward is out to get everyone. She keeps Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and the rest of the misfits under her thumb. But she deems new patient Randle McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) as an eminent threat to her perfectly run operation.
The sheer evil she holds over her patients is still scary decades later. And when her counterparts reevaluate McMurphy and suggest freeing him, Nurse Ratched chimes in to stop it.
Director: Miloš Forman
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield, Danny DeVito, Scatman Crothers, Michael Berryman, Christopher Lloyd
Release date: November 19, 1975
Runtime: 133 minutes