Who do you find really intimidating or scary as a character? A character that really jumps out of the screen and you have to remember that it's not real, it's not real, it's not real! And this could be from when you were a child or as you are now. I can't think of a really scary character but the most intimidating character on tv for me has to be Tony Soprano. I really find him terrifying! He is so unpredictable and you just never know when he will explode in rage or anger. He always seems like he is about to kill whoever he is with, and usually you would be right! I wouldn't like to meet the actor himself, I would be shitting my pants! Lol. Now that's what they call ACTING! Lol.
Well, for classic film I'd have to go with Cody Jarrett, the mother-fixated crazed killer and mob leader played by James Cagney in White Heat (1949). That was one scary mofo! In modern film, I'd have to think on it some more. In modern TV, I'd actually go with Sylar from Heroes. Zachary Quinto plays evil very, very well! Time will tell how well he'll do with Spock...but Sylar, he's got nailed.
Maybe the aliens from the Alien franchise. Utterly terrifying if something like that were a real creature. edit: Oh, I misread the question. Considering only people, I think I'd have to go with Hannibal Lecter. Maybe the most malicious character ever put to film. Tony Soprano is not a bad choice either.
Anton Chigurh, hands down. Javier Bardem deserved that oscar totally. No Country for Old men is the only film Ive seen where i was worried about what Anton would do next, I was truly on the edge of my seat with semi-fear
I totally agree. Put me down for him as my modern movie choice. Ruthless, crazy and creepy is a very scary combo.
From my youth-the protagonist in Dark Shadows-(Barnabus?)-anyway, that vampire scared the crap out of me when I was younger. I think Woody Harrelson's character in, in, in, (dang-brain freeze!) Natural Born Killers freaked me out because of his nonchalant attitude. And I agree with the vote for Sylar. That's one creepy/scary dude.
For film no one really as of yet, but judging from the Dark Knight trailer it might become the Joker. For TV: The guy from the 700 Club
For movies it's Hannibal Lecter. Anthony Hopkins was beyond brilliant in Silence. For TV (and I'm probably biased ) but William Hinks from The Practice and Henry Gale from Lost were just great characters. You never knew when to believe them.
As a kid: Linda Blair in the Exorcist. I always thought whether I was a priest of not, I would have been running for the door. As an adult: Al Pacino's version of the devil in Devil's Advocate. What is scary about this devil? What is so scary is that Pacino's devil wasn't overtly scary at all but rather was extremely seductive. Eg. He hooks the main character up with a bunch of naked women saying, essentially, "don't worry about it. You'll like these girls." Meanwhile, as the main character and the fans are seduced by the sex, money, and power, Pacino's devil has encouraged you to betray yourself without even realizing it. . . .Then of course there's the end, in which even after "escaping" the devil's trap, Keanu Reeves cannot help but talk to reporters. Of course, Pacino looks at the camera and says (paraphrasing), "Ah, pride, my FAVORITE sin!!!"
TV: Garak, Scorpius, Dexter Morgan, and Patty Hewes, the character Glenn Close plays on Damages. Also some folks from Oz: Chris Keller and Simon Adebesi for being so frakin' crazy, you never knew what to expect; Kareen Said for being impressively powerful, even if he kept it in check more than the others; and Verne Schillinger for being the avatar of evil. T-Bag from Prison Break is like a PG-13 version of Schillinger, but still deserves a mention for being as depraved and vile as you can get away with on normal TV. Also, Al Swearengen and Wild Bill Hickock from Deadwood. And a special mention for the scariest and funniest incarnation of Satan yet: Ray Wise on Reaper. He acts cute and funny and then whammo, does something psychotic out of left field just to remind Sam of his power. Movies: Hannibal Lecter and Darth Vader before they screwed him up with the prequels. My favorite scary Pacino role is still Michael Corleone in The Godfather movies. You can see his transition into an evil person - that's chilling and rare. Second favorite is him as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. For acting, Sylar would be on the list. But the way he's written, he's not nearly as scary as he could be. More like pathetic. Someday, somebody needs to give Quinto a Dexter Morgan-type character, written at that level. That guy would give Elim Garak a run for his money.
that huge guy in every Rob Zombie movie, he played Jr. in the rejects/1000 corpses, and Adult Michael meyers in halloween
I'm going to limit myself to the non-supernatural, for the sake of argument. Movies: Yoh, as played by Takashi Fujiki, from Shinoda's Pale Flower. A murderous drug fiend who has virtually no dialogue and with only a few scenes, his most memorable moment being sitting at the back of a crowded room, in the shadows, with these dead eyes staring at you. TV: Can't think of many, which doubtless reflects my viewing habits. I identify with Dexter too strongly to be intimidated by him, as subtly psychotic as Hall's performance can often be.
I was about to say Chigurh. But in some ways, I was more frightened by Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood. At least with Chigurh, I could die with the knowledge that I was being killed by a professional psychopath. With Plainview, the people he tended to go after were often those closest to him and was much more unpredictable.
Robert Patrick as the T-1000 in Terminator 2. Yeah, Arnold was intimidating as the T-800 in the first movie, but Patrick took it to a whole new level
When I was kid, it was Darth Vader, particularly as he was written for "The Empire Strikes Back" I always thought that the Duel scene between Luke and Vader on Cloud City was very suspenseful and Vader was at the height of his creepiness in that movie. The scene on Dagobah at the magic tree where Luke confronts a vision of Vader and beheads him still gives me chills. I also used to have a poster of Darth Vader from TESB on Cloud City and I remember that it always used to creep me out at bedtime (I was pretty young though). The Aliens from "Aliens" were really scary for me later on. The "face huggers" particularly creeped me out. Samara from "The Ring" was VERY creepy. That movie was so disturbing to me that I have absolutely no desire to watch it again, let alone the sequel. The most intimidating/scariest character for me in recent history would have to be Sylar from "Heroes" Even with how pathetic/neurotic he really is as a person (as he is written), the scenes when he is about to murder somebody (for their powers) always give me chills and I keep worrying about him murdering a favorite character.
-Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men. Death Personified. -Don Logan, the character played by Ben Kingsley, in Sexy Beast. A human pit bull. When he came on, everyone in the theater sank down in their seats. -Benjamin Linus from LOST. -Sheriff Buck from American Gothic. Hey, he was THE DEVIL. -Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs--well, that's a given. -George Hearst in Deadwood. He made Al Swearengen seem like a reasonable man in comparison.
Forrest Whitiker in Last King of Scotland and Javier Badem in No Country For Old Men. Badem was just really disturbing, but every time I see Whitiker now, I just hope he doesn't eat me or something. That was how you do a villain.
I totally agree. He gets all these cute lines and the bam you remember exactly who is - the Devil. I sure hope that show gets renewed.
I am going to throw in Tom Berenger as Sgt. Barnes in "Platoon", directed by Oliver Stone. He and Willem Dafoe are magnificent in that movie as kind of the two halves of human nature, the two forces pulling that platoon in two different directions.