All have had varying personalities and traits, but some have certainly been more memorable than others, with many gamers making strong attachments to several of the best characters in COD history. For an example of the sheer caprice of history’s judgement Lloyd Bowen describes Cromwell’s enrolment in Victorian Wales as a national hero. Idris Elba gave the role bite in the 2016 remake. However, he kicked it up a manic notch here, effortlessly stealing the film from Kevin Costner with ad-libbed lines such as ‘Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas’. After Edward II fell from power, Despenser ended up being hung, drawn and quartered (pictured). in 1968, the police finally arrested the pair (pictured here with their mother) and they were sentenced to life imprisonment. Eadric Streona. There's plenty of great villains in Disney's rogues gallery but of late, one of them has gained more attention than her rivals - the evil sorceress Maleficent from the 1959 Disney animated film Sleeping Beauty.A 2014 live-action film tries to portray her as a misunderstood protagonist with a tragic past, but a hero with devil's horns is a hard sell, even when played by Angelina Jolie. However, André was captured while smuggling Arnold’s papers and the plot quickly unraveled. Jack the Ripper - She married Charles, Prince of Wales. In the series of Hammer Horror films inspired by Bram Stoker’s novel, Lee may not have had any lines initially and his appearances as the Count are brief, but his presence and sex appeal are undeniable. 1 / 45. His villainy is in his carefulness, his coldness, his self-preservation at all costs. Fox in Kill Bill: Volume I. Fifteen were executed before he was arrested. Some in the Lit Hub office argued that it was Julian who was the real villain in Donna Tartt’s classic novel of murder and declension, but I give Henry more credit than that. His unblinking portrayal was voted as best villain of all time by the American Film Institute. Among the baddies menacing 007 have been Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Jonathan Pryce, Steven Berkoff, Sean Bean, Robert Carlyle, Julian Glover and Toby Stephens. British actor Mark Strong, who played Jim Prideaux in the 2011 remake of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), is often cast as cold, calculating villains. The Million Dollar Man. England has never known anything like it." For the Tory-inclined Western Mail ‘the butcher of Drogheda and Wexford’ becomes the ‘Gwroniad Rhyddid.’ Gomer’s designers have added eighty-six pictures to … And the rest is history. Here’s THR’s list of the all-time greatest. The former include Churchill and Thatcher, Ian Botham, Big Issue founder John Bird, and Mr Cameron’s parents; the latter are Marx, Scargill, Tony Crossland, 1960s town planners and Richard Beeching … The Queen in Snow White, Lady Tremaine (the evil stepmother in Cinderella), the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, Maleficient in Sleeping Beauty, Cruella de Ville in 101 Dalmations, even George Banks in Mary Poppins could be seen as a sort of soft antagonistic … His sheer, over-the-top supervillain antics earned him… Half of trucks 'carrying only fresh air' as Brexit and Covid hit exports. The greatest villains in literature. Attila the Hun was the ruler and creator of the Hunnic Empire. And while not all Hollywood baddies are British, a disproportionately high percentage of them are. Terry-Thomas played one role repeatedly and played it well, that of the weak, philandering, swindling, upper-class bounder – the archetypal cad, in fact. History's top 10 heroes & villains Thu, May 21, 2015 The 10 greatest heroes and 10 of the world's most hated villains according to students around the world. The feast was an unruly event, involving much drinking, revelry and role reversal. Leonard: ‘You’re not taking her on the plane with you?’ Vandamm: ‘Of course, I am… This matter is best disposed of from a great height, over water’. True, Anderson was actually Australian, but she plays the mean-minded, vindictive Mrs Danvers in Hitchcock’s Gothic drama Rebecca with a perfect English accent. A reader has drawn our attention to the British Prime Minister’s list of heroes and villains from British history, which is variously rather endearing and somewhat mawkish, as set out in a recent interview for the Mail on Sunday. Explore an A-Z of selected concise biographies which depict famous and notable historical figures. Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago. . BRITAIN brings you the weird and wonderful details about Britain’s heroes and heroines. Bringer of Light. Alan Rickman in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Manchester United vs Liverpool, FA Cup fourth round: What time is kick-off, what TV channel is it on and what is our prediction? David is definitely worse (if slightly less all-encompassing). No one does infamy quite like Mr Irons. Florence Nightingale (1820 – 1910) - He was Edward IV The 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots is a milestone for the gay-rights movement, one being commemorated with everything from parades to documentaries. Legend claims that he was eventually killed by an angry mob. He’s played one of the Borgias, Henry IV, Claus von Bulow, deranged twin surgeons and many other anti-heroes. ‘When Hollywood wants someone to play the bad guy, it casts a Brit,’ said the great film critic Barry Norman. The house has now been demolished. And what would Hollywood be without a dose of British bad guys? Selina Kyle has seen many, many iterations over the years, but you cannot deny that she just dominates in all of them. One Who Confronts ... American and British armored units crossed into Iraq on 20 March 2003. What most people know about him is the legend of the spider that is supposed to have inspired him when hiding in a cave, but the important thing is his massive impact on British history. In the role that landed her an Oscar, Zeta-Jones plays the light on … There's lots of villains in Gotham, but only one literally has nine lives. In the amusingly titled "The Great British Fake-Off", no less than a half-dozen of the most dastardly names from across time, who the Legends dubbed "Encores", invaded the home of John Constantine (Matt Ryan) in the 1920s looking for the third ring of the mythical Loom … British Rear Adm. George Cockburn. And a Bond film wouldn’t be a Bond film without a wannabe world dictator. I notice Hollywood has a long history of having villains with upper class British accents. It's perhaps the nature of grown-up literature that it doesn't all that often have villains, in the sense of coal-black embodiments of the principle of evil. The timing of the British pantomime at Christmas and the role reversal of the lead characters (the principal boy being played by a girl and the Dame by a man) may have also evolved from the Tudor “Feast of Fools”, presided over by the Lord of Misrule. Picture: Moviestore collection Ltd / Alamy, ‘I’ve seen a rhino shed tears’ – Kenya's animals through the eyes of its rangers, School closures in Covid lockdown: latest news on when they could reopen, Israel expands Covid-19 vaccination drive to include 16- to 18-year-olds in effort to keep exams on schedule. Of course this list could have been a lot longer if I'd included more characters from Dickens, Austin, Shakespeare etc. The one villain to constantly one-up Batman, Kyle is seductive, stylish and very, very smart. Eadric Streona (died … Two hundred years ago, he was the most hated man in America, and the most feared. Picture: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy, Dubbed "the most violent prisoner in Britain", Charles Bronson has been in prison almost continously since 1974, during which time he has fought with over 20 wardens and attacked countless inmates. Picture: Trinity Mirror / Mirrorpix / Alamy, Edward Teach or "Blackbeard" was a fearsome British pirate who raided countless ships in the West Indies and off the east coast of America. Sanders languidly voices the heartless tiger Shere Khan in Disney’s 1967 animated version of The Jungle Book with spine-chilling skill. After giving this subject plenty of thought, I recognize that my all-time favorite heroes from British literature are (in alphabetical order): Mr. Darcy, Ross Poldark, and John Thornton. Gef the talking mongoose. Learn more about the British … He says of himself: "I'm a nice guy, but sometimes I lose all my senses and become nasty." In short, these are some of the most evil people in history. And what would Hollywood be without a dose of British bad guys? There have been 16 different Call of Duty games so far in the franchise, and, throughout those games, there have been a wide variety of characters that people have been able to play as, with, or against. Here, British Vogue revisits some of the best portrayals of female villains in Hollywood history. Peter Cushing, Ian McDiarmid and Christopher Lee in the original ‘Star Wars’ saga. Henry, The Secret History, Donna Tartt. Tolkien’s enchanting Christmas letters to his children, Country Life’s 2020 Christmas Double Issue: What you’ll find inside the biggest-ever issue of Country Life, Country Life's Top 100 architects, builders, designers and gardeners. What would be Independence Day be without the Brits? Terry-Thomas in School for Scoundrels. Dip into our gallery of some of Britain's most legendary villains – if you dare. Selina Kyle has seen many, many iterations over the years, but you cannot deny that she just dominates in all of them. Jane Austen, Winston Graham, and Elizabeth Gaskell created indelible characters, and I have spent many hours mooning over these three characters. It’s worth noting that few British movie villains are ever Irish, Scottish or Welsh, although Robert Carlyle comes to mind. It’s worth noting that few British movie villains are ever Irish, Scottish or Welsh, although Robert Carlyle comes to mind. Henry, The Secret History, Donna Tartt. Here he is played by with villainous relish by Laurence Olivier. Adopting a crisp German accent, he made an impact on Hollywood as the mastermind thief foiled by Bruce Willis in Die Hard (in Die Hard: With a Vengeance, Gruber’s brother is improbably played by Jeremy Irons). Call out history's most terrible people, and see how your picks stack up against everyone else's. The historian Lord Macaulay described him 'the greatest perjurer in history... His voice, uplifted in accusation, instituted a period of terror unparalleled in the history of an ancient people." The feared and hated Matthew Hopkins, who called himself "The Witchfinder General", was responsible for the execution of as many as 300 women for witchcraft in just a two-year period during the English Civil War. What would be Independence Day be without the Brits? The timing of the British pantomime at Christmas and the role reversal of the lead characters (the principal boy being played by a girl and the Dame by a man) may have also evolved from the Tudor “Feast of Fools”, presided over by the Lord of Misrule. Anyone can vote on this list of vile villains and evil lunatics, making it an accurate, real-time ranking of the world's worst people ever. George Lucas turned to some of our finest classically trained actors to bring a touch of gravitas to his swashbuckling space saga. Gef is a now almost-forgotten media sensation from the 1930s: a talking … Balancing Alec Guinness’s noble Obi-Wan Kenobi is an array of villains harnessing the Dark Side in beautifully delivered RP — and, in Cushing’s case, unseen carpet slippers. In the case of You Only Live Twice, he’s played by a deeply menacing and fabulously scarred Donald Pleasence. ... You could also argue that the British Aristocracy is the villain in the Patrick Melrose books, but . Captain William Bligh. Sir Francis Drake. Hannibal Lecter had already been chillingly played by another British actor, Brian Cox, in Manhunter, but it was Hopkins who’s best remembered in the role and who took home an Oscar. In 2007, American researchers argued the remains found in the basement were not those of Cora, but British authorities have refused to reopen the case. It's long been suspected she was Lady Katherine Ferrers, who may have turned to crime to try and preserve her shrinking fortune while her husband was away fighting. Gwennap Pit, Cornwall: ‘The most magnificent spectacle this side of Heaven’, With love from Father Christmas: J.R.R. It's perhaps the nature of grown-up literature that it doesn't all that often have villains, in the sense of coal-black embodiments of the principle of evil. The historians chose one villain from each of the last 10 centuries. Picture: Rex Features, There's no British villain more sinister than "Jack the Ripper", the name given to a Victorian serial killer thought to have been behind the violent murders of at least five women in Whitechapel. You Know Him As: If you've read Mutiny on the Bounty, or seen one of the … 60 Great Fictional British Characters show list info. There's no British villain more sinister than "Jack the Ripper", the name given to a Victorian serial killer thought to have been behind the violent murders of … Oh, Henry—brooding, brilliant, bone-tired Henry. Picture: Photos 12 / Alamy, "Judas sold only one man, Arnold three millions", wrote Benjamin Franklin of Benedict Arnold, an American general who defected to the British Army during the War of Independence. Before Alfred the idea that … Aaron Burr. 14. Here are the 15 worst strongmen in history. - She notably raised awareness of AIDS issues as well as the campaign against landmines. The feast was an unruly event, involving much drinking, revelry and role reversal. Picture: Mary Evans Picture Library / Alamy, American immigrant Dr Crippen made headlines in 1910 when he killed his wife Cora, buried her in his basement and fled across the Atlantic with his mistress – only to be caught when the ship's captain recognised him. Even take Disney, for instance. Tom Ripley, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith. "The Wolf of Kabul", a British spy in the North-West Frontier Province, who appeared in story papers and comics from 1930 to the mid-1980s. But what … The greatest villains in literature. Picture: ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPERS/ REX FEATURES, Nickamed "John Softsword" by his contemporaries, KIng John's infamously poor leadership and petty, spiteful behaviour led to him being cast as a villain in the Robin Hood legends – though some defenders say his villainous character has been much exaggerated. A villain (also known as, "black hat", villainess in its feminine form) is a fictional character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. One contemporary described his behaviour as being "beyond anything that was ever heard of in a civilized nation. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase was the one percent before there was a … Picture: Rex Features, Medieval courtier Hugh Despenser has been described by history professor Nigel Saul as "pure evil" for his habit of forcing the vulnerable into signing away their estates – at one point, he even broke the arms and legs of a female aristocrat until she went insane. British Empire, a worldwide system of dependencies—colonies, protectorates, and other territories—that over a span of some three centuries was brought under the sovereignty of the crown of Great Britain and the administration of the British government. 15. However, his greatest claim to wickedness may well be as the voice of Scar in Disney’s take on Hamlet. Picture: Everett Collection/Rex Features, In 1685, Judge George Jeffreys ordered the execution of 200 men and sent another 800 to Barbados as slaves for their role in an uprising against James II. Picture: Everett Collection/Rex Features, "The Wicked Lady" was a well-spoken highwaywoman who preyed on vulnerable travellers on Nomansland Common in Hertfordshire during the Civil War. Here’s THR’s list of the all-time greatest. The one villain to constantly one-up Batman, Kyle is seductive, stylish and very, very smart. Picture: North Wind Picture Archives / Alamy, Seventeenth-century cleric Titus Oates fabricated a Catholic plot to assassinate Charles II, accusing over 80 innocent men. He was never caught, though theories abound as to his identity. One of Hollywood’s biggest stars, he played the cruel, ruthless Phillip Vandamm in Hitchcock’s masterpiece. He is said to have put lit matches under his hat to terrify his victims, and had unruly black hair that "covered his whole face, and frightened America more than any comet that has appeared there a long time". Arnold and his wife Peggy developed a plan for Arnold to smuggle American military plans to the British with the help of a young British soldier named John André. The communist dictator known as Ho Chi Minh was born Nguyen Sinh Cung in 1890 in what was then known as Indochina — French colonial territories. He was perpetually either drunk or in a rage, liker a fury that the zeal of a judge... he shewed no mercy. In short, these are some of the most evil people in history. Everyone knows Brits make the best on-screen super-villains - Jonathan Self picks out his favourites. Egyptian pharaohs with British accents, foreign settings where everyone speaks English—why are movie accents and dialects so reliant on stereotypes? https://www.listchallenges.com/some-great-fictional-british-characters Nominated by Professor Sarah Foot of Sheffield University. But to most people, he'll always be the hunchbacked usurper who murdered his nephews to secure the throne. Vivica A. DC's Legends of Tomorrow season 5, episode 10 saw the most historical villains yet coming after our time-traveling heroes. Aaron Burr is well-known for his killing of Alexander Hamilton in an 1804 duel. Over a long career, he’s played most of the great villains, from monsters to wizards. But before he became a famous actor, he intended to pursue a career in law. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a Bond film. 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