Top 20 Smartest Movie Villains

Tenting your fingers and cackling is an art form! For this list, we’ll be looking at the most dastardly and intelligent big screen villains of all time. Since we’re talking general plotlines, we’re issuing a spoiler warning. Our countdown includes villains Auric Goldfinger, Professor Moriarty, Helmut Zemo and much more! Which of these villains do you find the cleverest? Is there someone we missed? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Check out these other villainous videos:
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#villains #movies #smart #starwars #watchmen #saw #batman #sherlock

[@WatchMojo]

Be sure to set a reminder for the live premiere, see you then! And let us know who you think should top this list!

[@Chihiro_eilish]

Hi

[@williamsummerson1204]

Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Or Emperor Palpatine.

[@alex17_edits]

what about Michael Myers, Jason Voorhess , blofeld and safin

[@nagash303]

Dennis Hopper in Speed

[@Late30sDude]

Grindelwald

[@TheHarrie93]

Hans Landa was played to perfection. Every detail from his character was perfectly written by Tarantino and played by Waltz.

[@tastefullynerdy1161]

Yeah, Landa is just peak acting and there was no better pick than Waltz.

[@Iggystar71]

His banal conversations, about squirrels, pastries..more terrifying than any blatant threats.

[@TheJoker-bz3ms]

Eh i never saw the big deal with his character

[@rogerstalder7184]

Agree hes a great writen Villan. but he isnt realy smart. he did 1 good move to surrender actualy. thats all, and even that didnt work out for him that good. did it? :)

[@fjnagel5454]

@@Iggystar71 first 10 minutes of inglorious basterds have more quality writing and acting than most 2hour movies

[@Jaime.Lannister]

Anton definitely deserves at least top 5. He's got all the qualities of a perfect villain. His anticipation skills are underrated.

[@mlsaulnier]

Yeah ridiculous that he was so low on the list

[@CalifornianCuttlefish]

apparently he was the most realistic psychopath according to a team of psychiatrists who looked at about 400 films

[@Jaime.Lannister]

@@CalifornianCuttlefish absolutely. Imagine someone like this Bozo walking among us.

[@CalifornianCuttlefish]

​@@Jaime.Lannister yes, also I am sorry but AMOGUS? SUS

[@Jaime.Lannister]

@@CalifornianCuttlefish 😂

[@Ch4osKing66]

Anton Chigurh is said to be a perfect film representation of a Psychopath and for damn good reason, Javier Bardem absolutely killed it playing him.

[@joshuamohlman]

Hannibal Lecter, the man who can still instill fear in a room even in restrains and a muzzle

[@aiseison]

Would anyone trust a guy who was imprisoned via straightjacket and a MUZZLE?

[@julianprasaja2227]

Ffftfftfffftffft (Excessive sucking sound)

[@thedevilsrockstxr2309]

Woulda got smoked in the hood js

[@julianprasaja2227]

@@thedevilsrockstxr2309 good point

[@blakeharris58]

He wasn’t a villain until Hannibal though.

[@fasihhaider9623]

Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter was also insane good.

[@randywalker7405]

Glad you mentioned him. I agree with you. That series was so well done and he captivated that roll superbly

[@HumanHamCube]

I think he was better than Hopkins. Hopkins hammed it up too much to be really scary. Watching Hopkins made me feel like I was watching a good actor on a stage, watching Mads made me feel like I was being circled by a shark.

[@envgaming]

​@@HumanHamCube 1000% agree

[@melvsdlp9293]

Indeed

[@ShinPepsiman]

The coin toss scene alone made Anton my favorite villain ever

[@anngreen3495]

Thank you for naming my favorites! Anton Chigurh has no parallel; the two greatest Spacey performances (Seven) (The Usual Suspects) demonstrated immeasurable,chilling manipulation; Heath Ledger's Joker is the best that will ever be. I rather wish you hadn't revealed the ending of Primal Fear.

[@jspurs22]

This list did not disappoint Joker, Ozymandias, Hall9000 was just pure gold

[@garyfrazier5414]

Goldfinger's best line: "No, Mr. Bond I expect you to die!"

[@tracidavis3565]

Hannibal is a truly great villain. He even convinces Clarice to become his lover in the books.

[@epochnoir3215]

Ah yes, Dr. Lecter. Watch Mojo you never disappoint.

[@Jaime.Lannister]

Landa and Chigurh are alternatives

[@blakeharris58]

Not a villain. At least not in The Silence of the Lambs.

[@rhysioeren3203]

Actually they do disappoint, quite often, but not today...

[@akilkotamarti1000]

@@rhysioeren3203 I read that in Anthony Hopkin's voice as Hannibal Lecter.

[@angelcuellar3809]

Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal was AMAZING. It's a crime that he's not on the list.

[@pauldiaz3507]

No Hannibal can outperform Anthony's Hannibal...

[@nicholasadams2374]

I agree that he is phenomenal. But thats a TV Show, not a Movie.

[@koko_de_pici5204]

@@pauldiaz3507 actually Mikkelsen played hannibal more realistically but I agree that original version is the best

[@garnauv6779]

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I like Gaspard from Hannibal Rising

[@m.ta.r.6443]

@@garnauv6779 i agree!

[@CalifornianCuttlefish]

Great Video! *These villains are fantastic and also super well written and performed*

[@maltaaaas]

Palpatine is without a doubt the greatest mastermind. Not only did he seize power over the galaxy by manipulating Anakin, he was also the Supreme leader of both sides of the clone wars, essentially playing a gigantic chess game to throw the galaxy into chaos and making it possible for him to seize absolute control.

[@aleksandarvil5718]

Plus, he played the Jedi Order, until they figured TOO LATE !!!

[@sanfte_briese833]

amazing list and even more fun to see the movie snippets combined once again

[@brianaseven8422]

I’m sorry but Hans Landa deserved top 5, at least. Incredibly devious villain and played to perfection by Christoph Waltz.

[@yasser3268]

Hannibal Lecter Is a villain with the Golden Brain of Cinema’s History

[@simosaghir84]

some honorable mentions : - Samuel Jackson (Django unchained) - Anthony Perkins (Psychose) - Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) - John Malkovich (Con Air ) - Isabelle Fuhrman(Esther) - Ed Harris(Stalingrad) -John Travolta(Voltface) - Matt Daemon(Departed)

[@davidrichter3681]

Yes. Colin Sullivan from The Departed.

[@MakotoAtava]

Ed Harris was at "Enemy at the Gates" not Stalingrad.

[@northphillyp]

Senator Palpatine definitely top 5 all time

[@chocotastic1]

Vader too.

[@k.m.k-ultrafanpage4kottonm243]

can you do 20 most unintelligent for example home alone villains

[@mickred04]

Gerard Butler as Clyde Sheldon from 'Law Abiding Citizen' should be on this list as well. Underrated film and performance from both leads.

[@MarcAmAlb]

Don’t see him as a villain. Not entirely.

[@mickred04]

@@MarcAmAlb I didn’t either but he is far from a hero but maybe anti-hero?

[@siriswarrior]

I enjoyed the movie but the ending irritates me. He was light years ahead of them but the movie needed to end so boom they just find everything. Like he even had a large lead on them getting back to his cell. He was already gone before they even found the briefcase at city hall so how the hell did they beat him back to his cell!?

[@mickred04]

@@siriswarrior you and me both. Ending should’ve been much better and that’s actually a fair assessment.

[@7Kingsmen]

I don’t think John Kramer should be on the list. I don’t see him as a villain…so I agree why he isn’t on the list.

[@davidrosenberg9615]

Hans Landa, Kaiser Soze, and Ozymandias come to mind. After a manner of speaking, they all "won".

[@colleenross8752]

Baron Zemo

[@nerd26373]

Movie villains tend to be stereotyped as such ugly or just downright evil people or creatures. Some of them are actually pretty attractive, yet very manipulative, and also very strategic. That’s why some fall into their tomfoolery.

[@KritikuNgaFerizaji]

Christoph Waltz’s Landa is one of the smartest, he is able to see through everything

[@MachetesAreFun]

Wow, Kevin Spacey is really good at being a villain. Verbal Kint, John Doe, one version of Lex Luthor, that's 3 on this list! Not to mention being Kevin Spacey irl 😏

[@JohnSmith-ls3um]

In the scene with the farmer at the beginning of Inglourious Basterds, Hans Landa smokes a meerschaum pipe-the same type of pipe Sherlock Holmes smokes. Tarantino is clearly setting him up as an evil Holmes.

[@FivesArcTrooper]

“I’m having an old friend for dinner” gives me chills

[@maksymilianziele28]

I would propose to the list: Amy Elliot-Dunne from "Gone Girl"

[@JW-rq8qh]

Kevin Spacey plays an excellent villain both on and off screen 😂

[@darkurious]

Yeah, he's in 3 of these movies.

[@maynardperalta3188]

Method acting

[@myNarrator]

Nobody really cares about Anthony Rapp 🤣

[@IllDrowsy]

Oh god

[@MannyA69247]

Great list. All these villains were badass and dangerous af.

[@nepatrul6075]

Emperor Palpatine simply _has_ to be number 1. I cannot imagine any villain so ingenious and conniving that they can literally orchestrate the geopolitical and political conflicts of an entire _galaxy._ Hannibal and Kint are ingenious, but how does that compare to literally creating a galactic war AND leading both sides of it?

[@WhiteFangofWar]

He's a master schemer, but he does have the Force as a crutch to let him glimpse the future and directly manipulate the minds of others. A story in the EU confirmed that he was doing this to the senate. Hannibal and some of the others here manage that without space magic.

[@onlyme219]

This was a good one, I enjoyed it a lot :)

[@lincoln8692]

In my opinion I think that John Kramer should’ve been higher on this list just because of all the traps he could create on his own!

[@chocotastic1]

Didnt he have a crap ton of help from like 3 ppl?

[@petrakurnia6772]

Fun fact: the first concept of Jigsaw Killer was introduced in Yugioh Manga (1996)

[@melvsdlp9293]

I think Joker deserved to be ranked higher in the list

[@otepdotnet]

joker is good but nowhere near against those on the top list

[@rahooblack]

Definitely not, list is about being smart and there was no planning or background work done by Joker and executions were always flawless, no faults or problems? or where the money came from for all those plans. All joker stuff were just cool plot conveniences.

[@peaceispriceless6051]

I can't even see how he's ranked higher on here than Anton Chigurh.

[@ripdv]

@@peaceispriceless6051 Anton is just much smarter version is joker. Nobody is know human mind than jigsaw bro. Just wake up.

[@jmzbondm]

Nah! He certainly wasn't the smartest villain.

[@ethancullen7702]

A few honorable mentions: Clyde Shelton - law abiding citizen Michael Myers - Halloween franchise Catherine tramell - basic instinct

[@BlazerK1914]

Hannibal Lecter: “Must I remind you of my superiority?” Lex Luthor: “That’s my line.” Hannibal Lecter: “Not anymore.” *hisses*

[@WhiteFangofWar]

It's funny how both Lex and Vayne Solidor have that exact intro line in their fighting games. Lex has lost two Death Battles but I think Vayne would be a more 'fair' match for him.

[@Late30sDude]

If Brandon Lee was still alive he would have made really interesting Joker. in also Alan Rickman would have made a awesome Mr Freeze.

[@Magicalwolfgamer]

I agree. I really enjoyed him in the crow

[@KenMasters.]

and Daniel Day Lewis should've been the one to play Magneto in X-Men.

[@mateothomas7071]

I was waiting for seven. Good job.

[@klloydplata4098]

I really think John Kramer aka Jigsaw and MCU's Thanos the Mad Titan are the two of the Smartest villains I've seen in a film. The way their motivations are gauntlet with unique you do NOT know what to expect.

[@HumanHamCube]

Ha I like how you added gauntlet

[@MorganTC]

I agree with Thanos because people don't realise that he's been pulling all the strings without others noticing

[@brassaicsanad9374]

I feel like John Kramer could have been just a bit higher on the list. I mean that man predicted every outcome and prepared for every possibility. The way he was able to play everyone is unmatched

[@HoodyBoy85]

Same.. and that’s saying something when I’m not a fan of the SAW movies past the first, but Se7en is in my top 3; I still think he and John Doe should have been reversed on this list. Takes a lot of smarts in your planning to achieve things after you’ve died.

[@7Kingsmen]

I don’t think he should be on the list. Don’t see him as a villain.

[@RedRobin6543]

He's not evil he's just got through great pain, His unborn child was killed by a drug addict and He was diagnosed with terminal cancer (Which means he only had months to live), He tried to kill himself but it didn't work. He does how even give people the choice to live or die so he is fair

[@PigBoy99]

he set up traps where someone HAS to die, and he still committed kidnapping and torture@@RedRobin6543

[@ripdv]

Bro i think he just killing lecter in 1 trap. He is just swallowed damn tape for detective's found. Its different level of human mind.

[@williamsummerson1204]

Callum narrated the video perfectly. I knew Dr. Hannibal Lecter would be no1. 😎

[@irvingvillegas9451]

Amazing list ever. A good movie must come with a genius villain.

[@nabeelhasanzaidi1558]

I think Caster troy of Face off could be considered as well. He used the dumb police's idea to perfection. Even the protaganist was pissed that why is he still alive despite being unconsious and under custody.

[@manuelacosta9463]

Anton's tracking skills and attention to tiny subtle details makes an already terrifying hitman all the more unnerving. Merely interacting with him is enough to earn his lethal wrath, imagine being tracked by him.......

[@kennethferrari5232]

Need some honorable mentions. William Striker from X-Men 2, Indominus Rex from Jurassic World ( that dinosaur's planning ability was downright scary), the megamako from Deep Blue Sea, of course Thanos, and finally you cannot forget Simon Peter, Hans Gruber's brother in Die Hard with a Vengeance.

[@ai6894]

Adelaide Wilson from "Us".

[@maynardperalta3188]

Thanos isn’t a villain.

[@kennethferrari5232]

@@maynardperalta3188 A man who plots to wipe out half the life in the Universe and later decided to wipe out all life in the universe except for his own is the ultimate villain.

[@WhiteFangofWar]

The trick is to make the villain smart without making them seem omnipotent. The ones here approach that line but don't break suspension of disbelief.

[@waheedabdullah6371]

Lex Luthor should be on the list or a honorable mention. Same goes for 2022 Riddler

[@tiberiusgrey1529]

2022 Riddler is a copy of John Doe of Seven, so is the movie

[@TheDealMaster]

Good call on The Talented Mr. Ripley. Matt Damon's character was quite clever. Kahn from Star Trek 2 (Ricardo version) is another good addition. Edward Norton in Primal Fear FOR SURE. Hans Gruber for Die Hard 1, also for sure. Jon Doe in Seven is another good one. And YES to Keyser Soze/Verbil Kint.

[@Yoshai94]

“King Wakandan T’chaka” made me laugh so hard 😂😂

[@brodyarnick]

Agent smith??????? Buddy literally took over the matrix

[@Daniel-nn8mr]

Javier Bardem is phenomenal at playing villains.

[@mattjarrells]

Damn forgot how many damn good villains Spacey has played.

[@user-em6ie2be7x]

Hans Gruber from Die Hard. Definitely one of the Smartest movie Villians.

[@TundeEszlari]

Wonderful premier.

[@undergod8666]

Batman and no country for old man was it for me 👍 YESSSSS I can look at these movies all the time

[@stoianstamatov]

I think Anton needs to be way up on the list

[@condorX2]

Can't wait. It has been a while I since I watched the show. John Kramer was like a super detective / bounty hunter / trapper who know all the criminals and their crimes. He even give them a way out if they work together. As for Thanos, he's my favorite. I never understand overpopulation and overfishing does to our environment until I saw a documentary where family had to sell their children for food. Fisherman turn the ocean red from whales and dolphin hunting to make sushi. According to them, it was scientific research.

[@isaacmontgomery1258]

Years later and hearing hannibal's voice still makes my skin crawl.

[@justapeacefulmanwhosbornin7291]

All 20 movie villains with intelligence. 👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@katiemaycosplay]

old boys hallway scene has to be the best fight scene I have watched in a long time

[@Derevocsidi]

Top 20 Smartest villains who didn't expose their plans to the main character.... Maybe?....

[@nicholashale7216]

Great list & Glad Butler for Law Abiding Citizen wasn't on here though he is a genius. He's for sure an Anti-Hero (while his means are unjust they are also understandable) Also, while Anton is great and for sure top notch his character wasn't that far from John Doe (being a cold, calculated necessary evil) who not only did it 1st, had less screen time to do it. That's why Lector gets so much love, minimal screen time and he basically creates a "How to" w/ his performance.

[@heididepotter8136]

Bardem plays the perfect villain

[@maestroh2986]

I don't always agree with Mojo's list but this is spot-on

[@okcthunderfan2306]

Honestly Roy played by Edward Norton in primal fear should be way higher on the list

[@williamsummerson1204]

Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Should be top 5. He is one of my personal favorites. Looking forward to the video. 👍😍

[@michaelrussell3890]

I'd give an honourable mention to Simon Gruber who, unlike his brother Hans, actually succeeded in his heist Shame McClain figured out where he was afterwards

[@lupinvash3]

Especially since his Simon gave John and Zeus runarounds with riddles as means for them to try stop some bombs

[@joshuacrowe76]

Was nice to see Tom Ripley on here.. What a movie and performance by Damon.

[@alexisbakopoulos7386]

Kurgan from Highlander also deserves a mention imo. Scary and humorous at the same time !!

[@mournblade1066]

Ah, yes, the great Clancy Brown. His most famous role is, of course, Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants!

[@chillarmyssbu]

I'm glad Zemo made it on here, that was my #1 guess to be on this list

[@TheLastRainShadow]

The Zemo shoutout!!! He was so so fun and ridiculous in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

[@SchwererGustavThe800mm]

The fact that Anton Chigur didnt make top 5 is an insult

[@andrewtaylor6022]

Jigsaw/ John Kramer should be much higher on this list, his whole thing was about being smarter

[@Coppergear]

I think Mr. Glass should have been in the list

[@Das_Arcaine]

Marcus Andrews - The Bone Collector definitely deserves a place in this list

[@TheUltraUltimatum]

Kevin Spacey was on this list as a villain 3 times. To give protagonists a chance he has since been removed from the movie making business, among other reasons.

[@thelegenddan103]

I think the order is way off, but I agree with most of the picks on the list. Good job!

[@itsiwhatitsi]

Saw 6 is the best from the serie. Primal Fear was one of the best Edward Norton performance… brilliant 👌

[@MelloMood1]

Nice list but to me Hans Gruber and The Joker should of been in the Top 5, but good list either way.

[@hilleryearl524]

Anton Chigurh scared the shit out of me!

[@user-vu6lq7yk1n]

Anton Chigurh is to me the best ive even seen. Bastard keeps you at the edge of the seat in every scene he appears.

[@jauanbryant1117]

Gerald butler Law Abiding Citizen

[@ramone.b.6051]

I feel great attraction to evildoers with great emotional intelligence, capable of manipulating anyone's mind for their own benefit and some of my favorites that have not been included in this list are: John Milton 😈(Al Pacino in "Devil's Advocate "), Thulsa Doom 🐍 (James Earl Jones in "Conan") and Amy Elliott Dunne 🍾 (Rosemund Pike in "Gone Girl")

[@whiteoutgotu]

Damn. Good call. "Amy Elliott Dunne" really is one of the greatest villains.

[@scoopofgossip]

☺☺ I am glad you put Hannibal in here. He really is the best villain👍 But it is true, Moriarty deserves recognition here too. I mean, he is the actual villain version of Sherlock Holmes. #ScoopofGossip

[@livingdeadgirlss]

Finally some primal fear love!

[@KemmetMedia]

Andrew Scott from Sherllock and Daniel Davis from Star Trek: TNG were my favorite Moriarty.

[@rayancedrichaddad1197]

Dr. Hannibal Lecter is definitely the Ambassador of Smartest Movie Villains.

[@dashtoroya2838]

Since this movie appeared in "action movies where the villain wins" at no.7. I think you should have added the gang of wasseypur's villain ramadhir Singh and his son. These two literally manipulated and told the two khans family to go on war meanwhile they were living their lives peacefully. And they wins(even tho ramadhir Singh gets brutally killed) with all of the Khan families dying.

[@mathieudarroman5521]

Great list, but I would have liked to see Ras al Ghul from Batman Begins (played by Liam Neeson) on the list.

[@Auscarsy]

For me. Indominous Rex is #1. They not only destroyed Jurassic World. They never new what the outside of their habitat looked like until the second it broke out. It spent less than 24 in that environment and: 1. Destroyed an entire, highly technologically advanced park. 2. Conquered every other dinosaur she encountered. Be it by killing or by showing dominance and controlling them. 3. hid its ability to camouflage until it was already free, using it to evade its captors but having waited that long, they never knew she could even do that. 4. Caused such a flip in the natural order that several different species of dinosaur have to work together to take the Indominous down. 5. Was such a perfect specimen that humans couldn’t leave their body alone. Needed her DNA. And such an encounter is the reason the Mosasaur is out in the open ocean. All of this just because the Indominous had One Bad Day in Jurassic World.

[@klloydplata4098]

Yeeeesssss! Wow!! Helmut Zemo is the favourite Marvel villain for me who has so many tricks on his memories and sleeves. I'm so so so glad that he is on the Top 20 list Smartest Film villains.

[@jhcdonal]

He wasnt smart... He was lucky. His plans needed sooooo many things that were random happenstance to work.

[@klloydplata4098]

@@jhcdonal He was smart and sometimes Smart is NEVER always getting physical but a tear of witty memory.

[@mikeortiz6008]

I agree with this list but 2 smart villains from the Harry Potter series could have been on this list such as Voldermort or Dolores Umbridge. Very cunning villains in their own right. But Kevin Spacey and Javier Bardem on this list a couple of times each shows their range as exceptional actors to play these very complex villains! Great list!

[@JCs_saved_girl]

I don't think Dolores was smart... she was just privileged and controlled by smarter people.... Voldermort though... yah that was a smart man. Grindelwald too.

[@HumanHamCube]

Kevin Spacey is a real life villain he doesn't have to act much.

[@mikeortiz6008]

@@HumanHamCube LOL right!

[@KC_Eden]

*I agree with this list. I learned a heap of ideas from these guys!* 😂😏

[@keesoerlemans5809]

Tywin Lannister was also extremely smart

[@justinobuscape7031]

Yes. But this is a movie villains list. So.

[@Danny_ADXZ]

For Halloween 2022, I took the joy of dressing up as Anton Chigurh and people said that I was menacing. So I took a photo of myself to show my friends and family to see if was truly scary and they told that I was.

[@municejr]

Hannibal has to be the no 1.. GOAT 🔥

[@klloydplata4098]

I really hated a villain on the bad they are doing but I really loved and liked Supervillains or villains when they have a unique secretive compelling evil schemes or plans.

[@CleetusVanDamme530]

Roy Batty from Blade Runner should have been on here.

[@DJFNaFMan]

Palps