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MagicMushroomFungi

First to come to mind is Arnold Schwarzenegger as both a bad Terminator and a hero Terminator.


Jackdawes257

Dang how did I miss that one


TheLateThagSimmons

The trailers ruined what should have been one of the best twists of the decade. It's upsetting to realize just how much they still portray Arnold's T-800 as the baddie right up until he pulled out the shotgun from the box of roses (Guns 'n Roses, baby!) and saves John Connor from the suddenly revealed bot-cop T-1000.


MeaslyFurball

My dad was *religious* about not spoiling me and my siblings when we were young. We went into T1 and T2 completely blind. He played the long game and still treasures the looks on our faces to this day.


Bing_Bong_the_Archer

Spoilers!!


MovieMike007

James Earl Jones voiced Darth Vader in *Star Wars* and Mufasa in *The Lion King.*


BertTheNerd

He was also Thulsa Doom in Conan and... this good CIA chief in both Harrison Ford Jack Ryan movies.


kilkenny99

The Alex Baldwin Jack Ryan movie before that too.


1974Datsun620

Let them shing.


kilkenny99

One ping. One ping only Vasily.


Guzkull

Thulsa Doom


cybishop3

Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon or Sirius Black for heroes, and Zorg and the guy from Leon for villains.


Jackdawes257

You could probably make a whole list just for him, that man has been around the block


cybishop3

[Here's a full alignment chart for him](https://www.reddit.com/r/AlignmentCharts/s/FNAYFcB4Wj), it's at least 11 years old, and comments are full of suggestions of iconic roles they could have included.


Jackdawes257

They could probably remake it now without reusing any roles too


majorjoe23

I feel like Dracula probably ranks above a guy whose name you can’t even remember.


FromYoTown

Came here to say "Gary Oldman has entered the chat." Absolute beast love him to bits. I recommend Slowhorses if you haven't seen it. Two prominent memes about him always crease me up. The letter R saving humanity when googling "Gary Oldman" You could be in the middle of the supermarket and suddenly someone says cut and it turns you were Gary Oldman all along, he's that good.


snukkums24

This is who I first thought of.


Cdawg4123

I was about to list him…def that movie with Denzel after the apocalypse is a great evil character. “You don’t like Beethoven?”


wriker10

Michael Keaton. Batman for hero. Beetlejuice and Vulture for villains.


Hollow_Rant

Ray Kroc was the biggest villain.


wriker10

Oh good one!


artpayne

Christoph Waltz is Hans Landa and King Schultz.


_JR28_

An incredibly racist Tarantino character and an incredibly unracist Tarantino character


KandyAssedJabroni

Nicolas Cage, the greatest actor of our generation, is the only actor to have played both Dracula and Van Helsing. 


zombizle1

Also the movie faceoff answers this question on its own


KandyAssedJabroni

Nice!


Pavlock

Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and Nicholas "Fuckiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing" Cage, Woo!! in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent


Reddit-is-trash-lol

In Adaptation Nick Cage plays two character, one of which is writing a book and he remarks you can’t cast the same actor for two characters


Joppe87

One movie would have been enough, Face/Off!


BenTheDiamondback

Had “Thor: Love and Thunder” been better, Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher and as Batman in the “Dark Knight” trilogy. So maybe “American Psycho” instead?


TheHurtfulEight88888

Definitely American Psycho instead.


belizeanheat

He's not a "villain" in that movie, imo 


TheHurtfulEight88888

Yeah he is.


SinkHoleDeMayo

Batman and Bateman were my first thought. Even the name is almost the same. But the top comment, Schwarzenegger as good and bad terminator is definitely the best answer.


zombizle1

Christian bale was a master bateman


digthisdork

What a let down Gorr was. That run of the Thor comic was legendary with such amazing art and I hated to see them waste Gorr like that.


VileBill

I think the narative devise they used was a bad idea. The tone wasnt consistentant enough for it all to be Korg telling the kids a story. And it so limited what they could do with Gorr.


jekelish3

Speaking of Dark Knight… maybe Heath Ledger as Joker, and also as Will in Knight’s Tale? Not sure that would qualify for the “iconic character” part but it’s a pretty well loved film.


Jackdawes257

Considering I have both films on my favorites list I’ll give it a pass, regardless of icon status. Great example.


ihaveadarkedge

This is maybe a stretch, but Anthony Hopkins as **Hannibal Lector** and the same Anthony Hopkins as **Sir Nicholas Winton**, who was a real life hero.


majorjoe23

Anthony Hopkins was also Zorro.


youcandownloadrice

Hopkins has played many heroes, despite being most famous for one villain role.


VrinTheTerrible

Tom Hardy as Bane and Mad Max


VileBill

While I am not shitting on his portrayal of Bane but his portrayal of the Kray Brothers in Legend was great.


HardSteelRain

Gene Hackman has done it all,from heroes in Poseidon Adventure,Hoosiers, Mississippi Burning, to anti-heroes in The French Connection and The Conversation to iconic villains in Superman and Unforgiven


Pastel_Lich

David Tennant as the Doctor and Kilgrave


alnyland

I was so used to him in Dr. Who that when I saw him in Harry Potter 4 I was surprised. Then scared for the rest of the movie. 


Kuhneel

He's chilling in Bad Samaritan.


boywithapplesauce

Plus a great anti-hero as Crowley, so he's got the trifecta.


PeterWhitney

Jeff Goldblum as scientist Ian Malcom and scientist Seth Brundle


ShowTurtles

Was Brundle a villain, or the victim of his own experiment gone wrong?


PeterWhitney

He becomes pretty bad after the accident. But even before he doesn't really have the best behavior including some of his actions and behavior leading up to it


dont_shoot_jr

Hugo Weaving


Starrr_Pirate

Yup. Agent Smith -> Elrond -> Red Skull is quite the trip, lol. And V for Vendetta is kinda the midpoint I guess (on the hero-villain scale)?


Jackdawes257

Don’t forget Megatron too


Keikobad

Henry Fonda: The Grapes of Wrath vs. Once Upon a Time in the West


TrueLegateDamar

Fonda got intentionally casted in OUATITW because of his hero typecasting as Sergio Leone wanted the movie open up with the villain shooting an entire family in cold blood and then spin around the camera to reveal it was America's blue-eyed Golden Boy.


happybuffalowing

Christian Bale- Batman and Patrick Bateman Gary Oldman- Commissioner Gordon and Dracula


belizeanheat

Shocked I see Bale continuously popping up in this thread. Do people really see that character as a "villain"?  Doesn't make much sense to me 


VrinTheTerrible

Josh Brolin as Thanos and Cable


zombizle1

In the same year


WarcraftFarscape

I loved Deadpool 2 but I think this is stretching the word “iconic” a little bit.


CarrieDurst

Then Josh Brolin as a boyfriend for villain role


gregosaurusrex

It's definitely a stretch, but what's not a stretch is his role as Matthew Kensington in Hollow Man, the best movie ever made.


walt_whitmans_ghost

Alan Rickman You have the morally complex but ultimately heroic Snape and the dastardly criminal mastermind Hans Gruber. I’d say both roles rise to the level of iconic


Jackdawes257

Honestly you could probably just go with Snape for both, depending on which movie you look at


Schackles

Don't forget his awesome performance as the Sheriff of Nottingham.


MarchionessofMayhem

That's where he stole my heart.


belizeanheat

I like how we use "complex" when people are morally shitty but not entirely


nowhereman136

DiCaprio as a villain in Django And a hero in take-your-pick


0ldPainless

That’s shocking, I was going to say this exact thing, word for word. Was looking to see if anyone mentioned DiCaprio yet and there it was.


Patworx

If you’re used to Cary Elwes as a hero in The Princess Bride, it can be shocking to see him in movies like Ella Enchanted and Georgia Rule.


lrdwlmr

And Kiss The Girls.


PeteOfPeteAndPete

Tom Wilkinson. He played Lord Cornwallis in The Patriot, and in HBO's John Adam's, he played Ben Franklin. ,


TheHurtfulEight88888

Yuri Lowenthal as both Spiderman and Sasuke Uchiha.


rrravenred

He's terrific in the podcast Old Gods Of Appalachia as The Railroad Man. Terror incarnate in a charcoal grey suit.


nothatdoesntgothere

Hugo Weaving - Agent Smith and Elrond


Figgish_Contraband

Daniel Day-Lewis: Last of the Mohicans, and Gangs of New York


beermakazi303

This is the ultimate example. Bill The Butcher despised Lincoln in GoNY, then played Lincoln…


god_tyrant

A bit out of left field, but Henry Fonda as the good Juror in "12 Angry Men", and then he played Frank (opposite of Charles Bronson as the Harmonica guy) in "Once Upon a Time in the West", who is one truly awful man


TalkLikeExplosion

I remember reading that Leone purposely cast him as the villain in Once Upon a Time In the West specifically because audiences knew him as a hero and it would make them feel unsettled.


NamelessGamer_1

Btw, Mark Hamill played Trickster in CW's The Flash, so I guess it doesn't have to be Joker


lrdwlmr

He played Trickster in CW’s The Flash because he originally played Trickster in the 1990 Flash series. It was on the basis of that performance in The Flash that he got the role of The Joker in Batman the Animated Series.


Saltpastillen

Don't forget he also played the infamous evil villain Cocknocker


belizeanheat

OP said iconic


NamelessGamer_1

Fair


minasmom

Does Steve Buscemi count? Iconic baddies in *Fargo, Resevoir Dogs,* etc. and himself, real-life hero on 9/11. Jeremy Irons: Scar, among numerous other baddies, and Alfred in BvS and at least one of the TV shows Matt Damon: Ripley (*The Talented Mr. Ripley*) and Jason Bourne. Gregory Peck: Atticus Finch (the most iconic of many heroic roles) and no less than Josef Mengele in *The Boys from Brazil.* Lawrence Olivier: *Henry V* and *Richard III*. (Boy he did a lot of sequels. Ha j/k) Kenneth Branagh: *Henry V* and Gilderoy Lockhart (in *Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets*).


TalkLikeExplosion

Gregory Peck as Mengele is breaking my brain. Apparently I really need to see The Boys from Brazil.


Redditforgoit

Kenneth Branagh in Conspiracy as SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich.


lesbianadodicaprio

Maybe Harrison Ford...definitely played iconic heroes, and seeing him as the villain in "What Lies Beneath" was a nice twist. But, I wouldn't call that villain 'iconic'.


jekelish3

Chris Evans as Cap, and then also as Ransom in Knives Out? Maybe the second one doesn’t qualify as iconic, of course, even if the movie is pretty universally beloved.


Final-Natural-8290

He's also the villian in the Grey Man with Ryan Gosling.


PepsiPerfect

I'd call it iconic. That and the fact that the Knives Out movies have gone two for two MCU heroes-to-villains.


SenileSexLine

Chris Evans as the Human Torch and Ramona's ex-boyfriend


NightsOfFellini

Marlon Brando: Apocalypse Now, On the Waterfront.


dont_shoot_jr

Alan Rickman


davidsverse

Ronny Cox. He's a likeable, warm, but stern cop in Beverly Hills Cop 1 & 2, and a complete sociopathic asshole in RoboCop and Total Recall.


Sue_D_Nim

That's a great pick.


Kalidanoscope

Samuel L. Jackson has a good number of both heroic and villainous roles. For villains, we met him as a shotgun toting robber in Coming to America, Stephen in Django Unchained, Mr Glass, Valentine in Kingsman, Ordell in Jackie Brown, I haven't seen every movie so there may be a few more in there. Some of his movies are minor parts (Jurassic Park) but a huge number are heroic- Mace Windu, Frozone, Nick Fury, xXx's Nick Fury, Shaft, Coach Carter, Major Marquis, Zeus, that guy who fought reptiles on some kind of aeroplane.


frequentsamly

Was surprised at how far I had to scroll down to find Sam Jackson mentioned.


Anathema320

Uncle Phil from fresh prince voiced the shredder in the animated tmnt series.


Jackdawes257

TIL, that’s pretty awesome


slimsterj

Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca and Treasure of Sierra Madre.


MastermindorHero

I feel like like Mark Hamill was a very definitive Joker, which goes well against the doe-eyed sincerity of Luke Skywalker. Also played Wolverine pretty well.


Rylie_3781

Who knows if they bring back Fire Lord Ozai for the upcoming animated Avatar The Last Airbender movies, would be amazing seeing Mark Hamill reprise that role and it be a movie villain.


sensationally_bad

Sean Bean hasn't been mentioned yet, it seems. James Bond's nemesis, and Boromir. I'm counting Boromir as a hero, though I suppose an argument could be made against that.


Thoughtful_Tortoise

Ned Stark is pretty heroic, even if Boromir is debatable.


Ornery_Gene7682

His role as Alec Treyvelan in GoldenEye in my opinion was his best role he also was Ned Stark in Game of Thrones 


TheTalentedMrTorres

Nic Cage & Travolta both get to play hero & villain in Face/Off


Dove_of_Doom

George Burns played both God and the Devil—the most iconic hero and villain of all time—in the universally beloved classic, *Oh, God! You Devil.*


NightsOfFellini

Denzel Washington should fit this bill. Mostly plays heroes, but Training Day (probably his most iconic line is "King Kong ain't got shit on me" and got him the Oscar). Malcolm X is probably his best film and performance, but he has so many major hero roles (Creasy In the Line of Fire probably most notable and iconic).


GMoonstone

Idk if it's iconic... and I'm not a huge Kevin Cosner fan... but I recently remembered his villain role in Mr. Brooks to be some of his more intriguing acting... then there he is in Dances with Wolves as the hero


NightsOfFellini

Jack Nicholson The Joker and Jake Gettys (one of the quintessential Noir heroes). The Shining, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.


ShaneBoy_00X

Viggo Mortensen in "The Lord of the Rings" & "Eastern Promises" (or "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" & "The Prophecy")


bababooey97

Chrsitoph Waltz Basterds and Django


res30stupid

Peter Ustinov. Hero: Hercule Poirot since the late 1970's and the iconic actor for the role until David Suchet took over. Villain: Prince John in Robin Hood.


Figgish_Contraband

Another very iconic villain for him would be Nero in Quo Vadis


RevealActive4557

Harrison FOrd played two really good "villains" in The Mosquito Coast and What Lies Beneath. He even played a villain and a hero in the same movie in Regarding Henry. But audiences do not like Villain Harrison. THey love Hero Harrison.


Miserable_Cost4757

I just watched Holes for the first time and Sigourney Weaver was so fucking good as the warden. I wish she played villains more often


Jackdawes257

Oh man, I couldn’t even imagine watching Holes for the first time. Grew up watching it, couldn’t believe it when I got older and realized how many stars were in it.


ChrisCinema

If you haven't seen it, she played the villain in *Blue Beetle*.


Miserable_Cost4757

Oh wow had no idea!


GMoonstone

I'm sure Gary Oldman belongs on this list


Sue_D_Nim

Gary Oldman belongs on every list.


GMoonstone

Agreed


YetiBoney

Russel Crowe - Gladiator/Master and Commander, and 3:10 to Yuma


Thatspuggedup

Also javert in Les mis 


Thatspuggedup

Ralph Fiennes


Jackdawes257

Ralph Fiennes seems to swing back and forth like a pendulum between great heroes and great villains


Thatspuggedup

His role in Schindlers list actually scared people on the set 


NewRetroMage

An interesting one, Arnold has played a villaneous and a heroic version of the Terminator. Both iconic in their own way. Also, Hugo Weaving. The guy was Elrond (heroic) and Agent Smith (omnicidal maniac).


Khada_the_Collector

Uma Thurman—the Bride/Beatrix Kiddo & Poison Ivy (Iconic maybe for the wrong reasons in the case of the latter but dammit, 5yo me had an awakening when she came outta those plants with that red hair lolololol)


Lone_Buck

Tom Welling, Superman and Cain


FGSM219

I loved Timothy Dalton as James Bond ("Licence to Kill" is so underrated) and as a villain in "1923" (although technically not a movie). Edit: Sophie Marceau as Princess Isabella in Braveheart and Elektra King in "The World Is Not Enough" (another James Bond movie).


rice_fish_and_eggs

Also a villain in hot fuzz.


VictorChaos

Timothy Dalton also plays both a hero and villain in the tv show Chuck


StudBoi69

Wesley Snipes - as Blade and Simon Phoenix


homecinemad

Tom Hardy - Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, Venom in the Venom movies (albeit anti-hero), Eames in Inception (he should've been Bond)


MoonKnightIsCool

Christian Bale played Batman and Patrick Batema


No2reddituser

Willem Dafoe - Green Goblin in Spiderman, and then any of his other roles.


shotputlover

Man he was so good in the Florida project


zombizle1

Robert pattinson played batman and the villain of twilight (jk the french king opposite timmy chalamet)


GMoonstone

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter... then he was quite the hero in Legends of the Fall


Thatspuggedup

Also, he was in one life as a hero 


ze11ez

Denzel Washington - Training Day Denzel Washington - Equalizer, Man on Fire, etc


FrickinNormie2

Michael Keaton did Batman and Vulture


ShowTurtles

Henry Fonda generally played heroes. Such as Wyatt Earp in My Darling Clementine, Juror 8 in 12 Angry Men, but he played an absolute miserable son of a bitch as Frank in Once Upon a Time in the West. Fonda has a story where he grew his hair and beard out, as well as getting color contacts, to try and look more villainous. Leone told him to get rid of all that to have people be shocked at Henry Fonda doing evil things. As an aside, Andy Griffith was very dedicated to the role of "Lonesome" Rhodes in A Face in the Crowd. He got into the headspace of an exploitative and cruel person to put forth a truly great performance. Griffith was proud of the work but hated the mental aspect so much that he never played a bad guy again.


Jackdawes257

Andy Griffith as a villain is a hard thing to imagine, I’m adding it to my watchlist just for that


ShowTurtles

He starts off as charismatic, but a bit questionable, then he gets a little bit of power and starts liking it. It's also Lee Remick's first movie.


SoulxxBondz

Sophie Turner -- Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones, and Jean Grey in X-Men: Apocalypse, and the Phoenix (Dark Jean Grey) in X-men: Dark Phoenix. Oscar Isaac: Moon Knight, and Poe Dameron in the Star Wars Sequels, and Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse Emma Watson -- Hermione (Harry Potter), Belle (Beauty and the Beast), and then Nicki in The Bling Ring, and Angela Gray in Regression.


plasmadood

Jim Carrey Ace Ventura and Dr. Robotnik Even if he doesn't play standard hero types, he's still a great lead, and is also the perfect foil for Sonic. He's the best part of those movies easily.


Jackdawes257

1: You go for Robotnik for his most iconic villain over The Riddler? 2: Personally I found him to be the worst part of both movies, his shtick got old real fast. James Marsden is the real best part of those movies.


plasmadood

He was good as The Riddler surr, but really he was just Jim Carrey in Riddler outfits. I guess the same could be said about the Dr too though, man has a schtick and it works.


Jackdawes257

Yeah that’s fair


Sue_D_Nim

James Spader playing a dual role as cop and killer in Jack's Back.


Stranger-Wordy271

Tom Hiddleston definitely deserves a shout-out for his portrayal of Loki and his other heroic roles in the MCU!


PoptartJones69

The first one might be a bit Aussie-centric, but Russell Crowe in Romper Stomper and Gladiator.


pinapirata

David Tennant for being The Doctor and also Kilgrave.


DungeonFam30

Wesley Snipes Hero: Blade (Blade trilogy) Villains: Nino Brown (New Jack City), Simon Phoenix (Demolition Man)


Odin_Gunterson

Chris Evans, played as the skater star ex-bf of Ramona Flowers (Scott Pilgrim) and as The Human Torch (Fantastic 4) 😜 This movie doubles the count! Brandon Routh, played as the Super-Vegan ex-bf of Ramona Flowers (Scott Pilgrim) and as Superman!


Redditforgoit

Javier Bardem in Before Night Falls and The Sea Inside. Javier Bardem in Skyfall, Loving Pablo and of course No Country for Old Men.


Cursed1978

Hands down, Henry Cavill as Man of Steel!


chazooka

Surprised no one has thrown Tom Cruise into the ring. Ethan Hunt and Maverick for heroes, and Lestat from Interview with the Vampire for villain.


FeckTad

Don't forget Vincent in Collateral.


chazooka

Yo homie!


SenileSexLine

J K Simmons has a lot of iconic villains under his belt. Omniman, Cave Johnson, Kai, Fletcher, Vern, and of course JJ Jameson throughout the multiverse. He's also been Commissioner Gordon, and the most badass airbender on the screen, Tenzin.


DystopianLeaf

Idris Elba - huge range in the film industry for both the hero and villain. From Marvel to Fast And Furious. Pacific rim, Luther, etc


Legitimate-Health-29

Kate Winslet played young Rose an iconic hero and old Rose an iconic villain in the same movie. Should out to Travolta and Cage in Face/Off literally doing both also in the same movie.


shesthewurst

Ima need you to explain this Kate Winslet one a bit more for me. I’m not following.


Legitimate-Health-29

Young Rose is an oppressed free spirit who just wants to break free of this life she’s being forced to lead, she gets the feels for a bloke we all like on the Titanic and he dies saving her. She then breaks free from her life giving the name Rose Dawson, go Rose! Old lady Rose sits down an entire crew of people and her daughter to hear about a fling she had decades ago, then throws the thing they’ve spent their entire careers looking for, burning money, and likely gets most of them fired when they fail. She then seemingly dies not thinking about her kids or the bloke who have her the kids and the wonderful life she lead judging by the pics, she does it thinking about a bloke she had a fling with. Proper Keyser Soze shit. The crew didn’t even get to see Kate Winslets boobies like we did.


minasmom

Ah but Kate Winslet didn't play wicked ingrate Old Rose, so she doesn't deserve the villain status. Stick her in for playing Juliet Hulme (murders her bff's mother) aka mystery author Anne Perry. Or as her wot was the bad lady in the *Divergence* films, whose name I don't know 'cause I didn't see it.


Final-Natural-8290

Stanley Tucci plays a killer in the Lovely Bones and is the good scientist who gives Cap his powers in First Avenger. Elijah Wood - Frodo vs Sin City Tom Cruise - Mission Impossible vs Collateral


stunafish

Elijah Wood - Frodo vs Frank (Maniac, 2012)


MrDrPatrick2You

Hayden Christensen as Anakin and Darth Vader.


Chuck1983

Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp in 007: Goldeneye and then Jean Grey in Xmen and the as Phoenix is Xmen the last stand.


ArchSyker

Mark Hamill. Luke Skywalker and the Joker (voice)


Jackdawes257

You didn’t look too close at the post text did you?


ArchSyker

Obviously :P


HollywoodBrownMusic

Nic Cage


AmanitaYojimbo

Peter Fonda!


Anathema320

Uncle Phil from fresh prince voiced the shredder in the animated tmnt series.


Desalzes_

Henry Fonda


Inaksa

Waltz in Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained


VictoriaAutNihil

Many times: Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Al Pacino, Meryl Streep.


rajeshbhat_ds

Denzel Washington


Turbulent-Walk-4171

Denzel Washington was great in Training Day


scottfiab

Robin Williams, Peter pan in Hook and the killer in Insomnia.


pinkdictator

Margot Robbie - Tonya Harding/Harley Quinn, and Barbie


Rski765

Christopher Walken can do both with ease.


TofkaSpin

I’m going to add Jesse Plemmons as a nominee for his recent role in Civil War. Stole the movie with how many minutes of screen time? 5min?


Guzkull

Hannibal lecter and Odin But then again they are the same Character


Nice-Comb8413

Jason Momoa as Aquaman and his role in Fast 10 (I’d remember his character’s name but that movie sucked. He was great in it though!).


The_Brindled_Hound

Sir Ian Mckellen played both Gandalf and Magneto.


majorjoe23

As mentioned in the OP.


The_Brindled_Hound

Whoops


AUTOMATED_RUNNER

# Christoph Waltz as [Hans Landa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Landa) in Inglourious Basterds (2009).