10 Best Ridley Scott Villains, Ranked

In nearly 50 years spent directing movies, Ridley Scott has shown himself to be a filmmaker willing to try his hand at just about every genre under the sun. He’s made movies with mass appeal, darker/more cynical efforts, films that proved influential, and movies that were ahead of their time. Given the variety of movies he’s made – and the arguable inconsistency of those films – it’s quite difficult to narrow his filmography down, though a decent number of his movies are characterized by having great villains.

Still, even then, many of the best villains found throughout the work of Ridley Scott are great for differing reasons; some are bombastic and over-the-top, while others are more nuanced and tragic while perhaps not being so different from the “heroes.” The following doesn’t encapsulate all the great villains/antagonists from Scott’s many movies, but they are examples of some of the best, ranked below based on how memorable they are and how well they drive the conflict of the films they appear in.

10 J. Paul Getty

‘All the Money in the World’ (2017)

There are plenty of Ridley Scott movies loosely based on real events, with alterations to historical accuracy sometimes proving controversial (as seen most recently with 2023’s Napoleon). At other times, playing around with the truth can be compelling, with American Gangster standing out by not really having a direct villain, even though it’s something of a “cops vs. criminals” story. Then there’s All the Money in the World, which depicts a real-life person being blunt and iron-willed to the point of potential villainy.

It’s a movie about a real-life event that involved the obscenely wealthy J. Paul Getty refusing to pay the ransom for his grandson after he was kidnapped, and the fallout from this decision. Getty’s portrayed with some complexity (by a very capable Christopher Plummer), but while he has his reasons for not paying a group of criminals, it can feel difficult to understand his position, and it’s a choice that pushes things into morally complicated territory, driving much of the narrative’s conflict/tension.

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9 Sato Koji

‘Black Rain’ (1989)

Typically, most of the best yakuza movies are made by Japanese filmmakers, but Ridley Scott directed a fairly good American film involving this group of Japanese gangsters in 1989, with Black Rain. It’s a movie mostly focused on Michael Douglas’s character: an American detective who gets wrapped up in a complex case that takes him to Japan, clashing with various yakuza adversaries not long after getting there.

Sato Koji emerges as the primary villain of the yakuza members in the film, being responsible for the lead character and his partner coming to Japan, and showing himself to be a ruthless gangster who’s unafraid to torture and/or kill if it means getting what he wants. Black Rain may not be an amazing movie, but the main villain definitely elevates things, with the movie also being notable for containing the final film performance of Yūsaku Matsuda, who plays Sato.

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8 Adrián de Moxica

‘1492: Conquest of Paradise’ (1992)

One of the more underrated Ridley Scott movies, 1492: Conquest of Paradise was a notorious box office bomb upon release, and even though parts are impressive, there are various criticisms that can apply to the movie. It takes a surprisingly non-critical look at Christopher Columbus while telling the story of how he came across America at the end of the 1400s, and given Columbus is a divisive character, such an approach could rub viewers the wrong way.

Columbus’s actions in 1492: Conquest of Paradise don’t necessarily reflect what the man likely did in real life, but even if they did, there’s a scenery-chewing villain in the form of Adrián de Moxica who’d steal the show, as far as evildoers are concerned. The film delivers spectacle and amazing music, and Michael Wincott is as great as always as the gleefully sadistic Moxica, though again, it’d be understandable if some viewers weren’t on board with Columbus effectively being made into a hero.

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7 David

‘Alien: Covenant’ (2017)

Not content to just make compelling historical movies (or period dramas with historical settings), Ridley Scott has also made his fair share of high-profile science fiction movies. Of those, Alien: Covenant might well be the most divisive, being a sequel to the already quite divisive Prometheus, and a film that tries to follow on from that one while also delivering thrills and sequences that feel decidedly more “Alien,” for lack of a better descriptor (it’s in the title, after all).

Alien: Covenant is probably at its most interesting when it’s working as a follow-up to Prometheus, especially in the way that it brings back Michael Fassbender’s android character, David, from that film and shows him to be decidedly more sinister and villainous. Fassbender steals the show, not just because he makes for a great villain, but also because he plays another significant character in the movie: Walter, a synthetic android with the same appearance as David.

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6 Hannibal Lecter

‘Hannibal’ (2001)

First things first: Hannibal is nowhere near as good as The Silence of the Lambs, which is a film that’s home to perhaps the definitive Anthony Hopkins performance… though he is as good as he could be here in this 2001 sequel. Additionally, Hannibal also doesn’t have the same impact as Michael Mann’sManhunter, which also had a brief yet memorable appearance from everyone’s favorite cannibal/serial killer/psychologist, played in that film by Brian Cox.

Still, Ridley Scott directed Hannibal, and even if it’s no The Silence of the Lambs, it’s still a movie that lets Hopkins play perhaps his most definitive character again (and it’s better overall than 2002’s Red Dragon, which has the same premise as Manhunter but is overall inferior). If only Hannibal as a movie was better, as it really just has an iconic villain and a memorably gruesome scene with a character played by Ray Liotta; it’s otherwise quite forgettable.

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5 Jacques Le Gris

‘The Last Duel’ (2021)

The Last Duel is up there as one of the best Ridley Scott movies released in the last decade or two, though it notoriously didn’t do well upon release, doing a little better on streaming at least. It’s a historical drama set in France during the 1300s, and revolves around a horrific crime and its violent aftermath, showing events from three different perspectives, with only the third confirmed as being the truth.

One of the perspectives comes from the perpetrator of the crime, Jacques Le Gris, which uncomfortably means The Last Duel explores his headspace and the way he rationalizes what he did. The film doesn’t paint this as okay, but does provide disturbing insight into how perpetrators of sexual violence can justify to themselves why they did what they did. Adam Driver is undoubtedly good in this difficult role, and the movie as a whole ends up being a confronting yet powerful examination of misogynistic violence and its consequences.

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4 The Lord of Darkness

‘Legend’ (1985)

Overall, Legend isn’t necessarily a great Ridley Scott movie, but much like Hannibal, it does stand out when it comes to its lead villain. It’s a live-action fantasy film that’s notable for featuring one of Tom Cruise’s earliest starring roles, with him portraying a young hero who has to go on a quest to rescue a princess (shock, horror) after she’s captured by an evil figure literally called the Lord of Darkness.

If that wasn’t on the nose enough, the Lord of Darkness also pretty much looks just like your average depiction of the devil, and he’s played by a typically bombastic Tim Curry, who sports some impressive makeup. Outside Cruise and Curry, Legend isn’t exactly remarkable, what with a rather bland story and all, but just about any movie with Tim Curry playing an antagonist is worth a watch, especially if he’s basically playing the devil.

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3 Roy Batty

‘Blade Runner’ (1982)

Not just a great Ridley Scott science fiction movie, but an all-time great sci-fi movie full-stop, Blade Runner’s status as a landmark/classic film has been well-established by now, 40 years on from its release. It takes place in the not-so-distant future of 2019, following one man who’s assigned to take down a group of replicants (bioengineered humanoids) who’ve gone rogue, and are seeking a way to extend their very limited lifespan.

These replicants are led by the charismatic Roy Batty, who’s portrayed by Rutger Hauer in his most iconic role. Batty commits acts of violence and does seem to be the film’s antagonist, but it’s also possible to feel deeply sorry for him and his situation, especially in the film’s climax, which sees him redeem himself and save the “hero” of the film, Rick Deckard, played by Harrison Ford. Deckard’s just as flawed, in many ways, and it’s Blade Runner’s willingness to have morally complex characters that make it both a great neo-noir movie and a classic in general.

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2 Lucius Aurelius Commodus

‘Gladiator’ (2000)

Gladiator stands out among Ridley Scott movies for being the director’s only film that won Best Picture at the Oscars, and also stands out among Best Picture winners for being one of the few action movies to earn that Academy Award. It’s about a betrayed Roman general who’s sold into slavery before going on a quest for revenge against a corrupt emperor who ruined his life (to put it mildly).

Joaquin Phoenix gives one of his greatest performances as the lead antagonist here, managing to be genuinely creepy and love-to-hate throughout. Russell Crowe is very good as Gladiator’s protagonist, but his quest for revenge wouldn’t be nearly as any to get behind if his target wasn’t as unbelievably evil and slimy, with both actors deserving praise for how they make this film extra easy to get emotionally invested in.

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1 The Xenomorph

‘Alien’ (1979)

While the Xenomorph isn’t nearly as complex or nuanced as some of the aforementioned villains, it’s one of the greatest and most memorable movie monsters in history, and a huge reason why Alien is regarded as an all-time great blend of horror and science fiction. The premise is as simple as the title, given Alien follows various people on a spacecraft trying to survive after the titular alien (or Xenomorph) is let loose and begins hunting them down.

It’s one of the most efficient and deadly villains of its kind, belonging to a species that seems custom-made to kill other lifeforms as quickly and viciously as conceivably possible. Like any great villain, the Xenomorph also elevates the film’s protagonist, Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver), who ends up being the sole survivor and a true underdog against this unstoppable alien creature in Alien’s intense and iconic final act.

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NEXT: The Best Villains in Michael Mann Movies, Ranked