Posted by Rudy2 2013-02-16 01:03:30
I have been wracking my brain, and I cannot come up with a list of truly evil male characters. Perhaps the list of truly evil female character is short, too. Does anyone have any suggestions of characters I'm overlooking?
From my point of view, Danforth from "The Crucible" is not a true villain, because he truly believes what he's doing is right. That's not someone with evil intent.
I would think of Regina from "The Little Foxes" (as played by Bette Davis in the film, at least) as being a bascially evil character - not a trace of kindness or compassion seeps out of her. That's the basic idea.Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by bobs3 2013-02-16 03:40:09
Iago.
What makes Iago evil? Some people ask. I never ask.
Joan Didion, PLAY IT AS IT LAYS
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by AEA AGMA SM 2013-02-16 04:55:16
Are you limiting the question to non-musicals? Because I would say in Sweeney Todd both Judge Turpin and the Beadle are pretty downright evil characters.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by South Fl Marc 2013-02-16 13:06:55
Tennessee Williams has some great evil male characters.
Jabe in Orpheus Descending shoots his wife and then blames her lover and gets the townspeople to burn him to death.
Boss Finley in Sweet Bird of Youth.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by Queen of the Night 2013-02-16 14:22:45
This is familiar to me from the opera, but as it is based on a play, I would add Baron Vitellio Scarpia from Sardou's "La Tosca". He's pretty vile and he knows it and likes it that way.
Of course, Iago was the first person I thought of. He is evil incarnate.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by AEA AGMA SM 2013-02-16 15:07:58
I would also add Aaron the Moor from Titus Andronicus. He has little motivation other than his love of committing evil acts. He persuades Chiron and Demetrius to kill Bassianus in order to "woo" (i.e. rape) Lavinia. He is the false messenger who persuades Titus to cut off his hand to save his sons after being framed for the murder of Bassianus, when in reality he knew that it would not save them. Upon his execution his one regret is that he did not commit more evil acts during his life. Now that is evil.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by henrikegerman 2013-02-16 15:37:50
others from Shakespeare: Richard III, King John, Don John, Cornwall, Edmund
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by artscallion 2013-02-16 15:44:34
Deathtrap
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by NoName3 2013-02-16 16:56:47
Mephistopheles in Faust and the equivalent character in nearly every adaption of the Faust legend including Applegate in Damn Yankees.
Dracula.
Sweeney Todd. Until Christopher Bond gave him a sympathetic backstory in the 1970's (the basis for Sondheim's version), Todd had since the Victorian age traditionally been played as a demonic, bloodthirsty madman. His most famous early 20th century interpreter, Tod Slaughter, specialized in such roles during his later career.
Simon Legree in Uncle Tom's Cabin. Although the "evil villain" became a stock character in 19th century melodrama, UTC was originally considered a realistic depiction of slavery.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by DEClarke 2013-02-16 17:28:28
Macbeth, certainly Macbeth counts.
Dr. Frankenstein (he only tries to play God and then abandons his creation)
Uncle Peck in HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE (Maybe...)
Lestat (from LESTAT)
Creon (from ANTIGONE)
Laius (from OEDIPUS REX)
A lot of times, I think "evil" males are kind of seen as protagonists or given a reason to be "evil," so we may not think of them as truly evil. But they are malevolent none-the-less. Or they are minor roles...
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by AEA AGMA SM 2013-02-16 18:03:51
I don't know how far from the source it veered, not being overly familiar with the show, but in every novel after Interview with the Vampire Anne rice went out of her way to show that Lestat was not evil, Louis was just giving a skewed account without realizing Lestat's true motivations. Even events from the first book are given a new spin in the later novels, particularly The Vampire Lestat.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by DEClarke 2013-02-16 18:05:30
I didn't see LESTAT either... I guess because of Interview, I always think of him as extremely malevolent.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by lenstersf 2013-02-16 18:33:12
Senator Joe Cantwell in The Best Man
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by DEClarke 2013-02-16 18:35:12
Karl Linder from RAISIN IN THE SUN/CLYBOURNE PARK
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by blaxx 2013-02-16 18:42:07
Deathtrap
Greedy to the extreme, maybe. But not evil.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-02-16 18:45:44
Lea Michele
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by Patti LuPone FANatic 2013-02-16 19:02:29
I was going to mention someone specific to this board. Jordan... I love your selection. from RC in Austin, Texas
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by Jungle Red 2013-02-16 21:39:54
I've read and seen a lot of theater and I don't know if anyone is intently evil. Lady Macbeth, maybe, but only in her ambition. The characters listed here all have good intentions. They don't know they're evil.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by Jay Lerner-Z 2013-02-16 21:50:00
The Picture of Dorian Gray has been dramatized. Does that count?
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by Wynbish 2013-02-16 21:52:42
I'm sure there are parts in more melodramatic material or stories that are not as deep. Sheriff of Nottingham, for some reason, comes to mind.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by MKunkel 2013-02-16 22:01:12
Jonathan in Arsenic and Old Lace.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by Wynbish 2013-02-16 22:04:50
^ That is a good one. Even when he was a boy, he would torment Mortimer
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by Gothampc 2013-02-16 23:31:42
Macheath and Peachum in The Beggar's Opera aka Threepenny Opera
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by GlindatheGood22 2013-02-16 23:55:01
I don't think Macbeth is evil. His lady, maybe, but not him.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by Gothampc 2013-02-17 00:09:19
What about the Emcee in Cabaret? I guess he's open to interpretation.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by bobs3 2013-02-17 00:19:55
I disagree about Creon in Antigone. He believes in the law and is upholding the law whether one likes the law or not.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by AwesomeDanny 2013-02-17 00:52:30
I disagree about Boss Finley in Sweet Bird of Youth. He certainly believes that what he is doing will protect his daughter after the harmful things that she has experienced.
It is really hard to find truly evil characters. By your definition, they must have no justification for their actions, which makes for fairly dull, two-dimensional characters, which most playwrights try to avoid.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by ChairinMain 2013-02-17 03:06:54
Since the OP's initial example of an evil character was Regina in Little Foxes, I'd like to point out that her brothers Oscar and Ben are even crueler and more greedy than she is.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by GavestonPS 2013-02-17 03:53:14
I disagree about Creon in Antigone. He believes in the law and is upholding the law whether one likes the law or not.
Absolutely. And he does so not for the sake of law for its own sake, but because he believes the law is the only thing that holds society together.
I think the OP needs to define evil. Does he mean those who take pleasure in cruelty, i.e., sadists? Or does he mean those who do evil out of selfish motivation? Or all those who cause pain to others, even if their motivation is noble?
Iago does seem to be the gold standard of villainy. He is motivated by nothing but envy.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by ChairinMain 2013-02-17 04:44:33
^^^^
Or possibly jealousy. Or impotence. Or latent homosexual attraction. There's a lot of theories flying around as to Iago's motivations, but yes, surface-wise, it's mostly envy.
If someone put a gun to my head and told me to pick the most blatantly evil character in Shakespeare, I'd probably give the prize to Jack Cade in Henry VI part II. There are certainly more malevolent characters (Don John in Much Ado) or more successfully Machiavellian ones (pretty much EVERYONE in the history plays, especially Richard III and his dad, the Duke of York) but Jack Cade is the one who terrifies me. He lies his way into a position of power, assembles an army of drunken malcontents, and reigns havoc on the entire kingdom for the next act. He kills anyone who is more educated than him, anyone who out-argues him, or anyone who merely looks at him wrong. His rabble, intent on killing anyone who can read, would be funny if they weren't so scary, and Cade is there egging them all on.
And you know why he, rather than Aaron the Moor or Edmund or Iago, is the one that scares me? Because he was real. This actually happened.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by dramamama611 2013-02-17 05:45:02
A few GIRLS:
Mary in The Children's Hour
Rhoda in The Bad Seed
But I agree with the above sentiement: MOST evil people/characters believe in what they do/think. (Think of the Religious Right.)
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by trentsketch 2013-02-17 06:34:58
Truly evil characters would be boring and ineffective. A great villain needs to believe what they are doing is absolutely right and good to be effective. A lot of the characters mentioned in this thread may not be totally evil, but there are great villains because they are doing something very bad under the delusion that they are on the side of good.
As for an evil male character in a drama, try The Devil in A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner. He's summoned into a German apartment at the peak of the political battle between the communists and fascists before World War II. He threatens the characters with visions of unavoidable war, chaos, and corruption that he has created. His entire purpose on Earth is forcing humans to question what they can know and trust and he revels in it.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by Marcellus2 2013-02-17 11:18:55
Roy Cohn in Angels in America?
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by GlindatheGood22 2013-02-17 12:53:53
I thought of saying Roy, but I don't think he's completely evil. He does show some kindness to Joe. Mind you, it's to get him to go to Washington and vouch for him, but it still counts.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by FindingNamo 2013-02-17 13:30:59
Plus he wants to pork Joe and stick his reptilian tongue into some Mormon mouth.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by TheGingerBreadMan 2013-02-17 13:41:43
Captain Hook.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by Wynbish 2013-02-17 13:41:53
What about the Ewells in To Kill a Mockingbird?
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by canmark 2013-02-17 14:11:04
>>> I thought of saying Roy, but I don't think he's completely evil. He does show some kindness to Joe. Mind you, it's to get him to go to Washington and vouch for him, but it still counts.
Pressuring Joe to go to Washington to cook the books? How is corrupting someone kindness?
And look at the cruel things he said to Belize who, as a nurse, was actually helping him. And look at his glee after he tricked Ethel Rosenberg to pity him and sing for him. That character was evil and cruel.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by GlindatheGood22 2013-02-17 15:53:17
He gives him his blessing when he knows he's about to die. There is some compassion there.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by jnb9872 2013-02-18 10:56:16
I'd argue Tartuffe is evil, considering that his motives are completely selfish and there is no redemption to his character whatsoever, if I recall correctly.
I know he's been mentioned, but it bears repeating (with quote!) that Don John in Much Ado is pretty out-and-out about it, even by Shakespearean standards: "in this, though I cannot be said to be a flattering honest man, it must not be denied but I am a plain-dealing villain."
There's also a number of vindictive, selfish, ruthless men in The Kentucky Cycle, but I don't remember if any of them made enough of an impression on me to call them "evil."
I also wanted to show some love to Salieri in "Amadeus," but I don't think he quite makes it. It's a fun one to throw out, though, because he arguably *wants* to be evil (to destroy God's instrument on Earth purely because he believes God is torturing him is a pretty evil position to stake out) but he still wants your forgiveness. It's a tremendous variation on villains/heroes.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by theatergeek3 2013-02-18 11:15:06
What about the gals in Chicago? I think of them as more crazy than evil but still.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by TheGingerBreadMan 2013-02-18 11:25:05
I think The Wizard in WICKED could be quite evil had they stuck to the darker plot of the book. In the book, he truly is pure evil. Though in the show, they took out the darker side and replaced with something more bubbly and I truly despise that. Don't get me wrong, I love WICKED, but it is crap compared to the book.
Evil Male Characters in Drama?
Posted by minicko88 2013-02-18 12:22:48
Hyde?
