One moment they appear as the salt of the earth, admirable characters, ready to sacrifice their lives for the greater good; in the next moment they turn into terrifying villains bringing murder and death, willing to destroy the world. Should you trust them?
Let's count down the actors who can play good as well as bad guys and maintain a high level of performance.
Christian Bale
Christian Bale always shows great dedication to all his roles. He lost stones of weight for the movie “Machinist” (just like Matthew McConaughey did for the role of Ron Woodroof in “Dallas Buyers Club”). Bale seems very much into portraying complex characters as he makes them look believable, producing an immediate effect on the audience. His unique talent drives him not only to pull off protagonists and antagonists in an inspiring and memorable manner but also it allows him to play both at once. Take his portrayal of the schizophrenic Patrick Bateman in “American Psycho”. He is polite and amiable by day, but at night, he turns into a psychopathic monster.
Charlize Theron
She stuns with elegance, beauty and sexiness. For that reason, roles of loving wives suit best to a lady like her. In "The Devil’s Advocate” she plays Keanu Reeves’s wife, beautiful, but emotionally unstable. However, her performance a few years later in “Monster” proves that she can give all her characters a strong dose of humanity regardless of how evil or innocent they are. Due to her amazing ability to accurately characterize her heroines, Theron is as engaging and amusing as playing an angel or a devil.
Tom Hardy
We can hardly escape of his charisma and incredible talent. Every time, whether he is the villain Bane from “Dark Knight Rises” or Pvt John A. Janovec of Easy Company in “Band of Brothers”, Tom Hardy delivers a stunning and outspoken aura that makes him instantly stand out. It's the passion he shows in each of his characters that makes him utterly believable and we adore him for that.
Natalie Portman
Do you happen to remember the cute little girl from "Léon: The Professional"? Well, she grew up and turned into a beautiful and sexy young woman. We can clearly see that in "Closer" when she appears as the stripper Alice. However, Portman made a role to remember in Darren Aronofsky’s mystery drama "Black Swan". She portrayed the character of Nina Sayers, a ballet dancer who wins the leading role in Tchaikovsky' s "Swan Lake". She has to perform both ways: as the good heroine Princess Odette, the White Swan, and as the bad heroine Odile, the Black Swan. Playing such a memorable role of a character descenting into madness Portman made a name for herself. Indeed, her performance is truly superb.
Kiefer Sutherland
Although many of his bad guy performances (Phone Booth, Truth or Consequences, Pompeii) have made a huge box office success, Kiefer Sutherland became one of the most loved faces on TV ever since he played anti-terrorist agent Jack Bauer in '24'. It's amazing how believable and influential this actor can be playing the bad or the good guy. The audience finds him awesome in both ways. He is his father’s son, there’s no room for doubt.
Rachel McAdams
Rachel McAdams is well-known for pulling off protagonist and antagonist roles in an impressive way. This lady played an annoying and vicious heroine in "Mean Girls". In 2004 she made her mark with the role of Allie in the romantic drama "The Notebook" based on Nicolas Sparks's bestselling novel. Adams melted the hearts of millions of viewers from all over the world when she starred in this movie. Today she in the A-list of most wanted actors in Hollywood.
Gary Oldman
Certainly, he is that kind of actor who can easily go from one extreme transformation to another. Although the vast of majority knows him for playing mostly good guys on the silver screen such as Commissioner Gordon, Batman's friend, and Harry Potter's godfather Sirius Black, his roles of villains and psychos appear to be even more engaging. His portrayal of dark personas, for example Stansfield in “Léon: The Professional”, leaves the audience delighted and awe-inspired. In 1992, the film critics praised Oldman for his profound performance in „Dracula" directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Yes, he is simply brilliant pulling off any role thrown in his way.
