There's something about a villain that makes them irresistible; the sheer evilness and lack of empathy are intoxicating to follow. Villains are easy to hate because every action is done with a wicked purpose. However, these cruel characters typically have a trauma-filled past.

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Some villains are born bad while others are forced down a dark path because it's the hand they were dealt with. When it comes to Hollywood, there are certain actors and actresses who embody the villainous spirit. They take on the character as if they were born that way and continue to choose the "bad guy" roles. Hey, sometimes it feels good to be bad.

10 Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter is the queen of evil characters. Although she's been acting since the '80s, fans can't get enough of her in the Harry Potter series as Bellatrix Lestrange.

According to EW, when it came time to bring Bellatrix alive, Bonham Carter added her own spin to the character. "I think I probably made her a bit more insane and unhinged then she was meant to be. I wanted to be conspicuous." Furthering on that point, Bonham Carter loves playing "weird women." She told BBC America, “It would be boring for me to try and look as beautiful as possible on screen."

9 Christopher Walken

Christopher Walken has done it all. He's been in musicals, thrillers, comedies, rom-coms, you name it. But there's on character he can't seem to quit: the bad guy.

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In an interview with The Guardian, Walken noted “I don’t need to be made to look evil. I can do that on my own.” He's been the villain in Disney's The Jungle Book as King Louie, Captain Koons in Pulp Fiction, and so many more. And at 77 years old, Walken isn't slowing down anytime soon. According to IMDb, he has three projects in the works for 2020 and beyond.

8 Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron is the ultimate bad girl. She's tough, she's talented, and she knows how to make viewers fear her. Who can forget when she won an Oscar for her role as notorious serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster? Theron is bad to bone when she wants to be and relishes in those different roles.

Back in 2011, Theron played another dark character in Young Adult. In an interview with CBS News, Theron explained that getting in the mindset of an alcoholic was difficult but "great freedom." She said "I'm not a method actor at all, but this was the first time in my life I kind of relished this bad behavior."

7 Tim Curry

Similar to Christopher Walken, Tim Curry knows how to touch base with the character he's playing. He completely disappears into the role and has sold himself as the ultimate villain. From Home Alone 2 to Annie to IT, Curry has played some of the most iconic antagonists in cinematic history.

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According to Tulsa World, Curry made an observation in film: Americans are seen as the heroes while the British are typically the bad guys. But Curry doesn't mind because the villain roles are "the most fun to play." He loves being cast as the bad guy because he gets "permission to behave badly."

6 Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie isn't known for warm and fuzzy comedies. Most of her work is done in thrilling, adventure-seeking movies that only a woman of her talent can pull off. And although Jolie has had her fair share of evil roles, she's most recently praised for her time in Maleficent, the story of the evil witch in Sleeping Beauty. Jolie has cherished her time as Maleficent because she's both "playful" and "a little crazy." But to Jolie, the role of Maleficent has given her strength because she identifies with how misunderstood she is. Jolie wants to believe in the character she's portraying.

5 Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson is another actor who loves playing the deadpan, no-nonsense character. As fun as Jackson can be in movies like The Incredibles, Snakes on a Plane, and even in the Star Wars franchise, he also loves playing the bad guy.

In an interview with Bustle, Jackson said his mission of playing a bad guy is "humanizing" him. And looking back to his roles in Pulp Fiction and even Django: Unchained, Jackson has brought humility to those characters. He said, "So my greatest job, most times, is humanizing him in such a way that you can see why he’s doing something, or what his motivations truly are, what motivated him in the beginning to become that person."

4 Jessica Lange

Jessica Lange has been around since the '70s and plays an impressive bad gal. There's something about her own character that brings out the narcissistic traits in the women she portrays. She does this beautifully in American Horror Story as an array of characters in each season. When she was asked what it was like working with Ryan Murphy, Lange admitted the two have a nice banter about what works for her villainous role. Instead of doing action sequences, she prefers the "psychological" factors her character brings.

3 John Travolta

John Travolta has had a very successful career of being the guy can do it all. He was in Grease, Hairspray, American Crime StoryOld Dogs — the list goes on. But when it comes to being the bad guy, Travolta is just as good at being terrifying as he is at dancing.

After filming Punisher, Travolta explained how freeing it is to play a villain. "It’s so demented but fun to play," he said. "There is a little more freedom in the dark bad guy characters."

2 Kathy Bates

Kathy Bates can do no wrong, but when it comes to playing an evil character, she admits "we all have naughty sides" in an interview with Kjersti Flaa. Bates talks about her time as Bad Santa 2's villain and what goes through her head while filming. She wanted her character to be "despicable" and that it's fun not to think too much when playing someone who simply doesn't care. And just in case fans are wondering if Bates has any more villainous roles up her sleeve, she's said she "loves horror movies" and goes out of her way to look for them.

1 Anthony Hopkins

It doesn't matter how many iconic roles Anthony Hopkins because he'll always be known Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. The chilling horror movie was enough to make him the "King of Horror." Funny enough, Hopkins admitted he's nothing like the "control-freak nuts" he plays; he just keeps getting cast that way. What made Hopkins nail the role of Dr. Lecter was understanding the character on a deeper level. He said that Dr. Lecter was a "good man but he’s trapped in an insane mind." And that was enough to solidify his talent in Hollywood.

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