25 actors who are equally good at playing the roles of both villains and heroes

Actors, for the most part, remain hostages of their roles all their lives: handsome men play noble heroes, gloomy jocks-scoundrels… But there are artists who are equally good at being low and noble on the screen.

Over 60 years of acting career, Ian McKellen has played more than 120 roles in films. The most striking were two roles, strictly opposite in spirit – this is the magician Gandalf in the epic " The Lord of the Rings "and Magnetto – one of the main villains in the world of"X-Men".

The range of this plastic and talented actress is truly limitless!

Viewers remember her for her role as the villainess Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter epic, and moviegoers-for the role of the kindest Queen Elizabeth in the film "The King Speaks".

Scot David Tennant became famous thanks to the series.

He played the epitome of the perfect doctor-the Tenth Doctor in the TV series "Doctor Who", and with no less success acted as the villain Kilgrave in the TV series"Jessica Jones".

An actor with a very distinctive appearance and demeanor with equal success turns his non-standard film production into the service of good in the role of the Elven lord Elrond in the epic "The Lord of the Rings" – or evil, as in the famous Matrix, where he played the embodiment of villainy – Agent Smith.

Gary Oldman is an actor of extraordinary talent, who can play any role.

The textbook good man in his performance is the police commissioner of Gotham City James Gordon from the Batman films. And no less textbook villain – Zorg from the "Fifth Element". It seems that he completely changes his appearance in favor of the role!

German-Austrian actor Christopher Waltz easily transforms into both a hero and a villain: he demonstrated his skill by playing in two Quentin Tarantino films in a row – "Django Unchained", where he played Dr. King Schultz, and "Inglourious Basterds", where he brilliantly played the role of Hans Landau.

Everyone recognized Heath Ledger's talent.

His first big role was the role of the charming William Thatcher in "The Knight's Story", and the top was the role of the Joker in"The Dark Knight".

Anthony Hopkins is an actor of great talent.

Intelligent appearance does not prevent him from convincingly playing very brutal types – for example, the cruel maniac Dr. Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs" or the purely positive Odin from "Thor".

Ralph Fiennes is an omnivorous actor: he plays in both good and frankly disastrous films, and once played as many as three roles in one picture.

There are also characters of strictly opposite moral qualities in his repertoire – for example, M. Gustav from the Grand Hotel Budapest and Amos Goethe from Schindler's List.

She is called the "best actress of a generation" – and not for nothing: she equally well managed both the charming Donna from the musical "Mamma mia!" and the cold bitch Miranda Priestley from " The Devil Wears Prada".

The British actor demonstrated the versatility of his talent, playing Patrick Bateman, the main character of "American Psychopath", and immediately after trying on a leather Batman costume in the series of the same name.

It's hard to believe that the" wet villain "Harry from" Home Alone "and the good guy Vinnie from" My Cousin Vinnie " are the same person. Thanks to Joe Pesci for his talent!

Johnny Depp perfectly succeeded in the role of the kind-hearted Edward from the movie "Edward Scissorhands".

And 17 years later, he took up the blades again-but on the side of evil, playing the role of the main character in the film "Swinney Todd-the demon barber of Fleet Street".

The emotional Nicholson easily manages to transform from a good-natured man into a monster.

For example, consider his role as Jack Torrance in The Shining – and Randall McMurphy in the Oscar-winning film "Flying Over the Cuckoo's Nest", for which Nicholson received a well-deserved"Oscar".

Charlize Theron did not win the Oscar for best dramatic actress for nothing: she is equally good at both villains and good souls.

To believe this, it is enough to compare her emperor Furios in the movie "Mad Max: Fury Road" and Ravenna in "Snow White and the Huntsman".

Lucy Liu always plays strong women with an unusual character.

Whether they serve good, like Alex Mundy in Charlie's Angels, or evil, like O'ren Ishii in Kill Bill, doesn't matter to her.

Evans was very convincing in the role of the superhero Captain America, but the villain Ransom Drysdale in the film "Get Knives" was no worse for him.

It seems that Tom Hardy likes to wear masks – but this does not prevent his acting talents from showing up either in the roles of heroes, like Michael Rokatansky in the film "Mad Max: Fury Road", or in the roles of villains – such as Bane in "The Black Knight Rises".

The characters of Will Smith are always guys with humor and peculiar principles – such as the main character of "Hancock", who is forced to defend his good name, or Deadshot from "Suicide Squad" – a villain with a non-standard morality.

Angelina Jolie equally successfully played the beautiful researcher Lara Croft in "Lara Croft-Tomb Raider" and the evil sorceress Malifesenta in the film of the same name.

Jolie doesn't care if the heroine has a good heart or vice versa – if she were a beauty, then Angelina will succeed!

Handsome Pitt has spent his entire life playing heroes without fear or reproach – such as Achilles in "Three".

He needed to play Tyler Durden in "Fight Club", so that the audience realized that behind the pretty appearance lies the acting talent.

Myers became a star after "Austin Powers, the international mystery man" - a funny parody of Bond.

There, he played both the lustful spy Powers and his antagonist Dr. Evil. Both good and evil, however, turned out to be equally comical.

The films "Mean Girls"and" Diary of a Memory " were released simultaneously in 2004, and Rachel McAdams played in both.

At the same time, her heroines – the evil and spoiled Regina George and the meek, loving Ellie – were diametrically opposed in character.

The gorgeous Schwartz has always been a positive character-from "Kindergarten Cop" to " Predator."

In "Terminator", he got the role of the cyborg villain for the first time – and he did a great job with it. But both the audience and the director's hearts could not stand it: by the second film of the franchise, Schwarzenegger – more precisely, his character-again became a positive hero.

Demi Moore's demonic appearance allows her to successfully play villains – such as Madison Lee in the movie "Charlie's Angels: Full Speed Ahead".

But the positive roles are no worse for her-whether it's the cult "Ghost" or "Summer, Classmates, Love," where Moore plays a mother trying to find a common language with a troubled teenage daughter.