Reply #21: Plenty of good bad guy performances out there....

[punpirate]

Alan Arkin in "Wait Until Dark."

Tom Berenger in "Platoon."

Robert Prosky in "Thief."

Al Pacino in "Godfather II"

Jack Palance in "Oklahoma Crude."

Anthony Hopkins in "Silence of the Lambs"

Barbara Stanwyck in "Double Indemnity."

Malcolm McDowell in "A Clockwork Orange."

John Huston in "Chinatown."

Robert De Niro in "Taxi Driver."

Laurence Olivier in "Marathon Man."

Dennis Hopper in "Blue Velvet."

James Cagney in "White Heat."

Plenty more. Playing the villain provides lots of opportunity to go over the top, chew the scenery a bit, without seeming out of character.

And, how could we forget: Ronald Reagan as "The President."