Hollywood is the perpetrator of the many myths that plague the general public’s understanding of guns, and more broadly, self-defense. There is little of value to learn from the silver screen. There are, however, some characteristics that are very well and accurately portrayed by good actors. A few exceptional performances have really captured the essence of violent criminals.
The following list focuses on the best violent criminal actors, not necessarily the most notorious “bad guys,” from movies. You won’t see Darth Vadar, Sauron, or Freddie Kruger on this list. I also omit serial killers such as Hanibal Lector. Rather, we are looking at portrayals of violent criminals that are entirely human, very realistic in portrayal, and worth studying. The movies these characters come from run the gamut from very realistic to fanciful, but the characters addressed are, in this author’s opinion, the best portrayals of the violent criminal actor.
If you have not seen the following performances, I recommend them as a study of well-portrayed criminal violence and mindset. Here are my top five, good to best:
5: Hans Gruber – DieHard, 1988
This character, played by actor Alan Rickman, is certainly a prominent figure of popular culture, and probably the best-known villain on this list. While Hans Gruber certainly fills the ideal characterization of the evil mastermind, his character is far deeper and more interesting than a stock Bond villain. Despite Gruber’s intellect and well-spoken charisma, he proves a sociopathic killer who is willing to leverage extreme violence to obtain his goals, and it is this all-to-common criminal characteristic that makes him worth watching.
The particular scene that offers a valuable lesson in the movie, DieHard, is the one in which the unlikeable side character, Ellis, thinks he can win favor with Gruber by betraying the hero, John McClain, and when he fails to deliver, Gruber kills him. Over the radio McClain says, “Hans, Ellis does not know what kind of man you are, but I do.” The experienced street cop, John McClain, knows the Hans Grubers of the world. Sheltered yuppie fools, who grow up in an affluent, urban environment, devoid of all reality, like Ellis, sometimes learn the hard way that violent criminals can’t be negotiated or reasoned with.
As the late Dr. William Aprill often said, “They don’t think the way you think.” Aprill captured the overriding theme of the violent criminal actor with this quote. Ellis thinks himself a hard-baller because he wears a suit and hobnobs with other urbanites in high towers. He considers that power. Such individuals, never exposed to the real world, think everything is a business transaction with other soft, hapless, idiots like themselves. See how that goes for him:
Gruber is sophisticated and intelligent, but sociopathic, psychopathic, and Machiavellian, making him a representation of a rare, but scary, breed of violent criminal actor. He proves a well-dressed intellectual, articulate, and perfectly at home in a corporate board room. His character is a good reminder that not all criminals wear hoodies or tattoos on their neck.
4: Anton Chigurh – No Country for Old Men, 2007
This particular antagonist was actually ranked the best portrayal of a psychopath by a board of psychologists. I can’t argue with that assessment. Played by actor Javier Bardem, Anton Chigurh is a truly psychopathic character, and very menacing. His appearance and demeanor immediately signify that he is dangerous, and he also proves extremely intelligent, making him even more frightening as the movie unfolds.
Despite his propensity for violence, Chigurh also tends to be methodical in his application of force in that he kills for a reason. While clearly psychopathic, he kills to obtain goals, not just to murder, though he obviously enjoys that byproduct. This character blazes a path of blood and destruction everywhere he goes throughout the film. Whether murdering motorists on the side of the highway to steal a car or eliminating a cell of cartel members to take their money, Chigurh oozes danger and capability.
In a particularly interesting scene that exemplifies the fact that he is, above all else, flat out crazy, Chigurh puts the life of a store clerk up to a coin toss. Watch the scene, then answer my question below:
Ok, so as an armed citizen, I want you to consider this; how would the dynamic of this scene be different if the aw, shucks, type chump behind the counter was highly trained, with his hand on a revolver in his pocket, putting him half-a-second away from a shot straight through the brain box of Chigurh, as he stood there with his coin? You think that would change the balance of power in this interaction? I have found that predators don’t prey on dangerous game. Even crazy Anton would not have played his coin game with a man who could kill him in a second, and he would be able to read that body language in an instant, as all scumbags seem to be able to do. Predators can sense it and avoid it to begin with. He would take his coin game elsewhere, and if not, the movie would be much shorter, and many lives spared, because of an old guy with a clue, and a gun in his pocket. That’s the better ending.
3: Tommy Devito – Goodfellas, 1990
The character Tommy Devito, played by Joe Pesci, is an excellent portrayal of a sociopathic violent criminal actor. The character is very volatile, unpredictable, and will immediately use violence if sensing the slightest disrespect. Which brings me to an important point:
Violent criminals do have a sense of “honor,” as hard as that is to believe, and when interacting with them you must tread carefully as to be imposing, but not offending. Anything that is perceived as disrespect will be met with instant violence. Joe Pesci does an exceptional job of portraying this all-to-common criminal behavior.
Whether dressed in street clothing, or in a suit, this hyper-violent attitude in demanding respect is common among dangerous criminals. Devito also shows no empathy at all when it comes to murdering any business rivals, as is no surprise. But even when dealing with associates, his propensity for violence is truly sociopathic.
Remember William Aprill’s quote, “they don’t think like you do.” You can’t even imagine hurting, let alone killing, someone for a verbal slight. They are not like you. Watch this clip and remember that. This is the mindset of the violent criminal actor:
2: O-Dog – Menace to Society, 1993
This film, in my opinion, is much better than Boys in the Hood, which seems to have garnered the crown for best black gang movie from the 1990s. While Menace to Society follows a mostly redeemable young man, caught up in the misery of urban gang life, the main character’s friend, “O-Dog,” played by actor Larenz Tate, is an excellent example of a violent criminal actor who is willing to resort to extreme violence, immediately, to gain what he wants, or demand street-level respect. There are many similarities between O-Dog and Tommy Devito in this regard. This character is not as memorable as a Hans Gruber, but he is very realistic, and the most likely architype of criminal on this list that the citizen may encounter, thus taking my second place.
The “respect” that well-known self-defense and firearms trainer Craig Douglas talks about in his Managing Unknown Contacts paradigm needs to be fully employed when dealing with such criminal actors. The willingness to commit murder over perceived disrespect is a foreign concept to well-adjusted people, but is entirely mundane to violent thugs like this. O-Dog may be the most accurately portrayed character, in this regard, I have seen in any film.
When interacting with such a criminal as this the difference between talking the situation down, or having to go to guns, can be a matter of speaking respectfully, or not. Personal insults should be avoided at all costs. Craig Douglas uses this example: what is the difference between saying “f–k you” as opposed to “get the f–k back!”? One is a personal insult and one is a command. The difference between talking your way out, or getting in a deadly altercation, may be that simple, as this notion of respect on the street runs strong with such thugs.
In the opening scene of the movie, O-Dog is in a stop-and-rob convenience store, and has an altercation with the store owner. As you can see, the brutal O-Dog paid for the drinks, and was leaving, but what launched him into a homicidal rage was the insult. This store owner did not know William Aprill’s principle, or Craig Douglas’ teachings. The clerk should have kept his mouth shut and his hand on a gun. Of course, set in the blue utopia of Los Angeles, only thugs have guns, as that is the preference of that state’s politics.
1: Clarence Boddicker – RoboCop, 1987
This one might come as a surprise, and if so, you need to watch the movie again. In this author’s opinion, one of the best violent criminal actors to ever grace the screen is Clarence Boddicker, played by actor Kurtwood Smith, in the original RoboCop, circa 1987. Yes, I am serious. Here is why:
RoboCop is interesting in that it feels like a B grade sci-fi movie typical of the time (maybe due to the title), but it was made with blockbuster production. The effects are dated by today’s standards, but looked amazing at the time, and the themes addressed are surprisingly deep and analytical. The film actually proved enormously influential on the public imagination and is certainly a cult classic. It very cryptically foretells the use of drone technology in future policing, as well as the privatization of security and military by large corporations. Sound familiar? The movie is hellaciously violent, apparently it earned an X rating due to this, and had to be re-edited before it was released to theaters at the time.
Despite the sci-fi aspect of future technology and robots (every teenage boy loved this movie at the time) the film has one of the best antagonists ever, period, full-stop: Clarence Boddicker. Trust me, you will never find Kurtwood Smith, staring as the hilarious Red Forman in That 70s Show, funny again, after you watch him play Clarence Boddicker.
Boddicker is sociopathic, psychopathic, and sadistic. He is certainly also Machiavellian and narcissistic as well. This guy ranks high on the Dark Tetrad of personality disorders, and beyond. Kurtwood Smith’s ability to portray such menace is astonishing, the character could not possibly be better cast.
What is particularly compelling with this movie villain is that his appearance is anything but. Anton Shigurh looks off, with a strange haircut, unusually pale, and always wearing black. Boddicker, on the other hand, looks like a middle aged, balding, dad with glasses. This is a testament to the fact that a man’s demeanor is derived from the way in which he carries himself. As soon as Boddicker is on screen, you know he is exceedingly dangerous. Just as good guys can tell when bad men are dangerous, the opposite is also true, as discussed above. Be dangerous. I have heard it said, “silver backs don’t bother other silver backs.” And your appearance has less to do with it than does your demeanor.
Willing to exact immediate and brutal violence to meet his goals, Boddicker also very much enjoys inflicting harm for its own sake. It is this combination of psychopathic and sadistic personality disorders that set the stage for the premise of the movie, of course, as Boddicker’s ruthless dismemberment and execution of a police officer leads to the futuristic re-incarnation of the hero.
Furthering the terror brought to bear by this convincing violent criminal is his gang of similarly sociopathic killers. Thus, a very important principle to always have in mind: hyenas run in packs. While Anton Chigurh acted alone, convincingly and to devastating effect, Boddicker is every bit as psychopathic, if not worse, and he has a circle of thugs at his command. This is a reality of the world in which we live and to pretend otherwise is naive. Unfortunately, despite RoboCop being a Science Fiction movie, these personality traits are all-to-real among the worst of violent criminal actors, and Kurtwood Smith’s portrayal of this frightening side of human nature is among the best in any movie.
In this scene, another corporate yuppie, devoid of all common sense and reminiscent of Ellis in that regard (also fond of cocaine, like Ellis, interesting) just opens his door to an unknown. The character, Bob, is actually the mastermind of the RoboCop project, thus getting himself whacked by Boddicker, at the behest of the movie’s other antagonist, the evil corporate executive, Dick Jones. One should verify who is outside the door, but elitists don’t do that, because bad things only happen to others in their world which is devoid of consequences from their own asinine political and social policies. Well, Bob finds out this time:
Watch RoboCop, again, because you probably already saw it years ago. But this time, watch it and ask yourself, what tools and skills should you have if you run into such individuals when in public, with those you love, or if the Boddicker crew kicked down your door and entered your house in the middle of the night, what tools and skills should you have?
If you think such horrifying creatures only exist in Sci-Fi movies, you need to educate yourself. Don’t be a Bob or an Ellis, take ownership of your own security and of those you love. Dismiss the robots and 80s era effects of Robocop and home in on the personality of this violent criminal actor, as it is so masterfully demonstrated. To again quote William Aprill, “accept the world for how it is, not how you wish it could be.”
Conclusion
I hope you find this article entertaining, but more importantly, I hope it encourages you to understand that such monsters may be fictional in movies, but the well-done ones discussed here are all-to-real in the criminology that they are based on. There are, indeed, real Anton Chigurhs, O-Dogs, and Clarence Boddickers in the world. Act accordingly.
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