Every successful story needs good performers, but viewers who take them to be real people struggle with understanding how to loathe the character while admiring the actor, resulting in excessive contempt. We highlight fourteen such roles that sparked an online community’s sensation.
1- Biff Tannen
Back to the Future’s primary foe is Biff. The persona is portrayed as a giant, obnoxious, and stupid bully who gets what he wants by frightening people into performing his dirty work for him or by lying. Despite their goal to offend or intimidate, he is seen to abuse idioms in ways that make him seem silly and humorous. It took Thomas Wilson years to overcome playing the role.
2- Mildred Ratched
Also known as “Nurse Ratched” or “Big Nurse,” she is a chilly, ruthless ruler who represents the cliché of the nurse as a battleaxe. A common metaphor for institutional power and authority in bureaucracies like the psychiatric treatment facility where the story is situated, she has also gained popularity. Years after One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest, fans still have difficulty separating Louise Fletcher’s true nature from her role.
3- Walter Peck
Ever since assuming this self-righteous character on Ghostbusters, William Atherton has not been able to have an excellent time at a bar without someone picking them out for a fight or raining insults on him. When faced with resistance, Walter Peck has demonstrated that while he can start as friendly and professional, his manner can soon change to apparent anger.
He appears to sincerely believe that he is a heroic crusader engaged in “the good fight” and that anyone who disagrees with him is, in essence, confessing their guilt.
4- Lord Voldemort
A familiar but terrifying character and the archenemy of the nominal character in Harry Potter. Ralph Fiennes has had kids look at him anxiously because of this role. And it is easy to understand why. Voldemort’s primary portrayal is of a wizard so feared that his name must not be mentioned. He seeks the life of innocent Potter, whom he orphaned. Potter is the beloved object of viewers’ sympathy.
5- Caledon “Cal” Hockley
Arnold Vosloo’s look-alike Billy Zane receives abuse from fans who find his character in Titanic revolting. Cal’s geniality and sweetness around Rose dissolve almost abruptly into emotional and physical abuse that translates into a homicide attempt. However, he is equally sympathized with as the product of “bad programming.”
6- Tolian Soran
It is well known that Star Trek fans are devoted, sometimes even going so far as to bother the actors who play the bad guys. This was true of Martin McDowell in his act as Soran terminating Captain Kirk. Cyberbullying was gaining momentum then, and McDowell had lots of backlash from it.
7- Robert Crawley
Certain decisions can be tough to make. Yet, when one is made against the apparent reasons that culminate in irreversible damage, you risk the enmity of many. Crawley saw the reality of this in Downton Abbey, and Hugh Bonneville has had to cope with the transgression ever since because people hold him responsible for Sybil’s death.
8- Carter Burke
Following Ripley’s 57-year drift in space, Burke pretended to be a kind-hearted figure who was her primary source of support. However, Burke was later continuously presented as a cunning, cowardly, and frightened person. Burke was a master manipulator and liar whose “OK guy” persona allowed him to avoid being suspected by others. Paul Reiser got a lot of backlash for playing this role in Aliens.
9- Hans Landa
The racist role played by Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds earned him much hate. He is known as “the Jew Hunter” because of his extraordinary talent for finding Jews hidden in Occupied France. Landa is egotistical and ambitious, immensely enjoying his reputation as a formidable opponent. Getting the Best Actor Award for this role tells how well his make-believe act deceives fans to assume that’s who he is.
10- Sean Hokes
He was a dishonest guard at a juvenile detention center who routinely assaulted and mistreated the lads he was supposed to be watching over. He is killed by two of his adult victims years later, which launches the sleepers storyline. Many fans have a hard time dissociating Kevin Bacon from this character.
11- Mitch Hiller
The social disgust against domestic abuse infuses the repulsion for this role played by Bill Campbell in Enough. He had a history of aggression and violence, and his mother’s response to blame the abuse on Slim suggested that he had acquired this behavior from his family and decided it was appropriate. From its inception, Mitch has been revealed to be highly egotistical, entitled, domineering, and utterly heartless.
12- Sam Dawson
One of the rare cases where the protagonist received backlash is I Am Sam, which stars Sean Penn as Dawson. A man with special needs who unexpectedly finds himself a single father as his wife left him on the day their daughter was born. Many see his role as making light of the serious issue of general learning disabilities. Penn, though, earns sympathy for fighting for his daughter’s custody.
13- Guy
Ryan Reynolds’ Blue Shirt Guy in Free Guy has divided opinions. Not necessarily in the morality of his role but more in the question of his talent. A viewer noted that Reynold’s can act and has made entertaining movies, but the character itself seemed like a huge waste of his talent.
14- Ted Hendricks
Played by Adam Scott in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Hendricks is a highly stiff, impolite, and arrogant man who maltreats his employees, notably Walter Mitty. Many thought Scott was actually like this in real life, when in actuality, he’s more similar to his Parks and Recreation character.
Source: (Reddit).
Amaka Chukwuma is a freelance content writer with a BA in linguistics. As a result of her insatiable curiosity, she writes in various B2C and B2B niches. Her favorite subject matter, however, is in the financial, health, and technological niches. She has contributed to publications like Buttonwood Tree and FinanceBuzz in the past and currently writes for Wealth of Geeks.