Good Guys Gone Bad

Most actors agree it’s infinitely more fun playing a truly devious character than a straight shooter, and jump at the chance to play the villain. And when those guys we know and love for their typically selfless and good-hearted characters get down and dirty with the bad boys, we love it as much as they do.

The latest good guy to fall is Tom Cruise in Collateral. Yes, that’s right, the same good guy who bravely fought the Imperial Japanese army for the rights of the samurai in The Last Samurai and flew U.S. jets in a blaze of glory in Top Gun. This time around our hero plays a stone-cold sociopath, a contract killer who forces a hapless Los Angeles cabbie (Jamie Foxx) to drive him from job to job. (We’ll bet Cruise enjoyed every delicious minute of it.)

Let’s take a closer look at those good bad guys we love.

Tom Cruise

Movie: Collateral

Character bio: Cruise plays Vincent, a professional contract killer sent to Los Angeles by a ruthless drug cartel to knock out five witnesses in one night, who elicits the help of Max (Jamie Foxx), a cab driver caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Most dastardly deed: Shooting a jazz player point blank in the head, after having a drink with him and complimenting the man on his music.

Best quote: “What? I should only kill people after I get to know them?”

Was he convincing: With gray hair, salt-and-pepper stubble–and deadly accurate aim–you’d better believe it.

Overall rating (1-10): 9

Movie:Training Day (2001)
Character bio: Washington is Detective Sgt. Alonzo Harris, a corrupt cop who gets just as deep in the dirt as the criminals he encounters.
Most dastardly deed: When he chillingly executes his long-time informant and friend (Scott Glenn).
Best quote: “To protect the sheep you gotta catch the wolf, and it takes a wolf to catch a wolf.”
Was he convincing: Does winning an Oscar for Best Actor say anything?
Overall rating (1-10): 10

Movie: What Lies Beneath (2000)
Character bio: Ford plays Dr. Norman Spencer, a seemingly perfect husband until his wife Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) is haunted by a mysterious woman and discovers a nasty secret he has been hiding.
Most dastardly deed: Anesthetizing his wife and trying to drown her in the bathtub.
Best quote: “The first time I met you, all I wanted was to spend the rest of my life with you. [shakes head] Not gonna happen now.”
Was he convincing? Actually, yes, but who knew Ford could be so mean? We are talking about Indiana Jones, Hans Solo and the president of the U.S., after all.
Overall rating (1-10) : 7

Movie: The Terminator (1984)
Character bio: In the role that put his name on the map, Schwarzenegger plays one tough cyborg from the future sent back in time to exterminate Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) before she gives birth to the human rebel leader who will win the battle against the bots in the future.
Most dastardly deed: Totally annihilating a police station.
Best quote: “I’ll be back.”
Was he convincing? Well, since Schwarzenegger hadn’t played any of his action heroes yet, his bad guy worked perfectly for us–all business, no talk. Of course, when he revisited his inner cyborg in Terminator 2, he got to be the good robot.
Overall rating (1-10) : 9

Movie: Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Character bio: The completely deranged but weirdly charming Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins) is imprisoned for his heinous crimes. When FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) comes to him to ask for help in finding a serial killer on the loose, she gets much more than she bargains for.
Most dastardly deed: Biting the ear off one police officer and slicing off another cop’s face to wear as a mask to escape.
Best quote: “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.”
Was he convincing? Winning an Academy Award for the performance is one thing, but we still have nightmares about this one.
Overall rating (1-10) : 10

Movie: The Jackal (1997)
Character bio: Willis takes on the role as the infamous terrorist/spy the Jackal, a man of many disguises who is hired to assassinate the head of the FBI. The only man who can recognize him-and perhaps stop him from accomplishing his task–is an imprisoned IRA terrorist (Richard Gere).
Most dastardly deed: Testing out a new high-powered weapon on a poor unsuspecting accomplice (Jack Black).
Was he convincing? Willis had the cold-hearted killer mentality down pat, but what we really wanted was for him to break out into his classic wisecracking hero and save the day.
Overall rating (1-10) : 6

Movie: Internal Affairs (1990)
Character bio: Dennis Peck (Gere) is your classic smooth-talking, corrupt cop-attractive, charismatic and highly manipulative, the kind of guy who can be your best friend or your worst enemy. He lives a pretty sweet life until Raymond Avila (Andy Garcia) from the department’s Internal Affairs division begins to investigate Peck’s dirty dealings and things get messy.
Most dastardly deed: Having sex with a man’s wife in front of him and then killing him.
Was he convincing? Yes, indeed. Actually, this was one the most compelling performances of Gere’s career-all Buddhist ideals aside, he obviously had fun playing the bad guy.
Overall rating (1-10) : 9

Movie: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Character bio: Tom Ripley (Damon) is an ordinary sociopath, with very little excitement in his life. Yet, he has the uncanny ability to, in his words, “tell lies, forge checks and impersonate almost anyone.” When he travels to Italy and meets the dashing Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), Tom suddenly finds a purpose in life.
Most dastardly deed: Bludgeoning Dickie to death in a rowboat-and assuming his identity.
Best quote: “Well, whatever you do, however terrible, however hurtful, it all makes sense, doesn’t it, in your head? You never meet anybody that thinks they’re a bad person.”
Was he convincing? Eerily so. It’s because Damon easily embodies a character that is so “nice guy” on the outside but who turns out to be a raving lunatic on the inside.
Overall rating (1-10) : 9