10 Evil Movie Villains Who Were Inspired by Real People

The old expression by Mark Twain, which states that truth is stranger than fiction, is certainly most applicable to consumable media because, more often than not, creators draw from reality to craft beautiful stories and complex characters. Not only do they serve the dramatic needs of a piece, but they also leave an indelible mark on the viewer. Several times, filmmakers have based their most memorable villains upon figures that existed in history.

A well-written villain enhances any narrative. They give the story conflict, high stakes, and a chilling motive to work with. But the fact that they have been mined from the deepest depths of humanity itself is an interesting fact. Directors who seek to craft a truly terrifying villain have looked at sad and unfortunate stories in history for inspiration. In this list, we explore some of the most bone-chilling villains who were subtly or directly inspired by real people.

10 Elliot Carver – Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Tomorrow Never Dies a high-octane action movie, and is the 18th in the James Bond series and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional agent. Starting off with a brilliant Bond-saves-the-day sequence, the movie quickly shifts its focus to global media tycoon Elliot Carver, who has plans to wage a war in Asia to boost his news rating. The manipulative mogul uses his influence over media and airways to stage international incidents and provoke conflicts between nations, leaving 007 to stop him.

Based on Infamous Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch

Many reviewers claimed that the character of Elliot Carver was based on Rupert Murdoch, a real-life leader of the News Corp entertainment empire, who was known to use unbelievable methods to expand the business. While director Roger Spottiswoode himself said in a 2004 interview that “Carver is Rupert Murdoch,” Bruce Feirstein, who wrote the screenplay for GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies, based the character on press baron Robert Maxwell.

Jonathan Pryce played the cunning villain with effortless ease, urging us to expect danger at any turn. When compared directly, not only did Maxwell’s fraudulent business dealings mirror Carver’s ruthless ambition in the movie, but the cause of his death, “Missing, presumed drowned, while on a cruise aboard his luxury yacht,” as revealed by M during the end, also hold similarities to his real-life departure. Rent on Apple TV.

Related: 10 Most Evil Villains From the James Bond Franchise

9 Ursula – The Little Mermaid (1989)

The Little Mermaid is a Disney classic. A fantasy romance, it follows mermaid Ariel falling in love with a human prince named Eric. Wanting to see him one more time and confess her feelings to Eric, Ariel strikes a deal with the sinister sea witch Ursula to trade her beautiful voice for human legs. But Ursula has plans of her own. She manipulates events in Ariel’s life from under the shadows, isolates her, and casts a time-bound spell upon her.

Based on a Famous Drag Performer

Voiced by Pat Carroll, Ursula was an iconic villain in the animated landscape. Her wicked powers, and evil schemes, use of dark magic and eventual destruction, set standards for several other creepy Disney antagonists. It is true that Ursula is a dramatization of Hans Christian Andersen’s Sea Witch character. But when adapted to the screen, the creators chose American drag performer Divine, real name Harris Glenn Milstead, to be a better inspiration.

Divine’s flamboyant personality, wild hair, and intimidating appearance perfectly aligned with what they had in mind for Ursula. Even though Divine did not live long enough to see himself represented on screen through a dark but beloved character, his legacy remains forever etched in our hearts. Stream on Disney+.

8 Hannibal Lecter – The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

In The Silence of the Lambs, we see Jodie Foster playing the role of an FBI trainee, Clarice Starling, trying to hunt a killer whose victims are always women. She seeks the counsel of the brilliant psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who is also a cannibalistic serial killer by night, in order to catch him. As the two work together and their interactions get more psychologically intense, Lecter and Starling form a dangerously twisted bond.

Based on a Real Doctor Named Alfredo Balli Trevino

Appearing in two of Thomas Harris’ novels, Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter is known universally to be portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. And it’s hard to imagine the most intelligently cunning villain otherwise. Harder to believe that he existed in real life. Harris based the character on a Mexican doctor named Alfredo Balli Trevino.

Having personally encountered the man – then known only as Dr. Salazar – Harris describes him as “a small, lithe man with dark red hair… and… a certain elegance about him.’” Needless to say, the resemblance is uncanny. Stream on Fubo TV.

Related: The Silence of the Lambs: Most Disturbing Moments, Ranked

7 Imhotep – The Mummy (1999)

A beloved supernatural adventure thriller, The Mummy is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name. In it, a thrill-seeking American adventurer named Rick O’Connell teams up with an aspiring Egyptologist named Evelyn and her bumbling brother for an impossible task. However, one night, Evelyn accidentally revives an ancient Egyptian priest named Imhotep from his cursed slumber. His return brings a plague of living dead upon the modern world, and it is up to Rick and Evelyn to stop him.

Based on a Real Priest Named Imhotep

While the rest of the movies in the franchise have been called out for being historically inaccurate, Stephen Sommers’ 1999 movie does one thing right.

It is hard to believe the fact that Imhotep was a real mummified priest from the past. But as the tale goes, the antagonist from the movie was an actual multi-faceted architect/astrologer working for King Djoser in the 26th century BC. credited for being one of the earliest physician-philosophers in history but never detombed in real life, he was transformed into a cursed genius bent on killing people, and brought to haunting life on screen by Arnold Vosloo. Rent on Apple TV.

6 Erich Ludendoff – Wonder Woman (2017)

Set during World War I, Wonder Woman follows Diana, the daughter of Queen Hippolyta, living a sheltered life on the hidden island paradise of Themyscira with her fellow Amazonians, when an American pilot crash-lands on the shore. After saving his life, Diana learns more about the war-torn outside world and believes that it is Ares, the god of war, who is causing all the evil. Determined to end the war and bring peace, she ventures out to save mankind, but is faced with the brutality of the German leader, General Erich Ludendoff.

Based on a Real WWI Army Leader

While drawing two of the most formidable villains, Doctor Poison and Ares, from DC Comics, the creatives behind Wonder Woman also borrowed a page from history books and brought to the screen a cunning puppet-master who pulled the strings while staying off-stage.

The character of General Erich Ludendoff was inspired by the effective head of the German effort in WWI, with whom he shares a name. His significant political power and mentally unstable acts of brutality influenced the rise of the Nazi party. The movie, while infusing supernatural abilities into him, dramatizes how his twisted thinking escalated the war. Stream on Hulu.

5 Dr. Evil – Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

A lighthearted comedy that parodies spy movies, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery introduces you to the British super-spy Austin Powers, who was cryogenically frozen in the 1960s. He wakes up three decades later in San Francisco and soon learns that his nemesis, the eccentric yet dangerous criminal mastermind Dr. Evil, has also been pulled out of slumber. Because their conflict spans decades, it is impossible for Powers to not want to fight him. He bands up with his henchmen and stops him from destroying the world.

Based on Lorne Michaels of SNL Fame

All the Austin Powers movies are born from the mind of Mike Myers. He plays the protagonist and the antagonist in these hilarious and goofy and over-the-top movies; his gift of transformation is nothing if not genius. Myers has always been upfront about his inspiration for Dr. Evil, which are Bond villains, a little bit of Donald Pleasence, and a lot of SNL producer Lorne Michaels. In Myers’ words, “The Dr. Evil voice is a little bit Lorne Michaels, there are no two ways about it.” Rent on Apple TV.

4 Moe Greene – The Godfather (1972)

The first movie in Francis Ford Coppola’s trilogy, The Godfather centers around Don Vito Corleone, the patriarch of the Corleone mafia family, who builds his criminal empire and tries to protect his interests as an Italian-American. The main focus is on Michael, Vito’s youngest son and an outsider, as he tries to adapt himself into the American underworld. But tensions arise when external foes cause trouble in Corleone’s operations.

Based on Real-Life Mobster Bugsy SiegelThe Godfather comprises several major and minor antagonists. Moe Greene, played excellently by Alex Rocco, is a Jewish mobster and Las Vegas casino who fearlessly stood his own against forces far greater than him. He even took care of Vito’s second son, Fredo, during the war.

In a memorable scene, he meets a violent death with a bullet to the eye while angering Michael, who wants the casino for himself. Greene’s character was based on real-life mobster Bugsy Siegel. Siegel was integral to the formation of modern casinos in Las Vegas, as well as activities like gambling and crime, even though they were through questionable means. Stream on Paramount+.

3 Le Chiffre – Casino Royale (2006)

Casino Royale stars Daniel Craig in his first appearance as James Bond. His mission is to track Le Chiffre, a private banker working for dangerous criminals and terrorists, and stop him from winning a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro because he plans to use the funds for evil reasons. Under the incredible direction of Martin Campbell, we see Bond maneuvering and outplaying his opponent while putting his life on the line.

Based on Famed Occultist Aleister Crowley

Le Chiffre is portrayed as a calculative and manipulative villain in Casino Royale. He is an expert at math and a brilliant chess player, which always works in his favor. And who better than Mads Mikkelsen would be fit to embody the character?

Author Ian Fleming drew inspiration from a real-life historical figure he had the opportunity to meet with personally – famed occultist Aleister Crowley. The man had a sinister reputation and was known to be involved with secret society and international crimes. Le Chiffre did not just resemble Crowley in his action but in his physicality too. Stream on Prime Video.

2 Annie Wilkes – Misery (1990)

Adapted by Rob Reiner from Stephen King’s 1987 novel of the same name, Misery is an intense cat-and-mouse thriller that centers around a bestselling novelist named Paul Sheldon, who crashes his car in a snowstorm and is rescued by Annie Wilkes. While nursing him back to health, Wilkes mentions how she is his “number one fan.” But when Paul tries to leave, Annie locks him up and showcases violent behavior to make him obey her.

Based on a Pediatric Nurse Named Genene Jones

It is not just filmmakers who milk real-life stories to create masterpieces. Writers like King himself have been fascinated by strange true stories. Annie Wilkes’ transformation from a sweet and caring nurse to a terrifying and raging woman is pretty intense. The inspiration comes from Genene Jones, a nurse working at Bexar County Hospital’s Pediatric ICU during the 1980s.

Apparently, Jones was convicted of murdering babies in her care by injecting lethal drugs into their systems. While she had no intentions of killing the babies, she exhibited twisted bipolar shifts in her behavior, much like Annie Wilkes. Stream on Showtime.

1 Leatherface – The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of the most beloved slasher films in the history of the subgenre. Its premise, which isn’t anything extraordinary, follows a group of five friends traveling through rural Texas when their van runs out of gas. They explore a nearby abandoned home and unexpectedly fall victim to a family of psychopathic cannibals. Among them is a man dressed in a mask made of human skin, wielding his chainsaw and terrorizing the youth.

Based on Ed Gein, One of the Most Infamous Serial Killers of All Time

Gunnar Hansen’s phenomenal depiction of Leatherface has haunted generations of horror fans. As an unrelenting killing machine, he finds satisfaction in drawing screams and blood from his victims.

While the visceral killings in the movie itself are a shocking sight to process, what’s more appalling is the fact that the character of Leatherface is based on the crimes of Ed Gein, a real-life murdered who furnished his home with human remains and would fashion keepsakes out of his victims’ bodies – including skin masks. Stream on Peacock.