The five most hated movie characters in cinema history
Some movie characters are simply impossible to like, whether villains, foils or just obnoxiously written headaches. The former makes sense in conventional film genres where our protagonists need an evil force to fight against, with the character exhibiting the standard traits of ruthlessness or immorality to generate hatred from the audience.
However, sometimes an audience despises a movie character despite that reaction not being the filmmaker’s intention. Sometimes, a character is too annoying, poorly written, or overall unnecessary to the plot to like or even tolerate. As a result, a hated movie character becomes the subject of relentless jokes and mockery or just plain cruelty.
There have been times an unlikeable character brings down a film’s entire quality or entertainment factor, acting as a significant spanner in the works. Other times, the character’s evil, rude or nasty nature represents everything morally focused audience members hate in people, fulfilling a director’s goal of writing and executing brilliant character types for emotional reactions.
Including one of the most obnoxious characters ever written and some cold-heartened villains, here are five of the most hated characters in cinema history.
Five of cinema’s most hated characters:
Jar Jar Binks (The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, George Lucas, 1999-2005)
This epic space opera, written and directed by George Lucas, gives Star Wars fans the backstory to the Empire and Darth Vadar, showing when he was once known as Anakin Skywalker. The prequels narrate Skywalker’s youth, his training as a Jedi, and his fall to the Dark Side.
Despite the significant success and popularity of the original Star Wars trilogy, the following films fell victim to critical panning and audiences mocking the stiff dialogue. A further reason for the relentless hate these films get is the annoying and unnecessary Jar Jar Binks, a Gungan who accompanies a young Skywalker. Initially a villain, Jar Jar infiltrates every scene he is in with his painfully unfunny jokes and irritating persona, with some fans citing him as partially ruining the franchise.
However, Lucas disagrees, as IndieWire shared his statement: “[The Phantom Menace] is one of my favourite movies and of course Jar Jar is my favourite character. Ahmed [Best], you did a fantastic job. It was very, very hard.”
Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Miloš Forman, 1975)
Based on Ken Kesey’s book of the same name, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest documents life at a mental institution as a new patient arrives. There, he faces the cruel ruling of Nurse Ratched, who makes life miserable for the rest of the patients.
Characterised by her past as a World War II nurse, Ratched enjoys tyranny and spite, keeping the patients in order through the fear of withholding necessities from them, coming across as a disturbing defiance of her craft that values care and healing. Thanks to some brilliant direction and a fantastic performance by Louise Flecther, Nurse Ratched is one of the film’s greatest villains and most hated characters.
Percy Wetmore (The Green Mile, Franco Darabont, 1999)
Franco Darabont adapts Stephen King’s beautiful yet tragically written novel into a beautiful yet tragic visual film. Tom Hanks plays a prison ward guard who oversees the arrival of a unique yet wrongfully accused inmate with healing powers.
One of the most adored and emotionally moving characters in film history, John Coffey, whom the brilliant Michael plays Clarke Duncan, is placed against a despicable and hated one called Percy Wetmore. Wetmore is another guard at the ward who showcases a sadistic streak but abuses his family connections and avoids being held accountable. The most shocking way Wetmore disturbs audiences is when he refuses to soak the sponge used to conduct electricity to a serial killer’s head, leading him to suffer a gruesome and agonising death in front of innocent onlookers.
When Wetmore refuses to watch what he has done like some scared child, his true cowardly nature is revealed, making us hate him more.
Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2007)
The fifth instalment in the Harry Potter film series sees the Hogwart students fight against the Ministry of Magic as they deny the dark lord Voldemort has returned. Professor Dumbledore also sees his authority tested by some new arrivals and authorities.
This stage in the Harry Potter saga sees the arrival of Dolores Umbridge, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who conceals a twisted nature behind a pristine and colourful disguise. Umbridge exhibits racism, abuse of power and torturous punishments towards her students, finding joy in her vile actions.
Mary Lee Johnston (Precious, Lee Daniels, 2009)
Lee Daniels’ gut-wrenching adaptation of Sapphire’s novel Push tells the story of a 16-year-old girl called Precious from an abusive home who enrols on an alternative education course. Precious engages in a painful journey of self-love, acceptance and growth.
Monique plays Mary Lee Johnston, Precious’ unemployed, profane, and abusive mother, a role that earned the actor the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Mary Lee abuses the welfare system by forcing her daughter to pretend she cares for her disabled grandchild when she doesn’t. Furthermore, we find out she allowed her husband to sexually abuse her daughter. The character shows hardly any remorse for the latter, even blaming Precious in a heartbreaking and disturbing closing sequence.
