Secondary villains who stole the show

Chairman Yang

Chairman Yang

if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
Mission Impossible 3's real villain is fine, and Tom Cruise does a great job, but Philip Seymour Hoffman's weapons dealer character is incredible, despite having very few scenes, and elevates the entire movie.




Gary Oldman also has a small part in True Romance playing a lowlife called Drexl Spivey. Again, despite being low on the totem pole in the movie, he exudes menace and is one of the most memorable characters in a movie packed with memorable characters.



Any good examples you can think of?
 
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Beni from The Mummy
I7OQNBoysiS6vTNq.gif
 
Artoris said:
question is does a secondary villain have to be a subordinate to a primary villain
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Up to how Chairman Yang Chairman Yang defines it. But I'd say it's about not being the primary threat that has to be overcome at that time. I'd say in ANH and ESB that Vader is the primary threat but it shifts to being The Emperor in ROTJ.
 
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Primary villain = antagonist, the character that makes the protagonist react, the one who is also impacted first / directly by the protagonist's actions.

In SW, the main is clearly Darth Vader. He's the first one to be introduced, he reacts to Luke's actions and viceversa. The Emperor is some guy in the shadows.

An epic secondary villain in Star Wars would be Boba Fett. He's just there for a minute, and it's enough to steal the show. His presence is menacing and cool.

In Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter is the antagonist and so, primary villain. It's a quid pro quo with the protagonist. The menace to the protagonist is not Buffalo Bill, he doesnt have any relationship with Clarice. Like the emperor, it's some guy in the background.
 
Angry_Megalodon said:
Primary villain = antagonist, the character that makes the protagonist react, the one who is also impacted first / directly by the protagonist's actions.

In SW, the main is clearly Darth Vader. He's the first one to be introduced, he reacts to Luke's actions and viceversa. The Emperor is some guy in the shadows.

An epic secondary villain in Star Wars would be Boba Fett. He's just there for a minute, and it's enough to steal the show. His presence is menacing and cool.

In Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter is the antagonist and so, primary villain. It's a quid pro quo with the protagonist. The menace to the protagonist is not Buffalo Bill, he doesnt have any relationship with Clarice. Like the emperor, it's some guy in the background.
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This one is up for debate but I think Buffalo Bill is primary as the whole story is about him
 
Angry_Megalodon said:
Primary villain = antagonist, the character that makes the protagonist react, the one who is also impacted first / directly by the protagonist's actions.

In SW, the main is clearly Darth Vader. He's the first one to be introduced, he reacts to Luke's actions and viceversa. The Emperor is some guy in the shadows.

An epic secondary villain in Star Wars would be Boba Fett. He's just there for a minute, and it's enough to steal the show. His presence is menacing and cool.

In Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter is the antagonist and so, primary villain. It's a quid pro quo with the protagonist. The menace to the protagonist is not Buffalo Bill, he doesnt have any relationship with Clarice. Like the emperor, it's some guy in the background.
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I get what you mean, but in Silence of the Lambs the actions of Buffalo Bill are what Clarice is setting out to tackle. He's the creator of the conflict she's trying to resolve. Hannibal creates threat and danger but it's not the primary one driving the plot. He also aids her in what she's trying to accomplish rather than primarily being there to impede her.

I think it's probably fair to say Vader is the antagonist of the original trilogy as a whole. He's one of the most, if not the most, iconic villains of all time. But in ROTJ Luke's goal becomes saving Vader and The Emperor is the obstacle in the way of that.
 
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Artoris said:
but he was influenced by sauron
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They ate both Mayar, so its not like Sauron could control Saruman.
But Saruman became corrupted and tried to get the ring for himself. Not to help Sauron.

Regardless, Sauron is the main villain. He is the lord of the ring.
Saruman is a secondary villain.
 
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winjer said:
They ate both Mayar, so its not like Sauron could control Saruman.
But Saruman became corrupted and tried to get the ring for himself. Not to help Sauron.

Regardless, Sauron is the main villain. He is the lord of the ring.
Saruman is a secondary villain.
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Sauron was the next in line to melkor as the source off all evil and Saruman was working for him even if he did not want to
 
Kronk from Emperor's New Groove

Oh Yeah GIF by Jesse Ling



Though I would say Yzma (the main villain) is very funny herself, and lots of great comedic scenes had the two of them playing off each other.
 
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