Top 10 Movie Villains Inspired By Actual People

Possibly everybody’s favorite character, let alone villain, from the Austin Powers series, Dr. Evil is well-known for being a spoof of typical James Bond villains, especially Ernst Stavro Blofeld. However, Dr. Evil is also reportedly based on a real person, and that person is “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels – who just so happened to be one of Mike Myers’ bosses from his time on the show. Myers is said to have based Evil’s facial and vocal mannerisms on Michaels’, and even the baddie’s catchphrase, “Throw me a frickin’ bone, here, people” is borrowed from him, a take-off of something he regularly spouted during SNL meetings.

No, there wasn’t really a dark magical wizard like this, so you can put your minds at ease. In reality, author J.K. Rowling allegedly based Snape, the greasy-haired, ambiguous tormentor of Harry and his friends, on her old chemistry teacher John Nettleship. Nettleship was the Head of Science at Wyedean School in Gloucestershire, which also happened to be where Rowling’s mother briefly worked. The schoolteacher would later describe himself as short-tempered and with a dark, foreboding laboratory. While we’re hoping he didn’t directly hit students over the head with a book, Nettleship’s strictness had surely become legendary by his retirement in 1997.

Ursula is technically based on the Sea Witch character from the Hans Christian Andersen story “The Little Mermaid,” which, you know, this movie is adapted from. But Disney actually dramatically expanded her role and provided her with an original character design for the animated musical fantasy. This design, including her wild hair, extravagant makeup, and large figure, was actually modeled after the famous drag queen Divine. Of course, he didn’t have tentacles – since he wasn’t an ocean-dwelling invertebrate. Divine was born Harris Milstead, but he often took on his Divine persona for his music and film career. Unfortunately, he passed away only one year before “The Little Mermaid’s” release.

Annie Wilkes is one of the most popular figures in horror, known for her seemingly sweet yet actually malicious personality and the atrocious acts she commits towards Paul Sheldon, an author she holds captive after rescuing him during a blizzard. These acts include tying him to a bed and brutally breaking his ankles with a sledgehammer. In the DVD commentary, director Rob Reiner stated that a pediatric nurse named Genene Jones, who would induce paralysis in her patients before attempting to “revive” them in order to receive praise for her efforts, loosely influenced the murderous tendencies of Wilkes’ character. Jones may have killed up to 46 children, though only 2 were confirmed - which landed her a 99-year prison sentence.

This movie gave us one of cinema’s most renowned villains in Hannibal Lecter, the unnervingly intelligent cannibal that helps Clarice Starling in her search for a serial killer. He is a character adapted from Thomas Harris’ two suspense novels from the ‘80s, but it wasn’t until the 21st century that Harris revealed Lecter’s inspiration to be a man he called Dr. Salazar. While working as a reporter, Harris spoke to this eloquent doctor in prison, in a similar interaction to Starling and Lecter’s discussions. Though Harris never revealed the inmate’s real name, Dr. Salazar’s story and the information given by Harris seem to point to a real-life Mexican doctor named Alfredo Balli Trevino, who served a sentence at the same prison for chopping up his lover.

While the titular villain may have been overshadowed by his own henchman in the film, he still poses as a menacing threat to James Bond as he attempts to radioactively contaminate the gold in Fort Knox. American media at the time claimed that Goldfinger’s persona was based on a gold mining magnate by the name of Charles W. Engelhard, Jr. During the ‘50s, Engelhard built his company into one of the world’s leaders in the refining of precious metals, with specific attention paid to gold, which he acquired from South Africa. Though the history books omit a small, steel hat-wielding henchman in Engelhard’s story, we can’t rule him out as a likely model for the character.

While he had a minor role as an intimidating bully in the first movie, Biff’s role is significantly expanded for the sequel. Now, Tannen is an extremely wealthy and powerful man. In October of 2015 - the same month and year that are visited in the second film - writer Bob Gale admitted Donald Trump influenced the older version of Biff, as the business mogul was a well-established American figure in the late 1980s thanks to his significant role in the real estate market. While Gale had never admitted this fact before Trump’s presidential bid in 2015, the similarities between the two are undeniable.

Known around the world for his specialty chainsaw and mask made from human skin, Leatherface is one of the most popular and influential characters in horror movie history. As horrifying as he is, it might terrify you even more to find out that a real-life killer named Ed Gein, who also wore a mask made from the same material, is allegedly one of the sources for the character. This Wisconsin criminal exhumed corpses and made keepsakes, like lampshades, from their bones and skin. Gein’s story has been so instrumental to writers and filmmakers that he has inspired numerous other fictional villains, such as “Psycho’s” Norman Bates and “The Silence of the Lambs’” Buffalo Bill. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

Magneto is one of the X-Men’s primary antagonists, a man who holds the ability to manipulate magnetic fields and dons a helmet that’s resistant to telepathy. It sounds nerdy, but it’s pretty badass when he completely uproots the Golden Gate Bridge in “X-Men: The Last Stand.” His villainy stems from his violent and forceful attitude against mutant oppression by humans, which we can’t help but admit sounds similar to Malcolm X’s approach towards racism in America. In fact, comic book writer Chris Claremont confirmed the connection. To top things off, Magneto’s first comic book appearance was in the September 1963 issue of X-Men, at the height of the civil rights movement.

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Kit Carruthers & Holly Sargis
“Badlands” (1973)
Based on Charles Starkweather & Caril Ann Fugate

Frank Costello
“The Departed” (2006)
Based on Frank Costello

Keyser Söze
“The Usual Suspects” (1995)
Based on John List

Walter E. Kurtz
“Apocalypse Now” (1979)
Based on Tony Poe

Neil McCauley
“Heat” (1995)
Based on Neil McCauley

Known for his penchant for violence, his bloodsucking ways and his signature cape and fangs, Dracula has become a pop culture mainstay throughout the last century and beyond. It all started with the famous 1897 novel of the same name, in which author Bram Stoker based his iconic villain on the 15th century Prince of Wallachia, later dubbed Vlad the Impaler and also known as Vlad Dracula. While it hasn’t been proven that Vlad drank blood, he did gain a reputation for being excessively violent and cruel, mostly stemming from his practice of impaling enemies on the battlefield. As such, he’s inspired numerous films throughout the years, technically starting with the unauthorized adaptation called “Nosferatu” in 1922, and he continues in the 21st century.

Do you agree with our list? Can you think of any movie villains that were inspired by real people? For more evil top tens published every day, be sure to subscribe to Watchmojo.com.