Carmen's 100 Best Movie Characters

Updated: June 8, 2012, 2:00 PM ET
ESPN Radio 1000

Cyborgs. Anchormen. Witches. Killers. Psychos. Detectives. And even a one-man wolfpack. They're all represented in Carmen DeFalco's list of the 100 best movie characters of all-time.

Rank Character Actor Movie Carm's Take
100 Brick Top Alan Ford Snatch Don't let the wrinkles and Harry Caray glasses fool you. A nasty gangster who will feed you to the pigs.
99 Rupert Pupkin Robert De Niro The King of Comedy He'll stop at nothing to become TV's next big star.
98 Blake Alec Baldwin Glengarry Glen Ross How do you know he's successful? Because his watch cost more than your car.
97 Rocky Sullivan James Cagney Angels with Dirty Faces The original bad guy.
96 Trent Vince Vaughn Swingers Cool, confident and smooth talking. What's not to like?
95 Vincent Coccotti Christopher Walken True Romance Evil personified, just ask him. And don't get him in a vendetta kind of mood.
94 V Hugo Weaving V for Vendetta Eloquent, brilliant and vengeful. The perfect combination to topple a totalitarian government.
93 Roy Batty Rutger Hauer Blade Runner He just wanted more time. Don't we all?
92 Vic Vega (aka Mr. Blonde) Michael Madsen Reservoir Dogs "Are you going to bark all day little doggie, or are you going to bite?"
91 John McClane Bruce Willis Die Hard "Welcome to the party, pal!"
90 Frank Bullitt Steve McQueen Bullitt The "King of Cool" was just that as a San Francisco cop, especially in that car.
89 Winston Wolfe Harvey Keitel Pulp Fiction He laughs in the face of pressure.
88 Scarlett O'Hara Vivian Leigh Gone With the Wind A spoiled Southern Belle who will stop at nothing to keep up appearances. The love affair between Rhett Butler and her is the stuff of legend.
87 Jason Bourne Matt Damon The Bourne Identity Rarely have sequels been as exciting and entertaining. Speaks volumes about the complexity and toughness of the lead character.
86 Jessica Rabbit Kathleen Turner Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The hottest cartoon character EVER!
85 Snake Plissken Kurt Russell Escape From New York When you have a machine gun and an eye-patch, you're allowed to be a man of few words.
84 Maximus Decimus Meridius Russell Crowe Gladiator Revenge was never so sweet.
83 Inspector Jacques Clouseau Peter Sellers The Pink Panther Hapless, hopeless and hilarious in more than one film.
82 Marge Gunderson Frances McDormand Fargo Who says small town cops can't track down the bad guys?
81 Alonzo Harris Denzel Washington Training Day Denzel hit a grand slam with this one, playing an evil-to-the-core crooked cop with great personality and swagger.
80 Lt. Col. Frank Slade Al Pacino Scent of a Woman A tortured and tormented sole with no one to blame but himself. Where he starts to where he finishes is an entertaining ride.
79 Mrs. Robinson Anne Bancroft The Graduate Even her song hit number one on the charts. Enough said.
78 Tuco (aka The Ugly) Eli Wallach The Good, the Bad and the Ugly A quick trigger and a goofy charm made the character strangely likeable.
77 Clark Griswold Chevy Chase Vacation Vegas Vacation almost knocked him off the list but the character is just so priceless in the first three.
76 Annie Wilkes Kathy Bates Misery One of the creepiest antagonists ever.
75 Popeye Doyle Gene Hackman The French Connection Tough and determined -- drug smugglers beware.
74 Napoleon Dynamite Jon Heder Napoleon Dynamite The hair, the glasses, the outfit; it was all so perfect. And his dance moves were killer.
73 Alex Forrest Glenn Close Fatal Attraction Scary enough to make men everywhere think twice about cheating.
72 Quint Robert Shaw Jaws A quick wit and a story for every situation made this tough-as-nails captain captivating.
71 Clarice Sterling Jodie Foster Silence of the Lambs She seems so out of place but somehow gets the job done. A testament to her intelligence, no doubt.
70 Little Bill Daggett Gene Hackman Unforgiven Initmidating as hell...and he knew it.
69 Princess Leia Carrie Fisher Star Wars Every man's fantasy.
68 Edward Scissorhands Johnny Depp Edward Scissorhands Seriously, what did he do in the bathroom?
67 Rooster Cogburn John Wayne/Jeff Bridges True Grit A drunkard with an eye patch who is quick on the draw needs to make the list.
66 Dr. Evil Mike Myers Austin Powers He didn't go to evil medical school to be called Mr.
65 Wicked Witch Margaret Hamilton Wizard of Oz She was a mean old witch.
64 Ace Ventura Jim Carrey Ace Ventura He saved Snowflake and Dan Marino.
63 Frank 'The Tank' Ricard Will Ferrell Old School We all have one friend exactly like him. OK, maybe two friends.
62 Freddy Krueger Robert Englund A Nightmare on Elm Street Freddy masks flew off the shelf every year at Halloween during the '80s.
61 Marty McFly Michael J. Fox Back to the Future Don't call him chicken.
60 Axel Foley Eddie Murphy Beverly Hills Cop All joking aside he was a good partner and a good cop.
59 Red Morgan Freeman Shawshank Redemption He was the man who could get things. But he was the one that got something meaningful from his friend Andy.
58 Tony Montana Al Pacino Scarface Say hello to his little friend.
57 Jack Torrance Jack Nicholson The Shining Jack (the actor) brought Jack's (the character) inner demons to life like no one else could.
56 Colonel Hans Landa Christoph Waltz Inglorious Basterds He was frightening and funny in four different languages and completely stole the show.
55 Lt. Frank Drebin Leslie Nielsen The Naked Gun He shoots first and asks questions second.
54 Alan Zach Galifianakis The Hangover His wolfpack speech on the roof will never get old. The socially awkward guy trying so hard to fit in was executed flawlessly by Galifianakis.
53 Tommy DeVito Joe Pesci Goodfellas In the industry's most famous genre he stands out. He was both hilarious and cold blooded.
52 Jeff Spicoli Sean Penn Fast Times at Ridgemont High A free spirited, party icon of the '80s.
51 E.T. voiced by Debra Winger E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial 'Phone home' still brings a tear to my eye. Even Jurko cried.
50 Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting Daniel Day Lewis Gangs of New York A perfect depiction of the politics of the time.
49 Carl Spackler Bill Murray Caddyshack He has a license to kill gophers.
48 Luke Skywalker Mark Hamill Star Wars He doesn’t look like much but he fulfilled his destiny and became a great Jedi.
47 The Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger The Terminator We got "I'll be back" for the first time.
46 Borat Sacha Baron Cohen Borat Hysterical from start to finish.
45 Raymond Babbitt Dustin Hoffman Rain Man His idiosyncrasies are legendary and in a career filled with great performances this was Hoffman's best.
44 Patrick Bateman Christian Bale American Psycho Exercise, Huey Lewis and a lot of mutilation. Hands down, one of the scariest characters of the last 25 years.
43 Austin Powers Mike Myers Austin Powers A hilarious parody filled with great satire. "Allow myself to introduce....myself."
42 Sarah Connor Linda Hamilton The Terminator She's one bad woman you don't want to mess with.
41 Dr. Peter Venkman Bill Murray Ghostbusters Sarcastic and wise-cracking, the character was brought to life perfectly by Murray.
40 Dr. Emmett Brown Christopher Lloyd Back to the Future Put Back to the Future in Google and the first search that comes up without even finishing the sentence is "1.21 gigawatts"
39 Blade Wesley Snipes Blade 3 films combined to make over $415 million at the Box Office, reinvigorating the vampire genre. The huge commercial success of a comic book character also convinced Marvel to develop Spider-Man and X-Men for the big screen. How did that work out?
38 Jake Blues John Belushi The Blues Brothers The suit, sunglasses and chops were perfect.
37 Luke Jackson Paul Newman Cool Hand Luke He won't be subservient and he can't be caged.
36 Bruce Wayne/Batman Christian Bale The Dark Knight The best and most complex Batman character out of all we've seen on the big screen over the years. Bale captured the mental and physical struggles of Wayne and Batman wonderfully. Lots of battles waged in his mind and on the streets.
35 Charles Foster Kane Orson Welles Citizen Kane The depth and complexity of the character run deep. A lost childhood, money, power and greed all factor in.
34 The Man With No Name Clint Eastwood A Fistful of Dollars The “Spaghetti Westerns” changed the way Hollywood made Westerns.
33 Captain Jack Sparrow Johnny Depp Pirates of the Caribbean Keith Richards was Depp's inspiration -- and man did it work.
32 Anton Chigurh Javier Bardem No Country for Old Men Ruthless with no compassion whatsoever. A fascinating study into fate and chance.
31 James Bond Sean Connery Goldfinger Every Bond movie with Connery as the star. Dashing and sophisticated, Ian Fleming's spy is the gold standard.
30 Bluto Blutarsky John Belushi Animal House His sweatshirt said it best -- College.
29 Rick Blaine Humphrey Bogart Casablanca A romantic deep down he lights up the screen with Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). But the film's best scenes are between he and Capt. Renault (Claude Rains)
28 Keyser Soze Kevin Spacey The Usual Suspects We're not even sure if he really exists. That it's never truly revealed makes it all the more interesting and we're left to wonder if Verbal Kint is actually the Devil or just one of his errand boys.
27 George Bailey Jimmy Stewart It's a Wonderful Life Capra's selfless hero is an enduring image of what life has to offer.
26 Forrest Gump Tom Hanks Forrest Gump A fun journey through four decades including some turbulent times in American history. The simple Gump is the perfect way to deliver the message.
25 Harry Callahan Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry Serving the greater good...with a big gun.
24 Ratso Rizzo Dustin Hoffman Midnight Cowboy Whether it was improvised or scripted he delivered one of the most memorable lines in movie history.
23 Nurse Ratched Louise Fletcher One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One of the most hated villains in movie history, in a position of power she does more harm than good.
22 Jules Winnfield Samuel L. Jackson Pulp Fiction A bible-quoting hitman who begins to question if there's more to life. It's been done before but never with dialogue and style quite as sharp.
21 Alex DeLarge Malcolm McDowell A Clockwork Orange Creepy and disturbed in every way.
20 Yoda voiced by Frank Oz Star Wars Brilliant, symbolic and ironic, it was a stroke of genius on Lucas' part making one of the most powerful Jedi in the universe only 2-feet tall. And his syntax, despite being completely awkward, is legendary.
19 Wolverine Hugh Jackman X-Men The best character from a $2,000,000,000 film franchise.
18 Ellen Ripley Sigourney Weaver Alien One of the Sci-Fi genre’s all time greats, it showed how tough a female character could be. Would there have been a Sarah Connor without her?
17 Jeffrey Lebowski (aka The Dude) Jeff Bridges The Big Lebowski Bowling, White Russians and an area rug; these are the things important in the Dude’s life. Throw in a kidnapping, an overbearing friend and a drop gone wrong and you have one hell of a character.
16 Rocky Balboa Sylvester Stallone Rocky The great American underdog is the essence of the American spirit.
15 Ferris Bueller Matthew Broderick Ferris Bueller's Day Off Fun-loving and outgoing, he taught ever high school kid in America the proper way to ditch. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
14 R.P. McMurphy Jack Nicholson One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Ever the rebel, the man just wanted to watch the World Series.
13 Norman Bates Anthony Perkins Psycho Friendly and mild mannered we discover there's more to Bates that meets the eye. Is his mother the real evil? When we finally realize what's going on it's one of the great experiences in movie history. I won't ruin it for you.
12 Han Solo Harrison Ford Star Wars Luke eventually becomes a very powerful Jedi but at first he seems dorky and whiny. Han, on the other hand, is cool from the moment we meet him. Despite the bravado we root for him right from the start. And he backs up his talk with some fancy flying and a trusty blaster.
11 Gordon Gekko Michael Douglas Wall Street From humble beginnings to ruler of Wall Street, he's seemingly everything that's right and wrong with American Capitalism. "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works."
10 Ron Burgundy Will Ferrell Anchorman He loves the ladies, Scotch and the jazz flute. His arrogance should offend us but we can't stop laughing.
9 Vito Corleone Marlon Brando The Godfather Although he's the patriarch of massive crime family we relate more to what he's done to provide for his actual family. And while the violence isn't condoned the character is a fascinating study into honor, loyalty and resilience.
8 The Joker Heath Ledger The Dark Knight I can't really write anything that hasn't already been penned about the brilliance of Ledger's performance. But like this film's Batman character, this version of the Joker was the best and most sinister.
7 Indiana Jones Harrison Ford Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom He switched back-and-forth between bow-tie wearing professor and whip carrying crusader. And he was awesome as both.
6 Atticus Finch Gregory Peck To Kill a Mockingbird One of literature's greatest heroes translated to the big screen.
5 Tyler Durden Brad Pitt Fight Club Stuck in a mindless, dead-end job with little hope or future prospects? Tyler Durden can help. Charismatic and cool he's the rebel against everything we think we're supposed to get out of life. Or at least what people tell you you're supposed to get.
4 Travis Bickle Robert De Niro Taxi Driver He creates his own kind of justice to clean up the streets of New York City. De Niro's preparation for the character is legendary at this point and it paid off. Dark, twister and disturbed, he's a hero at the end, sort of.
3 Darth Vader voiced by James Earl Jones Star Wars Without a doubt the greatest character in the Star Wars universe. Nobody messes with Lord Vader and he intimidated children and grown-ups alike.
2 Michael Corleone Al Pacino The Godfather The character arc is fascinating to watch through the trilogy. When we first meet him he doesn't seem like the future ruthless Don of a vast criminal empire. While he grows the family business he can never really get control of his own family.
1 Dr. Hannibal Lechter Anthony Hopkins The Silence of the Lambs Don't underestimate him because if you do he'll be wearing your face. It's Lector that is truly evil so singularly personified (sorry Vincent Coccotti). We're amazed and frightened at the same time by his brilliance and cunning.

Thoughts on the list? E-mail Carmen, Jurko and Harry at cjh@espnchicago.com.

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