Today let’s look at Ten Villain Types for Voice Acting in animation, film, and literature. They come in various forms, each with distinct characteristics and motivations. For voice acting, a character could even combine many villain types depending on the script and/or director. The ten types are broken into two main groups. Villains with Strong Self-Awareness and Villains with Less Self-Awareness. Self-Awareness is an important part of character development for voice acting that will be discussed further in an upcoming voiceover blog post.
Villains with Strong Self-Awareness
The Mastermind or Evil Genius is highly intelligent, strategic, and manipulative. They often have intricate plans with multiple layers. Examples are Lex Luthor from DC Comics, Hans Gruber from “Die Hard”, or Andrew Ryan from BioShock.
The Psychopath or Sadist derives pleasure from cruelty, lacks empathy, and may have a disturbed psychological profile. We see this in variations of The Joker, in “American Psycho”, and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy.
The Fallen Hero is a formerly good person who turned to villainy due to corruption, betrayal, or personal tragedy. Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is an excellent type of this villain, as is Harvey Dent/Two-Face from “Batman”.
The Corrupt Authority uses their position of power for personal gain or to oppress others. Senator Palpatine from “Star Wars” and Zero in “Metal Gear” are good examples of corrupt villains.
The Trickster uses cunning, deceit, and often humor to cause chaos, or challenge the status quo. The character relies on outward illusions or acts as an actual shape-shifting villain. Their morality can be ambiguous. Examples: Loki from Norse mythology and adapted in Marvel comics and shows, or The Coyote in Native American folklore, and even Maui from “Moana”.
Villain Types for Voice Acting with Less Self-Awareness
We’ve looked at the first five of Ten Villain Types for Voice Acting that have strong self-awareness. Now let’s look at the remaining five villain types which have less self-awareness.
The Anti-Villain or Sympathetic Villain has noble or understandable motives but uses morally questionable or evil methods to achieve them. They might be seen as a villain by some but a hero by others or even themselves. Magneto from the X-Men series is an example since he fights for mutant rights through violent means. Walter White from “Breaking Bad” is another Sympathetic Villain.
The Monster or Beast is often driven by instinct or nature rather than complex societal or psychological motives. They might not even see themselves as evil, but others perceive them as such due to their actions. Classically, for inspiration we see this in Godzilla or King Kong. More recently, we find this villain type in characters like Venom in both film and video games. The voiceover role may be limited in scripted lines, but it can still convey a lot of emotion.
The Henchman or Minion is not necessarily the main villain but serves a higher evil calling or master. They can range from maniacally loyal servants to somewhat sympathetic characters with their own motivations: such as Iago from “Aladdin”, or the Mercenaries in “Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey”
The Zealot or Fanatic is driven by extreme beliefs or ideologies, often religious or political, which they pursue fanatically. Ra’s al Ghul and Bane from Batman are both fueled by revolutionary fervor.
The Nemesis specifically exists as the counter to the hero, often having a personal vendetta or a direct opposition to what the hero stands for as the Green Goblin does to Spider-Man, or the whole Nemesis system in “Shadow of Mordor.” The nemesis usually thinks that the hero is the evil one.
Each of these archetypes can be combined, or nuanced with personal backstories, motivations, and character development, making villains complex and sometimes even sympathetic figures in contemporary storytelling. There are no hard rules for playing any of these Ten Villain Types for Voice Acting. However, keeping these in mind and how the types could be combined can develop richer characters, than is the case if one is just playing “the bad guy.”