tbh the people i’ve met who really empathize with villains are people who have been villainized in their own lives and unjustly made to feel like they’re bad people by those around them. They doubt themselves and instinctively want to support disliked and obviously flawed characters, characters doomed to fail, and attempt to find the good in those characters that no one in their own lives see in them.
real evil people don’t relate to villains, they see themselves as the hero. :
This really holds to my theory that the best villains are played by actors who are genuinely good people. Compare Jared Leto’s abominable work as the Joker to the villainous prowess of Vincent Price, Anthony Hopkins, Mark Hamill, and my BAE Wentworth Miller.
Good people know what villainy is, so they know how to portray it. Bad people don’t.
Reblogging again for this commentary