THE SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM

ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES (1991)

IT SHOULDN’T BE a surprise that Alan Rickman is the only actor to make it onto this Greatest Villains list twice — he does bad deeds with such gusto. Legend has it he kept refusing the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham until it was agreed he could do whatever he liked with it — which, to Kevin Costner’s rumoured chagrin, included stealing the whole damn show. Every sneer, every eye-roll, every flourish of splenetic exasperation is a joy to behold. Whether he’s cancelling Christmas or cutting your heart out with a spoon, Rickman’s crowd-pleasing pantomime villainy is downright heroic. DAN JOLIN