Cruella de Vil, Voldemort and the 25 greatest movie villains of all-time

15. Gollum

As sympathetic as Gollum‘s story may be in The Lord of the Rings, we can’t forget that he ultimately succumbed to the dark side to be one of the movie’s main villains. We all know that Sauron is the primary villain of the trilogy, but we can’t forget all of the things that Gollum did in the name of the Ring and getting it back into his possession.

While the Ring itself may have helped twist a hobbit named Smeagol into our antagonist, that does not forgive him for what he did in the name of greed and power.

If you think about it, Gollum was actually a very twisted and dangerous individual. He was willing to do whatever it took to get his hands on “my Precious.” And perhaps what makes him truly dangerous is the fact that it was easy to let your guard down around him, because it was impossible not to pity him and what he became. But, the problem with that is, once you let your guard down, you are at his mercy.

Considering Gollum will stop at nothing, including murder, to get his hands on the One Ring, we can’t help but classify him a villain. And perhaps what makes him one of the greatest villains of film is the fact that he is a truly sympathetic character, who will push you off a cliff to get what he wants and you may never even see it coming.

Gollum is a twisted creature, who inspires our sympathy and yet he also has a murderous streak, and that alone is enough to make him one of the more interesting characters in The Lord of the Rings.