Sheev Palpatine (Star Wars) by Ian McDiarmid

Though the Star Wars franchise is rife with villains, Sheev Palpatine is the most favored pick among critics. This character epitomizes political and martial authority at its worst. Ian McDiarmid starred in four of the six films, beginning with Return of Jedi, in which he portrayed Palpatine as a 23-year-old man - 22 years before Sith was slain! (He also had a computer-generated cameo role in Strikes Back)

Ian has been the top actor in British theaters during the past decades. Despite his seemingly worn-out looks, the man has an exceptional voice instrument. And as Palpatine, he used this mellifluous tone to inject poison into Anakin Skywalker, transforming the aspiring youngster into Darth Vader. Sheev Palpatine excels at what a cinematic villain must do: persuade the humans he corrupts, along with the theatrical audience, that evil is both reasonable and necessary, freeing and captivating.

Sometimes, the terrifying villains are those who manage to demonstrate their lethality without lifting a finger. While Palpatine is notorious for his lack of hesitation to get his hands filthy, his strongest asset as a supervillain stems from his shrewd brain and ability to manipulate. Throughout the plotlines, Palpatine retains his rule of the Empire, supervises the First Order's revival, and tempts three notable Jedis (Ben Solo, Anakin Skywalker, and Dooku) to the Dark Side. Most brilliantly, he orchestrates his ascension to totalitarian authority by running both ends of the Clone Wars. And the frightening thing is that all of these plans succeeded. It is rare for evil schemes to prevail, much less on the scale Palpatine was attempting.