Ancient Rome’s Most Famous Villians

Vicious, vindictive and conniving, Sian Phillips’s Livia dominates the big screen adaptation of Robert Graves’ famous novel. Phillips’ portrayal of Livia, a scheming empress poisoning her way to power, is often considered the inspiration for Cersei Lannister.

Off Screen: Livia was shrewd and confident. Was she really wicked and evil? We’ll never know, some sources says she knocked out potential heirs to Augustus so that her son Tiberius would be the only candidate. Helicopter mom or hell on wheels?

Sniveling and side-eyed, Joaquin Phoenix’s pitch-perfect portrayal of the narcissistic and delusional Commodus stands in stark contrast to Maximus’ (Russell Crowe) stoic demeanor in Ridley Scott’s blockbuster. Phoenix’s performance was so compelling it earned him an Academy Award nomination. This film redefined the modern image of the gladiator and brought Commodus’ villainy to life.

Off Screen: Commodus was a megalomaniac. We have several eye witness accounts, for example: Cassius Dio. The fact that he performed in the Colosseum speaks for itself.

Nobody has terrified audiences more than Malcolm McDowell’s Caligula. McDowell’s portrayal of the erratic emperor remains one of the most intense and memorable performances of a Roman villain. He took audiences on a wild descent into madness that is unforgettable. The film itself Caligula was not considered Oscar-worthy but has huge cult following.

Off Screen: Caligula has always been everyone’s favorite villain. His short four-year reign brought the empire to brink the ruin and was a literal reign of terror. In his book, Life of Gaius, Suetonius documented the extravagance, heinous parties, espionage and more which brought the empire to bankruptcy.

It’s 9 CE in Teutoburg Forest, where there’s a vicious battle between the Romans and the Germanic peoples. Arminius, (Laurence Rupp), a Germanic soldier working for the Romans after being given away by his family as a tribute is torn between Roman loyalty and Germanic roots. Rupp’s Arminius is so captivating, you almost want to root for him.

Off Screen: Arminius is the proto-Benedict Arnold, a German chieftain son who was raised as a Roman citizen and entrusted with important military strategies. In his case, blood ran thicker than water because he alone was purposely responsible for the annihilation of three legions in AD9. A well documented traitor and scoundrel.

In the TV series Spartacus, Lucy Lawless gave audiences Lucretia, a woman willing to manipulate, betray, and kill to climb Rome’s social ladder. Her character was so cunning and ruthless that they’re bringing her back for a Spartacus spin off.

Off Screen  Lucretia is a great tv villain, but unfortunately, she’s just fictitious character. However, women were definitely protagonists in Roman society.  Though they couldn’t hold public office, they could own property, and did exert influence  in public discourse on issues. A number of women in the imperial family were quite influential- most famously Agrippina, mother of Nero.

We can’t wait to see what Denzel Washington brings to the screen in the upcoming Gladiator sequel. He steps into the role of Macrinus, the emperor who rose to power after Caracalla’s brutal assassination—an event in which Macrinus himself played a pivotal role as head of the Praetorian Guard. With Washington at the helm, we can expect a masterful portrayal, full of guile, cunning, and a ruthless thirst for power. This is bound to be a performance that electrifies the screen..