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Summary
A great deal of quality television series have intelligent villain , but some display have villains who always seem to be one step onwards of everyone , even if they end up losing in the end . Villains derive in all dissimilar shapes and sizes , and sometimes it ’s character other than intelligence that make a villain serious or intriguing . Some of thebest TV show villainsare life-threatening because they are remorseless , pragmatic , brawny , or any number of different qualities . However , the world ’s very best villains are the ones who are smarter than everyone standing in their agency .
The smartest villains often end up being the most entertaining because they are more unpredictable . Intelligent antagonists recover ways of seeing things the audience does n’t , conduct to some of TV ’s most shocking and cliff-hanging moments . In the constantly changing landscape painting of TV , somevillains even terminate up being their show ’s main character . Whether they are the main characters or not,10 TV show baddie in particular have turn up their tidings beyond any incertitude .
Related : The 30 Best tv set Characters Of All - Time
10Giancarlo Esposito As Gus Fring
Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul
Cast
Gus Fring ( Giancarlo Esposito ) is one of the undecomposed villain in two of TV ’s great show ever , break BadandBetter Call Saul . Fring is a restaurant owner who uses his business concern to front his massive drug operation . He begins as a cocain distributer for the Mexican cartel , but finally splits off on his own , becoming one of the most powerful methamphetamine dealer in the United States . Fring manage to build his drug empire through brilliant intellectand utter pitilessness . Up untilFring ’s death inBreaking Bad , he managed to stay ahead of the challenger and solidify his spot as one of TV ’s smartest villains .
9Michael Emerson As Benjamin Linus
Lost
Michael Emerson ’s Benjamin Linus from the belt - attain ABC drama , Lost , is easily one of TV ’s most intelligent villains ever . Ben always seems to forebode other characters ' movement long before they happen , and he ’s almost always prepared for what his enemies fox at him . Ben does some terrible thing inLost , but he seldom does anything stupid . His ability to direct the Others for so foresighted is proof of his intelligence agency , and the fact that he ’s one of the few people to understand the nature of the Island further establish his impressive brainpower .
8Aidan Gillen As Petyr Baelish
Game Of Thrones
Aidan Gillen ’s iconicGame of Thronesvillain , Petyr " Littlefinger " Baelish , is undoubtedly one of the most cunning plotter ever to embellish the small screen . This twisted but brilliant baddie manages to draw out off multiple character assassination without becoming a suspect until his would - be protégé , Sansa Stark ( Sophie Turner ) , turn on him and exposes his deceit . Had Littlefinger not revealed so many of his strategy to Sansa , he might never have even been accused of the crimes he committed . Baelish is a wickedly impertinent political tactics , always managing to abide three footstep in front of his enemies .
7Andrew Scott As Jim Moriarty
Sherlock
Anyone who manages to appease forward of Sherlock Holmes ( Benedict Cumberbatch ) must be incredibly chic , andSherlock ’s Jim Moriarty ( Andrew Scott ) manages to do it for quite a while . His grapheme is so level-headed that it ’s beentheorized Moriarty is more than one somebody . His brilliant schemes put him on top of a universal criminal organization and make him Sherlock Holmes ' most dangerous foe . As two of video ’s smart characters ever , Moriarty and Holmes become totally possessed with each other , and though Moriarty is finally vote out for serious , he spends most of his clip out in front of the iconic detective .
6Sarah Clarke As Nina Myers
24
Nina Myers ( Sarah Clarke ) turn out to be one of24 ’s most cunning villains , and her ability to convert Jack Bauer ( Kiefer Sutherland ) and the ease of the Counter Terrorist Unit ( CTU ) that she is on their side serves as undeniable proof of her intelligence . Myers spends most of24season 1 as a mole in the CTU , but even after she ’s notice , she manages to stick around and continue scheming until her death in season 3.Few masses manage to frustrate Bauer for as long as Myers does , and if she were n’t seriously level-headed , there ’s no fashion she could have done it .
5Giancarlo Esposito As Stan Edgar
The Boys
Giancarlo Esposito is a master of spiel brilliant TV show villains , and he turn out it once again in the purpose of Stan Edgar in Prime Video ’s superhero sarcasm , The Boys . Clawing his direction to the top of Vought International , Edgar demonstrates a unique level of patience and a muscular ability to manipulate masses . Edgar always seems to be several step ahead of his enemies , andthough he ’s eventually put into custody after being outschemed by Victoria Neuman , his in secret adopted daughter , he never seems fully removed as a threat .
4John Lithgow As Arthur Mitchell “The Trinity Killer”
Dexter
Dexter ’s Arthur Mitchell ( John Lithgow ) , ordinarily fuck as the Trinity Killer , is one of the show ’s most prolific sequent killers , andthe fact that he went unsuspected for several decennium before being observe by Dexter Morgan ( Michael C. Hall ) proves how smart he is . Mitchell managed to live an active suburban life as a community leader , high schoolhouse teacher , and church deacon , successfully hide his sinister nature from the world . His extreme intelligence and preternatural ability to obliterate his true nature make him one of tv set ’s most terrifying villains .
3Mads Mikkelsen As Hannibal Lecter
Hannibal
Mads Mikkelsen ’s functioning as Hannibal Lecter inHannibalis credibly one of the best TV villain portrayals ever . Lecter is a fiercely intelligent serial killer who form as a psychiatristhelping cut down other serial grampus . He is an extremely nuanced character , but his undeniable intellect is the most defining scene of his personality . He shows how impudent he is by forefend detection for his own cannibalistic murders and by tracking down other killers . It ’s difficult to fence that any TV show villain is smarter than Lecter .
2C. Thomas Howell As George Foyet
Criminal Minds
C. Thomas Howell ’s George Foyet inCriminal Mindsis one of the scarey serial killers in any television show , and his wit is key to his ability to bide ahead of the Behavioral Analysis Unit ( BAU ) . No matter how end the BAU gets to him , Foyet always seems to put off seizure . Though he is finally bolt down inCriminal Mindsseason 5,Foyet ’s impact carry on to haunt the team for years after his death . His power to overreach the extremely intelligent BAU team for years proves that he is one of idiot box ’s most intelligent baddie ever .
1Ross McCall As Matthew Keller
White Collar
Matthew Keller ( Ross McCall ) is one ofWhite Collar ’s best villains , mostly because of hisability to systematically outwit the brilliant Neal Caffrey(Matt Bomer ) . Keller orchestrates legion complex crime inWhite Collar , and his leak from prison house is one of the smartest schemes in the series . He is probably Neal ’s most desirable opposite in the show because he is one of the few theatrical role adequate to of matching wits with him . His thefts , kidnapping , and other criminal offence are always cautiously planned to keep him just out of the FBI ’s reach , prove his status as one of TV ’s smart villains .
