Who Are the Top Movie Heroes and Villains of All Time?

AFI's 100 Years: 100 Heroes and Villains List

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Harrison Ford and Chewbacca make up on Jimmy Kimmel. ABC Television/Jimmy Kimmel
By
Rebecca Murray
    Rebecca Murray is Editor-in-Chief for ShowbizJunkies.com and has been an approved film and television critic for Rotten Tomatoes since 2002.
    our editorial process
    Rebecca Murray
    Updated May 16, 2018

    In 2003, the American Film Institute -- an organization devoted to the history of American filmmaking -- announced its list of the top 50 movies heroes and villains of all time. The organization revealed the rankings in a television special titled "AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains" hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger (whose character the Terminator uniquely appears on both the top heroes and top villains lists). The organization began with a list of 400 characters, and 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry voted on the list.

    Here are the complete lists of winners:

    Heroes

    1. Atticus Finch in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
    2. Indiana Jones in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
    3. James Bond in DR. NO
    4. Rick Blaine in CASABLANCA
    5. Will Kane in HIGH NOON
    6. Clarice Starling in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
    7. Rocky Balboa in ROCKY
    8. Ellen Ripley in ALIENS
    9. George Bailey in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
    10. T. E. Lawrence in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
    11. Jefferson Smith in MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
    12. Tom Joad in THE GRAPES OF WRATH
    13. Oskar Schindler in SCHINDLER'S LIST
    14. Han Solo in STAR WARS
    15. Norma Rae Webster in NORMA RAE
    16. Shane in SHANE
    17. Harry Callahan in DIRTY HARRY
    18. Robin Hood in THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD
    19. Virgil Tibbs in IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT
    20. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid in BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID
    21. Mahatma Gandhi in GANDHI
    22. Spartacus in SPARTACUS
    23. Terry Malloy in ON THE WATERFRONT
    24. Thelma Dickerson & Louise Sawyer in THELMA & LOUISE
    25. Lou Gehrig in THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES
    26. Superman in SUPERMAN
    27. Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein in ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN
    28. Juror #8 in 12 ANGRY MEN
    29. General George Patton in PATTON
    30. Luke Jackson in COOL HAND LUKE
    31. Erin Brockovich in ERIN BROCKOVICH
    32. Philip Marlowe in THE BIG SLEEP
    33. Marge Gunderson in FARGO
    34. Tarzan in TARZAN THE APE MAN
    35. Alvin York in SERGEANT YORK
    36. Rooster Cogburn in TRUE GRIT
    37. Obi-Wan Kenobi in STAR WARS
    38. The Tramp in CITY LIGHTS
    39. Lassie in LASSIE COME HOME
    40. Frank Serpico in SERPICO
    41. Arthur Chipping in GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS
    42. Father Edward in BOYS TOWN
    43. Moses in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
    44. Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in THE FRENCH CONNECTION
    45. Zorro in THE MARK OF ZORRO
    46. Batman in BATMAN
    47. Karen Silkwood in SILKWOOD
    48. Terminator in TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY
    49. Andrew Beckett in PHILADELPHIA
    50. General Maximus Decimus Meridus in GLADIATOR

    Villains

    1. Dr. Hannibal Lecter in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
    2. Norman Bates in PSYCHO
    3. Darth Vader in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
    4. Wicked Witch of the West in THE WIZARD OF OZ
    5. Nurse Ratched in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
    6. Mr. Potter in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
    7. Alex Forrest in FATAL ATTRACTION
    8. Phyllis Dietrichson in DOUBLE INDEMNITY
    9. Regan MacNeil in THE EXORCIST
    10. The Queen in SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
    11. Michael Corleone in THE GODFATHER: PART II
    12. Alex De Large in CLOCKWORK ORANGE
    13. HAL 9000 in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
    14. The Alien in ALIEN
    15. Amon Goeth in SCHINDLER'S LIST
    16. Noah Cross in CHINATOWN
    17. Annie Wilkes in MISERY
    18. The Shark in JAWS
    19. Captain Bligh in MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY
    20. Man in BAMBI
    21. Mrs. John Iselin in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
    22. Terminator in THE TERMINATOR
    23. Eve Harrington in ALL ABOUT EVE
    24. Gordon Gekko in WALL STREET
    25. Jack Torrance in THE SHINING
    26. Cody Jarrett in WHITE HEAT
    27. Martians in THE WAR OF THE WORLDS
    28. Max Cady in CAPE FEAR
    29. Reverend Harry Powell in THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
    30. Travis Bickle in TAXI DRIVER
    31. Mrs. Danvers in REBECCA
    32. Clyde Barrow & Bonnie Parker in BONNIE AND CLYDE
    33. Count Dracula in DRACULA
    34. Dr. Szell in MARATHON MAN
    35. J.J. Hunsecker in SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
    36. Frank Booth in BLUE VELVET
    37. Harry Lime in THE THIRD MAN
    38. Caesar Enrico Bandello in LITTLE CAESAR
    39. Cruella De Vil in 101 DALMATIONS
    40. Freddy Krueger in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
    41. Joan Crawford in MOMMIE DEAREST
    42. Tom Powers in THE PUBLIC ENEMY
    43. Regina Giddens in THE LITTLE FOXES
    44. Baby Jane Hudson in WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE
    45. The Joker in BATMAN
    46. Hans Gruber in DIE HARD
    47. Tony Camonte in SCARFACE
    48. Verbal Kint in THE USUAL SUSPECTS
    49. Auric Goldfinger in GOLDFINGER
    50. Alonzo Harris in TRAINING DAY

    Edited by Christopher McKittrick