The Biggest Jerks In Movies

Since the dawn of cinema, the character of the hero has been integral to telling a compelling story. And even though some of our most beloved characters are the ones that we look up to, the foils to the hero have gone on to become some of the most memorable characters in their own right. Though they may be detestable, with a few on our list even blurring the line into outright villains, the character of the jerk typically falls somewhere in between good and bad. They might have motives that don't quite come from a place of outright evil, or simply be a product of humanity's less than commendable traits. At any rate, every character we're discussing is punchable to say the least.

Below, we'll be talking about some of the most loathsome characters to ever be featured in film. We'll be covering everything from more lighthearted animated children's entries, to some of the most important works of cinema ever crafted. Keep in mind, to cover the full extent of how reprehensible some of these characters are, we'll be delving into their full stories, spoilers and all.

While he isn't the only entry on our list from the world of witchcraft and wizardry, Draco Malfoy managed to be one of the most persistently annoying characters throughout the entire franchise. While his antics were innocent enough during the first few films, he went down a truly dark path over the events of the eight films.

Belonging to the Slytherin house, Draco was practically doomed to be a bad apple from before he even set foot in Hogwarts. The Malfoy family's beliefs that only those of pure blood should continue the practice of wizardry rubbed off on young Draco, and it became a prejudice he would carry for much of his life. As the battle of Hogwarts approached, Draco would find himself fully believing in the mission of the Death Eaters, becoming one himself. Even though he started to have a change of heart towards the end, by that point it was too little too late, as he still played a part in the death of Dumbledore. Even though he wasn't always the worst, you can't deny Draco was one of the most enduring jerks throughout the film series.

The saying "Less is More" is sometimes true when it comes to classic Disney, and it couldn't be more applicable than when talking about this character. Going unseen throughout the events of "Bambi," this character is only chillingly referred to as "Man" by the animals of the forest. While the viewer never lays eyes on him firsthand, his presence is felt and his actions seen, weighing heavily over the woodland creatures.

In an infamously brutal scene that likely scarred many a young viewer, Bambi's mother is shot dead while the two flee from a nearby hunter. As a result, Bambi is forced to adapt to a broken life, with the threat of man always lurking around every corner. As he matures, Bambi learns the rules of survival in the woods and how to avoid meeting the same fate as his mother. Despite Man never being explicitly named or seen, the character still left their mark on the cinema landscape for their unmatched cruelty, proving that "Bambi" is actually terrifying.

While John Hammond's rationale to open a park featuring giant carnivorous dinosaurs is definitely questionable, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who could really call his kind hearted character a jerk. The sloppy, self centered computer scientist Dennis Nedry on the other hand, is pretty much universally hated by everyone who enjoyed this Spielberg classic.

Nedry's own greed winds up being the catalyst for the park's destruction. After he accepts a bribe to sneak out a number of dino embryos, he disables the park security, using it as cover to carry out his theft. It ultimately ends up biting him though, when his own reckless actions pit him against a hostile dilophosaurus and he meets an unsavory demise. His stupidity isn't just confined to getting himself killed though, as pretty much the entire failure of the park, as well as its subsequent deaths, can be pinned on this self-serving jerk.

Focused on the day-to-day doldrums and the insanity that results from a 9-5 job, "Office Space" has become a cultural icon since its 1999 release for everything it had to say about the American office lifestyle. At the heart of it all is Bill Lumbergh, the Division Vice President of the Initech software company, and the embodiment of your typical office drone.

Another cog in the machine, his incessant pestering of every employee at the company perfectly encapsulates the soul-crushing nature of a job we're all too familiar with. His monotone delivery of every asinine order he gives only further drives his employees away from him, with the most visible example being Peter's complete disregard for office etiquette and protocol throughout the film as a result of Lumbergh's nagging. The most dramatic reaction though comes at the climax of the film when, after repeatedly having his stapler stolen and his cubicle relocated, Milton makes good on his promise to burn the office to the ground as revenge.

Hitting theaters in 1986, this sarcastic coming of age comedy was a huge hit upon release, grossing over ten times its budget. It has since gone on to be immortalized in the hearts of everyone who's given this classic comedy a try with its free-spirited message. While a normal teen comedy would rely on the authority figure to be the one stifling everyone's fun, which Principal Ed Rooney does throughout the film, the worst offender to the friend group winds up being Ferris Bueller himself.

To be fair, almost everyone who's been to high school has likely lied to get out of class at least once, but Ferris doesn't stop at just truancy. He convinces his best friend Cameron into letting them take his father's Ferrari for a joyride around Chicago, and promptly lets him take a backseat to the time Ferris spends with his girlfriend. And while Ferris isn't the one who straight up kicks the priceless car through a glass window at the end of the film, if he had just been a little more considerate of his friends none of that would have happened.

Whether it's politicians, law enforcement, or even teachers, in a perfect world, those in a position of power should be role models. That probably couldn't be more true than for those in healthcare, as we entrust the people who care for us and our loved ones to be kindhearted, virtuous, and understanding souls. None of the above are apt descriptors of Nurse Ratched, who shouldn't be anywhere near the role of healthcare provider, especially with patients as vulnerable as those residing in a mental institution.

When Jack Nicholson's character of Randle McMurphy finds himself in a mental institution after being found guilty of a crime, he integrates himself with the rest of the patients, all at the mercy of the vindictive Nurse Ratched. Her ward resembles a prison with herself as the warden, as she torments the patients by playing off their weaknesses. She frequently rations patients' cigarettes and plays mind games with them to break their spirits. McMurphy, ever rebellious, is determined to topple her reign over the institution, and does what he can to turn the population against Ratched. He nearly succeeds too, until an ultimate act of cruelty by Nurse Ratched drives one patient to commit suicide, leading McMurphy to violently lash out in retaliation.

Hey, we might be cheating a bit by putting Gendo on the list, given the fact that the franchise his film appearance came from is probably best known for the hit mid '90s anime series "Neon Genesis Evangelion." Still though, his disregard for the well being of anyone around him and downright terrible attitude towards his son, Shinji Ikari, all come to a head in the 1997 film "Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion." As an aside, if you're not a fan of this '90s anime, things are about to get a little complex.

After putting the pieces for human instrumentality into place and thereby bringing about an end to mankind as we know it, NERV headquarters are raided by SEELE, with the majority of its employees gunned down. Not afraid to partake in the killing himself, Gendo fatally shoots Ritsuko after she tries to put a stop to his plan. Finally alone with Rei and ready to finish what he came to do, he's betrayed at the last second, only realizing his mistakes and how terrible of a father he was in his dying moments. Jeez, all that bloodshed just to see his wife again.

Now a timeless classic in its genre, the 1984 comedy "Ghostbusters" is well known for having just about each and every one of its characters being a jerk in their own right. While Peter Venkman himself almost takes the title for worst in the film with his lust for money being his biggest motivator in life, he's edged out by Walter Peck, the EPA inspector with a grudge against Venkman starting almost the second they meet.

After he asks to see the containment device the group is using to house the captured spirits and is rebuked by Venkman, Peck returns with the law in hand. His own arrogance and distrust for the Ghostbusters lead him to order the containment unit be shut off, much to the dismay of the paranormal exterminators and even the electrician Peck brought along with him. The resulting explosion unleashes a maelstrom of ghosts upon Manhattan, with the blame resting squarely at Peck's feet.

While some of his actions might be less evil than the majority of jerks on our list, you'll be hard-pressed to find many characters whose names are synonymous with being a buzzkill. First appearing in the 1966 animated film "How the Grinch stole Christmas!" this yuletide menace has terrorized the Christmas spirit for over fifty years, with actors such as Boris Karloff, Jim Carrey, and even Benedict Cumberbatch all lending their talent to bring the mischievous character to life.

Created by the beloved children's author Dr. Seuss, the character of the Grinch is a mean-spirited and cynical creature who despises nothing more than the merriment and festivities of Christmas. Every rendition of the now classic story sees him living atop a nearby mountain while doing everything in his power to ruin the holiday cheer for the residents below him in Whoville. His plans reach a climax as he gathers every present and piece of Christmas cheer he can find on Christmas Eve with the intent to destroy it, before having a change of heart at the last second come Christmas morning. While most retellings of this timeless story over the years have been animated, Jim Carrey's live-action version in 2000 was memorable, to say the least.

Before he would direct "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," John Hughes would create "Weird Science" an oddball teen comedy that starred the socially awkward Gary and Wyatt as the friend duo that decides to create a real woman named Lisa, Frankenstein style. Always nearby is Wyatt's domineering older brother, Chet, whose sole purpose in life is to make Wyatt's life a living hell. While Lisa's purpose is to look over the two boys, she can't prevent much of Chet's harassment towards the duo. Not yet at least.

Between his constant extortion of his younger brother, name-calling, and comically violent behavior, it's no wonder the two leads try to hide their supernatural creation from Chet. Things come to a head when he busts down a door and sticks a shotgun in Gary's face. After Chet forces Gary and Wyatt out of the house with their girlfriends in hand, Lisa decides enough is enough, and turns this tyrannical nutcase into a giant, disgusting blob monster.

The final installment in what's known as "The Man with no Name" trilogy, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" saw our nameless hero and his sidekick Tuco racing against a ruthless bounty hunter known as Angel Eyes, as the trio pursue a cache of Confederate gold. Clint Eastwood's classic western films have had a number of baddies that the legendary gunslinger has been forced to face off against, but of them, all Angel Eyes is hands down the most loathsome.

While on his own quest to find the treasure, Angel Eyes doesn't hesitate to kill anyone who poses a threat to him. He's particularly cunning too, taking advantage of the ongoing American Civil War to disguise himself as a Union soldier at one point, and using his disguise to torture Tuco into giving up valuable information on the gold's whereabouts. He isn't able to beat The man with no name to the valuables, resulting in a three-way standoff that's been remembered as one of cinema's most famous duels.

Sure, for most of his time at Hogwarts Draco Malfoy was nothing but a constant thorn in the side of Harry and pretty much everyone else who he interacts with, but at least he's a kid so he gets a pass on at least a few things. This cat-loving and sickeningly pink shrew, on the other hand, doesn't get any forgiveness from us. Her smug, self-righteous attitude only does more harm than good, as she rises to become the Headmistress of Hogwarts during Harry's fifth year.

During her reign she was unusually harsh, enacting strict punishments on students left and right, a prime example of which is when she tortured Harry by forcing him to write an apology into his own flesh. To make matters even worse, she weakened the entire student body by crippling their study of defense against the Dark Arts, helping to set up the disasters that would soon befall the school. Her snooty, controlling, and unbelievably cruel attitude only made it that much more satisfying watching her get dragged into the woods by Centaurs.