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Entertainment & Arts

Greatest creeps in movies

Christopher Walken: Lifetime Achievement Creepy Christopher Walken doesn’t always play creepy characters, but he always brings a bit of creep to whatever character he plays. That role in “Annie Hall,” where he talks about how sometimes late at night he feels like driving into oncoming traffic, somehow sums up exactly how we imagine he’d be in person. Weird. Seminal creepy character: Johnny Smith in the 1983 film “The Dead Zone”

Christopher Walken: Lifetime Achievement Creepy

Christopher Walken doesn’t always play creepy characters, but he always brings a bit of creep to whatever character he plays. That role in “Annie Hall,” where he talks about how sometimes late at night he feels like driving into oncoming traffic, somehow sums up exactly how we imagine he’d be in person. Weird.

Seminal creepy character: Johnny Smith in the 1983 film “The Dead Zone”  (Jim Cooper / Associated Press)

James Woods

James Woods: Smarmy Creepy

These days, Woods excels at playing creepy like a senator who has some weird sex secret or a colleague that you suspect regularly goes to see a dominatrix after work. There’s a weird dignity to this brand of creepiness, and the sense that he’ll get away with whatever it is he’s doing. It’s not-really-your-business creepy, and you don’t think he’d hurt you or anything, but you’d rather not be around him if possible.

Seminal creepy character: There have been many, but we’re going with the pimp Lester Diamond in Scorsese’s “Casino”  (Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Ron Silver

Ron Silver: Boss Creepy

Maybe it’s his clipped diction or his “I could squash you” attitude, but this actor-turned-political activist seems summoned straight from the fiery bowels of cubicle hell. Pity the poor man who looks comfortable in a tailored suit. He may be as civic-minded as they come, but we’ll always think of him as a boardroom ghoul.

Seminal creepy character: He’s made better movies, but his work as the creepy senator in “Timecop” (1994) sums his vibe up nicely.  (Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times)

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