Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate (1997)
The Scenery-Chewing Performance: Al Pacino is loud. Loud, loud, loud. Cast him as a vaudevillian version of Satan, and he goes even louder still…
Why We Love It: Al shows his full range during his famous speech about the nature of God. By which we mean he starts off loud and ends up on the brink of collapse.
Gabriel Byrne in End Of Days (1999)
The Scenery-Chewing Performance: Byrne proves that playing Satan is carte blanche to go sailing in very OTT waters with a performance every bit as ham-laden as Pacino’s!
Why We Love It: A Satan with wandering hands who blows restaurants up for fun, smirking while he does so… it’s a role that demands a hamtastic performance!
Jack Nicholson in The Witches Of Eastwick (1987)
The Scenery-Chewing Performance: And our hat-trick of Satanic performances is completed by Jack Nicholson, playing Lucifer as, well, Jack Nicholson.
Why We Love It: I f you hire Jack to play the Devil, you’d be disappointed to get anything less than this!
Peter Stormare in Constantine (2005)
The Scenery-Chewing Performance: Oh alright then, one more. Stormare puts an even more deranged spin on Old Nick in this comic-book adaptation, in a reliably lurid performance.
Why We Love It: Keanu is far too wooden as the titular hero, but Stormare judges the tone perfectly with his enjoyably daft showboating.
Bruce Campbell in Army Of Darkness (1992)
The Scenery-Chewing Performance: Campbell is given yet more license to ham things up in this third, comedy-filled instalment of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series.
Why We Love It: Campbell gets to wisecrack like never before, as Ash’s transformation from frightened rabbit to all-action badass finally comes full circle.
Juliette Lewis in Conviction (2010)
The Scenery-Chewing Performance: Lewis might only have a cameo role in this courtroom thriller, but playing a nymphomaniac, chain-smoking boozehound, she certainly makes an impression.
Why We Love It: In what is otherwise a gratingly earnest film, Lewis cranks things up to a whole other gear with a performance that borders on the deranged!
Nic Cage in Vampires Kiss (1988)
The Scenery-Chewing Performance: The stuff of legend for Cage aficionados, where even his eyebrows are getting in on the OTT act.
Why We Love It: “I’m a vampire! I’m a vampire!” I’m a vampire!” I’m a vampire!”
Alan Rickman in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (1991)
The Scenery-Chewing Performance: Rickman takes his Hans Gruber routine, cranks up the camp and steals the movie away from po-faced co-star Kevin Costner. Nice work.
Why We Love It: If there’s a better example of panto villainy out there, we’ve yet to see it!
Arnold Schwarzenegger in Batman And Robin (1997)
The Scenery-Chewing Performance: Never have so many awful puns been delivered with such relish in a single film. Ice to meet you, indeed…
Why We Love It: Arnie’s delivery is amusing at the best of times, but those puns paired with that accent really does take it to the next level.
Nic Cage in The Wicker Man (2006)
The Scenery-Chewing Performance: Cage dials his eye-bulging, mouth-foaming shtick up to eleven as he dresses up in a bear suit, starts howling his dialogue and belts a series of old dears around the chops.
Why We Love It: “Not the bees! Waaaargh, they’re in my eyes!” And so on…
