The Devil has been playing with our minds for centuries. No matter what you call him, The Prince of Darkness, Lucifer, Old Scratch, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles…The Devil has been deeply rooted in our psyches since childhood. Modern conceptions of the Devil include the concept that it symbolizes humans’ own lower nature or sinfulness. From Dante’s Inferno to Goethe’s Faust, the Devil is a firm character in the literature, religion and culture in almost every society on Earth.
He spans every genre, comedy, satire, and drama and is a great foil for any hero or anti hero. Now in the age of visual media, the Devil still hasn’t lost his charm. Here is a list of the Top 10 depictions of the Devil in Television and the Movies.
Silly movie, WONDERFUL devil! You’ve got to love female Satans. She offers Brendan Fraser’s character wishes so that he can land the girl of his dreams. But this is Satan we’re dealing with, she traps and tricks him as we would expect nothing less from the Prince, or Princess of lies.
Alan Cumming voiced The Devil in the short lived series “God, The Devil and Bob”. The Devil is trying to persuade God to destroy the world, and is constantly trying to thwart Bob in his attempts to save it. He is a margarita drinker and drives a purple Dodge Charger described by Bob as the “coolest car [he's] ever seen”. Despite appearances, the Devil is needy and co-dependent, often reduced to tears when God ignores or forgets about him.
Dan Castellaneta voiced the horrifying Robot Devil in Futurama. The Robot Devil lives in Robot Hell, which is hidden beneath the “Inferno” ride at the amusement park “Reckless Ted’s Funland” in New Jersey. His function is to torment robots who have committed various sins, though it seems that this right only applies to those who practice Robotology.
Trey Parker voices one of the most misunderstood Satans in popular culture. He presides over Hell and is constantly at war with God, but far from being merciless and innately evil as Satan is often portrayed in other media, he is depicted in South Park as a soft-hearted, misunderstood anti-hero capable of compassion and genuine emotional attachment.
CREEPY! Before he was snogging Liv Tyler in Lord of the Rings, Viggo played a very awesome Lucifer in The Prophecy. Mortensen’s Satan is savage, and just plain vicious. Take this quote “Humans… and how I love you talking monkeys for this… know more about war and treachery of the spirit than any angel.” Well worth the rental.
Every 80′s child remembers being freaked and enchanted by Tim’s awesome Devil. Visually stunning and far before it’s time, The Lord of Darkness stole every scene he was in. Tim’s presence and voice make for an unforgettable devil that all Gen X and Yers will remember well into their old age.
Swedish actor Peter Stormare’s Devil is perfect, dressed in white and virtually dripping with evil. So angered that Constantine is about to slip through his fingers, he pulls Constantine’s cancer from his lungs, forcing him to live his lonely life rather than be taken into heaven. Truly a Satan for the ages.
This Satan was not your usual scaly demon. He was rich, calm, suave and greedy with a lusty charm that Satan always brings to movies. Kevin Lomax, played by a more wooden than usual Keanu Reeves, takes a job at a powerful law firm where his boss, John Milton (get it?) is really the devil. Pacino was the perfect choice for playing this character.
There can be no doubt that young Harvey Stephen’s portrayal of Satan as a child is one of the most chilling around. He doesn’t have to do much – just look on as things go to “hell” around him. The most disturbing scene in this movie is when the Nurse jumps hangs herself declaring “this is all for you Damien!” The follow up movie was also quite good but lacked some of the chilling atmosphere of this original.
Love or hate this movie, you’ve got to admit that Rosalinda’s androgynous Satan was among the creepiest. She taunts and follows Jesus like a snake. I loved her depiction because it is unlike any other I had ever seen. Instead of being an anti-Christ, the devil is depicted here as a perversion of the Holy Family – with Satan mimicking Mary and carrying a foul child in mockery of the baby Jesus. Extremely scary stuff.
Notable Extras: Harvey Keitel in Little Nicky
Contributor: TiffanyH
I like some of your choices. I thought Peter Stormare was pretty awesome in Constantine. I’m’ not sure if Mr. Brooks – William Hurt’s character belongs here. It’s a thought.
The Devil’s Advocate sucked harder than an airlplane toilet.
The dude in O Brother Where Art Thou was pretty awesome too.
Haha Little Nickey now thats a good movie. Bedazzeld sucked but Liz was fine in it.
I love the devil from Futurama. His voice alone is really funny.
What about Robert DeNiro (Louis Cyphre) in “Angel Heart”? He was in my opion the best devil.
The Robot Devil was a nice inclusion! I didn’t thought of that. And I think Rowan Atkinson as the Devil in one of his stand ups was brilliant! That wasn’t a movie though.
John Milton ?? I don’t get it!!
Possibly because I have yet to see the Devils Advocate.
Ray Wise’s the Dvil in the tv show Reaper is a great character, but seeing as how its not a movie I understand why it wasn’t included in the list.
Nice list btw, I check this site everyday for new lists. I’ve even read all the most interesting lists in the archive.
Keep up the good work Team List Universe!!!!!
John Milton was a poet best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost about the fall of man.
I love the Devil, he’s my favourite fictional character! Much more interesting story than Jesus’s, too.
Personally, I would’ve put Peter Stormare’s Satan at number 1, but I haven’t seen all the others.
And if you’re gonna include the Robot Devil who wasn’t in a film, then I think an honourable mention should go to Ray Wise’s Satan in the TV series Reaper.
Ace list.
YAY! my first list made it! thanks guys!
Wow, Rosalinda Celentino’s depiction of Satan sounds even better than Stormare’s… gotta watch that film now!
Robert Judd from the 1986 Blues movie Crossroads.
Congrats Tiffany!
Peter Cook, in the original version of “Bedazzled,” was fantastic, and very funny. I would have included that.
Elizabeth Hurley is hotter than the pits of hell, I admit. But she’s not as funny.
I think Gabriel Byrne’s depiction in End Of Days deserves a special consideration. His Devil was soo *****ual and slick… very impressive.
Here is a clip of him choosing and posessing a man and the first thing he chooses to do as a man.
ray wise should get an honorary mention, not being on hte list only becuase reaper is not a movie.
Boaby: John Milton was the author/poet of “Paradise Lost” (1667 ish), an epic poem that centers on the devil/fall of human kind that was 12 books long.
Then there was “Paradise Regained”…
I don’t get the John Milton joke either……
Pacino was by far the best.
Stormare second.
All Hail Satan.
Great list, it’s good to have some less serious lists to break up the tension of the last week or so.
I absolutely love the robot devil’s depiction, the last episode of futurama is one of the best made!
And of course South Park’s Satan is hilarious just for the entirely unique perspective he brings to the whole thing.
I think the reference is to Paradise Lost. All about the fall of man. John Milton wrote it. (We could get into another Dewey debate here
)
Good list, but what about Jack Nicholson in The Witches of Eastwick? He was wonderful. Great movie.
haha, i love south park. what about jackass the movie with chris pontius wanting to “keep god out of california”
I’ve heard a nice theory that the David Thewliss character “Johnny” in Mike Leigh’s “Naked” is the Devil in Luciferian/Miltonian mode. If true, it makes a good case for the fallen angel resentful of his brother idea.
how about dave grohl in tenacious d and the pick of destiny?
I have to give Dave Grohl some props for his Satan role in The Pick of Destiny.
Stormare….man he was good. Such a talented actor.
Great choices. Peter Stormare acts as scary as the Devil in any performance he does! I love him.
But this list should be called “Top 10 depictions of satan in THE MEDIA”, because neither Alan Cumming’s Devil from “God the Devil and Bob” nor the Robot Devil are from movies, they’re from TV.
It’s a good list but no matter how much time and effort you go through trying to make an accurate list, people are always going to disagree with at least one of your choices.
Love the Robot Devil and Satan (South Park) inclusions. I drew a Robot Devil pic as my forums avatar for a while.
Since you went TV, the Simpsons ep. with Ned Flanders as the devil, selling a donut to Homer, was pretty okeily,dokeily.
I love this list. Rosalinda Celentano was amazing as Satan, definitely very creepy. I haven’t seen all of these but they all look pretty cool. Except for Bedazzled….not gonna watch that lol.
Absolutely love this list! I’ve always been intrigued by the devil in movies. I love comparing the different portrayals. Superbly done!!
Great list. I will say however, the devil as an archetype is no where near universal. Christians created him, they need to own him.
What about Little Nicky’s dad?
Nice list TiffanyH ! The only one that comes to mind that might be considered as part of this list is Ray Walston in Damn Yankees
Louis Cyphre played by Robert De Niro in Angel Heart…that was a decent one
This list was right up my alley…i guess i should have gotten up earlier to be the first commentor on dave grohl in the pick of destiny…he’s my hero. Anyway, as one in a strict alliance with the devil, i say good work on this one…your soul is spared…lol
Sorry to be nitpicky, but Damien in the Omen is supposed to be the offspring of Satan, not Satan itself.
I have to agree with number 1, that character was incredibly creepy, especially in the scene when it was holding the baby :S
Great list, although the devil in “O Brother, Where Art Thou” should of been included.
Nice List. A great note to end this crazy week. My faves from the list are Tim Curry (scared the sh*t out of me at 9 years old) and Peter Stormare and of course props for mentioning South Park’s Satan, LoL.
Great List TiffanyH!
Thank You
Interesting how the female satans are so often babes, while the male satans are so often ugly.
stevenh; thats because nobody will pay to see an ugly chick.
A symptom of our times.
Rosalinda is definately right on. Chilling stuff.
I thought Gabriel Byrne did a great job of playing Satan in End of Days. Ruthless and ice cold.
“What about Robert DeNiro (Louis Cyphre) in “Angel Heart”? He was in my opion the best devil.”
I’m glad someone said it!
not really just a movie list is it
and how about the devil from reaper?
he is creepy,clingy and hilarious
I think the Devil in Fantasia should be included. He scared me, plus that was a great scene in that movie. Great list overall though!
Great list. I like Ray Wise in “Reaper”
@ Awing, no. 42.
Agreed. Almost forgot about that performance.
interesting choices here. Cinema has had it difficulties with portraying Satan, for sure.
I would like to see The Prophecy. How is it? Viggo Mortensen is a cool actor. I’m glad we don’t see too much of him. He’s always good in what I have seen.
To continue with the additions made by other commentors, I would like to mention Benjamin Christensen in his film, Häxan. And Jeff Goldblum in “Mr. Frost”
Great list, can’t really argue with any of these, though I agree with some of the commentd that Grohl in POD and the Tribute video should have at least an honourable mention. Short performance, but very sweet 8)
p.s. I have to say that I really didn’t care for Rosalinda Celentano in The Passion of the Christ. then again, it was with her(?) appearence that I knew I was watching a movie by Mel. It played out false in my mind. Sorta like Lucas’s idea of evil.
Great list, but actually, Satan doesn’t apear in any of the Omen series. I the movies, Damien is the beast, anti-christ, or better to say the son of Satan, not Satan himself.
I would’ve included Gabriel Byrne as Satan in End of Days
instead of #9.
tenatious d the pick of destiny wouldve been a classic choise. who doesnt like a legit satan that can sweep the guitar and hammer drum solos.
Walter Huston in The Devil and Daniel Webster.
if your going to include devils from cartoons what about Ned Flanders as Satan, voiced by Harry Shearer or how about Tazz from the Looney Tunes
before i started reading this list i thought of two devils who should be in.
The first one was from Constantine, absolutely excellent character.
although the second wasnt in, the devil from an old guitar movie called crossroads, with steve vai as the devil’s son, i forgive you for not putting him in, but he is definatly worthy of a mention.
Whaaaaaat!?!?!? You’ve got southpark AND futurama yet no Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny devil!? Blah…..
You forgot the Devil’s Rain, it is an obscure film but definitely more deserving of a place on a list than the devil-bot from Futurama.
Damien, in the Omen movies, is the Antichrist. That is, the opposite of Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate.
Thus, Damien is the Devil incarnate. QED
umm…Jack Nicholson in The Witches of Eastwick anyone? He was amazing as the devil…but then he’s also just amazing
no love for Jack?! Jack Nicholson as Daryl Van Horne (the Devil) in Witches of Eastwick was the coolest I’d ever seen. Vengeful, Jealous, Romantic and Horny. Plus his speech about women in the church was great!
“Sorry… uh… having a little
trouble… having a little trouble
at home. A little domestic
situation. No need to be alarmed.
A little female trouble, that’s
all. Hi. How are you?
Women. Ha. Can’t live with them,
can’t live without them.
[Daryl vomits in the pew, a victim of the girls' magic]
Pay no attention. Pay no
attention. Cheap trick. Anybody
can do it. I taught it to them.
Ungrateful little *****es, aren’t
they? Let me ask you something.
You’re all churchgoing folk.
Let me ask you — do you think God
knew what he was doing when he
created women? Huh? No *****, I
want to know. Do you think he
knew or do you think it was another
of his little mistakes? Like
earthquakes, and floods. Volcanos.
Tidal waves. Just another little
*****-up in the divine plan. Like
cancer. Do you think women are
like that?
[more vomiting]
What’s the matter? You don’t think
God makes mistakes? Sure he does.
We all make mistakes. ‘Course, we
make mistakes and they call it
evil. God makes mistakes and they
call it nature.
So what do you think? Women.
A mistake? Or did
he do it to us on purpose? I’d
like to know. Because if it’s
a mistake, maybe we could do
something about it. Find a cure.
A vaccine. Build up the immune
system. Eat broccoli. Get a
little exercise. Maybe that’s all
it would take. Twenty pushups a
day and you’ll never be afflicted
with women again.”
tom waits in the imaginarium of dr. parnasses. i’m surprised he didn’t make the list. the performance is creepy to the bone…..and that voice of his is like a sentient gravel crusher