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Verbal Kint
The Antihero: The limping, quivering, supposed weak-link of the five criminals thrown together in The Usual Suspects ’ police line-up, who turns out to be the most diabolical of them all…
Effortless Cool: Is there a cooler payoff than the moment when he shakes off his limp and strolls to his getaway vehicle? We think not.
Seth Gecko
The Antihero: George Clooney puts his ER persona through the shredder in From Dusk Til Dawn , playing violent bank-robber Seth Gecko. At least he’s the more reasonable half of the Gecko brothers…
Effortless Cool: Not only is Seth a born charmer, he’s also a dab hand at despatching the agents of Satan back to the netherworld. He’s a catch!
Lester Burnham
The Antihero: American Beauty ’s disillusioned family man, whose midlife crisis leads him to jack in his job, take up marijuana and develop an unhealthy interest in his teenage daughter’s best friend.
Effortless Cool: We should pity him, but there’s no disputing that Lester’s new direction in life seems a lot more fun!
Ferris Bueller
The Antihero: Usually, there’s nothing worse than a cocky schoolboy, but Ferris manages to transcend the usual irritations of his peer group by sticking it to the man in spectacular style. Bueller? Bueller!
Effortless Cool: Witness the shower-mohawk scene for everything you need to know about Ferris’s powers of charisma.
The Man With No Name
The Antihero: Clint’s seminal drifter, scowling away from a filthy poncho and just waiting for the opportunity to reach for his six-shooter. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore!
Effortless Cool: There’s a studied menace about The Man With No Name, despite his honourable intentions. We like the cut of his jib.
Severus Snape
The Antihero: Described by Jo Rowling as the antihero of the Potter series, Snape plays the part of the sneering villain right until the curtain falls, at which point he reveals the great lengths he has gone to to protect Harry from Voldemort.
Effortless Cool: What we like about Snape is that despite his ulterior motivations he does genuinely hate Harry, and personally speaking, is a bit of a shit. But without him, Voldemort would probably be enjoying the last laugh come the end of Deathly Hallows pt. 2 .
Patrick Bateman
The Antihero: Some might class him as an out and out villain, but given the calibre of self-satisfied yuppie jerk-off he sets about hacking to pieces, we’d beg to differ!
Effortless Cool: Taking an axe to a man’s head might usually be considered barbaric, but when accompanied by the strains of Hip To Be Square , it seems altogether more forgivable!
Johnny Strabler
The Antihero: Marlon Brando became the poster-boy for brooding anti-authoritarianism as perma-scowling tearaway Johnny Strabler. Even in his better moods, he’ll still find something to complain about…
Effortless Cool: The famous quote sums it up best. “What are you rebelling against?” asks an exasperated Mildred. “Whaddya got?” drawls Strabler.
Robin Hood
The Antihero: Giving to the poor might be all well and good, but these days you’re not allowed to rob from the rich to do so. That was never a problem for Robin though, as he pretty much does whatever the hell he wants.
Effortless Cool: In Costner’s case, it was the tendency to spit a pithy one-liner. In Crowe’s, the ability to crush a man’s head with his bare hands.
Walt Kowalski
The Antihero: Kowalski is an ex-soldier who just can’t bear the way his local neighbourhood has gone to seed. Sure, he might be a born racist, but he knows how to pick the good guys from the bad.
Effortless Cool: Clint Eastwood has made a career out of playing this sort of grizzled antihero, but his turn in Gran Torino is a masterclass in granite-faced fury.
