The 10 Best Satans of Cinema, Ranked

If, as Baudelaire wrote and Kevin Spacey quoted in The Usual Suspects, the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist, then maybe best not to put him in the title?

It’s true, most of the movies on this list bury the lede regarding whether or not Lucifer is involved, but nobody going into The Devil’s Advocate in 1997 was in any doubt as to what role the great Al Pacino was playing — and boy, did he have fun playing it. This is one for fans of young Keanu Reeves (Speed) or movies like American Psycho — or for anyone who ever suspected that lawyers are in fact the devil incarnate.

Writing this list, it became immediately clear that there was a period from the late ‘80s to the early ‘00s when all the best actors in Hollywood suddenly wanted to play Satan. In Alan Parker’s Angel Heart, a New York detective played by Mickey Rourke travels to New Orleans to investigate a series of murders. While there, he meets a mysterious man named Louis Cyphre who is played by Robert De Niro. Now, say the characters name again but kind of fast. Can you hear it yet?

Interestingly enough, this is a film that Christopher Nolan has spoken about as an influence on his breakout early movie, Memento, so if you’re a big fan of that one (or Parker’s work in general) make sure to check this out.

Harvey Keitel, as far as I’m aware, is the only person on this list who holds the honour of having played both God, in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, and the Devil, in Little Nicky. Granted, Scorsese only required him to voice the Creator, but credit where credit is due.

In any case, there’s no competition regarding which one he had the most fun with: his Satan in the 2000 Adam Sandler comedy, in which he plays Sandler’s dad, is maybe the best part of the movie — and if you’re a fan of that era of Sandler (think Big Daddy), you’ll want to give it a watch.

The fourth all-timer legend on our list is a man whose Luciferian features have been used to great effect from as far flung filmmakers as Stanley Kubrick (The Shining) to Tim Burton (Batman). Jack Nicholson’s only actual portrayal of the devil, however, came in George Miller’s 1987 movie The Witches of Eastwick.

This is the one where three single women (played by Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon and Cher) accidentally form a coven and then accidentally summon the devil himself. Nicholson was probably the biggest lothario in Hollywood at the time, so it was nothing if not shrewd casting on Miller’s part. The movie itself hasn’t aged perfectly, but if you like the Autumnal vibes of Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic, you’ll probably get a kick out of it. 

The first female actor on our list of Lucifer’s comes courtesy of a film directed by none other than Roman Polanski — make of that what you will. The film is called The Ninth Gate, and if you have a soft spot for stories about rich people behaving satanically — think Eyes Wide Shut — I highly recommend seeking this one out. 

The story follows a rare book dealer (played by Johnny Depp) who becomes embroiled in a cultish world obsessed with locating the gateway to hell. For the role of his devilish guide and temptress, Polanski cast Emmanuelle Seigner — the French actor who was, and still is, his wife. 

Like Morissette in Dogma, there are a few cases of rockstars playing Satan — as there should be. Tom Waits had fun with the role in Terry Gilliam’s Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, but Dave Grohl’s appearance in Tenacious D. in the Pick of Destiny has to take the biscuit.

The Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman originally appeared in the role in the music video for Tribute — as the demon who challenges Jack Black and Kyle Gass to write the best song in the world — before reprising it (this time more specifically as Satan) in the band’s first movie, eventually challenging them to a rock off — as you do.

I feel bad for not including Viggo Mortensen’s appearance in The Prophecy on this list, but the run of Satan movies from the mid ‘80s to the turn of the Millennium (someone needs to write a dissertation on that trend) was honestly too stacked for the legendary Aragorn actor to squeeze in. In any case, Viggo just about misses out to the ever-devilish Jonathan Pryce for Something Wicked This Way Comes.

In the movie, which was directed by Jack Clayton, Pryce plays Mr. Dark, a creepy fair ground owner who starts granting wishes in a Midwestern town. If you enjoy the setting and darkness of Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, you might be into this one, too.

For those of us still pining for that Constantine sequel, this one hits different. Having appeared in Fargo, shoving Steve Buscemi into a woodchipper, and Armageddon, as a cosmonaut who inadvertently helps to blow up the ISS, Peter Stormare already had two iconic roles on his resume before taking on the part of Lucifer in Francis Lawrence’s Constantine, but this is the one that comic book fans love him for. 

Chain-smoking in a white suit with his eyebrows shaved off, he took the sleazy approach most actors use when playing Satan and turned it up to 666.

The second woman to portray Satan on our list is Elizabeth Hurley, an actor who was (for what it’s worth) voted sexiest woman in the world by Maxim as recently as last year. Back in 2000, she weaponised that charisma to play Lucifer opposite an increasingly hapless Brendan Fraser in the very-much-of-its-time comedy Bedazzled. 

The movie came just after Hurley had shot to fame with her role in Austin Powers and The Spy Who Shagged Me — and if those movies happen to be your cup of tea, this one might be, too. 

We’ll end this list with a legend in Legend. Given his abilities as a physical comedian, his expressive face, and his inherent knack for playing moustache-twirling villains, it only makes sense that someone would cast Tim Curry as the dark lord at some point. That that person was Ridley Scott is just kind of funny for some reason, especially as he had to then share the screen with a young Tom Cruise. 

The film itself is a nostalgic ‘80s gem that should be given all kinds of credit for the phenomenal costuming work, for Curry in particular. If you appreciate more recent movies like The Green Knight and Pan’s Labyrinth, it’s more than worth a look.