The answer to “Who is the worst villain of them all?” may change drastically depending on who you ask. While some will mention Darth Vader at the drop of a heartbeat, others might give a more contemporary answer. Noah Schnapp, aka Will Byers, on the hit series Stranger Things, shared an intriguing revelation about his favourite villain.
The rising star’s answer may not be what you would have picked when faced with the deadly question, but it is an interesting choice nonetheless.
In a candid interaction with Vulture, Schnapp disclosed his admiration for The Hunger Games antagonist President Snow, played with delicious devilry by Donald Sutherland.
The Hunger Games films, based on Suzanne Collins’s dystopian novel series, have bewitched audiences worldwide with their portrayal of a post-apocalyptic society divided into districts that are forced to participate in a brutal televised gladiatorial competition. President Snow stands out as an embodiment of calculated malevolence among the many characters that populate this universe. When you think of Snow, you can almost smell the overpowering scent of roses he uses to lace over the stench of his ever-bleeding and rotting mouth. It is a testament to Collins’ powerful writing.
When asked about his favourite villain, Schnapp gushed, “I am a huge fan of The Hunger Games films and, for me, President Snow is the best villain ever. I remember watching the movie for the first time and hearing him say, ‘Panem today, Panem tomorrow, Panem forever!’ You just know that these characters are doomed to die no matter what. Donald Sutherland makes Snow so threatening and creepy without having to raise his voice. He does it with his cold eyes, and he still feels totally ruthless.”
This observation about the power of nuanced acting is on point. The absence of loud theatrics can often evoke an even stronger emotional response. We will soon get to see the rise of President Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which is being adapted from the 2020 novel that charts the life of a young Coriolanus Snow, who has not yet become the cold, calculating dictator we see during the events of the original trilogy.
Directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt, the film stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman, Viola Davis and is set 64 years before the events of the OG The Hunger Games trilogy.
