Villains come with many quirks; megalomania, sociopath, obsessive compulsiveness. You name it, there’s some villain with that attribute. One of the more fun type of villains is one that is a fancy dresser. Tuxes. Three piece suits. Battle armor. Ascot.
Yep, the ascot. The ascot tie has been a defining villainous characteristic for decades. And yes, it’s actually a tie. I thought it was a kerchief folded around the neck, but no, it’s actually a wide winged, thin necked tie. Who knew?
Anyway, the ascot is sort of ridiculous and over the top as an accessory and I love when villains use them. Here are seven of my favorite villains who wore an ascot.
Capt Stillman (Stripes) – As played by the great John Larroquette. We covered this guy on CFC in our most recent episode. Such a great, sniveling character. Extra points for the camouflage ascot.
Terry Silver (Karate Kid III) – As played with such maniacal relish by Thomas Ian Griffith. We covered this pony-tailed, toxic waste dumper in episode 8 of the podcast. I only wish we could cover him in EVERY episode.
Sebastian Shaw (X-Men: First Class) – Such a cool and calculating villain. Bacon essentially plays Shaw as a Bond villain. A GREAT Bond villain. It’s too bad we won’t see him in any more of the X-Men movies.
Lestat (Interview with the Vampire) – Tom Cruise really went to the walls with his portrayal of Lestat. I have a love-hate relationship with this movie and book, but Cruise was without a doubt giving it his all.
Michael Corleone (Godfather Part II) – The prototype gangster. With style. As played by the iconic Al Pacino. Michael and Fredo actually wear ascots in this movie. Stereoscopic Ascots. It’s like it was filmed in Ascot-Vision.
Dr Frankenstein (Curse of Frankenstein) – I’m a huge fan of Hammer Studios as well as Peter Cushing starring in Hammer Studios films. Cushing totally crushes it playing the iconic mad doctor. In an ascot.
Doc Holiday (Tombstone) – I’m toeing the line here calling Doc Holliday a villain. He’s more an anti-hero. But I love him so much I couldn’t leave him off this list.
That settles it. At the next CFC meetup, I’m making both of you wear ascots for the group photo.
Alright, but I’m gonna need to find one made out of that Hypercolor shirt material…
I’ll cut up some old Star Wars sheets to make mine.
Oh man, now that is an idea!