Of the ten best-known movie villains, six have skin conditions, according to a scientific study.
Warts, baldness, scars… In the movies, the bad guys know these little ailments well. In fact, according to a very serious study published in the journal Jama Dermatology, the characters who occupy a nasty role in the cinema are particularly prone to dermatological diseases.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers reviewed the ten most famous villains in American cinematic history. They observed a particularly high prevalence of dermatological disorders among this population: of the ten characters, six are affected.
Bald skulls
Thus, 30% of the top 10 villains have significant alopecia (baldness). This is the case of Dr Hannibal Lecter (Thesilenceofthelambs, 1991), M. Potter (Life is Beautiful, 1946) and Darth Vader (Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back).
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They are not the only ones in the cinema to display a bald head… It is thus of Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter, by Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (1979) or Dr Denfer in Austin Power – and even more his miniature, Minimoi, as mean and bald as his master.
Funny skin
Among the cases studied, 30% show hyperpigmentation around the eyes (abnormally dark contours), 20% have deep facial wrinkles and another 20% have their face ravaged by scars. These can be seen on Darth Vader in Star Wars, Episode V: Return of the Jedi, or at Regan MacNeil, the girl in The Exorcist (1973), who clearly suffers from various dermatological disorders.
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And then there are the warts, of course. The queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) is the perfect illustration: large wrinkles, large dark circles, hyperpigmentation around the eyes, common wart (that’s its scientific name) on the nose and rhinophyma (nasal enlargement).
However, this does not reach the proportions of Wicked Witch of the West, whose origin of the dermatological pathology remains undetermined but which seems to indicate a relatively advanced stage …
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For the authors, these dermatological manifestations constitute a cinematic expression of wickedness. Film writers use them to reinforce the dark side of these characters.
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