An antagonist is a character whose story arc and character arc run in direct opposition to that of the protagonist — the central character driving the plot forward and facing the central conflict of the story head-on. 

The antagonist is usually the driving force behind the conflict the protagonist is facing. They are not always villains, mind you. Antagonists don’t always have to be evil and terrorizing forces. They can also have the best of intentions and oppose the protagonist in more ethical, honorable, and well-meaning ways. 

Here we’ll discuss everything you need to know about antagonists and villains, including what purposes they serve in a story, what types of antagonists/villains you can use, and how you can create the best antagonists for your stories.

What Purpose Does an Antagonist Serve in the Story?

Antagonists either cause or intensify the conflict the protagonist is facing — oftentimes both. The single essential element in any type of storytelling is conflict. A story without any conflict is far, far less engaging to the audience. 

Conflict drives the narrative, forcing the protagonist out of their ordinary worlds and comfort zones. It engages the audience by making us wonder how the protagonist is going to:

1. Handle the conflict
2. Adapt to the conflict
3. Overcome the conflict 

Think of it this way — the antagonist is the maestro and personification of conflict within the story. When the protagonist first attempts to overcome the initial conflict thrust upon them in the opening act, the antagonist is there to deflect their solutions and toss more conflict their way. When the hero learns from their mistakes, adapts, and thinks they’ve figured out a way to surpass the ongoing conflict, the antagonist causes even more. 

As you can see, antagonists play a vital role in driving the story, the plot, and the character arcs in both movies and television.

The Difference Between Antagonists and Villains

While a villain is always an antagonist, an antagonist is not always a villain.

Villains are antagonists who act as a primary source of conflict by opposing the protagonist(s) through evil, selfish, or immoral actions. 

Darth Vader (Star Wars), The Joker (Batman), Dracula, Sauron (Lord of the Rings), Voldemort (Harry Potter), Buffalo Bill (Silence of the Lambs), and Hans Gruber (Die Hard) are all villains. They act in opposition to the protagonist by ways of murder, mayhem, and chaos — all for their own selfish, evil, and/or immoral agendas. 

However, as we’ve mentioned, not all antagonists have evil, selfish, or immoral intentions. We’ve just named not just some of the best antagonists of all time — but also some of the best villains. 

Now, let’s point out some of the greatest non-villainous antagonists audiences have ever seen. 

Principal Rooney from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Make no mistake, when anyone under the age of eighteen watches the John Hughes iconic classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, they loathe the authoritative figure that is Principal Rooney. He represents everything most students, especially high school kids, hate most — Authority, Rules, and Consequences. 

But he’s not evil. He’s not going to kill Ferris Bueller or any of his cohorts. He may be selfish, but he’s not acting with any outright villainous intent. He feels that he’s doing his job, despite some lapses in judgment and some clear acts of selfishness and overindulgence in his quest to catch Ferris. 

Here’s an even better example — an antagonist that is actually somewhat of a protagonist as well. 

U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive

Richard Kimble has been falsely accused of murder, finds himself sentenced to life in prison, and manages to escape in transit. Kimble is innocent. He spends the whole movie trying to prove his innocence while avoiding apprehension. Make no mistake, he’s the protagonist. 

On Gerard’s end of things, he’s tasked with apprehending Kimble. He famously replies to Kimble’s claims that he didn’t kill his wife by stating matter-of-factly, “I don’t care.” 

Gerard is not the judge, jury, or executioner. His sole task is to track down and apprehend an escaped convicted murderer who is on the loose. He has no interest in Kimble’s claims of innocence. Heck, he’s probably heard such claims from hundreds of criminals he has been tasked with finding and arresting. 

Gerard is serving his country well to keep the people safe from dangerous criminals. 

But he’s still the antagonist of the movie. Why? He’s running in opposition to Kimble’s goals and intentions. Gerard is there to stop Kimble from the freedom Kimble needs to prove his innocence. 

So, as you can see, there are many different types of antagonists screenwriters can play with in the sandbox that is their story.  

Jeffrey Jones as Principal Rooney in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'

What Types of Antagonists Can Screenwriters Use? 

There are many character archetypes for antagonists. Each of them serve particular purposes and work better in specific genres. And remember, character archetypes are meant to be re-used because they are often universal — able to bridge gaps of culture, age, language, and society. But they can also be molded to fit the needs of your story. 

With that in mind, here are some key antagonist archetypes you can find in movies and television. 

Villainous Antagonists

We’ve discussed this antagonist archetype in detail and list it first because most great antagonists are villains with evil, selfish, and immoral intentions. 

Authoritative Antagonists

From Principal Rooney in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to the office boss from hell Bill Lumbergh in Office Space, authoritative antagonists represent authority characters can come across in life. Some of these types of antagonists can abuse their authority in evil ways, yes. Some can abuse their authority in non-evil ways as well. 

• Rooney is just trying to run a tight ship in his school amidst students that don’t respect him.
• Lumbergh is just doing his job managing an office with an authoritative — albeit passive aggressive — mindset. 

In Top Gun: Maverick, Cyclone is Maverick’s CO (Commanding Officer). Cyclone is tasked with dealing with Maverick’s, well, maverick ways. Maverick can’t accept Cyclone’s stance that there will be casualties with the mission. But, in the end, Cyclone is just being realistic. He’s doing his job and trying his best to keep Maverick grounded.  

Bully antagonists are also a branch of authoritative antagonists as well. These are characters that hold authority over protagonists by way of fear and intimidation. 

• Biff from Back to the Future
• Johnny Lawrence from The Karate Kid
• Ace Merrill from Stand By Me

The great thing about authoritative antagonists is that they are universally understood from the get-go. Everyone can relate to disdain towards authority figures, be it principals, teachers, bosses, law enforcement, bullies, etc. 

Inhuman Antagonists

Inhuman antagonists — sometimes referred to as The Beast — are forces of nature comprised of nonhuman threats that protagonists must face. 

• The Shark in Jaws
• The Xenomorphs in Aliens
• The Bear in The Edge
• The Predator in Predator
• Cujo the Dog in Cujo

These threats are usually found in thrillers, science fiction, and horror. The conflict they create for the protagonist is primal — Humankind versus Beast. But they also can refer to inhuman beings like supernatural ghosts and entities. 

• Demons and Ghosts in movies like Poltergeist, Paranormal Activity, The Conjuring, etc.
• Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street
• The Demon in The Exorcist

Inhuman antagonists can be terrifying forces for protagonists to go up against.  

Machine Antagonists 

Machine antagonists are some of the most horrifying because they have no emotion, feel no pain, and have no fear. They are often (but not always) cold and calculated. 

• The Terminator in Terminator
• M3GAN in M3GAN
• HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Roy Batty in Blade Runner

Machine antagonists are difficult for protagonists to face because most of them can’t be reasoned or bargained with. They have a mission or a glitch and will stop at nothing once they set their artificial minds to it.  

Mastermind Antagonists

Mastermind antagonists are villainous to be sure — but they are a special breed of villainous antagonists, usually seen in spy thrillers, action flicks, and heist movies. They are brilliant and ruthless characters that oversee diabolical plans that run in opposition to the protagonist. 

Here’s an interesting element — many mastermind antagonists aren’t in direct opposition to the protagonist. The protagonist usually finds themselves intertwined in a mastermind antagonist’s plans indirectly, until they choose to go on the adventure of stopping them. 

• Hans Gruber in Die Hard is perhaps the greatest mastermind Antagonist.
• Nearly every main villain in James Bond or Mission: Impossible movies are also a mastermind antagonist.
• Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies is a send up of the evil mastermind.   

Henchmen Antagonists

Henchmen is taken from a dated term now referring to all enforcers, operatives, goons, lackeys, and minions of any gender. These are the characters that usually do the deeds of the mastermind antagonists. Most masterminds don’t get their hands dirty until the very end. Instead, they use henchmen antagonists to do that work for them.

• Boba Fett in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
• Agent Smith in The Matrix
• Mr. Joshua in Lethal Weapon
• Clarence Boddiker in RoboCop
• Hundreds of John Wick’s victims in the John Wick movies  

These types of antagonists can be quick one-offs for the protagonist to battle, or they can take on a bigger role in the story. 

Elemental Antagonists

Humankind versus Nature is perhaps the oldest story of conflict in our history. The natural elements are some of the greatest antagonists known. The elements are powerful. Unforgiving. Unpredictable at times. 

Protagonists who face a battle against nature experience the most primal of conflicts. 

• The Tsunami in The Impossible
• The Tornadoes in Twister and Twisters
• The Iceberg and Ocean Waters in Titanic

While inhuman (aka The Beast) antagonists are forces of nature as creatures of the world, elemental antagonists cannot be stopped or killed. Protagonists are forced to weather the storm as they face both outer and inner struggles to survive. 

Additional Antagonist Archetypes

• Criminal Antagonists — Criminals that the protagonist find themselves up against. 
• Corrupted Antagonists — Corrupted politicians, police, company executives, etc.
• Disturbed Antagonists — Those with psychological problems that cause major threat and conflict.
• Anti-Villain Antagonists — Protagonists that are actually villainous but are the driving force of the story and plot (Tony Soprano in The Sopranos and Jules and Vincent in Pulp Fiction). 
• Internal Antagonists — Protagonists dealing with disease, mental health issues, insecurities, addiction, vices, etc. Your protagonists become their own antagonists.  

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and David Prowse as Darth Vader in 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Emipre Strikes Back'

How to Write a Great Antagonist

There is no single way to write a great antagonist in a movie or TV series — but there are some effective guidelines to point yourself in the right direction. 

Have the Antagonist Be a Mirror Image of the Protagonist

Darkness versus Light (Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars). Hans Gruber is sophisticated, calm, and calculating, while John McClane is rough, reckless, and resourceful (Die Hard). 

When you have mirror images facing off against each other, it’s interesting because they are the same in many ways, just as they are different. They have opposing viewpoints and opposing ways of handling situations. And because their opposition is basically a reverse image of the other, the conflict that ensues is captivating. 

It may not work in every story, but it’s worth a try. 

Give the Antagonist a Good Point Being Made from Their Perspective

In the action film The Rock, General Francis X. Hummel is holding San Francisco hostage for a purpose. It’s not just for a payout. It’s to give funds to the families of fallen special forces operatives. Sure, he’s going about it the wrong way, but it humanizes him to prevent the character from being a cookie-cutter bad guy. 

When you give the antagonist a point from their perspective — where the audience takes even a brief moment to understand and have empathy for their viewpoint — it adds depth to the story. This can be accomplished well in any genre, including antagonists within dramas.

When you make the antagonist think they are in the right, it also adds so much more catharsis for the audience because they find themselves torn at times. 

Utilize Multiple Antagonists with Their Own B Stories

The more conflict, the better. And you get more conflict by adding more antagonists for the protagonist to deal with. These can be henchmen antagonists or secondary threats. The key is to give them their own B story, meaning that they have a little more depth than the average henchman. 

In Die Hard, Hans Gruber’s lead henchman, Karl, is the most lethal of all of Gruber’s men. But he also has a B story. John McClane killed his brother. Karl wants vengeance, forcing Gruber to have to try and control Karl while also assuring him that he’ll get his vengeance. 

Have Your Antagonist Have a Clear Goal, Want, or Need

What motivates your antagonist?

Principal Rooney wanted the satisfaction of catching Ferris in the act of skipping school (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off). Gerard wanted to catch an escaped convict (The Fugitive). Hans Gruber wanted to get into the vault and use terrorism as a cover to hide his tracks after a heist (Die Hard). 

When you showcase an antagonist’s goal, want, or need, you can play on that to drive their opposition to the protagonist, showing how far they’ll go to get what they desire. 

Find a Common Theme Between the Antagonist and the Protagonist

Theme is present between the lines. It’s what your story and characters are really about. When you find a common theme between your antagonist and protagonist (inner wants and needs) — or opposing themes — you’ll have a much better dynamic between the two. 

Have Fun with Your Antagonist

When you have fun writing your antagonist, you’ll search for creative ways to make them stand out. It’s a well-known fact that many people in the audience end up rooting for antagonists that stand out. They’ll still root for the protagonist, but they’ll have a hoot seeing how the antagonist will test the protagonist as much as possible. 

That’s how you create good characters, be it for your antagonists or protagonists. Have fun finding ways to challenge your characters, and then watch them come to life as they deal with those challenges. 

And remember, the better the antagonist, the better your protagonist will end up being.