British actor Rufus Sewell has come a long way since making his acting debut in the 1991 drama film Twenty-One.

And in his almost two decades of acting experience, the actor has earned fame mainly for portraying villainous roles. With his brooding appearance and piercing eyes, the actor is well suited to essay antagonistic roles. 

Hollywood’s Go-To Bad Guy

Speaking of his antagonist roles, Sewell has appeared as Count Adhemar in A Knight’s Tale (2001), Armand in The Legend of Zorro (2005), Adam in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), Jonathan Parker in All Things to All Men (2013), John Smith in The Man in the High Castle (2015-19), among other nefarious turns.

Among all those villainous roles, his portrayal in A Knight’s Tale, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and The Man in the High Castle, provided him with a healthy amount of limelight.

In A Knight’s Tale, the Twickenham, Middlesex native played Count Adhemar, a wealthy knight who has a lot of experience on the battlefield. 

Similarly, the actor’s appeared as Lincoln’s nemesis Adam, a Machiavellian bloodthirsty vampire who aims to build his vampire nation, in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. 

Moreover, in The Man in the High Castle, he appeared as a cruel SS officer named John Smith.

Rufus Sewell as John Smith in The Man in the High Castle 

Rufus Sewell as John Smith in The Man in the High Castle (Photo: Deadline)

Sewell Was Bored with His Villainous Roles

After gaining positive reviews from the fans, many people thought Sewell enjoyed playing the antagonist. But, in reality, he was getting bored with playing villainous roles.

In an exclusive interview with Metro in June 2012, during the promotions of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, he revealed he was utterly bored with playing a bad guy in movies and TV shows.

But when asked why he accepted the offer to play a villainous role in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, he responded by saying that he had played the role of a bad guy in many movies and TV shows, but he hadn’t portrayed the role of a vampire. 

He also added that many talented artists were involved in the movie, so he had to accept the offer.

Listen, I said it because I meant it. I was bored with playing bad guys. But I thought [expletive] that! Get over yourself, Rufus. There are really cool people involved in this. And I’ve never played a vampire.

But the actor isn’t just renowned for his roles as a bad guy.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Rufus Sewell (@fredriksewell)

To this date, he has amazed millions of fans through his performances in different movies and TV shows, even if it’s not as a villain.

His long list of acting projects includes Gone to Seed (1992), Hamlet (1996), Eleventh Hour (2008-09), Zen (2011), Victoria (2016-17), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2018), and Judy (2019).

For his performances in Zen, Victoria, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Sewell was nominated for the ‘Crime Thriller Awards,’ ‘Monte-Carlo TV Festival,’ and ‘Primetime Emmy Awards’ respectively.