The image of the mad scientist has become one of the most iconic in film history. While some interpretations border along the lines of cliché, it is still fun to witness an individual who has gone mad with the power to create and do whatever they want. The mad scientist can be equated to the modern day Greek hero whose hubris is the cause for their downfall. These characters anger the gods with their meddling with fate, death, or the world order. The mad scientist can be looked at in the same way, where they meddle with elements that they shouldn't, which changes the balance of nature.

Many mad scientist characters on film are portrayed in a way that is just meant to be cliché. Some are taken more seriously than others within the bounds of the story. However, since the dawn of film, audiences have been exposed to the idea of this type of character. These are some which have set the standard for mad scientists in movies or have reinvented them in fun ways.

13 Howard Howe - Tusk

tusk-film
A24

Michael Parks’ portrayal of the sinister Howard Howe is a roller coaster of fun in Kevin Smith’s 2014 horror comedy Tusk. Howard is interviewed about his adventurous life of expedition by Justin Long’s character Wallace Bryton. However, Howard’s intentions are revealed when he kidnaps Wallace and turns him into a walrus. You heard that right. The character is over the top for sure, but highly entertaining. There are moments of uneasiness that surround this character, but most of the film and his performance is meant to be a fun thrill ride into the man obsessed with a walrus.

12 Dr. Moreau - The Island of Dr. Moreau

Marlon Brando white face in The Island of Dr. Moreau
New Line Cinema

The bizarre 1996 film The Island of Dr. Moreau contains Marlon Brando’s strangest and most unpredictable performance. This character is as out there as Brando’s demands on set were. It is well known that for this film, among many others, Brando was fed his lines through an earpiece.

Related: How Marlon Brando Changed Acting and His Career's Legacy

However, in terms of Brando’s eccentric method acting techniques, it helps deliver a more authentic performance, perfect for the ridiculous movie it's a part of. The mad scientist in this film is not portrayed with any bit of familiarity. From peacock feathers to over the top costumes, Brando was certainly all over the place. The film’s production was doomed and some would say cursed, but the end result is a guilty pleasure experience into film infamy.

11 Dr. Robotnik - Sonic the Hedgehog

Jim Carrey's Dr Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Paramount Pictures

Jim Carrey is one of the best character actors of all time. His ability to embody the physicality and heart of a role and put his entire soul into it makes him a joy to watch. In Sonic the Hedgehog, Jim Carrey looks like he is having a blast playing the cartoonishly evil Dr. Robotnik. While prompting the sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog, Carrey tells IGN about his process and approach to the beloved video game character as he got closer to the iconic look:

“Well I love the design for the original character so, you know, we wanted him to evolve. I wanted a round suit and everything but perhaps down the road. I wanted to shave that hair off, get that mustache going. I justified it as, you know, he shaved the hair off because that’s the hair of a loser. That’s the hair that lost to Sonic the first time. That’s gotta go, that energy has to be cleansed. The mustache is, you know, like the cartoon. I think it’s just an extension of his ego.”

Seeing Carrey put so much thought and philosophy into this character shows how much he cares for the roles he chooses. Ultimately, it is paying homage and respecting the source material made famous by SEGA.

10 Professor Phillip Brainard - Flubber

Robin Williams in Flubber
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Les Mayfield’s 1997 remake of The Absent Minded Professor stars Robin Williams as an eccentric professor named Phillip Brainard who creates a gelatinous sentient substance. Flubber is perhaps the perfect film for Williams, who spends most of the film acts with this green slime creature… that doesn’t really exist. Considering the character is entirely CGI, Williams does what he does best, lots of physical comedy. He tells The Morning Call about the joy of working against “Flubber" while promoting the film in 1997:

"It was sort of like doing the voice of the Genie in 'Aladdin.' You give these special effects guys the inspiration to create wild stuff. It was different from 'Jumanji' where all I did was go, 'Run, or you're a hood ornament.' With this you're creating a creature. I felt like Dr. Frankenstein. 'It walks! And it's shaped like an eggplant!' Cue the sound of mucus."

Professor Phillip Brainard isn’t the traditional mad scientist who is out to destroy the world or create a monster. In fact, he is necessarily mad intentionally. His antics and eccentric personality create this childlike silliness that blends perfectly with the unpredictable Flubber.

9 Wayne Szalinski - Honey I Shrunk the Kids

Rick Moranis in Honey I Shrunk the Kids
Walt Disney Pictures

Rick Moranis' performance as the professor, inventor and scientist Wayne Szalinski is one of his most iconic. The 1989 Disney film Honey I Shrunk the Kids became a massive success at the box office and was followed by two sequels starring Moranis. His character was the true heart and soul to the film as his youthful naivety was used for comedic suspense. The film is still immensely popular and is a highlight in Moranis’ career.

8 Yzma - The Emperor's New Groove

Kronk and Yzma
Walt Disney Pictures

Perhaps not a mad scientist in the traditional sense. However, the antagonist from the classic Disney animated film The Emperor’s New Groove was mad with power and used science as the basis to her plot. Yzma, voiced by Eartha Kitt, is a growing icon in pop culture, as she is the center of Memes and frequently quoted by fans old and new. Her plan to turn Emperor Kuzco (David Spade) into a llama for the sake of taking over the throne is hilarious. Science is her strength, but ultimately becomes her downfall.

Related: Why The Emperor's New Groove Is One Of Disney's Best Movies

7 Norman Osborn - Spider-Man

Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home
Marvel Studios

He is something of a scientist himself. This performance by Willem Dafoe in the 2002 comic book adaptation Spider-Man brings the idea of the mad scientist into the world of the superhero. The Green Goblin and Norman Osborn mirror the dichotomy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where good and evil fight for dominance within the same body. Dafoe sells this fight within the self brilliantly with sequences of self talking into the mirror, different voices and a chilling physical performance.

6 Le docteur Génessier - Eyes Without a Face

Eyes Without a Face
Champs-Élysées Productions

The classic horror drama of 1960 Eyes Without a Face stars Pierre Brasseur as a scientist and surgeon who goes to great lengths to save the face of his daughter. After an accident left her face disfigured, Le docteur Génessier goes down a horrific path to take the faces of young women whom he had kidnaped. This French masterpiece has been the source of inspiration for many modern day films, with some of the most hauntingly poetic images in the horror genre.

5 Doctor Frederick Frankenstein - Young Frankenstein

Gene Wilder's Frankenstein holds his monster's chin
20th Century Fox

Gene Wilder and genre master Mel Brooks struck gold in the 1974 comedy classic Young Frankenstein. Gene Wilder shines as Frederick, the grandson of the publicly shamed Doctor Victor Frankenstein. Doctor Frederick Frankenstein proves to be just as mad as his grandfather, in the funniest way possible. Wilder brings a level of electricity to his performance that made it one of the highlights to his career, and Young Frankenstein remains one of the gold standards of horror comedy movies.

4 Dr. Frank-N-Furter - The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Rocky Horror Picture Show
20th Century Fox

The Rocky Horror Picture Show has become the longest running theatrical release of all time, spawning crowd participation and crowned the most iconic of all cult films. The reason for its success, along with its over the top story and catchy tunes, is Tim Curry’s performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a scientist. He is a sensual, bizarre mad scientist on a quest to make himself the ultimate man.

Related: Here's What Made The Rocky Horror Picture Show So Iconic

3 Doctor Jekyll - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde
Paramount Pictures

Frederic March portrayed the very first on screen iteration of the classic Robert Lewis Stevenson tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When the doctor and scientists creates a potion that could split himself into two, they become representations of good and evil. March’s performance as these split personalities really emphasis the fight for perseverance. The film emphasizes Jekyll’s theory of good an evil as something we all have within us and what one would do if both were given equal power.

2 Doc Brown - Back to the Future

Christopher Lloyd- Back To The Future
Distributed by Universal Pictures

Great Scott! Christopher Lloyd plays the most iconic mad scientist in film history in the classic 1985 film Back to the Future. Doctor Emmett Brown is without a doubt the most eccentric, over the top scientist who captured lightning in a bottle when he discovered time travel… after hitting his head in the bathroom. Doc is ostracized by the media and is deemed a failure, but that doesn’t stop him one bit. Doc is as entertaining of a character as one could find on screen, who continues to delight audiences nearly 40 years later.

1 Doctor Frankenstein - Frankenstein (1931)

Frankenstein 1931 movie It's Alive!
Universal Pictures

Perhaps the most recognizable name in all of modern horror, Doctor Frankenstein is the absolute and quintessential mad scientist. The 1931 film Frankenstein is based on the Mary Shelley novel and stars Boris Karloff as The Monster. The tale centers on Colin Clive as Doctor Henry Frankenstein, a scientist on a quest to play god by creating a monster from body parts from deceased humans. The film was revolutionary to the horror genre and is one of the greatest of the Universal Monster Movies. This idea is maddening, but to Frankenstein, it is all too consuming. Frankenstein embodies all the classic traits of the mad scientist, the white lab coat, endless hours of compulsion in a gothic-style laboratory, and an iconic but chilling phrase that has remained a staple of film history.

“Look, it’s moving. It’s alive… it’s alive. IT’S ALIVE! IT’S ALIVE!”