Meet the Actors Behind These 10 Iconic Disney Villains
Meet the Actors Behind These 10 Iconic Disney Villains
Kate Hogan, Emily KrauserSun, June 28, 2026 at 11:15 AM UTC
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From left: Scar (voiced by Jeremy Irons) in 1994's 'The Lion King'; Cruella de Vil (voiced by Betty Lou Gerson) in 1961's '101 Dalmatians'; Ursula (voiced by Pat Carroll) in 1989's 'The Little Mermaid'Credit: Disney courtesy everett (3)
Can you guess the actors behind these Disney villains?
While Disney princesses have received plenty of love over the years, it's only fair that the actors behind the villains, including Eleanor Audley (Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent), James Woods (Hercules' Hades) and Jeremy Irons (The Lion King's Scar), get their due, too.
In a conversation with BAFTA in September 2021, Irons recalled watching an entire theater stand to cheer when his character was seemingly killed off toward the end of the film.
"I thought, 'He wasn't that bad,' " the Oscar winner joked. "I was the only person sitting there watching them all roaring and clapping — so hurtful!"
From Irons' badly behaved big cat to Audley, who voiced not one but two early on-screen divas, see the actors behind some of the most iconic animated villains in Disney history.
01 of 10
Pat Carroll as Ursula in The Little Mermaid (1989)
From left: Ursula (voiced by Pat Carroll) in 1989's 'The Little Mermaid'; Pat Carroll attends the afterparty of 'The Little Mermaid' at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City on Jan. 10, 2008Credit: Alamy Stock Photo; Janette Pellegrini/WireImage
Born in 1927 in Louisiana, Pat Carroll had dozens of credits to her name, including time on The Danny Thomas Show and Getting Together, before voicing evil sea witch Ursula in 1989's The Little Mermaid, one of her many voice roles.
"She's perfection," Melissa McCarthy, who played Ursula in Disney's 2023 live-action remake, told Todayin May 2023. "You just admire and bow." (Funny enough, Carroll had an uncredited cameo in McCarthy's 2011 film Bridesmaids.)
Carroll also voiced characters on Pound Puppies and Garfieldspecials, among other '80s and '90s favorites, and reprised her role as Ursula in sequels, TV series and video games.
"It was a lifelong ambition of mine to do a Disney film," the Emmy winner told author Allan Neuwirth in Makin' Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies. "So, I was their hook, line and sinker."
Carroll died at her home in Cape Cod, Mass., in July 2022 while recovering from pneumonia, her daughter Kerry Karsian told The Hollywood Reporter. She was 95.
02 of 10
Richard White as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast (1991)
From left: Gaston (voiced by Richard White) in 1991's 'Beauty and the Beast'; Richard White attends a preview event at the Magical Memories Fine Art Gallery inside the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Aug. 10, 2017Credit: Snap/Shutterstock; Gabe Ginsberg/Getty
In 1991's Beauty and the Beast, opera singer and stage veteran Richard White took on the voice of Gaston, the egotistical suitor of Belle who ultimately tries to kill the Beast (voiced by Robby Benson).
"Gaston is iconic," the Pittsburgh-raised actor told ScreenSlam in September 2016 at a 25th anniversary celebration of the Oscar-winning animated film."It's astonishing to me just how big of an impression that makes on people. I can't help but be extremely proud of what we made and how people react to it."
Since his time as Gaston, White has stuck mainly to voice work and theater. He joined the original Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara) in December 2022 for a 30th anniversary event celebrating the film, per Entertainment Weekly.
03 of 10
Donna Murphy as Mother Gothel in Tangled (2010)
From left: Mother Gothel (voiced by Donna Murphy) in 2010's 'Tangled'; Donna Murphy attends the 30th annual SAG Awards (now Actor Awards) at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Feb. 24, 2024Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock; Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty
As Tangled's Mother Gothel, who kidnaps a baby Rapunzel (Delaney Rose Stein) and uses her magical hair to stay young in the 2010 film, Donna Murphy worked to stay "lighter" and "sweeter" in her vocals to keep the growing princess from leaving her.
"I have all kinds of theories about her backstory," the Tony and Emmy winner shared in a Playbill roundtable with fellow Disney voice actresses in February 2019. "There was a narcissism about her."
"Part of being a villain," Murphy added, "is there's no rules that you need to stay within to accomplish what you need to get. For this woman, with the child who'd she been with since she was a baby ... she's trying to squash her into staying, and there's a million ways to do that."
After Tangled, the New York City-born actress hit the Broadway stage in the 2017 revival of Hello, Dolly! and appeared on shows likethe Gossip Girl reboot, The Gilded Ageand Brilliant Minds.
04 of 10
Jeremy Irons as Scar in The Lion King (1994)
From left: Scar (voiced by Jeremy Irons) in 1994's 'The Lion King'; Jeremy Irons attends 'The Count of Monte Cristo' photocall during the Series Mania Festival in Lille, France, on March 19, 2024Credit: Alamy Stock Photo; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
Irons told BAFTA that acting as the scheming lion Scar in 1994's The Lion King was"extraordinary." However, he had one bone to pick with animators.
After describing the recording process — which includes having artists in the room to sketch an actor's every move — Irons was "devastated" to see that Scar was ultimately a "scrawny bloody lion."
"I look at James Earl Jones' [Mufasa], and he's golden, big mane. James Earl Jones is bald! I thought, 'What's the matter with me? Why I've got to look like that?' The tail looks like people have been pulling hair out of it for 100 years!" he said.
Despite the qualms, Irons was revered for the work, earning an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Villain and an Annie Award win for Best Achievement in Voice Acting.
He's also had quite the illustrious career to brag about. Some of Irons' post-Lion King projects included the films Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Lolita (1997) and House of Gucci(2021), as well as the TV series The Borgias,Watchmen, The Count of Monte Cristo andThe Morning Show. He also portrayed Alfred Pennyworth in four DC films, including 2023'sThe Flash.
05 of 10
Betty Lou Gerson as Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians (1961)
From left: Cruella De Vil (voiced by Betty Lou Gerson) in 1961's '101 Dalmatians'; Betty Lou Gerson as Karen Adams on the CBS Radio soap opera 'Woman in White' on June 17, 1941Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock; CBS via Getty
Born in Tennessee and raised in Alabama, Betty Lou Gerson worked steadily on TV and radio — in fact, she was known as the "Soap Opera Queen of Chicago" — before landing what was arguably her biggest role: that of the terrifying, dog-obsessed Cruella de Vil in 1961's 101 Dalmatians.
"Cruella was such an exaggerated character, and that's exactly how I played her," Gerson once said (via D23). "She was a lot of fun, but I never expected her to become the cult figure that she became."
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In a lighter turn, she also served as the opening narrator in the classic 1950 Disney animated film, Cinderella.
Gerson died in L.A. in January 1999, per Variety. She was 84.
06 of 10
Keith David as Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog (2009)
From left: Dr. Facilier (voiced by Keith David) in 2009's 'The Princess and the Frog'; Keith David attends the 96th annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on March 10, 2024Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Keith David has had a prolific career that includes three Emmy wins for his voiceover work alone. However, his part as the evil Dr. Facilier, who turns Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) and Prince Naveen (voiced by Bruno Campos) into frogs in 2009's The Princess and the Frog,allowed him to showcase his singing skills, too, with the smarmy solo "Friends on the Other Side."
You've seen and heard David in, well, it feels like everything. He's been part of shows like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,Rick and Morty and Community and films like The Thing (1982) and Armageddon (1997), in addition to endless documentaries, commercials and even video games like Halo. He's also voiced other Disney characters, including on the Aladdin series and in the Gargoyles franchise.
David most recently appeared in the 2026 film Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice and the miniseries The Gray House and voiced Steve Nichols on the one-season adult animated series Strip Law. In June 2026, theGreenleafactor received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame honoring his legacy on-screen and as a narrator and voice artist in animation.
07 of 10
Jonathan Freeman as Jafar in Aladdin (1992)
From left: Jafar (voiced by Jonathan Freeman) in 1992's 'Aladdin'; Jonathan Freeman attends day one of the Chiller Theatre Expo at the Parsippany Hilton in Parsippany, N.J., on Oct. 28, 2016Credit: Alamy Stock Photo; WireImage
Not only did theater star Jonathan Freeman voice the wicked sorcerer Jafar in 1992's Aladdin, but he also originated the role in the Broadway adaptation of the film in 2014, stepping down in early 2022.
When asked to list five words that describe the character, he told TheNew York Timesin January of that year, "Mercurial; malevolent; jealous (not to be confused with envious); vain; and self-important."
The Ohio native also acknowledged that his own heritage didn't necessarily match Jafar's hypothetical one, saying, "I never thought of him, to be honest, as anything but a Disney villain. I never thought of him as being North African, Middle Eastern, Asiatic, South Asian. I never thought of any of those things. I always thought of him as being a villain. The makeup that I put on was never meant to be race. It was always villain's makeup. It had to do with the arch of the eyebrow, it had to do with the sneer."
He added, "It's not that no one thought about it. I think everybody thought about it, and everyone thought about it carefully."
Freeman, who is also a puppeteer, reprised the role in Aladdin's 1994 sequel, The Return of Jafar, and now offers Jafar videos via Cameo.
He's also been involved in the Disney-verse beyond Jafar, appearing in The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Mary Poppins Broadway musicals.
08 of 10
James Woods as Hades in Hercules (1997)
From left: Hades (voiced by James Woods) in 1997's 'Hercules'; James Woods attends the Writers Guild Awards L.A. Ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 19, 2017Credit: Alamy Stock Photo; Tibrina Hobson/Getty
The Oscar nominee tried his hand at voice work as the king of the underworld in 1997's Hercules.
Despite his character Hades' goal to take down Zeus (voiced by the late Rip Torn), Hercules (voiced by Tate Donovan) and the rest of the good guys, Woods played the part employing a conversational tone that brought more humor than the typical Disney villain embodies.
"It's very interesting about voice work. Everybody has to audition," Woods toldDen of Geek in February 2014. "Mel Gibson had to audition for f---ing Pocahontas. Even Robin Williams. They don't offer you anything. You have to audition because they have to know those voices work. And at the time, one of my very close friends was doing the part of Hades."
That close friend? John Lithgow. Woods noted that it wasn't Lithgow's fault he was eventually dismissed from the role, but rather that the character needed more direction. Woods' voice and visual vision — including Hades' hair, inspired by John Travolta in the 1977 dance film Saturday Night Fever — clearly worked, as his Hades became an iconic Disney villain.
"And I have to tell you: almost every line I did in that over the next year and a half was adlibbed. I came up with the idea of the hair being on fire," Woods said, adding, "I have more fun doing comedy, and nobody ever thinks of me doing comedy, but I have a lot of fun with it, I'll tell you that!"
The Casino star also worked on a short-lived TV adaptation of Hercules in addition to his numerous film, TV and voice roles in the years since the animated film premiered in 1997, including Vampires (1998), The Virgin Suicides (1999) and White House Down (2013).
09 of 10
Eleanor Audley as Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty (1959)
From left: Maleficent (voiced by Eleanor Audley) in 1959's 'Sleeping Beauty'; Eleanor Audley as Maleficent in a portrait dated July 29, 1965Credit: WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS / Album; CBS via Getty
Another Disney star who got her start in theater and radio, Audley voiced not one but two legendary villainesses: Sleeping Beauty's shape-shifting sorceress Maleficent in 1959 and evil stepmother Lady Tremaine in 1950's Cinderella.
Audley, who began her Broadway career in the 1930s, appeared on a host of popular TV shows, including Green Acres, I Love Lucyand The Dick Van Dyke Show.
She also has another Disney role under her belt that you might not expect — she voiced Madame Leota, the body-less fortune teller in a crystal ball, on Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride, per D23.
Audley died of respiratory failure in North Hollywood, Calif., in November 1991, per the Los Angeles Times. She was 86.
10 of 10
Eartha Kitt as Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
From left: Yzma (voiced by Eartha Kitt) in 2000's 'The Emperor's New Groove'; Eartha Kitt attends the afterparty for 'The Public Sings: 50th Anniversary Celebration' at the Time Warner Center in N.Y.C. on Jan. 30, 2006Credit: Alamy Stock Photo; Scott Gries/Getty
It was none other than the legendary Eartha Kitt who gave voice to another evil mother figure, The Emperor's New Groove's Yzma, in 2000.
Also a Broadway veteran — in addition to a successful singer and movie actress — the "Santa Baby" songstress had dabbled in voice work before landing the part of Yzma. She later won back-to-back Daytime Emmy Awards in 2007 and 2008 for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for the spinoff series The Emperor's New School.
Kitt died of colon cancer on Dec. 25, 2008. She was 81.
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