Lecter Declared 'Best Baddie'

August 15 -- Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter is filmdom's "best baddie" of all time, according to an Internet poll of more than 17,000 film fans.

Actor Anthony Hopkins' Oscar-winning portrayal of the serial killer with a taste for human flesh beat Star Wars' heavy-breathing Darth Vader and Psycho killer Norman Bates to claim the title.

A spokesman for www.only-movies.com, the Web site that carried out the survey, said it was Hannibal's wit that made him so appealing. "People love Hannibal's one-liners," he told Reuters. Plans are currently underway for another Hannibal film, the Silence of the Lambs prequel Red Dragon, which will likely star Hopkins again.

Surprisingly, Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham, from Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, took fourth place, while his Die Hard baddie, Hans Gruber, didn't make the list.

In fifth place was the ankle-smashing Kathy Bates character Annie Wilkes, from the Stephen King thriller Misery.

The oldest villain to make the top 30 was Max Shreck's Nosferatu, from the 1922 horror classic of the same name. Other classic baddies included Christopher Lee's 1958 Dracula and Richard Widmark's giggling gangster Tommy Udo in the 1947 film noir Kiss of Death.

The nightmarish Child Catcher from Disney's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang made an appearance at No. 25, and the shark from Jaws was at No. 30.

Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey was the only actor to make two appearances on the list, for his roles in The Usual Suspects and Seven.

Reuters contributed to this story.