Some of these you list are anything but charismatic! (Great characters but NOT Charismatic.)

Lets define what Charismatic is first since that seems to be lost.
Def of Charismatic: 1. Of, relating to, or characterized by charisma.
Def of Charisma: a. A rare personal quality attributed to leaders who arouse fervent popular devotion and enthusiasm.
b. Personal magnetism or charm.

Keyser Soze: He is one of the GREAT BAD GUY characters of all time. However, it’s questionable as to what we see of the real Soze’s character in the movie since who we see is “Verbal” and not the real Soze. What we do see of “Verbal” though is a shy, quiet, weak, non-confident, follower. None of these characteristics are symbols of Charisma, in fact they are quite the opposite. You could make an argument that he must be charismatic to have gained so much power but the examples of his actions seem to be more along the lines of him gaining his power thruogh sheer force and determination. But no signs of Charisma.

Anton Chigurh: Again, no signs of charisma at all. He’s very quiet, rough, brazen, rude, mean, a loaner, and any other characteristic that is not symbolized by Charisma. Unlike other movie hitmen who have charmed their way in to places with their charisma, this character is universally unliked by all who meet him and survive. (I did love this movie and thought the character one of the best movie bad guys in the last 10 years!)

Agent Smith: You say yourself “Methodical and emotionless like the computer program that he is,” If that in and of itself is not a couter argument to his being charismatic, then what is? While a great villian he was anything but charismatic. The character was intended to be non-charismatic. It’s the classic, stiff as a board, stern government agent archtype role.

JD: been to long since I’ve seen this to comment one way or the other.

Jareth: I’ll give you this one. He even charmed the girl who is fighting against him.

MAgneto: You get this one too. One of the signs of a Charismatic person is their ability to get people to follow them and show unending devotion. Magneto oozes charisma to get people to follow him in evil activities much the way Hitler and Mussolini were very charismatic.

Bill: I didn’t see his charisma in the movie (in the few scenes he appeared). He’s often quiet and soft spoken. He’s not very articulate or outgoing. I think he’s more followed by his assasins due to their respect of him. Although he’s highly respected, that doesn’t mean he’s charismatic.

Darth Vader: (I’m a huge SW fan and I’m treating this as the Darth Vader seen in the original trilogy.) Darth vader is again, anything but charismatic. He is FEARED. People followe him because they’re affraid not to. Not because he makes them believe in him through his character and his personality.

Joker: Definitly CHARISMATIC! Right on. One of the best performances in a villian role of all time.

Khan: I’ll give you this one too.

Just because a character is great, doesn’t make them charismatic. Think more about characters that seem likeable and friendly. Ones that people meet and seem to think very well of.

I agree with the Bill the Butcher and Denzell in Training Day. Even though the Hero knew they were the bad guy, they still find themselves drawn to them.

Charismatic Bad guy: Dr. Lector in Silence of the Lambs.

But alas, that is why it’s not a “10 BEST” list, just a simple “10 of…” list. If we deemed these the very top 10, we would be beat up, lunch money stolen.

Couple more great ones are:

- Tony Montana, Scarface

- Vizzini, The Princess Bride (So pissed I didn’t think of this one until after!)

Damn you Hollywood, and your abundance of charismatic meanies.