The Worst Dads in Cinema History

Sometimes a good story needs a bad dad. Happy Father's Day!

Everyone on FilmStack has been posting their favorite fictional dads to celebrate Father’s Day, so I decided to do an impromptu ranking of the top-3 worst dads in cinema history.

Why? Sometimes the best stories and character arcs are driven by awful dads. (That and I have an unhealthy obcession with Star Wars so any time I can write about it, I will. Spoiler alert.)

#3: Darth Vader (Star Wars)

The best villain in movie history comes in at #3. Let’s start with the obvious. He killed his pregnant wife. So there’s that. He also cut off his own son’s arm and then asked him to join him like nothing happened. If dismembering your own child isn’t enough, he also tortured his daughter and blew up her entire home planet.

In Vader’s defense, he fell victim to the temptations of the dark side during all of this. Emperor Palpatine was a master manipulator. Darth also didn’t know that Leia was his daughter at the time of destroying Alderaan. His immensely satisfying redemption arc sees him ultimately defeat the higher evil and see the light. For that, the chosen one is spared a higher spot on this list.

#2: Clifford McBride (Ad Astra)

If you haven’t seen Ad Astra yet, do you yourself a favor and watch it. Very few films are as thought-provoking and introspective.

The film follows astronaut Roy McBride’s search for his estranged father, Clifford, who just so happens to be responsible for sending life-threatening radiation back to Earth from his remote space station orbiting around Neptune.

Roy is attempting to save Earth from his father’s unexplained experimental radiation, but is also motivated for answers from his estranged father. Roy has not seen Clifford since he was a child and when he finally makes contact, he learns that his father murdered his fellow crewmates and wants to sacrifice all of Earth in an attempt to find alien life. If that’s not bad enough, Clifford tells his son (who just traveled across the solar system to find him, mind you) that the real reason he became an astronaut was to get away from his family. He found life with his wife and Roy to be incredibly boring and unrewarding. Ouch.

#1: Daniel Plainview (There Will Be Blood)

One of the most powerful characters in the history of film is also my pick as the worst dad in the history of film. Daniel Plainview’s story is a harrowing examination of the detrimental effects power and greed can have on a man. And in this case, a father.

Plainview uses his deaf adopted son, H.W., as a prop in his larger game to acquire as much wealth as possible. Appearing as a family man helps grow his business and fortune, but that comes at the expense of H.W., who we learn was essentially abducted by Plainview with only money on the mind.

There are moments when Plainview attempts to be a good father, but those uplifting moments become increasingly scarce as the film progresses and all comes to blows in the final act when Planview disowns H.W. in a drunken tantrum. It is a heartbreaking end to a doomed father-son relationship and leaves a terrible taste in your mouth.

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What do you think of my list? I’d love to see your top-3 worst fictional dad lists in the comments. Also shoutout to James Earl Jones, Tommy Lee Jones, and Daniel Day-Lewis for their incredible performances. I bet all of them are/were fantastic dads in real life.

Happy Father’s Day to all the good dads out there!

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