The Top 10 Best Movie Con Artists
5. Freddy Benson and Lawrence Jamieson- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is getting the gender-bending treatment from Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson, which is great, but they’re going to have some big shoes to fill. Steve Martin stars as small-time con man, Freddy Benson, who is nickel and dimming his way across Europe. That is, until he meets master grifter, Lawrence Jamieson played by Michael Caine. He decides to take Freddy under his wing and teach him everything he knows. Their friendship though soon turns to a bitter rivalry and the two decide to see who the better con artists really is. They set their sights on a rich heiress from America and decide to see who can swindle her first. It’s too hard to choose between these two, so they both earn a spot on this Top 10 list.
4. Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan- The Ocean Movies
Ocean’s Eleven just happens to be one of the greatest heist movies of all time. Of course, in order to pull off such an incredible heist, they needed a team of specialists, all of whom prove to be pretty impressive con artists. For the sake of this list, though I’m going with the ringleaders of this little operation, Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan (George Clooney and Brad Pitt respectively). Together they assemble the Avengers of master criminals and rip off one of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas. In order to do that, both had to be at the top of their games and masterfully manipulate all the pieces into place. That being said, Danny’s sister wasn’t half bad at the con either.
3. Johnny “Kelly” Hooker and Henry “Shaw” Gondorff- The Sting
One of the greatest con artist teams in all of cinema was Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Together these two pull off the ultimate hustle as they take on a mob boss. It’s a complicated ploy with a ton of moving parts, including a fake off-track betting parlor and an army of con men to help pull it off. Of course, taking on a mob boss doesn’t come without its risk, and any miss step means certain death for these seasoned grifters. Together, Redford and Newman are simply too cool for school as the charming and charismatic con artists. The Sting is an absolute classic film that scooped up a ton of Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. It’s definitely a must see movie.
2. Frank Abagnale Jr.- Catch Me if You Can
If one movie proves that sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction, it’s Catch Me if You Can. The film tells the tale of real-life con artist Frank Abagnale Jr. (played by Leonardo DiCaprio). Over the course of the film, he poses as an American Airlines pilot, a doctor, and a prosecutor. Keep in mind this was all while he was over the course of his late teens and early twenties. On top of that, he managed to evade an FBI agent played by Tom Hanks who is hot on his trail. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and the Feds end up catching up to Frank. That’s hardly the end of him though. You see, Frank was so good at what he did that he actually became a consultant for the FBI to help catch other criminals.
1. Roger “Verbal” Kint- The Usual Suspects
A lot of the con artists on this list are gifted with a silver tongue. However, none of them come close to the legendary skills of Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey). The Usual Suspects is a tale told from his perspective of the con man as he recounts a tale filled with twists and turns that ends in a brutal shoot out over the legendary underworld figure Keyser Soze. At first glance, Verbal might not seem like the ultimate con man, especially since he’s singing like a canary to the cops. However, nothing is what it seems when it comes to this film. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, so if you haven’t seen The Usual Suspects you owe it to yourself to check it out. After all, it’s got the best movie con artist of all time in it.
Honorable Mention: Dominick Cobb- Inception
A truly great con artist makes their mark think the whole thing is their choice. Because of that, it’s arguable that Dominick Cobb from Inception could be the ultimate con man. After all, he dives into people’s minds and plants ideas in their subconscious. It’s an impressive feat, but I’m not sure if that makes him a full-fledged con artist.
There have been a ton of other con artists to appear on the big screen but for my money, these are the bests of the best. If you think there are more deserving characters that belong on this list, leave a comment below. I’ll be sure to update this list as bigger and better con artists appear in theaters. So make sure to check back from time to time to see how the rankings change.