25 - Quint

Played by: Robert Shaw

Film(s): Jaws (1975)

Robert Shaw was a force of nature as a man, so it's only fitting that his most memorable screen role follows suit. Quint, the Ahab-a-like shark hunter who becomes obsessed with hunting down the Great White munching on tourists in Amity, has one of the most memorable entrances (nails down the blackboard) and exits (bitten in half, blood spurting from his nose in distressing fashion) in movie history. Inbetween, Quint is a roaring, raving maniac, singing old sea shanties and snarling for New England. And then comes the speech about the Indianapolis, the origins of which have been forever debated. But here's one thing that's incontrovertible: whoever wrote the words, Shaw says 'em with a gusto and a gravitas that tips Quint over from larger-than-life a-hole to tragic hero. Genius.