The 14 Smartest Fictional Characters in Movies

Code-breakers, detectives, inventors and quiet prodigies — the movie minds that outthink everyone in the room. Who is the smartest of them all? Cast your vote!

1

Hannibal Lecter

The brilliant, cannibalistic psychiatrist of The Silence of the Lambs.

1000pts

2

Professor Moriarty

Sherlock Holmes's criminal-mastermind nemesis.

689pts

3

Sherlock Holmes

The peerless deductive detective adapted across countless films.

665pts

4

Will Hunting

The self-taught janitor math genius of Good Will Hunting, played by Matt Damon.

596pts

5

Hermione Granger

The brightest witch of her age in the Harry Potter films.

596pts

6

Doc Brown

The eccentric time-machine inventor of Back to the Future.

596pts

7

Bruce Wayne

The genius detective-industrialist behind Batman.

517pts

8

Ellie Arroway

The brilliant SETI astronomer of Contact.

517pts

9

John Nash

The Nobel-winning mathematician of A Beautiful Mind.

423pts

10

Katherine Johnson

The NASA mathematician of Hidden Figures.

310pts

11

Neo

The reality-bending hacker chosen one of The Matrix.

310pts

12

Tony Stark

The genius inventor-industrialist behind Iron Man.

172pts

13

Alan Turing

The codebreaking pioneer of The Imitation Game.

172pts

14

Lisbeth Salander

The genius hacker of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

172pts