12 Movie/TV Trust Busters!

It was the fake-out that made Kevin Spacey a Big Deal (and an Oscar-winning actor). True to his name, Verbal is a master at storytelling, spinning the engrossing yarn about the scary criminal overlord Keyser Söze. Of course, he’s lying (and, in fact, is Söze). But in a feat of meta-Method ridiculousness (he seems so sincere, so ineffectual) Spacey’s lies sound almost better than the truth. This swift-talking role would suit Spacey, who followed Suspects up in a number of roles, including 2013’s Netflix breakout House of Cards. —Adam Carlson

”Nobody likes babies,” says Mellie Grant after, you know, just having a baby. Mellie will fake a miscarriage, go all in on voting fraud in the presidential election, play the victim, and basically do anything to be one step ahead of the president’s similarly conniving Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry). The thing that makes Mellie so intriguing is that she knows exactly who she is. She plays the game, she plays it well, but she hasn’t falsely convinced herself that she’s the good guy (like some characters on this show). Also, there’s the whole question of why she gave up trying a political career to be a politician’s wife. Clearly she can handle things better than her husband. Mellie Grant/David Rosen 2016? They’ve got our vote! —Sarah Caldwell

Omar (Michael K. Williams) was an easy target in the world of The Wire: A loner, a criminal — black. But Omar’s continued survival was also a hint: He was wiling to help whoever helped him (and lie and cheat and kill). In a city that was rotting from the inside, Omar was often the only one brave enough to wear his corruption, and his battered heart, on the outside. —Adam Carlson

For the first two seasons of Downton Abbey, the scheming footman Thomas (Rob James-Collier) and devious lady’s maid O’Brien (Siobhan Finneran) worked together to wreak havoc on the inhabitants of the English estate. Thomas tried to frame poor Mr. Bates (Brendan Coyle) for stealing, and O’Brien used a well-placed bar of soap to cause Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern) to have a miscarriage — typical servant behavior. By the third season, however, the pair turned their nastiness toward one another, each viciously trying to destroy their former friend’s credibility and job. But they did it with such delicious evilness that you couldn’t help but be enthralled. —Denise Warner

The fact that The Joker cannot be trusted is no secret. He is, after all, a psychopath and Batman’s biggest nemesis. But when Heath Ledger took the role, he added a level of devilish charm and underlying emotion that made him as evil as he was (dare we say?) likable. The origin of his scars, for instance: His story changed every time, and with Ledger’s simultaneously ominous and whimsical deliveries, each was more engrossing than the last. It’s no wonder Ledger was awarded a posthumous Oscar — anyone who can make us laugh while he blows up a hospital is one to keep an eye on. —Samantha Highfill

More arsenic than old lace, Tony Soprano’s mother is far more adept at weaving lies than knitting holiday sweaters. Portrayed by Nancy Marchand (who had been grand on Lou Grant as publisher Margaret Pynchon), the plotting Livia wears her age and infirmities as a disguise as she lays on the guilt and even tries to get Tony whacked. She’s a Mafia Maleficent hiding in plain sight as the Mrs. Howell of New Jersey. —Geoff Boucher

To the well-heeled socialites of New York City’s Upper East Side, Paul is a sort of unicorn — a polite, Ivy League-educated young black man with all the charisma and magnetism of a young Will Smith. (And the son of Sidney Poitier to boot!) What those socialites don’t realize is that Paul’s a total fraud — and he’s squeezing them dry by playing off of their professed liberalism and subconscious racism. It’s not every con man who can charm the pants off you and make you think. —Hillary Busis

Pay no mind to her name, this broad is no delicate flower. Lilly (Anjelica Huston) is canny and fearless, cheating her mob bosses even as she rigs the odds of horse races in their favor. More ruthless than her nickel-and-diming son Roy (John Cusack) and more experienced than Roy’s sexually manipulative girlfriend Myra (Annette Bening), it’s no surprise she’s the only one left standing in The Grifters‘ survival-of-the-fittest world. —Lanford Beard

The only predictable thing about Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) is how unpredictable he is. In Catch Me If You Can, Frank cons his way into millions thanks to an aptitude for forgery and his ability to somewhat effortlessly impersonate an airplane pilot, a lawyer, and a doctor. As Frank says to Tom Hanks’ FBI agent, ”People only know what you tell them.” —Lindsey Bahr

It’s true: Karen Walker has a mother. So what was Karen’s childhood like? Well, she spent most of her days learning the healing powers of alcohol and dressing up as various characters to help mommy dearest (Suzanne Pleshette) pull off con after con. But Lois does love her daughter — she just might love money a little more. —Samantha Highfill

Though Max (Sigourney Weaver) isn’t alone in her cons since daughter Page (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is more than willing to use her body to swindle hapless marks with ma. Though she can don a wig and ape a Russian accent with the best of them, Max’s true brilliance surfaces after Page exits the game, and Max turns a former target into her partner in crime. Adaptability is the name of the game for a professional liar. —Lanford Beard