I'd say Hannibal Lector but that didn't work out too well. TV show is supposedly decent but I won't ever watch it cos if it ain't Anthony Hopkins then what's the point. And he's too old for it now.
Anyway...from TV and films
Max Cady (Cape Fear)
The yellow king (True Detective)
Gustavo Fring (Breaking Bad)
Damon Pope (Sons of Anarchy)
Falon (Dennis Leary in Judgement Night)
Clarence Boddicker (Robocop)
Hans Gruber (Die Hard)
A villain movie without the main hero is doable.
Villains deal with all sorts of law agencies and other unsavory characters "off panel".
If the story, as Hollywood seems to prefer is origin centric, it makes things even easier in that we get to see the damage they caused prior to "becoming" the villains we're more familiar with.
Also, Hans Gruber was a GREAT choice!