Psychiatrists called this movie character “Hollywood’s most realistic psychiatric patient.”

Anyone reading this probably realizes that Hollywood movies are a bad place to find accurate representations of mental illness. Sure, some movies might examine the actual psychology of sociopaths and criminals with precision and research, but most screenwriters would rather write scenes of murder and mayhem than interrogate the minds of their killers. If you’ve ever seen a psychopath in a movie laughing wildly at his own mess, he’s doing something cinematic, not something psychopathic. Even movies that claim to know about psychology aren’t always accurate, often conveying bits and pieces of psychological realism without doing the heavy lifting. Think of “Psycho” or any other movie about dissociative identity disorder.

according to 2014 report from Science NewsHowever, there is one killer who could be described as quite psychologically accurate: Anton Chigurh from the Coen Brothers’ 2007 Best Picture winner No Country from Old Men. Anton Chigurh, played by Oscar-winner Javier Bardem, is a killer who kills his victims using a device called a captive bullet gun (a device that fires a bolt into the victim’s brain by compressing air, then pulls it back). It is usually used for slaughtering livestock. Anton is not just a killer; He is a tough-talking monster, and seemed completely disconnected from the world around him. He never laughs violently. In fact, when he smiles he comes off as lying and manipulative. Anton doesn’t really know what human feelings are. This is a more accurate depiction of a psychopath.

This was the conclusion reached by forensic psychologist Samuel Lystedt and his colleague Paul Lenkowski at the end of an interesting three-year project. The duo watched 400 films, each one purporting to feature psychopaths, to find out which films best represented mental illness. Anton Chigurh was, by their study, the most accurate portrayal.

As part of his work, Lystedt spoke to and psychoanalyzed real-life hitmen, noticing that Chigurh had the same cold, unconcerned demeanor as his patients. “(Anton) does his job, and he can sleep without any problems. In my practice, I met a few people like this. They were just like that. Cool, intelligent, no guilt, no anxiety, no depression,” Lystedt explained, diagnosing Anton as a “primary and classic/idiopathic psychopath.” If you meet someone who reminds you of Anton, you might be a little wary.

Also at the top of the list was Hans Beckert, The child killer played by Peter Lorre in Fritz Lang’s 1931 classic “M.” In this film, Hans stalks and kills children in Berlin, causing a city-wide crime crackdown. Naturally, the local petty criminals hate Hans for increasing the city police presence on his own, so they decide to go after Hans themselves. At the end of the film, Hans sobs in horror, declaring that his murderous urges are something he has never been able to fight. Lystedt diagnosed Hans as a “pseudopsychopath and an additional diagnosis of psychosis.” He also noted that Henry (Michael Rooker) in John McNaughton’s 1986 horror film “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” is disturbingly realistic. He does not plan for the future, has no empathy, and lives in poverty and chaos.

Lystedt continued that while many famous villains are scary in movies, they are not accurate depictions of psychopathy. Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) in “Psycho” is a prime example. As Lystedt notes, Norman may be suffering from psychosis (read: hallucinations/delusions), but this is different from emotionless psychopathy. Ditto Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs. Lystedt noted that the character’s unsettling calmness is not a characteristic of real psychopaths, as much as it is entertaining.