Bradley Whitford’s ‘Billy Madison’ Character Rivals Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees

Before he was running the White House on The West Wing and stealing brains in Get Out, Bradley Whitford spent his days conspiring against the idiotic-yet-lovable Billy Madison in Adam Sandler‘s 1995 hit film. Make no mistake: as Eric Gordon, a power-hungry exec at Madison Hotels, Whitford personifies evil. Eric is the undeniable villain of Billy Madison, but his feud with Billy (Sandler) is just the tip of the demonic iceberg. Eric harms practically everyone around him, and he approaches his ascent to the Madison Hotels throne with a lack of empathy not unlike the crazed serial killers in Friday the 13th and Halloween. What’s that, Michael Myers? You’re scared of Eric Gordon? You probably should be.
We first meet Mr. Eric “Sociopath” Gordon during a business dinner at the Madison home. Eric immediately begins to undermine Billy by egging him on at the dinner table and telling Billy’s dad Brian (Darren McGavin) that he’s “not mature enough to run a Fortune 500 company.” From the get-go, it’s pretty clear what Eric’s angling at: Billy is the clear heir to Brian Madison’s empire, and Eric wants it all to himself. When Brian announces that he’s retiring and handing the company over to Eric, Billy decides that the only way to prove his worth is to pass every grade all over again, and this time, he’ll do it without his father’s help. Eric can’t even hide his disdain for Billy’s academic challenge. “Nice try, ass wipe,” he says. “But you’re just delaying the inevitable.”
If Eric were merely a selfish businessman, he would let Billy fail on his own; instead, Eric chooses to bring down Billy by destroying the lives of everyone around our simple-minded hero. “Who will help me destroy Billy Madison?” he fumes as he shoves a hot dog into his pie hole. This is some seriously evil shit. Other than the people competing at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, who holds a hot dog like this?

Eric then turns his attention to grade school principal Max Anderson, who became friendly with Billy during his time in third grade. Mr. Anderson is a kind soul, but Eric discovers that he used to be a masked wrestler who accidentally killed a man in the ring. Eric then blackmails Mr. Anderson and makes him publicly announce that Billy bribed him for passing grades. Mr. Anderson has no business being pulled into this mess; it’s entirely unfair that Eric would use his past — and a past he regrets immensely, at that — against him for his nefarious agenda. He’s just a sweet guy trying to educate America’s youth, and now, he’ll be forever haunted by Eric’s threats. Does Mr. Anderson deserve that? I think NOT.

As a result of Mr. Anderson’s “confession,” Brian gives Eric the company. When Eric laughs in Billy’s face, his tongue sticks out like the Marvel character Venom, which somehow manages to be both disconcerting and incredibly thought-provoking. How do you make a laughing sound with your tongue out? Is Eric even human? Are we dealing with some Jason X-type shit?

When Mr. Anderson recants his statement about Billy bribing him a few weeks later, we finally see Eric’s true colors. He reacts to the news by throwing a stapler at his assistant, Joyce, and sending her into a coma. Eric acts like he’s apologetic, but, come on, you know he DGAF. Because, you know, he is a sociopath. Later, when Brian agrees to give Billy another shot at finishing school, Eric says he’ll sue him for violating their “deal.” Apparently Eric is not only willing to throw staplers, he’s also willing to throw the book at his mentor.
Billy challenges Eric to an academic decathlon, with the winner earning control over Madison Hotels, once and for all. But in the first few minutes, Eric stumbles on a question about business ethics and brandishes a gun, sending the audience into a panic. Eric’s behavior is obviously psychotic, for multiple reasons (he first aims at the decathlon moderator, as if it’s his fault for choosing the topic?), but this moment provides Billy Madison‘s clearest hint that Eric is the embodiment of true evil. Eric cannot answer a question about business ethics, the one class that college freshmen take knowing it’s an easy A. A topic that baked students throughout history have been able to accurately sum up with “Uh, doing the right thing?” A subject so simple it’s explained up right there in the phrase “Business Ethics.”
But despite the simplicity of the subject matter, Eric still doesn’t get what it means because he lacks even the smallest ounce of empathy for the people in said businesses. If you’re not able to see why other people matter, or if you’re able to see and choose not to care, business ethics (and ethics in general) becomes an inscrutable riddle.

This Halloween, don’t forget about the scariest villain in mid-1990s comedy, Bradley Whitford’s Eric Gordon. He may not look as intimidating as the Freddy Kruegers and the Pennywises of the world, but he’s every bit as cold-blooded.

Watch Billy Madison on Netflix