The string of villainous roles played by John Malkovich wasnt under his direct control.
When we consider John Malkovich playing a parody of himself in "Being John Malkovich," there comes the question: Why John Malkovich? Why not "Being Kurt Russell" or "Being Alan Rickman," for instance? Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman answered this, saying there was no other actor in mind when he wrote the script, due to Malkovichs "quality of unknowability" (via Rolling Stone).