I was so frustrated by yesterday’s script – specifically how lame the main character was – that I needed to write an article reminding everyone how to write a main character. As I said yesterday, your story *is* your main character. So if you get that part right, everything else in the script is likely to work. You’d be amazed at how easy it is for readers to overlook plot holes when they fall in love with your hero. Now it used to be thought that as long as your hero “saved a cat” within the first few scenes, you were good. While saving the cat is never a bad idea, the kind of stuff I’m suggesting has more to do with who your character is overall. We want the hero’s characteristics playing out in every scene, not just one scene. With that in mind, here are five character types that audiences love.
THE RELENTLESSLY ACTIVE CHARACTER
It’s really hard to dislike a character who’s relentlessly active. We like people who take action in life and therefore we like people who take action on the big screen. There are two versions of this character type. There’s the character who’s relentlessly active because they HAVE TO BE. And there’s the character who’s relentlessly active because they WANT TO BE. Both characters work. But the latter works better. An example of a relentlessly active character who has to be that way is Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity. Bourne must charge forward because if he doesn’t, bad guys will catch up to him and kill him. An example of the relentlessly active character who wants to be is Madonna in the #1 ranked Black List script, Blonde Ambition. Madonna is active because she wants to be successful more than anything. A testament to how well this character works is that Madonna ends up being a real sketch-show by the end of the script, betraying her boyfriend in order to secure a record deal. But we’re so taken by her relentless drive that we don’t care. We’ve been all-in with this character from the moment that quality was introduced.
THE SYMPATHETIC CHARACTER
Another way to make an audience love a character is to build a sympathetic scenario into their life. They just got fired. They’ve just been dumped (Crazy Stupid Love). They’ve been taken advantage of. They’ve lost a child (A Quiet Place). Their physicality’s been taken away (Deadpool, Upgrade). It’s a natural tendency when we see someone who’s down to root for their success. We can’t help it. But there’s a caveat to this. The person who’s down can’t be negative about it. Sure, if the hero’s son dies, they should be upset for a few scenes. But, eventually, they need to get back on the horse and continue the journey. It should be noted that The Sympathetic Character isn’t as powerful as The Relentlessly Active character, because there’s more manipulation involved in The Sympathetic Character. The writer is literally killing a child (or getting the hero fired, or having his wife leave him) to make the audience foot for the hero. A certain percentage of the audience will see through this and check out. Whereas the relentlessly active character always works.
THE UNDERDOG
I shouldn’t have to explain to you why this character works. Rey is an underdog. All the characters in It were underdogs. Spider-Man is an underdog. The boy in Wonder is an underdog (or a “wunderdog”). The underdog trope is so potent, writers have devised ways to make badasses underdogs. John Wick is the best assassin in the world. Yet he’s an underdog going up against an overbearing Russian mafia. Ditto The Equalizer! I don’t know anyone who doesn’t root for the overmatched little guy. Seeing him win is one of the most satisfying experiences in storytelling.
THE STRUGGLER
Every single person on this earth is struggling with something. It may be alcohol. It may be drugs. It may be depression. It may be anxiety. It may be porn, anger, money, health, or a good old fashioned unfixable problem. A well-executed inner struggle can define a character. The other day I was watching Jersey Shore (hold on, stay with me). In it, Ronnie, who, even by conservative estimates, is a total douchebag, is losing his mind because his ex-girlfriend refuses to let him see his infant daughter. The reason I picked this example is because we have this terrible show. We have a bunch of terrible people in it. Then we have Ronnie, who’s the worst of the lot. Yet seeing him struggle with this problem made him an extremely sympathetic character. I wanted him to see his kid again. And that’s all you’re doing with STRUGGLER characters. You’re creating an inner struggle that doesn’t have an easy solution. We will root for the character because we want to see him overcome his struggle. It’s basic yet very effective.
THE IDGAF (“I DON’T GIVE A F*%$”) CHARACTER
The IDGAF character is harder to pull off than these other characters. He’s usually an anti-hero as opposed to a traditional hero. The reason he works is because he represents the ultimate wish-fulfillment in all of us. WE ALL WISH WE DIDN’T GIVE A F%$*! We wish we could say whatever we wanted. We wish we could walk into any situation and not care how we acted. We wish we had the courage to walk up to that guy or girl and say to them “How you doin’,” and if they blew us off, walk away unaffected. Han Solo, Cool Hand Luke, Connor McGregor, Lou Bloom, Ferris Bueller, Tyler Durden. These are true IDGAF characters. Why do we love Tony Stark so much more than Steve Rogers? Cause Tony Stark doesn’t give a f%&$, that’s why. These characters are the ultimate representation of wish-fullfilment which is why if you have a good idea for one, don’t hesitate to write them into your next script.
There you have it. Five characters audiences love. But before I leave, let’s address a question I know at least a few of you have. Why don’t these characters always work? Well, you have to remember that everything I’ve suggested today is a starting point. You still have to execute the character. You can’t just kill off a father’s child and we’ll automatically love your movie because “sympathy.” If your movie looks like Hold the Dark, we won’t care if you wrote in one of the above characters.
You must also build your character beyond the scaffolding. You still have to come up with a compelling backstory for the character. You still have to come up with a convincing flaw. You still have to create compelling unresolved relationships between your hero and other characters. You still have to create a personality we’re drawn to. You still have to write non-crappy dialogue when your character speaks. And you still have to give us a story that’s interesting. It should go without saying that this only works if your execution is invisible. The second we sense you’re trying to make us fall in love with your hero, we do the opposite.
And finally, a brief reminder of characters to avoid. Avoid passive heroes at all costs. There is no way to make these characters work over the course of an entire movie. Avoid characters who don’t talk much. Yes, there are ways to make these characters work but it’s hard – especially on the page. Avoid victim heroes – characters who have tough circumstances and don’t do anything about them other than complain. You can create secondary characters who are victims. But never the hero. And try to avoid downer/hopeless/nihilistic heroes in general. Movies are supposed to be an escape and therefore we want our heroes to represent hope. You may say, “But Carson, what if my movie requires that my hero be a downer and hopeless?” I would say, “You may want to consider writing another movie.”
