Class is now in session and our first day will focus on what I feel separates great scripts from the piles and piles of garbage written each year: characters!
An original and compelling idea for your movie is essential, but even the best ideas will flop if the movie lacks great characters.
Dull characters are normally created by writers who get so caught up in their plots and their big ideas that they end up plugging in stale, lifeless characters to play out their story.
Think of some of the worst movies you’ve ever seen and I can virtually guarantee that you failed to connect with the characters that were driving the story. Those are movies that get made based on ideas alone, but end up flopping because they don’t include characters that audiences connect with.
So what makes a great character? More than anything else, it’s someone who seems real. Someone who has flaws, like real people. Someone who contradicts themselves, like real people. Someone who has a unique voice, like real people. Someone we can identify with, like real people.
These are characters that we can understand. We can understand why they act the way they do based on their circumstances (and note here that even if we don’t approve of or enjoy what the person does, we need to still be able to identify with why he or she may be doing what they are doing).
Think about what makes Rocky Balboa one of the most enduring characters in motion picture history. First off, he’s the ultimate contradiction. On the surface, he’s a brutish boxer who fights at rowdy clubs by night and collects for the local loan shark gangster by day. But when we get to know him, we
see that this is a guy who lives his life like a beat dog, afraid to ruffle any feathers or take any real shots at a better life. We also see that he’s got a great heart: he won’t hurt the people he collects from even if he’s been told to, he tries to give street kids helpful advice even if they have no respect for him, etc.
Then, there’s the identification factor. Sylvester Stallone has said that he believes Rocky is such a beloved character because most people are afraid to take their best shot at life, and here’s a guy who did. We can all identify with Rocky’s complacency early in the movie and then wanting to prove that he really isn’t the bum people seem to think he is.
And finally, Rocky had a very unique voice. Yes, his accent is now internationally known, but we’re talking about more than his accent. Let’s face it; this guy isn’t the brightest person. He’s uneducated with poor grammar and a punchy delivery. People write him off as soon as they hear him speak. Rocky is someone most people could easily have passed on the streets and thought nothing of, assuming that someone like this couldn’t possibly have anything of substance to say. But if we really listen to what Rocky has to say, we hear someone who speaks from the heart. He’s naïve to the harsh realities of the world and expects people to do what’s right even though he has plenty of first-hand experience to prove that that isn’t the case in life.
This quick examination of Rocky Balboa barely scratches the surface, but we see a lot of depth here. We see a complex character with a unique voice. We feel like we know him and we identify with him on many levels.
And again, understand that this must be true with our “bad guy” characters as well. We obviously like and admire Rocky, but we need to also understand why our “bad guys” behave the way they do. We need to feel their evil and
assume they must have had lots of evil done to them throughout life (even if we don’t necessarily learn this for a fact in our movie).
To create great characters, we must get to know them on a deep and intimate level. As writers, we have to put ourselves in their shoes and see the world the way they see it. This is the only way to write from the heart. We must understand the motive for their actions. We need to hear their voices and know why they say the things they do.
Once we get to know our characters on a very deep level, you’ll find that they begin to dictate your story. This is when real magic happens for a writer.
To get to know our characters on a deep level, we must be able to answer the 20 Essential Character Questions about our characters. You don’t necessarily have to do this for every single character in your movie (although I highly recommend that you do), but at a bare minimum, this needs to be done for your three most important characters:
1) The Protagonist. This is our main character or hero, the person our story is about first and foremost. Every great movie has one main character, even buddy movies and ensembles.
2) The Antagonist. This doesn’t have to be the typical “bad guy” we see in action and thriller movies, but there is always some character who wants to keep our protagonist from getting what he wants. Someone needs to be doing everything they can to stop our protagonist from achieving his goals.
3) The Love Interest/Buddy. Every protagonist needs either a love interest he is pursuing or a best friend or family member who plays an essential role in the protagonist’s journey. This “buddy” may be
someone the protagonist wants to save or it may be someone the protagonist needs to learn to work with, listen to, and respect (such as a Mentor or partner). This “buddy” role can be, and often is, both. That is, the love interest in the movie may also be the protagonist’s mentor or partner.
These are the three most important characters of any great movie. Most movies will have many more than just these three important characters. You will often want to add an Antagonist’s Buddy and a Love Interest’s Buddy. Your Antagonist may have a Love Interest and a Buddy. He may have a Love Interest, a Buddy, and a Mentor, etc.
In other words, don’t think for a second that I’m recommending you focus your movie on just three important characters. Instead, my intention is to point out that you must have at least these three roles included in your movie.
It’s now time to address the 20 Essential Character Questions. It is very smart to write down your answers to these questions for each of your characters so that you can refer back to them throughout the writing process. You must answer all of the following 20 questions for at least the three main characters in your movie.
[Please note: Throughout this guide, we’ll refer simply to “he” instead of “he or she” for ease of readability. Obviously, the intention is not that your characters be limited to males.]
The 20 Essential Character Questions
1. What was his family life like growing up?
3. What was high school and college like for him?
4. What kind of grades did he get?
5. What kind of activities was he involved in growing up?
6. What were his spiritual beliefs growing up and what are they now?
7. What did he want to be when he was growing up and does he still want to be those things?
8. Who was his first love and how did that relationship turn out?
9. What does he think of the concept of “true” love?
10. How does he view the world around him? (Most people aren’t 100% pessimistic or 100% optimistic; try to identify the areas where he’s a cynic and the areas where he’s an optimist.)
11. Does he like his career? What parts does he like and what parts does he dislike?
12. What past world events – good and bad – did he observe that had a major impact on his life and how did they affect his outlook on the world?
13. What past events – good and bad – happened directly to him and affected his life in a major way?
14. What are his viewpoints on money and what kind of financial history does he have?
15. Where has he lived in the past and where does he live now? Where did he love living and where does he want to live?
16. What are his closest friends like?
17. What character traits does he value most in people?
18. What is his idea of “heaven on earth”?
19. What kinds of entertainment does he enjoy? What kinds of movies and shows does he watch? What kind of music does he listen to? What kinds of books does he read? What kinds of sports does he watch or play? What kind of physical activity is he regularly involved with? What are his favorites in each of these categories?
20. And finally, who are the people he admires most in the world, both current and throughout history?
Notice that you didn’t have to answer questions like: is he trustworthy, is he a person of integrity, does he treat people fairly, is he good-natured or evil, etc. The reason for this is that by answering the above 20 questions, you will clearly be answering those logical questions that define him as a person.
Ultimately, these answers should bring you to the biggest and most important question of all: What is this character’s biggest flaw that he must overcome? That is, what is his Internal Conflict?
Now that we know our characters, it’s time to call it a day – congratulations, put Day 1 in the books!
However, before we move on, I want to reiterate that I strongly encourage you to answer these 20 questions for every single character in your movie. With each character you do this with, new layers of depth are added and what you may have envisioned as a very minor role could turn out to be one of the most important characters in the movie.