Ever heard that phrase before? Someone memorable, who makes you laugh, cry, shudder, think? In other words, this character is so unforgettable, that the make-belief entity is more identifiable than the actual flesh-and-blood person. That’s every writer’s dream. To create a character that will live on for decades in readers’ hearts and minds.
Interesting that we’ve had series repeats such as Magnum P.I., and MacGyver, but on behalf of Tom Selleck and Richard Dean Anderson, I don’t think I’ve truly made the leap.
And one thing was abundantly clear while I brought up this topic: There are far more male actors who stand out as great characters than female actors/characters and very few females made the list. As a writer, I can name female characters in books that leap off the page. J.D. Robb’s Eve Dallas, anyone? Agatha Christie’s Jane Marple, Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca?
Last night on my Facebook Author Page https://www.facebook.com/donnellannbell I asked people to give me suggestions on characters that were so locked into memory, you couldn’t remember the actor’s name.
I received some terrific suggestions, among them:
Hawkeye Pierce, Alan Alda, Wesley from Princess Bride (Cary Elwes), Eddard “Ned” Stark (Sean Bean), Ferris Beuller (Matthew Broderick), Harry Potter, (Daniel Radcliffe), House, (Hugh Laurie), J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), Festus (Ken Curtis), anyone from Star Trek, The Next Generation, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
Other’s mentioned Little Joe (Michael Landon), The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger (but seriously, Schwarzenegger is a character unto himself), Doc Holiday, Tony Soprano, Indiana Jones (c’mon, I watched The Fugitive last night, Dr. Richard Kimball. Great characters, no doubt. But it’s Harrison Ford who brings them to life.
Diana Rigg via Wikipedia
It was a fun and interesting experiment that shows me how much work I have to do as an author. My goal? To create an unforgettable female protagonist such as my childhood idol Emma Peel in The Avengers, or my friend Lois Winston’s Anastasia Pollack series https://www.loiswinston.com/or another friend, Annette Dashofy’s character Zoe Chambers https://www.annettedashofy.com/ or Kylie Brant’s new US Marshal series, featuring Cady Maddix http://www.kyliebrant.com/ to name a fraction of the few!
Jensen Ackles & Jared Podalecki via Wikipedia
Who was the winner on my author page with the best example of a character that we can’t remember their names? Michelle Frazier Eagan nailed it. Sam and Dean Winchester of Supernatural.
As for me, and Alice Pelton Posey who mentioned the character as well, one series I’m watching on Prime these days is Perry Mason, which gave me the idea in the first place.
Raymond Burr via Wikipedia
Raymond Burr was a fabulous character actor, e.g. Ironside, and if you ever saw Rear Window, Burr was a terrifying villain. But I submit that Perry Mason is far more recognizable than the character’s actual name.
Thank you to all who participated. One thing was clear from my question about memorable characters, as authors, we’ve got our work cut out for us.
Here’s to creating enduring characters.
Donnell, you have me both blushing and grinning from ear to ear! I’m thrilled you’ve put Anastasia in such illustrious company.
My pleasure. I love to read about Anastasia’s antics!
Thanks for the mention, Donnell! So many memorable characters in fiction. Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. Scout, in To Kill a Mockingbird. Holden Caulfield, in Catcher in the Rye, to name a few. It’s a delight when film gets our beloved characters right. HBO’s season 2 of Big Little Lies did an excellent job.
Such a fan of Lee Child. and loved Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. Thanks, Kylie.
Jon from Game of Thrones, the best TV series ever! A bastard, like me, who was lied to for most of his life. For a Girlie, I loved Linda Hamilton in the Terminator. Toughest woman ever, smart, and good looking! Rex Harrison as Caesar and Elizabeth Taylor in the title role in Cleopatra.
Wally, I am going to have to watch Terminator. I was never big into Futuristics. But you’ve convinced me. And I loved Linda Hamilton in that Beauty and the Beast series with Ron Perlman. Thanks for the recommendation.
All of these are great examples, although I stand by my suggestion of Radar O’Reilly – many don’t even recall his given name was Walter, never mind who played him. I also agree on Perry Mason and some of the outstanding characters Tom Selleck brought to life.
Skye, I agree. You cited the perfect example. Thank you for taking time to drop by!
Great blog! As for movies and tv shows, the actors do make a huge difference. Like you mentioned, Tom Selleck is Magnum–hands down. Ted Danson for Cheers. All the actors in Friends. In books, the characters are brought to life in our imagination. You mentioned one of my favs, Rebecca. Mrs. Danvers embodies pure evil.
Great comments, Vicki. Do you remember the character Ted Danson played. SAM, right? And Rebecca is a classic!