Why This is Good

If you’ve worked with me on a consultation or read my blogs, you’ll notice that I frequently use the term hero to describe the protagonist, or main character of a script. Many of the people I learned from and have studied choose hero as their preferred term-Michael Hauge, Eric Edson, Chris Vogler, still others choose to say protagonist. It’s important to note that those of us who say hero in reference to the protagonist have chosen this term not because the hero always acts heroically, but because the word represents the hero of any given story-whether that hero is really a heroine, a tragic hero, or never really is heroic or admirable at all.

There is a difference between acting heroically when the need arises and being the hero of a screenplay. The hero of the script is the person who moves the story forward and causes the events in the story to take place as a result of their attempt to achieve a goal. The hero, in this sense, is not necessarily the most heroic or admirable character in the story. The hero may have no special powers or traits that make him or her special. The hero may be a jerk that only has a few minor redeeming qualities. The hero may turn the other way and act cowardly when an opportunity to save someone comes along. The hero of your script is not necessarily a superhero or someone who would save a kitten from a burning building. They are simply, the main character who moves the story forward and causes the action of the story to occur. The hero of your screenplay cannot be reactionary or passive, and cannot wait for others to prompt him or her to action at every turn.

Conversely, the antagonist may also be called the nemesis or villain, when in reality they may be a pretty nice guy. As long as they are opposing the hero, they are playing the role of the villain in the story. Just as Wicked twisted the story of The Wizard of Oz to make the traditional villain the hero, your story may be about a bad guy working to achieve a goal against the forces of the good guys. Your hero in screenplay terms might not be a hero at all, while his or her nemesis might be a true hero outside of the definitions of screenwriting and the context of your story.

As long as you’ve made your hero likable and sympathetic enough that the audience is rooting for their success, the goal they are pursuing does not have to be an honorable one. The so-called hero of many gangster, crime, or teen comedies is often someone we would not admire or wish to win in real life, and not someone we would normally call a hero in the same way that we would call a soldier, police officer, or teacher a hero.

The character leading the action of the story is the hero, no matter how nefarious that action may be.  The Godfather movies get the audience to root for people who we would not want to see succeed in real life. We get behind ruthless killers who perpetrate crime and corruption. In Gone in 60 Seconds we like the “heroes” who are car thieves and want them to win, even though they are committing a crime that in real life we would not admire. In Ocean’s Eleven we want the group of con artist swindlers to rob the casino, despite the fact that it is morally and ethically wrong. Like the kids at school, we love Ferris Bueller and want him to get away with ditching school and fooling all the adults around him, but Ferris is no hero, and if he were your son or brother in real life, you’d be outraged at his disrespect for authority and concerned about his attitude and morals.

In A Fish Called Wanda, we root for the team of thieves to succeed in their robbery even killing dogs is okay because we’re so on their side and want them to win, but imagine hearing this story on the news-a band of criminals who steal diamonds, betray each other, try to seduce a lawyer to help win their case, and attempt to murder a key witness, and in the process kill her innocent dogs instead-we would be outraged and horrified at the depravity, and no one would call them heroes . A charismatic, charming hero doesn’t have to be heroic or noble at all, as long as we like them and want them to win.

One of the consistent problems I run into when reviewing screenplays is a passive hero. Most new writers create passive heroes without realizing why or understanding why this is a problem. A passive hero is one who lets things happen to him or her. Instead of being the catalyst, they are the victim. It is natural to think of your story in these terms at first. Many ideas begin with “What if ___ happened to someone?” This thought process starts your story down the road to passivity. Your story is based on outside forces acting upon your hero. They are not in charge of their situation and passively react to what happens to them rather than what they make happen.

The story may begin by something happening to the hero and forcing them to take action, but from then on, each turning point needs to occur because the hero has done something. If the hero has a goal and pursues it, they are making things happen. They are constantly active and always moving forward. Turning points occur because their actions create resistance, obstacles stop them from achieving their goal and they are forced to redirect themselves and take a new approach.

As you write, ask yourself with each new turn your story takes, if the hero is the one who cause this event to happen. If not, you may have created a passive hero. Take time to examine your premise, and create an outline of the story. What is the hero’s goal? Is it an active goal that will force them to pursue something? Often inexperienced writers create stories based around a passive goal, which in turn necessitates a passive hero. A passive goal is to not do something, to avoid life in some way. The best way to achieve this is to sit around at home and stay out of trouble. This creates either 120 pages of someone sitting on a coach, or forces you to impose things upon the hero. If they are avoiding life and passively staying home, other characters must act upon them to give the story momentum. In a well-written story, the character has to do something in order to get what they want, and therefore goes out and makes things happen.