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.