Character Roles

Download: Character Roles Worksheet

In any story, there are a few basic character roles that can be filled.  Sometimes a single character can do two or more jobs, but it's seldom a good idea for two characters to do the same job, unless one of them dies or is otherwise excised from the story, and then the second takes over.  When two characters fill the same role, you run the risk of them not being memorable.

Beginning writers often craft stories with too many characters because the characters are too narrowly defined.  By combining them so that each role has at most one occupant, you end up with more vivid, believable characters.
The following list is adapted from this post on Dramatica.com.

Primary Roles
  • ProtagonistYour story's hero, and often the person whose point of view we see the story through.  This one, you know.  The protagonist's role in traditional stories is to represent the will to change, and work toward peace and order.  Examples include:
    • Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)
    • Marty McFly (Back to the Future)
    • Dr. Alan Grant (Jurassic Park)
  • AntagonistThe person or force that opposes your protagonist, either knowingly or unknowingly.  There are a lot of types of antagonists; not all are "evil" per se, and not all are human.  Sometimes, antagonists work from behind the scenes.  But in general, it's best to give your antagonist a face and a personality; it's harder for readers to root for your hero if they don't have anyone to root against.  The antagonist's role is to represent a morally unsound status quo, and to work toward chaos and disorder.  Examples include
    • Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars)
    • Biff Tannen (Back to the Future)
    • Dennis Nedry, who releases the dinosaurs (Jurassic Park)
  • SidekickThis character is not always required, but it's good for the protagonist to have someone who helps them along in a subordinate fashion. Someone who looks up to the hero, or at least looks at them as a partner or peer. Someone to cheer them on. In this way, they represent the audience.  Sidekicks can also provide motivation for change, or represent the change the protagonist needs to go through.  Examples include:
    • The Droids (Star Wars)
    • George McFly (Back to the Future)
    • Lex and Tim Murphy (Jurassic Park)
    • *(You'll notice that two of these examples contain two characters doing the same job.  The truth is that if two character function as two halves of a whole, this can work.  But the characters should remain physically together throughout the plot, and operate on a single set of motivations)
  • Skeptic – The mirror of the Sidekick, the Skeptic represents the part of the audience that says "this will never work!" It's an important viewpoint to represent in your story, because it reminds the audience that the hero is in genuine peril.  Examples include:
    • Han Solo (Star Wars)
    • Principal Strickland (Back to the Future)
    • Dr. Ian Malcom (Jurassic Park)
  • The Voice of ReasonThis character is a calm mediator who always seeks the logical response. This role can be combined with others, but it is a distinct role because they represent a specific reaction to any given plot event.  Examples include:
    • Princess Leia (Star Wars)
    • Jennifer (Back to the Future)
    • Dr. Ellie Satler (Jurassic Park)
  • The Voice of EmotionThe mirror of the Voice of Reason, the Voice of Emotion represents the opposite viewpoint. Their reaction is the most visceral, and they can often lead the protagonist into trouble.  Examples include:
    • Chewbacca (Star Wars)
    • Lorraine Baines (Back to the Future)
    • John Hammond (Jurassic Park)
  • The MentorThis character guides the protagonist, and is the living embodiment of the change the protagonist needs to make. Treat this character carefully though, and try to avoid cliches. Not every mentor needs to be an old wise man; in fact, mentors often come in the guise of quite hapless characters. The important point is that they represent whatever lesson the protagonist is learning, or the protagonist's objective.  Examples include:
    • Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars)
    • Doc Brown (Back to the Future)
    • Robert Muldoon, the game warden (Jurassic Park)
  • The ContagonistThis character is the mirror of the Mentor. The contagonist is most often present as a sort of secondary antagonist, but they also possess the potential to harm the antagonist.  They push the protagonist toward chaos, but their own chaotic nature can inflict harm on any of the players in the story.  It is also not uncommon to see contagonists switch sides, favoring one character one moment, then another character the next.  In this way, contagonists are almost like a force of nature, and in many stories, forces of nature are  the contagonist.
    • Darth Vader (Star Wars)
    • Time (Back to the Future)
    • The Dinosaurs (Jurassic Park)
Second-Order Roles
These roles can and should be combined with one of the above roles.
  • The Love Interest – This character exists to add spice to stories by being attractive to another character, typically the protagonist.  Not every story needs a love interest, and not all love interests need to be desired by the protagonist; they might be the object of the sidekick's desires, or the mentor's desires.  If you're going to have a love interest, make sure to give them some kind of job in the plot.  That means combining this role with one of the primary roles.  For a love interest to be anything but a distraction, they should play some role in the main story line.  Examples include:
    • Princess Leia (who is Han's love interest)
    • Lorraine (who is the disputed love interest of George and Biff)
    • Ellie Satler (who is desired by Ian Malcom and Dr. Grant, but this relationship is deeply subtextual)
  • The Impact CharacterThis is another role that should be combined with another, but it can be any other. The Impact Character is simply the person who first incites change in the protagonist. Whoever they are, whatever other role they fulfill, this person is the first to make the protagonist aware that they need to change, or incite change in the world.  Often you will see impact characters pointing out a protagonist's flaws in very blunt ways.  This character should be introduced in the first act, whether they stick around or not.  Examples include:
    • Obi-Wan Kenobi
    • George McFly
    • Tim Murphy

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