Top Ten Movie Characters

[Steala]

Okay, first of all, try to make them original characters from movies. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure everyone would have Rorschach from Watchmen as their number one, and if you wouldn't, I'd probably want to smack you, so this is for the best. I also kept it to one character per movie (otherwise I might have a whole lot of Star Wars characters) but you're free to do whatever you'd like.

I'll absolutely admit to stealing some of the descriptions from wikipedia and imdb.

10. Mr. Pink (portrayed by Steve Buscemi) - Reservoir Dogs


Mr. Pink is the guy in the film who hates the name chosen for him and also, has very serious opinions on tipping, and expects his mug to be filled six times if he orders coffee. I like him because he's funny, paranoid, and a little bit insecure. And he looks really cool putting on sunglasses in slow motion.

Favorite sequence (yeah, it's long but it's essential):
[pointing to each respective member]
Joe: Mr. Brown, Mr. White, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Blue, Mr. Orange, and Mr. Pink.
Mr. Pink: Why am I Mr. Pink?
Joe: Because you're a faggot, alright?
Mr. Pink: Why can't we pick our own colors?
Joe: No way, no way. Tried it once, doesn't work. You got four guys all fighting over who's gonna be Mr. Black, but they don't know each other, so nobody wants to back down. No way. I pick. You're Mr. Pink. Be thankful you're not Mr. Yellow.
Mr. Brown: Yeah, but Mr. Brown, that's a little too close to Mr. Shit.
Mr. Pink: Mr. Pink sounds like Mr. Pussy. How 'bout if I'm Mr. Purple? That sounds good to me. I'll go be Mr. Purple.
Joe: You're not Mr. Purple. Some guy on some other job is Mr. Purple. You're Mr. PINK.
Mr. White: Who cares what your name is?
Mr. Pink: Yeah, that's easy for your to say, you're Mr. White. You have a cool-sounding name. Alright look, if it's no big deal to be Mr. Pink, you wanna trade?
Joe: Hey! NOBODY'S trading with ANYBODY. This ain't a goddamn, fucking city council meeting, you know. Now listen up, Mr. Pink. There's two ways you can go on this job: my way or the highway. Now what's it gonna be, Mr. Pink?
Mr. Pink: Jesus Christ, Joe, fucking forget about it. It's beneath me. I'm Mr. Pink. Let's move on.
Joe: I'll move on when I feel like it... All you guys got the goddamn message?... I'm so goddamn mad, hollering at you guys I can hardly talk. Pssh. Let's go to work.

9. Staff Sergeant Sean Dignam (portrayed by Mark Wahlberg) - The Departed


The potty-mouthed second-in-command of the undercover unit. It's mostly the end of the film that gets him here, but he is the standout star of the movie to me (although this is the movie that made me realize that Dicaprio is a phenomenal actor).

SPOILER: Click to show

A conversation with Hellion in chat sparked this realization, but anyone who has the audacity to kill someone while wearing a pair of booties is just the fucking man. End of story.

Favorite sequence:
Dignam: This is unbelievable. Who put the fuckin' cameras in this place?
Police Camera Tech: Who the fuck are you?
Dignam: I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy.

8. Rod Farva (portrayed by Kevin Heffernan) - Super Troopers


Rod Farva is a Vermont state trooper who is almost always under suspension from field work, relegated to dispatch, due to being unable to control his anger. A classic example of a guy trying too hard to fit in and failing miserably.

Favorite sequence:
Mac: But our shenanigans are cheeky and fun!
Thorny: (referring to Farva) Yeah, and his shenanigans are cruel and tragic.
Foster: Which... makes them not really shenanigans at all.
Mac: (in a silly voice) Evil shenanigans!
Captain O'Hagan: I swear to God I'm going to pistol whip the next guy who says, " Shenanigans."
Mac: Hey Farva, what's the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?
Farva: You mean Shenanigans?
Mac: OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Thorny: OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
[as they hand the Captain their pistols]

7. Luke Skywalker (portrayed by Mark Hamill) - Star Wars


I know, I know. Everyone thinks Han Solo has the cooler personality. And he does. I totally get the appeal. He's a mercenary. He wears a sweet vest. He has a big hairy carpet as his sidekick. He gets the babe at the end of the film. All these things are reasons why people believe him to be cooler than Luke.

But I believe that to be flawed logic. Is Han Solo a Jedi? No. Can Han Solo wield a lightsaber? No. Can Han Solo wear an orange jumpsuit and pilot an X-Wing? No. Well, he probably could, but he didn't.

Favorite sequence:
The entire fucking trilogy.

6. Alan Garner (portrayed by Zach Galifianakis) - The Hangover


Galifianakis plays the socially awkward, soon to be brother-in-law of the groom, with a penchant for counting cards. Likes include satchels. Dislikes include offensive language. Not a real complex character so explaining why he is funny is kind of pointless. You either like him or you don't.

Favorite sequence (there are so many classic one-liners but I'll put in something a little more substantial):

[addressing the guys and reading off a paper]
Alan Garner: Hello. How 'bout that ride in? I guess that's why they call it Sin City.
[awkward laughter]
Alan Garner: You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack... it grew by one. So there... there were two of us in the wolf pack... I was alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later. And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, "Wait a second, could it be?" And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack. Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine. So tonight, I make a toast!

5. Johnny Utah (portrayed and delineated by Keanu Reeves) - Point Break


100% Pure Adrenaline.

Johnny Utah is a rookie FBI agent and former Ohio State quarterback (with a name like Utah, where else would he play?) who, with his partner Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey), is investigating a string of bank robberies by a gang of bank robbers known as the Ex-Presidents. Pursuing a theory of Pappas' that the criminals are surfers, Utah goes undercover to infiltrate the surfing community.

I love this movie for so many reasons. One for the line by Busey "Speak into the microphone, squid brain!" and another for Swayze's "Six seconds. We're going to be meat waffles."

Keanu Reeves described his character as "a total control freak and the ocean beats him up and challenges him. After a while everything becomes a game... He becomes as amoral as any criminal. He loses the difference between right and wrong."

You got all that from this, right?



Favorite sequence:
[firing gun into the air while lying on the ground]
Johnny Utah: "ANNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!! AAAAAHH!"

4. Lt. Aldo Raine (portrayed by Brad Pitt) - Inglourious Basterds


Sure, Christoph Waltz was the breakout star of this movie but obviously it's much easier to find Aldo Raine likeable. I find Pitt delivers a lot of the most memorable lines of the film.

Lt. Aldo Raine is the leader of a squad of Jewish-American soldiers in Italy for a mission to get behind enemy lines and bring fear to all German servicemen. His terrible Italian accent was perhaps the greatest thing to ever be captured on film.

Favorite sequence:
Lt. Aldo Raine: Well, I speak the most Italian, so I'll be your escort. Donowitz speaks the second most, so he'll be your Italian cameraman. Omar speaks third most, so he'll be Donny's assistant.
Pfc. Omar Ulmer: I don't speak Italian.
Lt. Aldo Raine: Like I said, third best. Just keep your fuckin' mouth shut. In fact, why don't you start practicing, right now?

3. Kirk Lazarus (portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr.) - Tropic Thunder


A multiple Academy Award-winning method actor, Kirk Lazarus has a controversial "pigmentation alteration" surgery to darken his skin for his portrayal of the African American character Sergeant Lincoln Osiris. Lazarus refuses to break character under any circumstances while filming and only speaks in jive, much to the annoyance of all of his co-stars, particularly his African-American co-star, Alpa Chino.

Downey Jr. absolutely nails this role. I was laughing hysterically throughout. His unraveling through his layers of characters at the end of the film is really well done. The thing that killed me was, after promising Ben Stiller's character in the film, "Man, I don't drop character 'till the DVD commentary", Downey Jr. does the commentary...in character! It's almost as funny as the film too!

Favorite sequence (explaining to Thugg Speedman why he didn't get recognized for his work in 'Simple Jack' - a movie where he plays a mentally handicapped character):
Kirk Lazarus: Everybody knows you never go full retard.
Tugg Speedman: What do you mean?
Kirk Lazarus: Check it out. Dustin Hoffman, 'Rain Man,' look retarded, act retarded, not retarded. Counted toothpicks, cheated cards. Autistic, sho'. Not retarded. You know Tom Hanks, 'Forrest Gump.' Slow, yes. Retarded, maybe. Braces on his legs. But he charmed the pants off Nixon and won a ping-pong competition. That ain't retarded. Peter Sellers, "Being There." Infantile, yes. Retarded, no. You went full retard, man. Never go full retard. You don't buy that? Ask Sean Penn, 2001, "I Am Sam." Remember? Went full retard, went home empty handed...

2. Brian Fantana (portrayed by Paul Rudd) - Anchorman


As the field reporter KVWN Channel 4 News, Brian Fantana describes himself as "the stylish one of the group". He's kind of Ron Burgundy's go-to-guy in the film. He is a proud user of the cologne Sex Panter by Odeon, which he describes as "illegal in nine countries" and "made with bits of real panther, so you know it's good."

He's a favorite of mine because some of the others in the film seem to be trying a bit too hard at times (Anchorman is still a great film to me), or maybe it's because he just doesn't get enough screen time to become overexposed.

Whatever the case, it's a comment by director Adam McKay that I read on the Interwebs that vaults him into the number two spot. He said that, although Fantana fancies himself as something of a ladies' man, he has, in fact, never slept with a woman. Brilliant!

Favorite sequence (whilst Fantana is wearing the Sex Panther cologne):
Veronica Corningstone: My God, what is that smell? Oh.
Brian Fantana: That's the smell of desire my lady.
Veronica Corningstone: God no, it smells like, like a used diaper... filled with... Indian food. Oh, excuse me.
Brian Fantana: You know, desire smells like that to some people.

1. Martin Riggs (portrayed by Mel Gibson) - Lethal Weapon franchise


Sergeant Martin Riggs joined the homicide division of the LAPD after leaving the narcotics division. As a member of the narcotics division, Riggs earned a reputation as a reckless loner that was looking for "psycho pension" from the LAPD. During his time with "Narco", Riggs lost his wife to a terrible car accident, spirialing him down a reckless, alcohol ridden path. In Vietnam, Riggs was assigned to a special operations unit where he recieved training in hand to hand combat, expert martial arts and extensive weapons training in which he holds some unbelieveable skill. He claims to have once killed somebody in Laos from over 1000 yards away in high wind, a shot which he believes only "eight or ten guys in world" could have made. "It was the only thing I was ever good at," he says, regarding ability to take a life.

Upon being reassigned to the Homicide Division he is partnered up with aging Sergeant Roger Murtaugh, who is, if you weren't aware, "too old for this shit".

So basically he's a loose cannon with a death wish and a glorious mullet on the road to redemption. All the essential elements of a great movie character.

Favorite sequence:
Martin Riggs: I'll make you a deal, Arjen, or Aryan, or whatever the fuck your name is, I'll make you a little deal. You fold up your tents - and get the fuck out of my country - and I won't do anything to you. I'll leave you alone.
[points his gun at Arjen's face]
Martin Riggs: Cause if you stick around here, I'm gonna FUCK YOUR ASS.

So that makes four police officers/detectives, two soldiers, one man playing a soldier, one Jedi, one field reporter, one fat guy with a beard, and one criminal.

[Woo]

Good list. Here's mine.

10. Mitsuko Souma (Kou Shibasaki)- Battle Royale

A slutty schoolgirl that kicks arse and manages to slaughter a quarter of her class mates shouldn't be so endearing, but you can't help but root for her.

Favourite scene: Either her death as she comes very close to killing the evil Kiriyama, or the one where she calmly does her eyelashes while elsewhere on the island her friends are killing each other.



9. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp)- Pirates of the Caribbean

I always love selfish characters in movies or TV who only care about themselves and Jack is encapsulate that as all he wants, besides his ship and his hat is for Davy Jones not to feed him to the Krakken.

Favourite scene:
Barbossa: So you expect to leave me standing on some beach with nothing but a name and your word it's the one I need and watch you sail away on my ship?
Jack Sparrow: No. I expect to leave you standing on some beach with absolutely no name at all, watching me sail away on my ship and then I'll shout the name back to you. Savvy?
Barbossa: But that still leaves us with the problem of me standing on some beach with naught but a name and your word it's the one I need.
Jack Sparrow: Of the two of us I am the only one who hasn't committed mutiny, therefore my word is the one we'll be trusting. Although, I suppose I should be thanking you because in fact, if you hadn't betrayed me and left me to die, I would have an equal share in that curse same as you.
[bites into an apple]
Jack Sparrow: Funny ol' world, innit?
[offers him an apple]



8. Jules Winfield (Samuel L Jackson)- Pulp Fiction

Samuel L Jackson's defining role as a bad mother fucker, Earth wandering gangster who doesn't dig on swine.

Favourite scene: So many. Love the conversation about foot massages, the one about filthy animals and the one where he's on "brain detail."



7. Inspector Tequila (Chow Yun Fat)- Hard Boiled

Hard boiled cop capable of lengthy gunfights, sliding down banisters while shooting countless men and doing it all with a toothpick in his mouth.

Favourite scene: Either the shootout in the coffee house, in the car park or in the hospital....basically the entire film then.



6. John Mcclane (Bruce Willis)- Die Hard

Another hard boiled cop, one which while not as good at stunts makes up for it with his brilliant sarcastic sense of humour who always has a quip when killing terrorists with smaller feet than his sister or finding a machine gun.

Favourite scene: The one in the vents where he spoofs his wife's invitation about what a great time they will have at this party.



5. Sgt. Dignam (Mark, "least photographed celebrity" Whalberg)- The Departed

The third cop in a row on my list! I love the Infernal Affairs films and was really worried about a remake, despite the director chose. While IA is possibly a better film The Departed introduces the Sgt. Dignam character who steals every scene he is in.

Favourite scene:
Ellerby: Go fuck yourself.
Dignam: I'm tired from fucking your wife.
Ellerby: How is your mother?
Dignam: Good, she's tired from fucking my father.



4. The Man With No Name (Clint Eastwood)- The Dollars' Trilogy

Undoubtedly one of the coolest men ever on screen.

Favourite scene: (To the undertaker) "Get three coffins ready" then 30 seconds later "My mistake, make that four."



3. Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi)- Reservoir Dogs

He might not like the colour pink, or tipping waitresses, but it's people not "being fucking professionals" that he dislikes the most. He's also the only one of the gang to survive and with the loot too and you feel really glad for him.

Favourite scene: The entire tipping argument, just perfect writing.



2. Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch)- Empire Strikes Back & Return of the Jedi

He may not have much screentime and says five lines, one of which is "Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!", but he makes the most of it and is awesome. He's so popular now that in a list in Empire film magazine he was voted the 3rd greatest Star Wars character ever behind Darth Vader (No.2) and of course Han Solo.

Favourite scene: He jetpacks onto Luke's craft in Jedi, gets his blaster sliced in half by Luke's light sabre, but then fires ropes trapping him. Then a blinded Han Solo asks "Boba Fett? Boba Fett? Where?" and accidental punctures his jetpack sending our poor bounty hunter into the pit in the most senseless deaths ever.



1. James Bond (Sean Connery)- Thunderball

I love all James Bond films, except maybe Diamonds Are Forever & Die Another Day, I like all 6 Bond's and while Thunderball isn't my favourite it's Bond at his most damn cool. From his mocking of his nemesis while being told how to clay pigeon shoot "I don't know if I'll be any good, it looks terribly difficult." *BANG* "Oh it isn't is it?" to the time he places the dead body of Fiona on a chair next to a couple at a dance and says "You mind if my friend sits this one out? She's just dead", everything he does is just fantastic.

Favourite scene: Sean catches femme fatale Fiona Volpe in the bath and she asks him to give her some clothes and Sean casually hands her a pair of shoes and then takes a seat to watch her emerge from the tub.




edit: And just to copy Steala's post I have three police offercers, two gangsters, a bounty hunter, a secret agent, a cowboy, a pirate and a schoolgirl.

[Layne]

Tried to do this without any duplicates, which was difficult as the two lists before were great. Aldo Raine speaking "Italian" in the heaviest American accent ever had me rolling for ages.

10. Sean Maquire (Robin Williams) - Good Will Hunting


Robin Williams is so good in the role of the psychiatrist trying to help Will realise his potential, while his character has his own insecurities and issues.

Favourite quote: "You're an orphan, right? Do you think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you?"

9. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman)



The intensity this guy brings to the character is unreal, he's the personification of the comic book/tv series portrayl. Can you picture anyone else in this role?

Quote: (on meeting Professor X for the first time) “What do they call you? ‘Wheels?’”

8. Blues Brothers



Jake and Elwood Blues. Two endearing, sunglasses-wearing-indoorsing, blues singers “an a mission from Gad.”

Quote: “Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses."
Jake: "Hit it.”


... ok I knew I shouldn't have started this at 10pm. More follows. ;D

[Kevin Borg]

Damnit Sam, I've been sitting on my hands waiting for the continuation of your list! Do you know how difficult it is to type like that?!?

[Layne]

Eek! Sorry!

I will try to have it done soon, had a meeting tonight and have one tomorrow night. I think I'm free Wednesday though, if you can contain yourself for that long. ;D

[Hellion]

Changes everyday. Today it's something like this...

10. Captain Vidal - Pan's Labyrinth
09. Luke Jackson - Cool Hand Luke
08. Harry Tuttle - Brazil
07. John Grant - Wake in Fright
06. Bené - City of God
05. The Iron Giant - The Iron Giant
04. Amélie Poulain - Amelie
03. Group Captain Lionel Mandrake - Dr. Strangelove
02. Withnail - Withnail & I
01. Walter Sobchak - The Big Lebowski