From a script you've written, you're writing, or you're thinking about... who is your favorite all-time character - and why?
Was the character based on a personality you know, or was it someone you created from somewhere else?
I was thinking about this, and usually my favorite character isn't the lead. My favorite character in the script I keep rewriting (it's supposedly done) is the DUMP EMPLOYEE! Seriously.
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Great question! In HITCHED..., my absolute favorite character is Kelly, the stepmom, because she is my complete opposite and so absurd and the nonsense that kept coming out of her mouth was so much fun to write. She wins. What do you love about the Dump Employee, Debbie Seagle?
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My favorite character is a Sci-Fi version of Ace Ventura, Debbie Seagle. He's hilarious and weird, but brave and skilled. I'm outlining the script. What's the Dump Employee like?
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Debbie, I feel more comfortable declaring a flat-footed tie.
My two favorite original characters: Madeleine Pons, the Louisiana-born University of Minnesota-Twin Cities journalism student in "Pixie Dust," who wouldn't let her Cajun accent get in the way of seeking a career in TV news...and wanting to bring integrity back to it; and Barbara Mikolajczyk, the witty, flamboyant Texan-turned-Nebraskan from "Bleeding Gums." (She was a math teacher at an all-girls' Catholic high school here in Omaha...and wanted to bring the school its first jazz band.)
Both Barbara and Madeleine had a gift for quirky, picturesque sayings...and that's why I loved coming up with those two characters.
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In my ONE IN 7 BILLION, Derek Amato (the co-writer!), actually called Derek Amato in the script, goes from a salesperson, to the ONLY person in the world (the One in 7 billion in the world) to have sudden adult onset musical savant syndrome. Now THAT''S a rollercoaster! After an accident, he awakes from a coma and can suddently play the piano like a master, compose, and knows WHAT HE NEVER LEARNED.
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Debbie Seagle, my favorite character is in my What the Mack? animated series. The characters name is Glenn AKA Lil Mackster. Glenn just so happens to be my sons name. The character is even drawn to look like him.
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Erin Leigh & Maurice Vaughan my Dump Employee is a local Appalachian Mountains wise-guy who is witness to my main character falling into a dumpster. Based on the actors - it started out as a man, then I had a comedian who wanted the part (DUMPSTER PRINCESS), and now I'm back to recasting because production schedules changed. The dumpster character has the opportunity to steal the show; it's a funny scene in COFFEE CUPS & WINE GLASSES. I'm tempted to cast myself (I have experience falling into the dumpster) but it's not on my official resume.
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Jim Boston - Barbara and Madeleine sound fun!
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Sorry to hear you fell into a dumpster, Debbie Seagle. I think casting yourself is a great idea. I want to see your film even more now after reading your comment!
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LOL Maurice Vaughan I only needed 5 stitches. I can't wait to see your Sci-Fi version of Ace Ventura!
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I wrote a smaller part for a guy influenced by a conversation I had about how my life might’ve played out if I had made a few different choices. it was a fun sandbox to play in.
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I like the mime in A Day of Grace. Logline: "On the eve of France abolishing the guillotine, a mute, disfigured street mime races through the underbelly of Paris to save a young woman convicted of a murder she didn’t commit -- the same woman who once saved him from police brutality, and who now has one day left before the blade falls."
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My female lead who I didn't have to persuade when I needed her to play hard to get. That was what she was.
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That’s easy—Susan Schmitt, from "Nowhere to Hide" (working title). Based on the true story of an affluent, respectable family doing everything possible to survive in Nazi Germany. The script follows Susan from a little girl in 1933 to a daring underground operative in the 1940s. As she fights to stay one step ahead of the Gestapo, she discovers a horrifying truth: in this world, there's nowhere to hide.
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Love reading about all these unique characters! My favorite creation is Zuzu, from the last script I wrote about a detective (Michael) trying to solve his brother's murder. Along the way, Michael meets Zuzu, the new lounge singer at the local piano bar. She's a trans woman, and even though they have an instant connection, Michael tries to fight it because of her past. But Michael and I both fell in love with Zuzu because she has supreme confidence, looks great in a sequin dress, loves dirty martinis, and knows mixed martial arts. She even kicks ass in one scene and saves Michael from the bad guys. I'm actually itching to write a sequel because I adore Zuzu so much that I want her story to continue!
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Debbie Seagle In my current project, my favorite character to write is the comedic relief supporting character. He’s just so fun to play with on the page. I use him to break tension and lighten the mood when things get heavy, and he often ends up saying exactly what the reader is thinking.
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For me, it is Bob Cain from the first screenplay I wrote, "Book of the Month." It is a deep story about how people grow and adapt to become the people they want to be, but every time "critics" read the script, the only review the superficial story (which in and of itself is really good), not the underlying meaning. It's no Citizen Kane, but I'm concerned that Citizen Kane would never be made today. Seems we need to whack the audience over the head to get them to understand. As an aside, I conceived the story back in the early 1990's when I was living in New Jersey, working in New York City. It came to me as I was standing on the platform waiting for the train to take me to work (as in the opening scene of my screenplay). Didn't get it down on paper until Covid hit and I was working from home, giving me some extra time to write.
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In my current project, my favorite character is actually my protagonist's best friend. He's really surprised me in how deeply he feels. He's quite an intense guy!
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Ashley Renée Smith Supporting characters are fun to write for this very reason. Plus, they can usually get away with more. :)
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But then again, there's also Nonna Rosa from my Italian RomCom, dishing out guidance through her own parables as if it were her Sunday Bolognaise...
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My favorite character I ever wrote was Bronco, an alcoholic ex-squash champion who runs a very unsuccessful pawn shop, and after a DUI he's court ordered sobriety, which causes dadaist hallucinations brought on by his delirium tremens. Really fun script that got comped to The Big Lebowski a lot (respectfully) and involved a subplot around micro-apartment development in Los Angeles (think if your apartment was the size of a coffin, only big enough for sleep - and how much a corporation could profit off maximizing square footage!). There was also a running gag where Bronco was constantly mugged at gunpoint/knifepoint every 15 pages lol
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That is such a good question lol since I’ve written a few stories over the years and have fallen in love with writing many different characters. But I’ll attempt to list some:
1) Erik Rhodes from Finding Elpis. He has a big ego and often talks harshly but he’s the most grounded character in the series so you can’t say he’s a complete jerk.
2) Mezzaluna from Marisol and Mezzaluna. Since I love surrealism I had a lot of fun writing her, and she was a good challenge too because I wanted the reader to decide for him/herself what she actually was (which I don’t believe the readers appreciated too much lol).
3) The Boogie Man and The Foxy Lady from Leaf. A happily married couple and both of them are sassy and so much fun. In fact I loved both of them so much I gave The Boogie Man his own comic :D
4) Madison from Metal Garden. I love fiery Irish redheads and she’s also dealing with a lot between her boyfriend being a bit of an idiot, the girl he wanted to marry falling in love with her instead, and her family being way more screwed up than she initially thought.
5) Smiley from Karma Dealers. A professional troll and master of disguise, made even better by the fact that no one except his boss knows what his actual face looks like—he always wears a mask and changes it bian lian style.
6) Jean-Pierre from Plastic Love. Probably the most controversial of all of my characters but he was just such a blast to write because he’s so over-the-top sexist/flamboyantly gay and just loves talking shit to everybody. But similar to Erik Rhodes, he has a heart of gold underneath it all.
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Sierra. She is cunning, dangerous and manipulative. Her beauty is what drives men to her and they lust after her
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Fun question! Hey Pat, was Bronco based off a real dude? This one sounds right up my alley!
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So much fun reading your characters and sensing the creativity they've pulled out of you! It seems we writing people do fall in love with our characters - one way or another.
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From my current script I'm working on, two high school cheerleaders who are complete opposites of each other (Stacey and Tracey Burroughs). Stacey is the stereotypical snob who's obsessed with being popular, and making sure she gets the most likes on TikTok and Instagram while Tracey is more kind-hearted and tries to break out of the popular crowd to find herself.
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Grandpa, a gruff man of few words that everyone knows hurts people that threaten his family, but no one can prove it was him.
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Amazing question Debbie Seagle! My favorite character so far is the Skybreaker, a towering, eight-foot creature with human skin stretched over a birdlike frame and a jagged beak. It feels part nightmare, part forgotten god. If you stare too long, it marks you, pulling you into a trance.
At night, it releases a low hum only you can hear, a sound that slowly unravels your sanity until you’re compelled to step outside. That’s when it strikes, swooping in from the dark sky, unseen. But it doesn’t just kill. It breaks you first.
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Dwayne, I used to date a girl who looked just like Skybreaker!