Easily identifiable stock characters are used in many types of theater, dramatic storytelling, and fiction. Pictured are stock characters from Commedia dell'Arte, which gave each character a standard costume.
A stock character is a dramatic or literary character representing a generic type in a conventional, simplified manner and recurring in many fictional works.[1] The following list labels some of these stereotypes and provides examples. Some character archetypes, the more universal foundations of fictional characters, are also listed. Some characters that were first introduced as fully fleshed-out characters become subsequently used as stock characters in other works (e.g., the Ebenezer Scrooge character from A Christmas Carol, upon whom the miserly Scrooge type is based). Some stock characters incorporate more than one stock character; for example, a bard may also be a wisecracking jester. Some of the stock characters in this list may be considered offensive due to their use of racial stereotyping, homophobia, or other prejudice.
A hero of a story which portrays action, adventure, and often violence.[4] They are resourceful, courageous, and have strong commitment to their cause, and they are comfortable with the fast pace of events in the story. Often overlaps with "chosen one" and/or superhero.
The advent of aviation spawned a genre of adventure stories in which the ace pilot was the natural hero. Traits often attributed to the ace in war films are "boisterousness, camaraderie, stoicism and omnipotence".[5]
An assertive, overbearing, opinionated, loud, and "sassy" Black woman with a sharp tongue, often depicted as nagging and emasculating a male character.[8][9]
A reactionary, white man whose frustration with progressive policies and social changes escalates into rage and, in some cases, violence. In dramatic fiction, this usually leads to the character's downfall. In a running series, the angry white man may soften with time to become more sympathetic (see also curmudgeon)
A comic character known for pestering and hounding the protagonist. As they live next door to them, this creates a pretext for frequent unwanted interactions.
A protagonist lacking conventional heroic qualities, such as courage or idealism.[12] An antihero has weaknesses and may engage in criminal acts at times, but lacks any sinister intentions and is usually, if begrudgingly and unconventionally, ethical.
A wealthy, pampered person from a high social class who is affable, good-natured, and dim-witted. While their life of privilege may have given them a posh education and a smattering of pretentious foreign phrases and classical references, they have been so sheltered from everyday life by their retinue of servants and advisors that they often misjudge or misunderstand everyday situations when left to their own devices.
The wealthy young gentleman Reggie Pepper, who does not do any work, having inherited a fortune from his uncle. Even though he went to Oxford, he has no ambitions and spends his days in the lounge of his private club.
A character sharing the traits or appearance of its author or creator.[18] The author surrogate may be disguised to some degree, or there may be little attempt to make them appear different (for example, they may have the same first name and job).
A roguish, good-looking macho, often a womanizer. In his frequent sexual affairs, he shows signs of a constellation of traits dubbed the dark triad. Historically, he has been called a rake or cad.
A lute-playing singer-songwriter in Medieval and Renaissance stories who sings about the events of the day to earn a living. The Bard may be a wandering troubador travelling from town to town, and playing at taverns (or busking when gigs are scarce), or they may have a steady job in a noble court, playing for royalty at feasts. The bard may overlap with the jester if they use their songs to speak blunt truths to a king or entertain the nobles with humour (also providing comic relief in the story). The bard may also be a wandering minstrel who voyages with the hero to chronicle the hero's exploits in song.
A hipster character, with a distinct counterculture style (usually wearing black or muted colors, turtlenecks, leotards for women, a beret, and sunglasses), loves jazz and avant-garde art and poetry, marijuana, bongo drums, and has a disdain for anything popular in mainstream culture.
Man who fought as a soldier during a war; he usually leaves home a naïve young man, experiences the horrors of war, and returns home embittered and deranged. He often has flashbacks and nightmares about the war.
In American films and television shows, a Black best friend is a secondary character, often female, who is used to "guide White characters out of challenging circumstances." The Black best friend "support[s] the heroine, often with sass, attitude and a keen insight into relationships and life."[21] One criticism of the stock character is that little of their inner life is depicted.
A character who speaks with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about their achievements, possessions, or abilities, typically to prove their superiority and create admiration or envy. Some braggarts may misrepresent or exaggerate their accomplishments. The classical archetypes are Alazon and Miles Gloriosus, with the latter being a boastful soldier.[22] A later example from the Italian commedia dell'arte is Il Capitano.[23]
Staple evil aliens[2] in science fiction of the 1930s were often described (or pictured on covers of pulp magazines) as grotesque creatures with huge, oversized or compound eyes and a lust for women, blood or general destruction.
A villainous character often found in stories centered around youth, especially in school. They delight in tormenting the protagonist and they may use emotional abuse and physical threats or assaults.
Byronic heroes are dark, gloomy, and brooding. Their passionate nature is often turned inward, as they ruminate on a private torment or a difficult secret from their past. They tend to be lonely and alienated, and have views or values that conflict with those of the wider community. The name refers to the Romantic poet Lord Byron, who was active in the 19th century.
The opposite of the Cousin Oliver: a minor character, usually a sibling of one of the main characters, who is quickly jettisoned when a breakout character emerges from a continuing series. From the point of the character's disappearance, the series treats the character as if they never existed. Named after the character in Happy Days, who disappeared after Gavan O'Herlihy left the series after one season. (This is distinct from the phenomenon of killing off a character or sending them away, in such cases the character always existed in the fictional universe but is no longer around.)
A person who exhibits a very wide range of abilities and knowledge, making him a form of polymath. While not the first to use such a character type, the heroes and heroines of Robert A. Heinlein's fiction generally have a wide range of abilities. The competent man, more often than not, is written without explaining how he achieved his wide range of skills and abilities. May also be called a "Heinleinian hero".
A Corydon is a stock character for a herdsman in ancient Greek pastoral poems and fables and in much later European literature. The Corydon character may be portrayed as amorous or cowardly.
A Corydon character is used in the fourth Idyll of the Syracusan poet Theocritus(c. 300 – c. 250 BC). The second of Virgil's Eclogues has a goatherd character named Corydon who is in love with another man, Alexis. In Calpurnius Siculus' Ecologues, there is a Corydon character who may be an author surrogate for Siculus. In Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queen has a cowardly shepherd named Corydon in Book VI, Canto X; he is afraid to help Pastorell when she is being pursued by a tiger.
Contender
A competitive, scrappy underdog who is driven to keep trying to win despite obstacles and poor odds.
A young child who joins the cast of an ongoing series (usually a sitcom) after the previous younger characters have grown older and can no longer provide the comic plot lines they used to as child actors. Named after a character added in the final episodes of The Brady Bunch, after the youngest Brady stepsiblings had grown into preteens.
A usually middle-aged or elderly character who outwardly is bitter, argumentative and politically incorrect. The curmudgeon usually has more sympathetic traits that are revealed over the course of a work of fiction.
A dark, malicious or doomed woman. Her darkness is either literally, in the sense she has a colored skin, or in a metaphorical sense (e.g., that she is a tragic, doomed figure).
This Hispanic or Latin stock character is a beautiful and aristocratic woman whose mysterious and inscrutable personality makes her seem alluring. Scholars have called the Dark Lady and the Latin lover the only two positive Hispanic stock characters.[25]
A classic villain archetype from the silent film era, who will tie a maiden to train tracks or burn down an orphanage as part of their schemes, all while twirling a long mustache. They have over-the-top personalities.
A supernatural being in fairy tales and fantasy literature who helps the protagonist or tests them. The fairy godmother is a classic example in fairy tales.
Due to the US history of slavery one of the common early depictions of Black people in films was as domestic servants. The pejorative Mammy stereotype is a subcategory.
A malevolent character that resembles but is not necessarily related to another, benevolent, character in the same fictional universe; may come from a parallel universe. Usually portrayed by the same actor in a dual role.
A stereotype of East Asian and occasionally South Asian and Southeast Asian women as strong, deceitful, domineering, or mysterious.[27] The term's origin and usage arose in America during the late 19th century. This ethnic stereotype may negatively depict women as promiscuous, deceptive femme fatales.
The staff sergeant or gunnery sergeant in charge of instructing incoming military recruits in basic training. They are strict, demanding leaders who are either loved or hated; good drill sergeants earn respect of their recruits when the training and discipline they impart ends up saving lives, while bad or sadistic drill sergeants may be reviled or even fragged.[7]
This pejorative stereotype of a Mexican bandit was common in silent era Western films. It depicted the characters as missing teeth, being poorly groomed (unshaven, unwashed hair), unintelligent, and as having a violent, treacherous, and emotionally impulsive disposition.[25]
A malevolent character that resembles and is usually related to (most commonly a literal twin of) another, benevolent, character in the same universe; usually portrayed by the same actor in a dual role.
An unaware scapegoat for a villain's larger plot. The term "fall guy" for one whom blame was directed upon to shield others had appeared in mass public culture in the U.S. at least by the 1920s. In 1925 it was the title of a Broadway play, The Fall Guy, by James Gleason and George Abbott.
Falstaff is a comic figure who is depicted as a fat, vain, and boastful knight who spends most of his time drinking and hanging about with petty criminals, living on stolen or borrowed money. He is ultimately repudiated by other major characters who eventually see him for the debauched, dissolute character he is. The word "Falstaffian" has entered the English language with a connotation of being corpulent, jolly and debauched.
The Falstaff character has appeared in other works, including:
In Western films, the "long-suffering farmer's wife" is a foil used as a contrast to the other female stock characters (Hooker with a heart of gold and the Schoolma'am).[31] The farmer's wife character also appears outside of Westerns.
Mrs. Hale, the farmer's wife in Trifles, Curley the farmer's wife (never named, which shows that she is just a stock character) in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
Female clown (Hispanic)
In this stereotype, also called a "Mexican Spitfire" (or "Latin Spitfire"), a Hispanic woman's ditzy antics are used to make the audience laugh derisively at her. While she is alluring, her value as a full character is blunted by her comic treatment. This is the female version of the Male buffoon (Hispanic).[25]
Figaro is a comic character who plays the role of a barber who has become a cunning, scheming, insubordinate gentleman's valet. The character is inspired by the commedia dell'arte stock character of Brighella,[32] and like his predecessor he is a clever liar; moral and yet unscrupulous; good humored, helpful and brave, though somewhat embittered and cynical. Though he is normally calm, collected and intelligent, he can be irrational when angered. Given that the Figaro character tries so protect his wife from the romantic advances of his aristocratic master, the Figaro character is viewed as a fighter for freedom from tyranny, and as a result, some governments censored works about Figaro. The playwright of The Barber of Seville, Beaumarchais, may have created the Figaro character as an author surrogate, as Beaumarchais himself served time in jail for insubordination to the nobility.
A character, especially in a double act, who is in most respects the opposite of the protagonist or straight man. The contrast between a character and their foil allows each characters' traits to be highlighted.
A court jester who made the king and nobles laugh by telling rhyming jokes and riddles, and by doing physical feats like juggling. Jesters could criticize people at court and make fun of royal decisions, as long as the criticism was hidden amidst witty wordplay and riddles. Shakespeare used the fool as a main character so that he could have a character who could speak truthfully, even to a powerful king.
A pejorative character in English literature and especially comic drama, as well as satirical prints, the fop is a foolish "man of fashion" who overdresses, aspires to wit, and puts on airs. The fop may aspire to a higher social station than others think he has.
He may be somewhat effeminate, although this rarely affects his pursuit of an heiress. He may also overdo being fashionably French by wearing French clothes and using French words.
A character who is a former Nazi and is often very clearly German, may attempt poorly to conceal their past (often played comically). Former Nazi characters in places such as the USA will often be scientists or other educated professionals, characters in South America will usually be authority figures of the Third Reich who are hiding from the consequences of their actions during the Holocaust.
A stylized, sexualized, flirtatious domestic servant with a distinctive black uniform with white lace and apron. Her uniform may range from a conservative knee-length skirt in more realistic period pieces to a short skirt, stockings, and garters in more fantasy-oriented depictions. She may use a feather duster. She is a version of the cheeky, saucy soubrette character.
In film noir films about crime, the gangster's moll is usually an attractive, blonde who may be a former showgirl. The gangster often uses the moll as a "trophy" to boost his status.
Beginning in the 1980s, screenwriters of romantic comedy films and TV shows set in high schools added the "gay best friend" stock character. This comedic character type has elicited controversy in the gay community, because while they have introduced "...queer storylines to mainstream audiences," they have also entrenched a stereotype that gay men's only "interests are makeovers, shopping and drama".[35] In addition, "gay best friend" characters tend to be sidelined into the role of giving relationship and fashion advice, and their character rarely has depth or development.
An eccentric or non-mainstream person who is an expert or enthusiast obsessed with an unusual hobby or intellectual pursuit, with a general pejorative meaning of a "peculiar person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual, unfashionable, boring, or socially awkward".[36] The geek character overlaps with the nerd, but the geek may be depicted in a more negative fashion.
A sophisticated, well-mannered, and elegant thief. He typically tries to avoid violence by using deception, stealth and his wits to steal (rather than using violence or threats). They have impeccable manners, charm, and courteousness, and they steal not only to gain material wealth but also for the thrill of the act itself, which is often combined in fiction with correcting a moral wrong, selecting wealthy targets, or stealing only particularly rare or challenging objects. A female version may be called a "lady thief".
Ghost stories take as a premise the possibility of supernatural entity characters who are dead, but which can still communicate or characters' belief in these entities.[37][38] The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic or inciting events or triggers. Linked to the ghost is the idea of a "haunting", where a supernatural entity is tied to a place, object or person.[37] Ghost stories are commonly examples of ghostlore and they appear in supernatural fiction, weird fiction, and horror stories. While some ghost characters are scary, others are funny or deliver a morality tales. Ghosts often appear in the narrative as sentinels or prophets of things to come.
French for "great lady"; a haughty, flamboyant and elegant woman, prone to extravagant and eccentric fashion. She is usually a stereotype of an elderly high society socialite.[39][40][41][42]
A caricature of working-class 1950s American urban youth. Usually seen wearing a leather jacket, white t-shirt (or black if not wearing a jacket), blue jeans, and a slick hairdo with generous amounts of pomade. Frequently has a thick Northeastern ethnic accent, a love of rock and roll, cigarette smoking, motorcycle or hot rod riding and customizing, and a "tough guy" or "cool" demeanor. The British equivalent is the rocker.
A character who lives in traveling caravans, doing juggling or dancing, and having an irascible or passionate temper paired with an indomitable love of freedom. The "gypsy" stock character is very loosely based upon the Romani people, who were historically and pejoratively known as gypsies. Critics of how Romani people have been portrayed in popular culture point out similarities to portrayals of Jewish people, with both groups stereotyped negatively as wandering, spreading disease, abducting children, and violating and murdering others.[46] They are often shown using mystical powers of fortune telling, and they may be associated with "sinister occult and criminal tendencies"[47] and with "thievery and cunning",[48] Romani women have been portrayed as provocative, sexually available, gaudy, exotic and mysterious.[49]
This pejorative stereotype of a Mexican prostitute was common in Western films. She is the female counterpart to El bandido, a pejorative stereotype depicting a violent Mexican bandit. The "halfbreed harlot" is depicted as a lusty nymphomaniac with a hot temper. Filmmakers use the character to serve as a sex object and provide titillation to viewers.[25]
A private investigator or police officer rendered bitter and cynical by violence and corruption. They are often hard-drinking antiheroes who use questionable tactics. Typically the protagonist in film noir crime movies and hardboiled novels and pulp fiction.
A clown or professional fool who pokes fun at others, even the elite. He is a light-hearted, nimble, and astute servant, often acting to thwart the plans of his master, and pursuing his own love interest, Columbina, with wit and resourcefulness, often competing with the sterner and melancholic Pierrot.
The Hawksian woman is a character archetype of the tough-talking woman, popularized in films by director Howard Hawks. The archetype was first identified by film critic Naomi Wise in 1971.
A Hispanic female middle-aged maid who works for an American middle-class family. She generally can't speak English and is portrayed as being religious and having superstitious beliefs. She sometimes becomes the first person to witness paranormal activities in the house and run away from it in horror movies.
A masterful police detective or private investigator who is modelled on the fictional 19th century detective Sherlock Holmes. These characters may emulate his perceptiveness, intelligence, and use of deductive reasoning.
A loving, passionate character that often finds "love at first sight". He is obsessive over a romantic partner (or love interest), to the point where it is his dominant personality trait, and usually views life very optimistically.
A person with extraordinary genius in a narrow area who has a social or developmental disability, often consistent with being somewhere on the autism spectrum.
The assistant to the mad scientist. Often walks with a pronounced hunched back and speaks in a halted speech pattern inspired by Peter Lorre and/or a low monotone accent. Though inspired by the assistant to Victor Frankenstein, this character was originally named Fritz, and did not originate in Mary Shelley's novel, instead being taken from an early stage adaptation of the story.[50]
Usually from a wealthy background, the incompetent officer is usually senior to the hero and an antagonist in military fiction.[citation needed] The incompetence is depicted either as stemming from blind innocence or fundamental stupidity.[51]
The Irish stereotype was developed during the vaudeville era, where it was called "stage Irish". It was an "exaggerated caricature of supposedly Irish characteristics in speech and behavior, which depicted Irish people as "garrulous, boastful, unreliable, hard-drinking, belligerent (though cowardly) and chronically impecunious".[54] In 1920s-era films, Irish characters were "fighters, gangsters, rebels or priests".[54] In the 1950s, Hollywood films depicted Irish women as an "Irish colleen" with a "feisty independent spirit."[54] In the 1990s and 2000s, a new stereotype emerged: the "Irish male as a romantic ideal", with a soft, "soulful and poetic" demeanor.[54] During that same era, another Irish male stereotype emerged: the balaclava-wearing IRA bomb-maker or fighter, sometimes with an "indecipherable, tongue-twister accent".[54]
Italian stereotypes depict men with "over-the-top gaudy couture", an "insatiable libido that will sooner or later lead to infidelity", "temper problems", a lifestyle of "vanity and violence", "tough", "uneducated", involved in "illegal activities, like bribery", and having "connections to the Mafia". Italian women are depicted as "vain, hot-tempered, [and] power-hungry."[55]
From 1945 through the 1960s, Hollywood depicted Japanese men as a "pint-sized man wearing black-framed spectacles, with protuberant incisors", like the "klutzy photographer "Yunioshi" in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Japanese women are depicted with the traits of the geisha: "feminine, subservient, eager and willing to please males." Caucasians with makeup to try to make them appear Asian were typically cast in Asian roles until the 1960s. By the 1970s and 1980s, Japanese people started being portrayed as a "fusion of tradition and high tech", with the historical references being to ninja and samurai, which are both "part of the 'mysterious East'" (e.g. Gung Ho[56] (1986)). Depictions of Japanese people also link them to sumo wrestling, kabuki, or eating sushi.[57]
Stereotypes of Jews in literature have changed over the centuries. While there are some sympathetic Jewish characters in fiction, there have been recurrent pejorative and racist anti-Semitic Jewish stereotypes in literature from the Medieval era until the 20th century.
The Faust legend version from 1587 has Faust borrow money from a Jew, who demands one of Faust's legs as security for the debt.
Veitel Itzig, the Jewish villain in Gustav Freytag's Debit and Credit has been called the "most poisonous stereotype of the greedy, utterly immoral Jewish businessman in nineteenth-century literature."
Some Jewish characters are portrayed more sympathetically:
A pejorative stereotype of well-off young women at Jewish "summer camps, Hebrew schools, [and] the suburbs of New Jersey" with a focus on grooming (flat-ironed hair), trendiness, "upmarket loungewear", luxury brands (Neiman Marcus, Filene's) "entitled dispositions toward luxury", and a liking for ease and comfort. They often engage in "manipulation and acquisitiveness" and they may act spoiled or engage in "pouting, complaining, [and] cajoling."[60]
A nagging, loud, highly-talkative, overprotective, smothering, and overbearing mother, who persists in interfering in her children's lives long after they have become adults and is excellent at making her children feel guilty for actions that may have caused her to suffer.
A popular high school or college athlete who is heavily interested in sports and hook ups. He may also be a dumb bully and the boyfriend of the school diva.
These characters, named after the Biblical character Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus, are traitors or turncoats who sell out their comrades to the enemy for profit or advancement, or out of spite.
A man who is separated from his parents as a very young boy and raised in the wild by animals. Despite isolation from civilization and lack of grasp of language, the jungle boy has an innate sense of civilization and morality and is usually portrayed heroically.
A bumbling, incompetent police officer or squad, named after the Keystone Cops comic silent film series. They show a great deal of action as they pursue a criminal, but they are uncoordinated and the attempt ends in chaos. Modern types may be depicted as lazy, overweight, and with a predilection for donuts. If set in the southern United States, the character is usually also portrayed as racist, corrupt and lacking regard for the rights of whom he is accusing.
A handsome, sharply-dressed man who seduces women with his suave, confident demeanor and his elegant courtship and tango dancing skills. Paradoxically, he shows both tenderness and "sexual danger". He draws the woman into a passionate romance that is doomed due to the pair being enmeshed in an intrigue. The Latin lover may be Italian, Spanish, Latin American, Romanian (from the inspirations with vampire) or French.[25]
In many forms of popular entertainment, gay men are portrayed stereotypically as promiscuous, flashy, flamboyant, and bold, while the reverse is often true of how lesbians are portrayed. Similar to race-, religion-, and class-based caricatures, these stereotypical stock character representations vilify or make light of marginalized and misunderstood groups.[63] In U.S. television and other media, gay or lesbian characters tend to die or meet an unhappy ending, such as becoming insane, more often than other characters.[64]
A young and attractive teenage girl who is getting into a sexual relationship with a middle-aged man. The teenage girl may be portrayed as "precociously seductive."[66] It originates from Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel Lolita, which portrays the male narrator's sexual obsession with and victimization of a 12-year-old girl whom he privately calls "Lolita."
An isolated, alienated person who struggles to connect with people. Their personality may range from benign and withdrawn to embittered and angry, but they tend to seek out solitude. A variant is to depict the person as able to have inconsequential social interaction, but incapable of feeling love or caring (e.g., Meursault in The Outsider).
Main characters who deeply fall in love, despite the blocking effect of other characters or events; often star-crossed lovers that are strongly fraternizing with the "enemy". This pair of stock characters dates back to the Innamorati in the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th-century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the lovers in some regard.[67] While commedia dell'arte lovers typically overcome all obstacles and are united happily at the end, later dramatic and literary works may have the young lovers face a tragic end.
A villain who is obsessed with power and willing to do immoral acts of murder to secure or enhance their position. A Machiavel villain typically follows the principles set out by Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, a guidebook for 16th century rulers. The machiavel devises ruthless plots to eliminate rivals and their families and is willing to do anything, including betrayal of allies or murdering noncombatants, to win more power.
An insane or eccentric scientist or professor, often villainous or amoral.[2][68] Not all mad scientists are evil; some intend to be benevolent, but unintentionally cause an accident due to their hubristic attempt to play God in the lab. May have an Igor, a hunchbacked assistant.
A character type that often appeared in early modern drama. The character, usually an unhappy outsider, but always dissatisfied, observes and comments on the action, and is sometimes metafictionally aware that they are in a play.
This stereotype is used for comic relief. The characters' struggle to learn English or control their hot-blooded temper is used as a source of humor.[25]
A rotund, homely, and matronly black woman. She has a sunny demeanor and she is devoted to her role as a cook and caregiver. This archetype originated during the era of slavery, and it is considered to be a pejorative racial stereotype.
A solitary, rootless nonconformist"[70] or antihero whose extreme moral beliefs have led them to be friendless. Associated with Literature of New Zealand.
Usually static young female characters who have eccentric personality quirks and are unabashedly girlish, dreamy, and attractive. They often exist only to serve as a source of inspiration to the male character, and as such, little of their inner life is depicted.
A masked villain is a stock character in genre fiction that was developed and popularized in movie serials, beginning with The Hooded Terror in The House of Hate, (1918) the first fully-costumed mystery villain of the movies, and frequently used in the adventure stories of pulp magazines and sound-era movie serials in the early twentieth century,[71][72] as well as postmodern horror films.[73]
An attractive and popular high school girl who uses her status to bully others (primarily the protagonist). She is often the girlfriend of the school's popular jock.
In a family setting, usually the second of three children, who is often neglected and/or disrespected due to their parents (and the overall story) paying more attention to the youngest and oldest siblings
A boastful soldier whose cowardice belies his claims of a valour-filled past. His boasts may also extend to his purported feats in the bedroom. Originally from the comic theatre of ancient Rome, this stock character was often from a low class and he was typically engaged in sexual dalliances, excess drinking and thievery. In commedia dell'arte, the boastful Il Capitano was one of the four core stock characters. He brags about dubious tales of military or sexual prowess to hide his cowardly nature.
A delivery person roped into a sexual affair with a married customer. Common in pornographic films; the delivery person need not be delivering milk, though this specific type was a common joke when milk delivery was a common profession.
A romanticized type of antihero who is both charismatic and wicked. The Miltonic hero resists the instructions of authority figures and feels that moral rules do not apply to them. The name refers to poet John Milton.
An old, miserly and wealthy boss who refuses to spend money and prefers to hoard it. "Miser" characters range from excessively thrifty, but otherwise benign types, to avaricious, cold-hearted types who are willing to harm others.
Named after the common (but false) myth regarding ruler and military commander Napoleon Bonaparte's short height. This is usually comical villain whose short stature drives them to seek world domination.
A persistent, indefatigable villain, equal to or better than the hero(es) in skill and power, who thwarts all attacks and reappears even after being killed. In serial and episodic fiction, a nemesis will often evolve into an archenemy.
A socially-awkward, obsessive, or overly-intellectual person. They are often interested in doing well in school (academically and in terms of behavior). They tend to dress in unfashionable clothes. The "geek" character is similar, but may be depicted in more negative manner.
A male character of wholesome morals, agreeable personality and usually modest means. In romantic fiction, he usually struggles with finding women willing to date him (since, as the phrase goes, "nice guys finish last"); in ideal happy endings, he finds a woman more appropriate for him (possibly a Manic Pixie Dream Girl) than those who rejected him
A villain who poses a legitimate threat but operates with honor and reason. The battle between the protagonist and the noble adversary is driven by different interpretations of justice rather than a clear demarcation of good and evil, and there may be enough common ground between the two for them to collaborate against threats greater than both.
A detective who uses traditional techniques to solve supernatural mysteries. The occult detective may have few or no supernatural powers of their own (or, if possessing such powers, little understanding of how to harness them) and instead rely on someone who does, such as a psychic or medium, as a sidekick.
An easily irritated villain with a distinctive, whiny and slightly effeminate voice. Named after character actor Paul Lynde, who played numerous characters of this style during the prime of his career in the 1960s and 1970s, and adopted by numerous others after Lynde's death in 1982.
A Russian kind of Pulcinella-type jester. He is presented as mischievous, self-serving, gluttonous, aggressive, and cowardly.[79]: 62 He is usually at the center of conflict in the Petrushka carnival plays, often getting himself out of trouble by killing the other puppets on stage with a swing of his club.
French pantomime, a sad clown in a distinctive all-white attire and makeup, often pining for the love of Columbina, who usually breaks his heart and leaves him for Harlequin.
A romanticized stereotype of high seas pirates of the 18th century. Features may include a black tricorn hat with skull and crossbones, unkempt facial hair, missing body parts (e.g. eyepatch, peg leg, hook for a hand), adventurous but surly demeanor, and a distinctive accent. Variants on the theme include air pirates and space pirates.
In 1980s TV shows and films (or in works set in this era), preppies are students or alumnus of Ivy League schools who have American upper class speech, vocabulary, dress, mannerisms and etiquette.[80] Like the related yuppie stock character of the 1980s, preppies range from benign (albeit materialistic and pretentious), to arrogant or even immoral.
A handsome, courageous fairy talestock character who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell.
Often charming and romantic, these characters are essentially interchangeable, serving as a foil to the heroine; in many variants, they can be viewed as a metaphor for a reward the heroine achieves for the decisions she makes.[81]
This stock character type suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, including "Snow White", "Sleeping Beauty", and "Cinderella", even if in the original story they were given another name, or no name at all.
A romantic love interest and beloved sweetheart and girlfriend for a Knight-errant. She was usually a woman of much higher noble birth, often far distant from the knight, and usually wealthier than he was, beautiful, and of admirable character. Some knights had, indeed, fallen in love with the princess owing to hearing descriptions of her, without seeing her due to her beauty and virtue.
A wayward adult child who has become estranged from their family and gone into exile, where they squander their inheritance on a debauched lifestyle, while their older sibling works hard in their career. Then the estranged adult child suffers a reversal of fortune, and ends up doing a low-paid job to make ends meet, which leads them to repenting, and they return home, where the kind, loving father forgives the adult child and welcomes them home with a celebration.
The name of the stock character comes from the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32), in which the young son who has lost his way symbolizes the sinners and tax collectors (see Luke 15:1), the hardworking elder brother symbolizes the self-righteous Pharisees, and the kind father symbolizes God.
Novels, films and other stories that use the prodigal son stock character may depict a son or a daughter who returns, and rather than have the person who returns be from a family, they may be a member of a school, team, or organization who returns after going through a reversal of fortune. The benevolent father figure may be a mentor, elder, or leader.
In Godspell, at the end of Act 1, Jesus is a drill sergeant leading his soldiers, who act out the Parable of the Prodigal Son; in Death of a Salesman, which is about a father who is a traveling salesman who has two adult sons: Happy, who works in business like his father, is ignored by the dad, and Biff, who moves away and becomes a ranch hand, is the prodigal son that the dad had high ambitions for him; in the play Long Day's Journey into Night, an actor in his mid-60s has two sons. One, Jamie, the prodigal son, is a ne'er-do-well actor who puts more effort into drinking and having liaisons with prostitutes than acting. The other son is a poet who caught tuberculosis while traveling in the Merchant Marine; the novel Prodigal Son by Danielle Steel; in The Return of the Prodigal Son (1976), the younger son of a prominent rural family returns after being gone for 12 years. During his absence, the family was under the tyranny of the older brother. The family had hoped the young brother would become a successful in Cairo, but he ended up jailed after a building collapsed; in The Magician King by Lev Grossman, Dean Fogg greets the former student Quentin when he comes back to the magical school by saying "the prodigal has returned.”
An "establishment showbiz" version of punks, which were dubbed "Quincy punks" after a 1982 episode of the TV series Quincy, M.E., about a crime-solving medical examiner. The episode "Next Stop, Nowhere" depicted punks as nihilistic "spiky-haired teenagers and flippant young adults" who are "cartoonishly naive and short-sighted" and full of "punk rage", and who think with "rigid ideology and relentless hopelessness". The punks are shown with "torn clothes, spiked hair, bizarre makeup, and (for some reason) bandanas."[82]Maclean's calls it a "fake Hollywood-ized version of a punk."[83]
Several punks in the opening of Terminator are vandalizing an observatory and then attempt to rob the titular humanoid robot, the rebellious teen Abby 1982 episode of the TV series Quincy, M.E., entitled "Next Stop, Nowhere" (played by Melora Hardin)
Young, naive and impressionable, the raw recruit has to learn how to live with military discipline and understand the reasons behind the way the military works. He often ends up in a position of leadership (as an Idealistic Lieutenant) by the end of the story. They may have a "tragic" death towards the end of the movie,[7] particularly if they show the protagonist a picture of a fiancée or wife they "have back home".[citation needed]
In the 1970s, B movie "hixploitation" films depicted rednecks as Appalachian or Southern "good old boys" involved in illicit moonshine operations. Other redneck subtypes include crooked Southern sheriffs, "back-road racers", and truckers.[84]
A minor, expendable character who is killed soon after being introduced. This refers to characters from the original Star Trek television series, often from the security or engineering departments of the starship, who wore the red Starfleet uniform. They are cannon fodder.
A woman who is willing to support her partner and their risky lifestyle despite how this might endanger or harm her. She may even take an active role as an accomplice
Letty Ortiz (Fast & Furious franchise)
Rightful king
A usurped, just ruler whose return or triumph restores peace. The rightful king may be a reluctant hero who is reticent to take the throne.
Characters appearing in short stories by US sports writer and author Damon Runyon, which depict Prohibition era underworld New Yorkers from Brooklyn or Midtown Manhattan. "Runyonesque" refers to the type of situations and dialog that Runyon depicted,[85] populated by gamblers, bookies, boxers, hustlers, actors, and gangsters, few of whom go by "square" names, preferring creative nicknames. His characters use colorful street slang.
Characters have colorful monikers such as "Nathan Detroit", "Benny Southstreet", "Big Jule", "Harry the Horse", "Good Time Charley", "Dave the Dude", or "The Seldom Seen Kid".
S
Character Type
Description
Examples
Schoolma'am
A pretty young woman schoolteacher in a frontier town or settlement. Her wholesome, virginal demeanor, modest dress, and education distinguish her from the other Western female stereotype (whores at the brothel or saloon). Schoolmarms represent civilization. Pretty, young teachers may be a love interest for the hero. Old teachers tend to be spinsters who are strict disciplinarians.
This stock character in medieval romances and classical comedies is an old, ugly man who is married to a pretty young woman. The senex amans, which is Latin for "ancient lover", is depicted as having wrinkles, greying hair, and struggling with impotence. He is often cuckolded by a good-looking young man who charms the young wife.
A father figure and comic archetype who belongs to the alazon or impostor group in theater, manifesting himself through his rages and threats, his obsessions and his gullibility
In the 1930s, the "sissy" or "pansy" was a pejorative stereotype used as one of the earliest gay stock characters in Hollywood films. "Sissy" characters had an "...extremely effeminate boulevardier type sporting lipstick, rouge, a trim mustache and hairstyle, and an equally trim suit, incomplete without a boutonniere."[87] Filmmakers used the characters to elicit a "quick laugh", and they never had any character depth. These roles "...cemented the gross stereotypes of gay men that are still seen today."[87]
A corrupt attorney who uses technicalities to get obviously guilty, but wealthy and well-paying, clients acquitted. Sleazy lawyers are driven by a mixture of desiring wealth and a ruthless, competitive desire to win at all costs. They are masters at manipulating witnesses, D.A.s and judges to ensure they win. They range from lawyers who work within the law, by gaming the system or finding loopholes, to those who break the law by destroying evidence or intimidating witnesses.
An elected official who is embroiled in corruption and scandals such as taking bribes, using secret slush funds, embezzling money, or engaging in affairs with staff (or other sexual misconduct). They may be hypocrites, who speak out against crime, while using illegal drugs and hanging out in brothels.
A female character in an otherwise all-male cast. Often portrays exaggerated feminine traits. Her male counterpart is known as a Lincoln Loud, named after the cartoon character from The Loud House
A female character who is vain, girlish, mischievous, lighthearted, coquettish, and gossipy. The role of the soubrette is often to help two young lovers overcome the blocking agents (e.g. chaperones or parents) that stand in the way of their blossoming romance.
An elegant, beautiful young woman of the American Old South's upper class. She speaks with a Southern accent and is flirtatious. There is a good, wholesome variant and a vain, darker version.
A minor character who appears in several scenes, but mostly in the background roles. The term is a reference to minor characters in old plays set in Roman eras who would literally carry a spear as they played guard characters.
An impoverished painter, jazz musician, screenwriter, or novelist who is so dedicated to their artistic vision, that they refuse to sell out and do commercial art (or pop music, or mainstream feature films, etc.). They live in an attic or couch surf, dress shabbily, and struggle to put food on the table. The depiction ranges from a romanticized, rose-tinted glasses portrait of libertine, Absinthe-sipping bohemians to a gritty social realist examination of the artist's impoverished existence. A starving artist may also be a troubled artist.
A noble, brave being with extraordinary powers who dedicates their life to defending the general public.[2] Many superhero figures are a secret alter-ego personality of a "normal" person, e.g. Clark Kent/Superman, Bruce Wayne/Batman
In Russian 19th century literature, a dashing young aristocrat who is bored from his privileged life, and who distracts himself from his sense of ennui by engaging in intrigues, casual affairs, duels, gambling, and drinking. He is selfish and manipulative, and cares little about others or broader issues in society.
The nemesis to the Superhero, the supervillain is a sinister being and plots crimes against society. Their origin story, which explains why they turned evil, is often important to their character.
Spaced out, marijuana-loving Californian surfer who wisecracks their way through life and uses youthful slang. Despite their lack of a job or fixed address, they have a happy-go-lucky demeanor.
A joyful, noisy, and boastful Renaissance era or Cavalier era swordsman or pirate. He is chivalrous, courageous, and skilled in sword fighting and acrobatics as he seeks vengeance on a corrupt villain. In films, the story may be set in the Golden Age of Piracy.
In American films and TV shows, Black men are depicted "...playing drug dealers, pimps, con-artists and other ... criminals".[21] A criticism of this stock character is that the "...disproportionate amount of Black people playing criminals in Hollywood fuels the racial stereotype that Black men are dangerous and drawn to illicit activities."[21]
A stereotype of East Asian mothers who relentlessly push their children to achieve success. Tiger moms set the highest standards and insist that their children strive for top marks so they can get into the best schools. In US TV and movies, this ethnic stereotype depicts East Asians as a "model minority".
A character with no distinguishing characteristics whose sole purpose is to provide nominal diversity to the cast. In 1980s TV shows, screenwriters introduced the "African-American workplace pal" stock character as a way to add a Black character in a secondary role.[90]
A painter, sculptor, or other creator frustrated with their artistic challenges, or with being misunderstood. They may have mental health issues or addiction, and they are hard to be around due to their narcissism and frustration.
A male in a small town who is intoxicated more often than sober. They often have a good heart and may end up helping the protagonist. He can also be a street hobo.
A hero with a flaw, mistake, or misconception (hamartia) that leads to their eventual death and downfall. Historically, they were the main character in a Greek or Roman tragedy. The flaw often arises due to the character's hubris. Despite the character's flaw, the audience usually finds them to be admirable or appealing at a broader level, which increases the dramatic impact of their downfall.
A cunning individual, of a lower social class than the heroes (originally bound in slavery), who facilitates the story's completion in exchange for improvement of his lot.
In Japanese anime and manga, a character who is initially harsh (and sometimes even hostile) before gradually showing a warmer, friendlier side over time. Similar in temperament to the curmudgeon, but usually young and female.
A character who typically combines characteristics of the "theatre kid" and the "bad boy", developing a highly vocal following on social media as a result.
A character who is frequently referenced in the script of a production but never seen. In stage, film and television, they may be indirectly present through hearing their voice offscreen (such as Carlton the Doorman), or from a first-person perspective as the cameraman, answering questions addressed to them by bobbing the camera up and down to nod or left and right to say no (as with Vern in the Ernest P. Worrell series). Unseen characters may become seen near the end of a series.
A teenage girl from the San Fernando Valley with a distinctive accent and emphasis on superficial traits. She is typically a materialistic upper-middle-class young woman.[92] The term in later years became more broadly applied to any female in the United States who embodied ditziness, airheadedness, or greater interest in conspicuous consumption than intellectual or personal accomplishment.[93]
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. Vampires are depicted as gaunt, pale immortal individuals with fangs, an aversion to sunlight, and a suave, charismatic elegance that makes them attractive to women. Female vampires are depicted as seductive Femme fatales.
This is a category of aged, male characters from Italian commedia dell'arte theatre. They are overwhelmingly the ill-tempered antagonists, opposing the blossoming romance of the young noble lovers, the innamorati. The comic ending is produced when the Zanni (servants) manage to overcome the Veccio's blocking and unite the lovers.
An allegorical evil part in medieval morality plays. The Vice can be an allegoric representation of one of the Seven Vices or a more general portrayal of evil as the tempter of man. Vice often takes the audience into complicity by revealing its evil plans, often through soliloquies or monologues.[98] Its enacting is frequently comic or absurd.
Richard III in Shakespeare's drama of the same name; Iago (who plays up the more villainous aspects of the Vice) from Othello; and Sir John Falstaff (who plays up the more comic aspects of the vice) from Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
A man who served in the Vietnam War and is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or other psychological problems. Because of what he witnessed and what he went through during the war, and the disrespect he received from domestic anti-war protesters, his mental state was portrayed as fragile and unstable, and therefore this character has marital problems with his unhappy wife (or girlfriend) and his son. He still can't adjust to his post-war civil and daily life. This character can be seen in most American action and drama movies, and he is generally portrayed by an American action star.
A person known locally for ignorance or stupidity; this character often turns out to be brave and sweet, and is sometimes underestimated (see Wise fool).
An evil, "cruellymalicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel; or a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evilagency in the plot".[99] The antonym of a villain is a hero. The villain's structural purpose is to serve as the opposition of the hero character and their motives or evil actions drive a plot along.[citation needed][100] In contrast to the hero, who is defined by feats of ingenuity and bravery and the pursuit of justice and the greater good, a villain is often defined by their acts of selfishness, evilness, arrogance, cruelty, and cunning, displaying immoral behavior that can oppose or pervert justice.[citation needed]
A priest or ordained minister who shows clear signs of moral weakness, either due to alcohol use, having a mistress, or doing other forbidden activities, while at the same time teaching a higher standard and showing courage and moral resolve on a broader level. The stock character name was coined by Graham Greene to describe the renegade priest in The Power and the Glory (1940).
In fiction centered around a group and/or family of Blacks or other people of color, the white friend is an exaggerated parody of stereotypes of white Americans, including awkwardness around people of color, inability to dance, and being an all-around "square".
A person who seems like an idiot or simpleton, who may speak inarticulate nonsense in one moment, only to later show wisdom later on. The fool's mocking humour shows his ability to understand events or speak blunt truths to a leader.
The underestimated youngest child in a family of many children, usually all of the same gender. Often portrayed as the most childlike of the children due to their youth; in a plot twist, this character may be portrayed as comically sinister. In a continuing live-action series, they may be effectively succeeded by the even younger "Cousin Oliver."
In 1980s and early 1990s films and TV (or works set in that era), a young, urban professional who is driven by their goals of career success and achieving wealth. Typically a lawyer, financial executive, or businessperson, they love their luxury car (a Saab or BMW), their house in a trendy downtown neighborhood, dressing in designer clothes, and eating at hip restaurants. May be depicted as benign for satirical purposes, or depicted as immoral, villainous profiteers.
Servant characters in commedia dell'arte. Zanni was of two distinct types: one is an astute, cunning servant and the other is a silly, stupid servant. They were called First Zanni and Second Zanni. Mezzetino and Brighella are examples of the First Zanni; Arlecchino and Pulcinella are examples of the Second Zanni. The Second Zanni provides comic relief. The Zanni also help the young lovers to overcome the blocking efforts of the elderly male characters.
A type of undead creature that appears across various media. It is a mythological undeadcorporealrevenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in which a zombie is a dead body reanimated through various methods, most commonly magical practices in religions like Vodou. Modern media depictions of the reanimation of the dead often do not involve magic but rather science fictional methods such as carriers, fungi, radiation, mental diseases, vectors, pathogens, parasites, scientific accidents, etc.[103][104]
^Fuller, Linda K.; Loukides, Paul, eds. (1990), Beyond the Stars: Stock characters in American popular film, vol. 1, Bowling Green University Popular Press, p. 69, ISBN9780879724795
^Ashley, Wendy (4 November 2013). "The Angry Black Woman: The Impact of Pejorative Stereotypes on Psychotherapy with Black Women". Social Work in Public Health. 29 (1): 27–34. doi:10.1080/19371918.2011.619449. PMID24188294. S2CID25338484.
^Clark, Naeemah (10 November 2013). "Find real African American women in a beauty salon, not on reality TV". Greensboro News & Record.
^Rowling, J.K. (26 June 1997). Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury. ISBN0-7475-3269-9.
^ abcdefRamirez Berg, Charles (1990). "Stereotyping in films in general and of the Hispanic in particular". The Howard Journal of Communications. 2 (3): 286–300. doi:10.1080/10646179009359721.
^Herbst, Philip (1997). The color of words: An encyclopaedic dictionary of ethnic bias in the United States. Intercultural Press. p. 72. ISBN978-1-877864-97-1.
^"Geek". Dictionary.com-Merriam-Webster entry. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^ abDarrell Schweitzer (2005). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders. Westport, CT: Greenwood. pp. 338–340.
^"Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), Oxford Companion to English Literature. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN9780198614531 (p. 404-5).
^Kraft, Joseph (19 June 1972). "Another Reason We Must End The War". St. Petersburg Times.
^Mayall, David (2009). Gypsy Identities 1500–2000: From Egipcyans and Moon-men to the Ethnic Romany. Routledge. p. 266. ISBN978-0415566377.
^Bardi, Abigail R. (2007). The Gypsy as Trope in Victorian and Modern British Literature. p. 65. ISBN978-0549452898.
^MacKay, Marina, ed. (2009). The Cambridge companion to the literature of World War II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 35. ISBN978-0521887557.
^Reed, Toni (1999). Button, Marilyn Demarest (ed.). The foreign woman in British literature: exotics, aliens, and outsiders (1. publ. ed.). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. pp. 152–155. ISBN978-0313309281.
^Behrendt, Stephen C. (2012). "A Hideous Bit of Morbidity": An Anthology of Horror Criticism from the Enlightenment to World War I. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 97. ISBN978-0786469093. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was adapted for the stage many times, and the first of these interpretations was Richard Brinsley Peake's Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein (1823), which dramatized key scenes from the novel and added Frankenstein's assistant, Fritz, to the mix.
^ abMuraire, André (2008). "Notes on the American war film from the forties to the eighties". In Hugues, Gérard; Hildenbrand, Karine (eds.). Images of War and War of Images. Newcastel: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 134. ISBN9781847185433.
^Ely Jr., James W.; Bond, Bradley G. (2014). The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Vol. 10: Law and Culture. UNC Press Books. p. 60.
^Penzler, Otto, ed. (2009). The lineup: the world's greatest crime writers tell the inside story of their greatest detectives. Little, Brown.
^Raley, Amber B.; Lucas, Jennifer L. (1 January 2006). "Stereotype or success? Prime-time television's portrayals of gay male, lesbian, and bisexual characters". Journal of Homosexuality. 51 (2): 19–38. doi:10.1300/J082v51n02_02. ISSN0091-8369. PMID16901865. S2CID9882274.
^"Lolita". Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved 31 August 2020. In Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel, Lolita, the character Lolita is a child who is sexually victimized by the book's narrator. The word "Lolita" has strayed from its original referent, however, and has settled into the language as a term we define as 'a precociously seductive girl.'...The definition of Lolita reflects the fact that the word is used in contemporary writing without connotations of victimization.
^Lawner, Lynne (1998). Harlequin on the Moon. New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc. p. 61.
^De Camp, L. Sprague (1953), Science-fiction Handbook: The Writing of Imaginative Fiction, p. 28
^Orenstein, Catherine (2002). Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale. New York: Basic Books. ISBN0-465-04125-6. p. 121.
^von Doviak, Scott; Gore, Chris (2004). Hick Flicks: The Rise and Fall of Redneck Cinema. Mcfarland & Co.
^Webber, Elizabeth; Feinsilber, Mike (1999). Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions – Runyonesque. Merriam-Webster. p. 479-480. ISBN978-0-87779-628-2.
^Villarreal, Dan (1 December 2016). "Do I Sound Like a Valley Girl To You? Perceptual Dialectology and Language Attitudes in California". Publication of the American Dialect Society. 101 (1): 57. doi:10.1215/00031283-3772901. ISSN0002-8207.
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