What is an Antihero? | No Film School

With the Jokay Now that the film has become the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time and characters like Deadpool, Jesse Pinkman and Harley Quinn are bringing excitement to the big and small screens, the age of the antihero has arrived.

Hollywood and television once only wanted conventional protagonists to lead their stories, but the golden age of television and the advent of streamers made new and exciting stories viable in the marketplace. This trend changed the way we think about the heroes in our stories and made the creation and marketing of something niche or unexpected all the more plausible.

While antiheroes have been around since the dawn of storytelling, it feels like we’re only just reaching their peak. But what is an antihero, and what qualities make them the leader of an unconventional story?

Let’s take a closer look at the tropes, ideas, and scripting techniques you can use to embed an antihero in your screenplays.

Antihero definition

An antihero is a central character in a story, film, or television show who lacks the conventional heroic traits that you would find in a traditional hero. They are often defined by the traits they share with an antagonist. They sometimes use unsavory methods to accomplish the task of a traditional hero.

Their character arcs can soften them or harden them, depending on the story. Either way, when you write one of these people, you have to make them feel like a real person. We have to identify with them and their purpose, even if it goes against our value system.

Make them interesting and recognizable.

The two types of anti-heroes:

1. Someone with altruistic goals and unconventional techniques
2. A villain that we follow as the main character

These antiheroes have drastically different character motivations within each story. But both qualify because they subvert the usual tropes we get when it comes to these types of stories. Neither is easier or harder to write than the other, but both have individual merits when it comes to storytelling.

There are male and female antiheroes. Gender doesn’t matter, all that matters is that you build a believable character who carries the story.

Let’s look at some of the traits you can use when developing these characters.

Antihero Traits

Antiheroes can be liars, vulgar, violent, angry, disbelieving, and sarcastic.

What about other antihero traits?

An antihero is not your typical protagonist because their personality traits are much more complex. For example, while a hero may show courage in the face of danger, antiheroes may run away. Like Han Solo does at the end of the first Star Wars movie. But he will be back.

This also applies to contrasts between physical properties.

Antiheroes don’t have to be sexy or traditionally handsome.

They can be uncomfortable, ugly, strange or anything else that goes against convention.

I mean, Deadpool is covered in burns.

Rocket is…a raccoon with PTSD.

Understood?

Let’s look at some names of popular antiheroes!

List of popular antiheroes in movies and TV:

Here is a list of popular antiheroes in movies and television. Who else belongs here?

• Travis Bickle
• Flea bag
• Randal Graven
• Chev Chelios
• Dexter Morgan
• Jackie Peyton
• Ray Donovan
• Jack Sparrow
• Willem Munny
• Don Draper
• Tony Soprano
• Walter White
• Malignant
• Nancy Botwin
• Omar Klein
• Patrick Batement
• Snape
• Riddick
• Rorschach
• Tony Montana
• Snake Plissken
• Villanelle
• Elizabeth Jennings
• Teresa Mendoza

What is the difference between Antihero and Villian?

The best way to think about it is that a villain is a side character in a story and usually not an arc. They are the antagonist of the story, not the person we are following.

An antihero carries the story and, while they don’t have to have an arc, their hopes and desires carry the story. They are the protagonist or main character. They may be deeply flawed or villainous, but it’s their story.

The villain in a movie script can only be the antagonist.

Is this correct?

Why do we like an antihero?

In many of these stories, it’s not so much that we like a character, but that we care about their journey. A powerful emotion that can help is empathy. Empathy allows us to not have to see the world from the perspective of an antihero, but still understand their journey.

It can be as cheap as a “save the cat” moment or as profound as an outsider’s validation of the journey you want to see as an insider.

But it’s precisely that empathy that makes your anti-hero so entertaining.

No matter what character archetype you choose, you can always create someone who is the opposite of their normal expectations. But these types of heroes are not just the opposite of their archetype, they have to be whole people with wants and desires.

So what would an antihero look like based on each of the archetypes? Check out this refresher on the archetypes and let’s talk after the infographic!

These archetypes are based on the clichés of average heroes. What would be the clichés of the antihero, based on these typical protagonists?

Warrior

Instead of the mighty warrior, you have the warlord or someone like Scarface or Henry Hill, a gangster who runs an empire.

Child

The tropes of the child don’t always lend themselves to protagonists, but think of Kevin McCallister in Home AloneKev uses his innocence to his advantage and his weakness allows him to become resourceful and outsmart the Wet Bandits.

Be

Here you have to think a bit more broadly. Someone like Rufio van Hook changes the way you see orphan heroes. Also, looking at television, I think Eleven on Stranger Things meets this profile, but with many surprises.

Creator

We love a damaged creator, so I think this archetype actually leans into the “anti” nature of the term. People like Steve Jobs in SteveJobs comes to mind, but you could also look at The Mad Professor for an anithero that doesn’t fit into the typical archetypes.

Caregiver

This is such a lovable role for a hero that it can be hard to imagine the perversion of such a character. Maybe Nurse Ratched works as a supporting character, but a true antihero is hard to come by here. Think of a tough doctor like Dr. Cox on scrubbing. Determined, mean, but with a heart of gold.

Mentor

A twisted mentor is everywhere in society and in movies and television. Think of someone like The Hound on Game of Thrones and even Deathstroke in Arrow.

joker

Let’s leave this up to your own interpretations for a moment. But I think Joker is the antihero of joker. Enough said.

Wizard

Someone like the Red Lady on Game of Thrones comes to mind. You don’t have to be all about magic either. You could be a character like Thanos!

Ruler

Television and film are full of powerful people who want to keep and get power in the wrong way. Pour a glass from the entire Lannister family, who fit this picture perfectly. Outside of GoT, which seems to have all the antiheroes, you can even see parts of Heisenberg here. Or even Macbeth.

Rebel

The rebel usually survives on the antihero traits and nothing else. I mean, what else would they rebel against? Someone like Han Solo or even Roman in Succession has rebellious tendencies.

Lover and seducer

Lovers who are antiheroes can be seducers. And seducers — they’re usually already antiheroes. So I grouped them together. I really think examples like James Bond work best here. Someone who combines good intentions with sexual awareness. Even Villanelle from Kill Eva belongs here.

Examples of Anti-Heroes in Movies and TV

We covered a lot of examples in the archetype section, but I wanted to look at some direct examples and show how the characterization of an antihero contributes to the stories.

Let’s take a look at more of these great characters.

Anti-hero movies

Perhaps one of the most famous antiheroes of all time is Travis Bickle from Taxi driver.

This is a wildly misunderstood film about the fear, rage, and violence in one man’s heart. And how he sees that in a perverted city around him, and decides to clean it up as a result. But Bickle is not Batman. Or even the Punisher, for that matter.

His arc is one of possible death and ascension, one where he is surrounded by bodies and likely fantasizing about rewards for his carnage.

Still, Bickle’s desires are those of a hero. He wants to rid himself of phoniness, corrupt politicians, pimps, child slavery, and immoral sexual exploitation. His methods are murderous and include attempted murder. His methods and arc here also include harassing a campaign worker and buying illegal firearms.

These are not heroic acts, but they are for a heroic cause. Anti-heroes are not supposed to be nice, they are supposed to be interesting.

We’ve been talking about Bickle for over 40 years, so you know his storyline is something special.

Antihero television

Antiheroes thrive on television. It seemed like the arrival of Tony Soprano paved their way. I know I’m exaggerating, but every cable network seems to have antiheroes. Walter White, Don Draper, the whole Shameless family, and even Disney+ is getting in on the action The Mandalorian.

Yet there is one anti-hero who has gained the upper hand in recent years.

Though her show only lasted two seasons, it yielded an iconic jumpsuit, sexy clerics, and a well-deserved Emmy nomination.

I’m talking about Flea bag. Flea bag changed everything we know about television antiheroes. The character is a self-destructive sex addict who smokes, drinks, and seduces a clergyman to compensate for the death of her dear friend and the loss of her mother.

The show is supposed to be dark, but instead it is bright, energetic and hilarious. It is one of the best dark comedies of all time.

This show isn’t really about getting healthy, it’s about dealing with the way the world works. It’s about embracing the anti-ness within ourselves and working towards a better life by struggling day in and day out. This antihero changed our perception because he changed the tone.

All the other antiheroes we’ve talked about before had more serious angles, but just like Death Pole Whatever you did in the cinema, this TV series took what you expected from a drama and delivered something much more interesting.

What about antiheroes in comics?

Marvel Anti-Heroes

• Death Pole
• Wolverine
• Ghost rider
• Poison
• The Punisher
• Black Widow
• Leaf
• The Winter Soldier

DC Anti-Heroes

• Harley Quinn
• Amanda Waller
• Jonah Hex
• John Constantine
• Death blow
• Cat Lady
• Lobo
• Shazam

Sure, it’s easy to pick the main character of a story, but the protagonist is so much more than just who’s on screen for most of the story. This character is the embodiment of your story’s theme. The person the audience is meant to latch onto, and often the reason the story happens.

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