Turning Bad Guys into Good Characters
by Jaden
The image is from the Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange, which was adapted from a novel by Anthony Burgess.
Researching Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, I discovered that he had a traumatic childhood and distressed adulthood. Born in England 1917, Burgess was an infant when his mother and sister died; his father was a drunken absentee. As a young adult, Burgess endured and served in World War II. For the rest of his life, Burgess blazed a rebellious path: a drinker, heavy smoker, and tax evader — just to skim the surface.
Alex, the anti-hero of A Clockwork Orange, divined by Burgess, and played by Malcolm McDowell, is one of the greatest bad guys of all time.
When it comes to creating bad guys or vixens, there is nothing like first hand experience to lend believability to characters.
Pulling from your own dark fantasies or unruly youth is one way to add truth to your fiction.
Another primal way to create an earnest villain is by fashioning him or her after some dastardly person you have known.
If you and everyone you know are goody-two-shoes, you can observe rude or deplorable behavior in public. Explore the imaginary reasons why these people developed as they did and what happened to them on that particular day.
If your entire town is wholesome, then you need to get out and travel. Come to Hollywood for an endless source of evil-doers to inspire you.
Basing fictitious characters on the traits of real people enhances credibility.
What little devils come to your mind?
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“Another primal way to create an earnest villain is by fashioning him or her after some dastardly person you have known.”
I think that is a great tip. There are a few that come to my mind and I may not only stop at the bad guy. There are some other characters that I have come across that I would love to bring to life in a script.
Okay, I tried to watch this movie many years ago, but I was so creeped out after the first fifteen minutes, I had to turn it off. Still, Kubrick is great and I do like some of his other films.
It’s funny you wrote about this because I was just thinking about this movie, the title, and associated images over the last couple of days *insert Twilight Zone music.*
P.S. Yo, shoot me an email b/c I don’t know where you at!
I’ve been thinking about my villian in one of my stories lately, too. And I have a question for you, Jaden… does one’s antagonist HAVE to have some redeeming qualities as I have been told so many times? Mine has none! Well, maybe onw. Hes concerned about his dying mother. Otherwise, he’s just pure evil.
HELYN — Redeeming qualities might not be what you think. Generally, having redeeming qualities of some sort is the rule, yes. If you created a real bad guy with no redeeming qualities, as far as you can see, you would be surprised how many people like him if he was well written. It just depends.
For instance, in this case with the Alex character of A Clockwork Orange, as the author, you might say he has no redeeming qualities and he is just overall a bad person, which he is. What he does have is that he is funny, he is smart, he is weird, he is creative, he is entertaining, and so on. So even though Alex is super bad, other qualities come through that you might not have noticed as being redeeming. Just depends how well the character is written. Wit, intelligence, and uniqueness is up to the author to expel.
To be redeemed, the character does not ever have to be nice or sympathetic, he could simply entertain (as all characters must) or have some trait to which people can relate. It can be as simple as always being late or tripping on cracks or whatever, which are not nice traits, but they are common in people and therefore make the character human, laughable and relatable.
Think about your character. Does he entertain? Thrill? Excite? That’s important.
Makes sense. Thanks!
I think Count Rugen, the six-fingered man from “The Princess Bride,” is my favorite bad guy. He’s truly despicable, even psychotic (“I’m sure you’ve discovered my deep and abiding interest in pain”). Yet, he shows concern for his friend, the equally evil Prince Humperdink (“Get some rest. If you haven’t got your health, you haven’t got anything”); quiet sympathy for Westley when Humperdink tortures him beyond what he’s even willing to do; and near the end a touch of humanity (ie cowardice) by running away from Inigo. Brilliant villian!
Another “bad guy” that comes to my mind, is Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. Even though he was a cannibalistic sociopath, he seemed to show an admiration/soft spot towards Clarice.
[...] Turning Bad Guys into Good Characters [...]
Anthony Hopkins is one of the veteran actors in Hollywood that should be given a lifetime acheivement award.
when i hear the name Anthony Hopkins, i always tought of the movie Meet Joe Black.