In order to figure out the main character of your story, you can rely on the five principles found in Chapter 3 of My Story Can Beat Up Your Story. The character to whom the majority of these principles applies is likely your lead!
Those principles, once again are:
Principle #1 – The final battle of every good story is always “The Good Guy vs the Bad Guy over the Stakes.”
Principle #2 – The main character is the one who changes the most from the start of the film to the end.
Principle #3 – The main character is exactly like the main opponent, but with a moral center.
Principle #4 – The main character drives the action.
Principle #5 – The main character usually gets the biggest martyr moment at the end.
So with these in mind, who is the main character of Star Trek (2009), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Rush Hour, Lethal Weapon, The Big Chill, and Sleepless in Seattle?
|
MOVIE |
WHO’S THE MAIN CHARACTER? |
WHICH PRINCIPLES APPLY? |
| Star Trek (2009) | Spock (Zachary Quinto) | 1, 2, 3, 4 (shared), 5 (shared) |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) | 1 (shared), 2, 3, 4 |
| Rush Hour | Lee (Jackie Chan) | 1, 2 (shared), 3, 4 (shared), 5 |
| Lethal Weapon | Roger (Danny Glover) | 1 (shared), 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| The Big Chill | Sarah (Glenn Close) | 1, 2, 3, 4 (shared), 5 |
| Sleepless in Seattle | Annie (Meg Ryan) | 1, 2, 4 (shared), 5 |