The first character ever created was a hero. The first story ever told was the story of a hero’s journey. The main reason audiences have been watching and reading stories ever since is because “the hero’s story” is the story we all imagine we are living. It is the story we dream.
Film heroes and heroines are varied. There are classic film heroes and heroes on a mission to save others, action heroes and heroines on a mission to save the day, superheroes and heroines on a mission to save the world, romantic heroes and heroines on a mission to save love, anti-heroes and heroines on a mission to save themselves. Even independent dramas about characters struggling to relate are peopled with every day, emotionally flawed, and nuanced heroes and heroines trying to save someone or something. What they all have in common is a mission to save. It is the overriding characteristic of the film hero and heroine and it dictates how every moment, in every scene, is played.
Film heroes and heroines are also, almost always, thinking about a bigger story than the one on the page. They carry the weight of the entire story on their shoulders, and in their hearts, minds and imaginations, in every moment they are on screen.
Leave a Reply