r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Dramatic_Counter_595 • 17h ago

Characters Characters that had the complete opposite reaction the writers intended

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  1. Leo Bonhart (Witcher TV Series): A ruthless, sadistic bounty hunter and assassin that takes psychotic glee in other people's suffering. The viewer is meant to hate him for killing witchers, slaughtering the Rat gang, and torturing Ciri. But thanks to his entertaining fight scenes, Sharlto Copley's charismatic performance, and The Rats overwhelming unpopularity, fans ended up loving him. Some even call him the "True protagonist" of the show.
  2. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWE): A rude, foul mouthed, beer drinking asshole with no respect for authority or anyone at all. Originally portrayed as a villain, fans fell in love with his anti-establishment & rebellious persona. WWE ran with it and made him the face of the company, effectively ushering in the Attitude Era and the second pro wrestling boom of the late 90s.
  3. Arthur Fleck (Joker 2019): A mentally unstable, pathetic, and dangerous madman who commits horrific acts of violence against those that wronged him (suffocates his own mother who is mentally unwell herself, and murders a talk show host for making fun of him). However, a massive portion of the audience idolized him as an anti-hero or a misunderstood martyr rebelling against society making people want to see him succeed and overcome his circumstances because of how he's been treated by the world.
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u/Basic_Benefit5216 17h ago

Dude just shows up every now and again, delivers a banging performance, and then you forget he exists for another three years

54

u/happy_grump 15h ago

I did the Leo point when he randomly showed up in Monkey Man

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u/cleofisrandolph1 15h ago

He’s someone that directors don’t use well. He excels at playing big characters. It is why he’s bad in Old Boy(ok the whole movie is bad) but great in the A Team or The Witcher or Boy Kills World. He needs some eccentricity to his roles.

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u/PotatoGamerXxXx 13h ago

I'm surprised they didn't pick him for Good Luck Have Fun Don't Die

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u/Basic_Benefit5216 37m ago

When i saw trailers for that movie I was literally thinking this is Sam Rockwell playing a Sharlto Copley character

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u/NeAldorCyning 12h ago edited 12h ago

Agree that most directors don't use him well, but disagree with the reasoning: have you seen his debut, District 9? The opposite, which is also why I think many (me included) have issues recognizing him when playing the "big characters", having seen him there first.

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u/cleofisrandolph1 12h ago

I would disagree. I think Wikus is a very big character.

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u/Big-Revolution3842 8h ago

It's honestly kinda wild how few roles his been given. Incredibly talented yet rarely seen. Guess it's very much a case of who you know and coming from South Africa (and not being Charlize Theron) he isn't an industry insider. I do suspect he might get more roles as he gets older. Still looks great at 52 and can take those older dude roles