All cheap and debonair

[sovay]

Talk to me about supporting characters. When you're supposed to fall for the heroine, and instead it's the second spear-carrier from the left who turns out to have the thorniest moral dilemma or the most fascinating backstory. This happens to me all the time; I can't be the only one. So who are your scene-stealers? Movies, books, operas—your own work—which character roles do you remember long after you've forgotten who played the protagonist?

(This post brought to you courtesy of Eleanor Cameron and L.M. Montgomery.)

Comments

[setsuled.livejournal.com]

The only thing that comes to mind right now is Van Heflin's character in Johnny Eager (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033774/). Though Robert Taylor's wooden acting actually worked in that movie.

Maybe Kikuchiyo in Seven Samurai. Definitely Lady Kaede in Ran.

The trouble is, when I try to think of any such character, it's easy to see how they would become less interesting if more attention was given to them.

[sovay]

The trouble is, when I try to think of any such character, it's easy to see how they would become less interesting if more attention was given to them.

If you knew more about them, you'd be less interested?

[setsuled.livejournal.com]

If you knew more about them, you'd be less interested?

Quite possibly. I think often what makes certain peripheral characters so interesting is the shock of their brief contributions, or the perspective they offer of the more centre stage events. I'm not saying it's impossible to make an interesting story of them, but I think it would take about as much work as starting from scratch.

I speak as a fan of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, I should note.