Some characters just have that lasting effect! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most famous movie characters ever.
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00:00 "Time is a precious thing, never wasted."
00:03 "He's absolutely bonkers!"
00:07 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most famous movie characters ever.
00:13 We'll only be focusing on human live-action characters, so no King Kong or Mickey Mouse this time around.
00:19 Number 20, John Wick, the John Wick franchise.
00:28 "Are you here on business, sir?"
00:30 "Afraid so, Francis. Why don't you take the night off?"
00:36 Keanu Reeves is no stranger to iconic movie roles.
00:39 From Point Break to Speed, he has solidified himself as an action icon over the years.
00:44 While The Matrix is the franchise that put him on the map, lately, John Wick has become his bread and butter.
00:50 The premise is simple.
00:51 An ex-assassin goes on a killing spree after Russian mobsters murder the puppy his late wife left him to remember her by.
00:57 "And you, Jonathan, do what you do best."
01:01 "What's that?"
01:03 "Hunt."
01:05 A staircase of films later, and John Wick is still trying to avenge the death of that sweet dog.
01:10 And we are still cheering him on.
01:12 The franchise has incredible action scenes, and Reeves has only upped his ante as one of the best.
01:18 "But now, yeah, I'm thinking I'm back!"
01:21 Number 19, Elle Woods, the Legally Blonde franchise.
01:25 Being an iconic movie character?
01:27 What, like it's hard?
01:29 "You got into Harvard Law?"
01:31 "What, like it's hard?"
01:33 It's definitely not for this spunky blonde law student.
01:36 Before Legally Blonde, Reese Witherspoon had done well for herself throughout the 1990s.
01:41 But her 2001 turn as Elle Woods turned the actress into an A-lister.
01:45 "I'll show you how valuable Elle Woods can be."
01:48 The beautiful, blonde, and wealthy Elle Woods might not be so relatable on paper,
01:52 but Witherspoon gives her an endearing energy we can't get enough of.
01:56 As she works hard to prove that she deserves to be at Harvard Law as much as anyone else,
02:01 it's impossible not to root for her.
02:03 "I've waited so long to hear you say that."
02:05 "But if I'm going to be a partner in a law firm by the time I'm 30,
02:10 I need a boyfriend who's not such a complete bonehead."
02:13 Number 18, Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany's.
02:16 When you have a career as storied as Audrey Hepburn's,
02:19 you're bound to run into quite a few iconic roles over time.
02:22 But no character and no clothes of Hepburn's have endured quite like Holly Golightly.
02:27 "I've got to do something about the way I look."
02:30 Audiences were introduced to Holly with 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's.
02:34 From the very first scene, which shows Holly all dolled up in a black dress,
02:39 standing outside Tiffany's, pastry in hand, we knew we were in for something special.
02:43 "Oh, I think they're divine on older women,
02:45 but I don't think they'd be right for me, you do understand."
02:48 Holly is a bit of a mystery throughout the film,
02:50 but Hepburn's eccentric and magnetic performance puts us on her side no matter what.
02:55 "I'd marry you for your money in a minute. Would you marry me for my money?"
02:59 "In a minute."
03:00 "So I guess it's pretty lucky neither of us is rich, huh?"
03:04 Number 17, Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
03:10 It's time to step into a world of pure imagination.
03:13 "Come with me, and you'll be in a world of pure imagination."
03:21 Over the course of his writing career,
03:22 Roald Dahl came up with some pretty legendary characters,
03:26 but none has entertained quite like the enigmatic chocolate maker Willy Wonka.
03:30 The character has been played by many actors over the years,
03:33 including Timothee Chalamet in a prequel,
03:35 but no actor has worn the candy maker's shoes and hat as well as Gene Wilder.
03:40 "The danger must be growing for the rowers keep on rowing,
03:44 and they're certainly not showing any signs that they are slowing."
03:52 Wilder's performance in the 1971 film,
03:58 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is like an everlasting gobstopper.
04:02 No matter how many times we re-watch the film, we never get tired of him.
04:06 "Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted."
04:10 "What happened?"
04:11 "He lived happily ever after."
04:13 Number 16. Mary Poppins - Mary Poppins
04:16 "As I expected, Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way."
04:22 We've had such a long run with Julie Andrews,
04:24 it's hard to imagine a time when she wasn't gracing our screens at the movies.
04:28 But when Andrews made her film debut in 1964,
04:31 general audiences didn't have a relationship with her.
04:34 That all changed, however, when that debut feature turned out to be none other than Mary Poppins.
04:40 "Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down."
04:44 Andrews would take on the role of the beloved nanny based on the character created by P.L. Travers.
04:50 Her performance instantly put her on the map and made the character an icon.
04:54 Andrews even won Best Actress at the Oscars for her supercalifragilisticexpialidocious efforts.
05:00 "It's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,
05:05 even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious."
05:08 Number 15. Rocky Balboa - The Rocky Franchise
05:12 Everyone loves a good underdog, and this underdog captured America's hearts more than most.
05:17 Sylvester Stallone wrote and starred in the first Rocky movie in 1976,
05:30 starting a long line of films that would make him a star.
05:33 Inspired by real-life boxer Chuck Wepner, Rocky follows a low-level Philly fighter
05:38 who starts out as a loan shark before working his way up.
05:41 Stallone's strange yet mesmerizing chemistry dazzled audiences everywhere.
05:46 "You'll be able to spit nails, kid. Like the guy says,
05:49 you're gonna eat lightning and you're gonna crack thunder."
05:53 Almost single-handedly, he helped turn Rocky Balboa into the quintessential underdog.
05:58 The boxer it was impossible not to cheer on.
06:00 "What do you think about when the 15 crowd go, 'You're coming out!'"
06:04 "I hate you!"
06:04 Number 14. Beatrix the Bride Kiddo - The Kill Bill Franchise
06:10 Who doesn't love a revenge narrative?
06:12 Well, we know one thing for sure, Quentin Tarantino certainly does.
06:23 Tarantino's Kill Bill movies, released in 2003 and 2004,
06:27 star Uma Thurman as a character initially only known as the Bride.
06:32 The motive of the Bride isn't complex.
06:34 Track down the people who killed her loved ones, almost taking her life in the process.
06:39 "So, Oren, any more subordinates for me to kill?"
06:44 It's a one-track narrative, but Thurman's performance sets it over the top.
06:48 She handles the martial arts style of fighting with a plomb,
06:51 and brings a real pathos to the character that
06:53 might not have appeared in the hands of a lesser actor.
06:56 "Ahh!"
06:58 Number 13. Dr. Hannibal Lecter - The Silence of the Lambs
07:08 "Good morning."
07:13 More actors have had the opportunity to play the iconic Hannibal Lecter than you might think.
07:18 Even though some of those performances are good and even great,
07:22 no one has totally frightened us quite like Anthony Hopkins.
07:25 Hopkins appears as the famed literary cannibal in Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs.
07:30 He barely has any screen time, but he makes amazing use of what he gets.
07:35 "A census taker once tried to test me.
07:37 I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."
07:44 Hopkins' titillating yet terrifying performance made Lecter one of the
07:47 most popular villains in movie history.
07:50 It's hard to look at the man and not think about him having an old friend for dinner.
07:54 "I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner."
07:59 Number 12. Captain Jack Sparrow - The Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise
08:04 It's hard to believe that such an iconic character derived from a theme park ride.
08:08 "You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of."
08:11 "But you have heard of me."
08:13 Well, Disney knows how to make money, we guess.
08:17 Over the years, The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has had its ups and downs.
08:21 But, particularly in the franchise's first film,
08:24 Captain Jack Sparrow is a character we fell in love with.
08:27 "Son, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. He's heavy."
08:33 The great thing about Jack is his ability to operate on the fly.
08:37 He never really seems to have a plan, and yet things always seem to go according to his plan.
08:42 That flying by the seat of his pants quality makes us love him even more.
08:46 "Drink up, me hearties. Yo-ho!"
08:50 Number 11. Spider-Man - The Spider-Man Franchise
08:53 Who's your favorite Spider-Man?
08:55 It's one of the most difficult questions to answer.
08:58 As one of Hollywood's most consistent franchises,
09:00 Spider-Man is a character who is almost impossible not to love.
09:04 "Nice job, kid."
09:06 "Thanks. Well, I could have stuck the landing a little better. It's just a new suit.
09:11 It's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's perfect. Thank you."
09:13 "Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation."
09:15 "Okay. Cap-Captain?"
09:17 Peter Parker has one of the best origin stories of any Marvel superhero.
09:21 Who doesn't love the thought of being a normal teenager
09:24 who is suddenly entrusted with remarkable powers?
09:26 Peter is often portrayed as just a high school student trying to get by.
09:36 The combination of everyday high school problems with his role as
09:40 your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man makes him one of the most likable superheroes around.
09:44 "Come on, Spider-Man. Come on, Spider-Man. Come on, Spider-Man!"
09:49 Number 10. The Tramp - Various Charlie Chaplin Films
09:54 Who had one of the first recognizable characters in all of cinema history?
10:05 Why, Charlie Chaplin, of course.
10:07 Arguably the most famous silent film star of his era,
10:10 Chaplin debuted the character of The Tramp in 1914
10:13 and gave him his own film with 1915's The Tramp.
10:17 With his bowler hat and mustache,
10:18 The Tramp was recognizable to audiences everywhere as a lovable vagabond.
10:23 He was a man who wanted to fit in with high society,
10:25 but his penchant for getting into trouble just wouldn't let him.
10:28 Chaplin made 25 appearances as The Tramp over his long career.
10:39 Number 9. Ellen Ripley - The Alien Franchise
10:43 There are plenty of famous male action heroes throughout the 1970s and 80s.
10:47 Ripley, the protagonist of the Alien franchise, could have been just another musclehead.
10:52 But early on in the production of the first Alien film,
10:59 director Ridley Scott decided to switch things up a bit.
11:02 Ripley became a woman, and when Sigourney Weaver was cast in the role, history was made.
11:08 Ripley is smart, strong, and capable, but she also feels like a real person.
11:13 Her humanity is what makes her one of the most endearing sci-fi characters of all time.
11:17 Number 8. Harry Potter - The Harry Potter Franchise
11:29 Say it with us.
11:29 With those famous words uttered by none other than Rubeus Hagrid in 2001,
11:37 Harry Potter would become one of the most popular film characters of all time.
11:41 Adapted from novels of the same name,
11:43 the Harry Potter franchise became some of the most successful movies ever made.
11:47 As Harry himself, Daniel Radcliffe brought a beloved book character to life on the big screen.
11:58 It was easy for us to see ourselves in Harry as he grew up.
12:02 No matter what or who he had to face, he always felt like a friend,
12:05 making those battles all the more harrowing.
12:08 Number 7. Freddy Krueger - The A Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise
12:25 There's Michael Myers, there's Jason Voorhees, and then you have Freddy Krueger.
12:30 - "Please, God." - "This is God."
12:35 While Michael and Jason are scary on their own,
12:41 Freddy just has a little of that extra pizazz to him.
12:45 Through the A Nightmare on Elm Street horror franchise,
12:47 the most enduring thing about Freddy is that he always seems to be having so much dang fun.
12:52 - "You can check in, but you can't check out."
12:56 - "No, no, no!" - "Why?"
13:01 Freddy might be a cold-blooded killer, but he operates with humor in a way that
13:05 felt fresh to audiences back in the 1980s.
13:08 That persona still makes him a horror icon today.
13:11 Number 6. Vito Corleone - The Godfather
13:19 Marlon Brando is one of the greatest actors in cinema history.
13:22 - "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."
13:26 His heyday was in the 1950s,
13:27 appearing in everything from a streetcar named Desire to On the Waterfront.
13:32 One of his most enduring characters would not appear until the 1970s,
13:36 well after his career had entered a bit of a nadir.
13:38 The 1960s were a tough time for Brando,
13:41 but he came back with a vengeance as Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
13:45 Brando's performance as the leader of a crime family is equal parts soulful and terrifying.
13:55 His acting chops are part of what helped make the character indelible.
13:59 Like Brando, Robert De Niro won an Oscar for playing a young Vito.
14:03 Yet it's the elderly Don Corleone who's become a mob movie symbol.
14:06 What can you say about Judy Garland that hasn't been said already?
14:22 She had a tough life at the hands of the film studios she worked for,
14:25 and she had an incredible voice.
14:27 Her career was filled with amazing characters,
14:30 but today, none is remembered quite as well as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz.
14:35 Garland wasn't the first choice for the role of the young girl who inadvertently finds her way
14:44 into the colorful land of Oz, yet it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role.
14:48 Just a teenager at the time, Garland delivers an open and vulnerable performance,
14:54 and that voice would help make Dorothy an enduring character.
14:57 Harrison Ford has played quite a few major movie characters over his long career.
15:17 From Han Solo to Rick Deckard, he has the icon thing down pat.
15:21 But our favorite of his characters, and perhaps his favorite as well, has to be Indiana Jones.
15:26 An archaeology professor with a bit of an adventurous streak,
15:36 Indy is, simply put, one of the coolest, smartest guys in movie history.
15:40 "Prepare to meet Kali... in hell."
15:44 He's smart and resourceful, and his adventures are the stuff of dreams,
15:52 taking him around the world.
15:54 He also has quite the penchant for killing Nazis.
15:57 Who doesn't love that?
15:59 "I came here to save you!"
16:01 "Oh yeah? And who's gonna come to save you, Junior?"
16:04 "I told you!"
16:25 Some might say that a certain Batman villain deserved a spot on this list.
16:30 Trust us, we thought long and hard about including the Joker.
16:32 But in the end, you have to give it up for the longevity of the Dark Knight himself.
16:41 The first Batman film came out in 1943, and starred Lewis Wilson in the titular role.
16:47 Now, more than half a century later, Batman has been played by numerous formidable actors,
16:52 and there appears to be no signs of stopping.
16:55 The fun thing about playing Batman is you get to play Bruce Wayne, too.
16:59 Often, those two characters almost feel separate from each other
17:02 in a way that makes the role all the more interesting.
17:05 "What the hell are you?"
17:07 "I'm Batman."
17:11 "I admire your luck, Mr..."
17:22 "Bond."
17:24 "James Bond."
17:26 Before we get on with this entry,
17:28 we have to give it up for a certain international man of mystery.
17:31 Here's to you, Austin Powers.
17:33 "Very shagadelic, baby, yeah!"
17:35 But no matter how good the parody may be, the real thing usually can't be beat.
17:42 James Bond is one of the most long-lasting characters in cinema history,
17:46 a franchise that allows different actors to come in for movies at a time and offer their spin.
17:51 That's part of what makes the British spy so legendary.
17:54 We all might have our favorite portrayals,
17:56 but the point of James Bond is that he's never too tied to a specific actor.
18:00 In that way, the character supersedes the actor.
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18:20 #1. Darth Vader - The Star Wars Franchise
18:24 When it comes to villains, they don't make them like this anymore.
18:28 "When I left you, I was but a learner. Now I am the master."
18:32 When Darth Vader was first introduced in the original Star Wars trilogy, he was evil incarnate.
18:37 By the end of Return of the Jedi, however, he garnered a bit of sympathy from the audience,
18:42 even as he stuck to his evil whims.
18:44 With the inclusion of his backstory throughout the rest of the Star Wars franchise,
18:48 Darth Vader has become one of the most interesting big bads in cinema.
18:52 "The force is strong in this one."
18:54 Plus, James Earl Jones sure gave us something to hold on to with that amazing voice.
18:59 "No, I am your father."
19:03 If we missed any of your favorite movie icons, let us know in the comments below.
19:14 "I don't wanna brag, but I will. I was in The Avengers."
19:17 "The Avengers?"
19:18 "Yeah."
19:18 "That's great!"
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19:28 [outro music]