[Discussion] Characters

[Liberty Martin]

Pretty much as the title says, this is a discussion about the characters of Harry Potter (and while this is in the book section, if you want to discuss their portrayal in the movies then go ahead!). Do you like the traditional 'bad guys' rather than the 'good guys'? Is the canon character you play actually one of your least favourites? Are there so many characters that you can't pick which ones you like? Do you actually think Voldie is a misunderstood fluffy bunny (and if so, I want to read your version of the books!)?

I'll post my thoughts after a few people have posted.

[Dianne Arduenna]

It might come as a bit of a surprise, but I'm all for the bad guys!

Really, they're just so much more...amazing. I hadn't always had this view, it was just after I chose Bellatrix Lestrange as a character one day and then BAM, I was all for the bad guys. Not their ideals or what they did, but the way they're portrayed - since most of them are cra-azy, it gives you a lot more freedom when writing. More fun ^_^ Whereas I find the good guys in Harry Potter are always so moral and serious that it limits you a bit. A stereoty[ical good character such as Harry going on a killing spree would be utterly out of character, but a Death Eater showing a little mercy to a victim? As long as you keep it consistent and back it up with a decent history and explanation, you're good to go!

[Ron Weasley]

So, my favorite types of characters are the tragic heroes, like Snape. They are such sad characters that you feel so bad for, but still root for at the same time. I've never really been a solid "good or bad" type of a character-lover, because the solid good vs bad is boring.

XD

As for the character I play, Ron is a Jack-hero, someone who is an archetypal English hero and is often portrayed as lazy or foolish, but through the use of cleverness and tricks usually emerges triumphant. It's ok to have a middle-of-the-row character, but it's not as interesting as it once was to me. Ron has never been portrayed in a direct light that accentuates all his awesomeness; he's only ever painted with shadows of things that would make him a greater hero than he seems to be.

My favorite character in the books is actually Luna, though. I relate to her feeling of outcast very well, and I know what it's like to take your own direction in life, especially if that direction totally deviates from what everyone else is doing. If I were to be a character, I'd definitely be Luna.

[Theodore Nott]

I cheered for the bad guys in HP from the beginning simply because I found Harry Potter so nauseous, Hermione too much of a smart-ass and Ron just a dork. Slytherin was truly an enthralling house to me completed with all its students.
Draco, for example, was the fresh breath of air I needed after reading page after page about Harry and his 'nobleness'. One could then imagine that I liked Voldemort but that is not the case. Voldemort was too much of a hypocrite for me, although I sympathized with his mother and her horrible past.

So, Theodore! I wanted a character that was a blank page, so to speak. He was a Slytherin, pureblood, had a complicated past and a father for death eater. JKR had also only written few lines about him so I could shape him exactly like I wanted. I could never write as my favorite char because that would kindda ruin it for me.

[Nazim Vaisey]

Okay, here we go.

I like my characters minor, and bad. I really like Rodo because he's ridiculously mean and un-budgy and I like Fenny because he's weak. Wilkie is my neutral character and he was dumb and minor in the book and I don't care for him much, but he's an interesting character to play.

[Theodore Nott]

Nov 15, 2009 20:10:07 GMT -5 Nazim Vaisey said:

Wilkie is my neutral character and he was dumb and minor in the book and I don't care for him much, but he's an interesting character to play.

You make Wilkie so cute!
(Even if it isn't your intention)

[Ron Weasley]

Do you guys know about the different classes of "good" and "bad" guys?



That would be an interesting discussion.

[Liberty Martin]

As far as my favourite characters go, I like ones whose past has clearly shaped them into who they are today; they might not be the best person, but they have a clear path to how they got how they are...and lots of angst. I'm always a big fan of angst - it's why I like Snape so much. On the surface, he just seems like an evil bastard who needs to wash his hair, but when you delve into his history, there's a lot that's contributed to that. Other than the hair-washing, I don't think his past really had much to do with that. But I have to say, I don't particularly like 'bad' guys either. I've never liked Draco, for example, although I do also find Harry sooo irritating so maybe it's to do with the character rather than their affiliation. My favourite character, however, is Luna. I think she's a breath of fresh air; there's a lot that's happened to her that could have made her really angst-ridden and dark, but she's not, and I really like that about her. She might be an outcast, but she does it her own way, and as someone who's always tried to conform, I really admire that.

As far as the characters I play go, I generally prefer minor canons, so you can take the details that are known about them and shape them into whatever you want within their particular constraints. I have to say, though, recently I've moved onto playing much more major canons, and not just in the HP-verse. Usually, I'm scared of playing major characters because I don't want to mess them up, but sometimes a character just leaps out at me and I manage to get inside their headspace. I'd be the first to say that I can't play evil characters - this applies to my originals as well - but I do like playing slightly morally abiguous ones, again like Snape. I'm not a fan of playing goody-goody characters either, though. I like people who yeah, are on the side of good, but they have stuff going on in their lives, whether that's personal or to do with their beliefs or whatever, but they need to have something going on to make them three-dimensional and real. And if they're a canon and don't have it, I create it. I am a big fan of the introspective angst.

My personal feeling about a character definitely impacts on how well I can play them; if I hate a character, I can't get in their head and therefore I can't understand their motives to play them well. So yeah, actually, when I play major canons in particular, I often end up playing ones that I really like.

[Theodore Nott]

You mean in the sense that Voldemort is an UBER bad guy, and Draco is more like a bully forced into being a bad guy?