Fictional Characters you try to be like and why..

In My Humble Opinion
1

Ok- Is it okay to try to incorporate the odd bit of a fictional character’s persona into your RL persona, and if you do this, which characters and traits please?
(This has been runnin garound my head since the hienlien, robinson, niven thread, so I thought I’d go ahead…)

me-
Hannibal Lecter, Lazurus Long, Maureen, Hildy, The vampire Lestat, a guy named Jake Santee-

The first two, the vampire, and the last one all march to their own drum. They are very brave and don’t know it (ok, so how do I incorporate bravery I don’t know about into how I am? I know, I know…), it’s jsut integral to who they are. I mean, outrageously brave, and don’t even know it.
They love rarely, but deeply and fiercely and will do unseemly things for their loves.
They aren’t over-burdened by conscience, and I really want that, in their styles.
With the exception of Jake, who is rustic, which I like in itself, the others are polished, wordly.
They are human, (again, I know, I know, but wait aminute here, k?), displaying lots of faults, and I love them for that. They are accepting of their own and others’, but will really jump on themselves or ones they love if they consider it to be a bad enough flaw.
To enlarge on the first quality- they would all be considered completely immoral- they have their own morality and I love that- they aren’t herd animals, but do incorporate some principles from the herd. They are tender and at times very merciful to herd animals. (little descriptive hyperbole there to describe the bulk of people- meant to get across a point, not be derisive…)
In short, they have gentle, but fierce hearts, huge strength and self-worth, and are classy over all.

Hildy and Maureen- kinda the same stuff, but more loving. Relaxed, open to life and rolling with the punches, incredibly strong.
And sexy. And no problems with it.

I may add to this.
Anybody else?

Oh yeah, and a goofy guy in a book called ‘Handling Sin’, by Michael Malone- I think his name is Mingo- happy, goofy, innocent, loving, caring, brave like above, but thinks he’s ridiculous for all that. Not afraid to be ridiculous- especially in the interests of his friends and wife, maybe the absolute best kind of courage I can think of.

another query- how can one incorporate innocence into their life?

2

I think it’s great, although I know of few people who will openly admit to it. My “role models” (for lack of a better phrase) are:

Red Foreman – That 70s Show – I like the way he takes no crap from his kid; I relate to my kid in much the same no-nonsense fashion. You know he loves Eric, he just wants him raised right, much like myself and daughter.

Starbuck – Battlestar Galactica – I try to incorporate his flair and suave moves on the ladies (only with Elkwoman); I also enjoy gambling on cards and a good cigar.

Sgt Rock – D.C. comic character – I admire his leadership abilities, and his ability to command the respect of those he meets.

Spock – Star Trek – I am a very emotional person, and I try to emulate him more than anyone else listed here. I try to follow his way of using logic to solve problems and understand a situation as a balance to my emotional side.

This was an interesting exercise, quantifying influences and why. Mine are an eclectic mix, but I believe using their examples I can strive to improve myself, which ultimately is what life is all about.

3

I try to be like Tank Girl because she’s so kick ass, I just love her to pieces. She’s tough, she’s sexy and she’s got mad styles.

4

Scooby Doo.

5

Jamethiel of Knorth (the younger one :eek: ) from P.C. Hodgell’s Kencyrath books. You should all flee now, before IMHO comes crashing down in ruins, leaving me standing in the rubble, looking apologetic.

Jame is flippant, irreverant, full of dark humor, insanely brave, and truly means well–it’s not her fault that she’s the avatar of the god of destruction! She won’t hesitate to risk her life to set right things gone wrong because of her, or to preserve her honor. I’d also love to have her thieving skills–mine aren’t up to par. (Was that out loud?)

6

Bull Shannon, Night Court

7

Me.

8

Leon, from Leon (aka The Professional): It’s just the fact that he’s a bad-ass hitman, I mean cleaner.

Buddy, from Six-String Samurai: He can play a guitar, kick ass and still be hip.

9

Now wait a damned minute here…I got my shit jumped for even bringing up Tank Girl (and anyone who’ll make a room break out in gleeful rendition of Cole Porter is okay in my book, sock-fucking-arm or not!)
back to the OP…

Sonia Blue, she takes, hmmm about zero shit before striking back.

I think I am the only person who throughly relished in Louis’ melaoncoly besides A. Rice. (if she didn’t like him, why does she resurrect him continuously?)

Wanda Gerswin(? Gershwitz?) Smart enough to play dumb when she had to, but certainly wasn’t and still sexy enough to make me want to order “whiskey” every chance I got.

Helen Tasker (True Lies) okay so i have a huge “THING” for Jamie Lee Curtis…but a smart, kluty, sexy woman is hard to top.

If I wear younger I might identify with a lot of characters Angelina Jolie portrays (though NOT in Pushing Tin.) Quirky, intelligent, sexy as hell but not in your face unless she wants to be yet still a person.

10

Sherlock Holmes…

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… [excuse premature submission accident]…

… Sherlock Holmes was the most believable supersmart fictional character of all time. I’ve admired him all my life!

Invariably cool in a crisis, of incomparable intelligence, exceptionally strong, brave, and utterly impervious to a woman’s charms.

12

Spencer.

Tough, intelligent, romantic, literate, wise, a great cook … what else could you ask for?

13

Bean from the book Ender’s Shadow

14

Good question. I have so many, but here are some in no particular order:

There’s a a story in a collection of stories by Zitkala Sa, American Indian Stories, where a Native American woman takes the initiative to rescue her husband who’s been captured by an enemy nation. I like this woman’s fortitude, loyalty, and cunning.

Harriet Tubman, a woman who carried a gun when it was illegal for African Americans to possess one and wasn’t afraid to use it to defend herself and who made countless trips on the Underground Railroad to lead enslaved African Americans to freedom at great personal risk to herself

Ellen Ripley in the movies “Alien” and “Aliens”

Corporal Hicks in “Aliens”

Lilith in Octavia E. Butler’s Dawn

Lauren and Bankole in Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents

Lizzy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

In “Glory” the enslaved African American character that Denzel Washington plays, particularly the scene where the Northern army whips him and the only emotion he shows is a tear rolling down his face. I liked his fortitude and patriotism in the face of hypocrisy. I thought that scene was played to perfection and illustrated perfectly the raw deal African American soldiers got in the Civil War and in the major wars that followed.

In The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan I admire the protagonist’s mother, the one who loves her babies so much that she would leave them with all the valuables she possesses and go off to die elsewhere to increase the chances that someone would take them to their father. I also admire how she celebrates her daughter’s accomplishments and accepts her daughter for who and what she is.

Sula in Toni Morrison’s Sula

The math teacher that Edward James Olmos plays in the movie “Stand and Deliver.” I love this teacher’s determination to teach math to supposedly below average students. I love how he proves the system that labeled the students as below average wrong.

Prof. Lupin and Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

All of these are strong characters who despite all the horrors/difficulties they face do not lose their compassion for people or their love for life. They are tough; they have a sense of humor; they don’t take themselves too seriously; they know when to be quiet and when to act; and they are smart enough to assess a situation, make their own decisions, and act on them using whatever resources are available.

I don’t know how one incorporates innocence in his/her life. I mean, we’re all innocent in our own ways because we don’t know everything.

15

I thought I was probably a sorry, no identity-having dink for doing this, but I see others do too, and feel better about it.
I am seeing some very good replies here- the best ones are the ones that expound on the traits, instead of just the characters names (although a couple of those ones are giving me pause ;)). Thank you- This is turning out to be a better thread than I thought it would be…

Euty- yas, and then too, he dresses well, has that individual morality and I have to say,
But there’s looot’s and lots about Susan and Hawk that I very much like, and little tiny (because, to me, they are idealized way beyond my capacity to be) bits of them too, I try to be sometimes…

16

Well, I don’t know if I actively try to be like him, but I have been greatly influenced by Cyrano de Bergerac. I see a lot of myself in the character (or maybe a lot of the character in myself).

17

<Employs a wind-blowing evasion to avoid being knocked over by silent_rob’s nose as he turns away.>

:smiley:

18

More seriously…

inor, I think that it’s only natural to notice traits that you admire in others and to try to emulate them. That’s why we speak so portentously of “role models”. There’s no reason that fictional characters should be excluded–in fact, their very nature makes it possible for them to exhibit some traits more strongly than we would ever expect from real people. They can get away with it because the author is looking out for them (sometimes). Naturally, those who demonstrate extremes of traits that we find admirable are noticeable, and often selected as role models.

19

Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. Calm, noble, reserved and yet pasionate, unsure of himself yet willing to take action when necessary.

20

I’d like to try to incorporate traits of Archie Goodwin, from Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe novels, into my personality.

[sub](…You’ve never heard of Nero Wolfe? Then stop reading this, go to the library or bookstore, and read some of Rex Stout’s books. You can thank me later…)[/sub]

He’s hard working, smart (but knows his limits), makes friends easily, and has a very well developed sense of self-worth. He’s not a snob or stuck on himself by any means, but knows when he’s being taken for granted, and doesn’t put up with it.

I also like Captain Vimes from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels quite a bit. Does the right thing, even when he figures it could cost him personally.