# That Movie Character has no name! Name them! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2019, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197 "2019-04-29T00:13:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/1 "2019-04-29T00:13:09Z")
A companion to the thread about changing character’s nanes for the movies. ( [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=874643](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=874643) ) Sometimes there IS no name, and the movie has to supply one. H.G. Wells did this a couple of times. His protagonist for **War of the Worlds** wasn’t named. When people dramatized it, then needed a handle. For the 1938 Mercury Theater on the Air broadcast by Orson Welles, Howard Koch came up with _Professor Richard Pierson_, voiced by Orson Welles. For the 1953 George Pal film, Gene Barry plated _Dr. Clayton Forrester_. Joel Hodgson took note for his series Mystery Science Theater 3000. For Steven Spielberg’s 2005 bfilm, Tom Cruise played **Ray Ferrier**.The direct-to-video adaptation from The Asylum the same year gave us **Dr. George Herbert** , which they got by reversing the order of H.G. Wells’ two given names. Wells similarly didn’t name his protagonist in _The Time Machine_, and adapters have struggled to name him. For CBS radio dramas in 1948 and 1950 they named him \*\* Dudley\*\*. For Alien Voices in 1994 they gave only his first name, **John** For the George Pal 1960 film, Rod Taylor played him, named **H. George Wells** , which seems like they weren’t even trying. A 1978 Sunn Classic TV film named him Dr. Neil Perry\*\*, played by John Beck. The 2002 film scripted by Simon Wells (H.G.'s grandson) had Guy Pearce playing **Professor Alexander Hartdegen** , which sounds as if they’re trying to make up for the 1960 film’s poor effort. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/2 "2019-04-29T00:24:21Z")
Jay McInerney’s _Bright Lights, Big City_ is narrated in the second person by someone who never names himself. For the 1988 film, Michael J. Fox played **Jamie Conway** , which is obviously inspired by the author’s name _Fight Club_ is an interesting case. The narrator isn’t named in Chuck Pahlaniuk’s book, and he isn’t really named in the movie, either. The same is true, I’m told, of Daphne duMaurier’s **Rebecca** and the Alfred Hitchcock film made of it, though I’ve never read or seen either. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/3 "2019-04-29T12:41:39Z")
In the musical version of War of the Worlds by Jeff Wayne, the artilleryman was never named; so I suggest Art Illeryman. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/4 "2019-04-29T14:16:03Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > _Fight Club_ is an interesting case. The narrator isn’t named in Chuck Pahlaniuk’s book, and he isn’t really named in the movie, either. I think the character’s name is actually Tyler Durden, but to say that would, as Number 2 in the Prisoner says, “be telling”. The Man With No Name is named Sue. That would explain a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/5 "2019-04-29T14:56:43Z")
That distinguished German tycoon and his mistress in the Stuttgart art-museum scene in _The Avengers_ were Horst Leventhal and Sigrid Bermann. Because I said so, dammit. > **[I was an Avengers extra](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=650920)** > > I wrote a first draft of this right after filming, and recently revised it, now that the movie has been released in the U.S. and we’re released from the studio’s nondisclosure agreement. Hope you like it. I’ll remember that night for a long, long... ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/6 "2019-04-29T15:01:18Z")
nmn ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/7 "2019-04-29T16:18:55Z")
TV Time: The Addams Family cartoons debuted in The New Yorker magazine in 1938, but the characters were not given first names until the TV series in 1964. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/8 "2019-04-29T16:32:50Z")
And then there’s the Star Wars phenomenon where every walk-on character who has a line is given a name, even if there’s no way for the audience to ever learn it other than reading the credits. Like, Matt Doran didn’t play “death stick dealer” in Episode II; he played [Elan Sel’sabagno](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Elan_Sel%27Sabagno). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/9 "2019-04-29T17:03:45Z")
The Husband of the Bride of Frankenstein. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/10 "2019-04-29T17:07:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And then there’s the Star Wars phenomenon where every walk-on character who has a line is given a name, even if there’s no way for the audience to ever learn it other than reading the credits. Like, Matt Doran didn’t play “death stick dealer” in Episode II; he played [Elan Sel’sabagno](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Elan_Sel%27Sabagno). On the flip side of that, I love what Zucker, Zucker, and Abrams did with their movies – identify the actors in the closing credits by the line they said, rather than calling them “Policeman #2” or giving some name that’s never used in the film. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/11 "2019-04-29T17:11:17Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > On the flip side of that, I love what Zucker, Zucker, and Abrams did with their movies – identify the actors in the closing credits by the line they said, rather than calling them “Policeman #2” or giving some name that’s never used in the film. That’s not what they did for _Airplane!_: [Airplane! (1980) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/12 "2019-04-29T17:19:13Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > That’s not what they did for _Airplane!_: [Airplane! (1980) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast) I didn’t say they did it in all their movies. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/13 "2019-04-29T17:25:29Z")
> **[The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) - Crazy credits - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095705/crazycredits/)** > > The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) - Crazy credits on IMDb: Additional scenes, Messages hidden in credits and more... > [@](#): > > Many of the bit players are credited next to the one line of dialogue they had in the film. For example: “It’s Enrico Pallazzo!” … Mark Holton > **[The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) - Crazy credits - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102510/crazycredits/)** > > The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) - Crazy credits on IMDb: Additional scenes, Messages hidden in credits and more... ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/14 "2019-04-29T17:30:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And then there’s the Star Wars phenomenon where every walk-on character who has a line is given a name, even if there’s no way for the audience to ever learn it other than reading the credits. Like, Matt Doran didn’t play “death stick dealer” in Episode II; he played [Elan Sel’sabagno](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Elan_Sel%27Sabagno). They don’t need a line to get a name. They need an action figure. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/15 "2019-04-29T18:06:10Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I think the character’s name is actually Tyler Durden, but to say that would, as Number 2 in the Prisoner says, “be telling”. “Tyler Durden” is the name of the Narrator’s alternate persona. The Narrator is never named in the movie or the novel. In the book’s graphic novel sequel the Narrator’s real name is given as “Sebastian.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/16 "2019-04-29T18:24:24Z")
Blondie, aka the Man with No Name. > **[Man with No Name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_with_No_Name)** > > The Man with No Name (Italian: Uomo senza nome) is the antihero character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy" of Italian Spaghetti Western films: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). He is recognizable by his poncho, brown hat, tan cowboy boots, fondness for cigarillos, and the fact that he rarely talks. > The "Man with No Name" concept was invented by the American distributor United Artists. Eastwood'... Several Disney Princes had no name in their initial film, but in later sequels or comics they came up with one. Once in awhile there were contradictions. > **[The Prince](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/The_Prince)** > > The Prince is a major character in Disney's 1937 animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A prince from a faraway kingdom, he is the romantic interest of the titular protagonist Snow White, whom he falls in love with. The Prince was... ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/17 "2019-04-29T18:35:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And then there’s the Star Wars phenomenon where every walk-on character who has a line is given a name, even if there’s no way for the audience to ever learn it other than reading the credits. Like, Matt Doran didn’t play “death stick dealer” in Episode II; he played [Elan Sel’sabagno](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Elan_Sel%27Sabagno). > [@Loach](#): > > They don’t need a line to get a name. They need an action figure. [Willrow\_Hood](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Willrow_Hood), aka “Ice Cream Guy”, didn’t have either. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/18 "2019-04-29T19:03:38Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > [Willrow\_Hood](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Willrow_Hood), aka “Ice Cream Guy”, didn’t have either. [He has one now](https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Collection-BuildADroid-Action-Willrow/dp/B002Y602NS). ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/19 "2019-05-02T18:50:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Blondie, aka the Man with No Name. > [Man with No Name - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_with_No_Name) Some have speculated that Charles Bronson’s unnamed character in _Once Upon a Time in the West_ is an older version of tMwNN. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197/20 "2019-05-02T18:57:45Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > _Fight Club_ is an interesting case. The narrator isn’t named in Chuck Pahlaniuk’s book, and he isn’t really named in the movie, either. Also interesting in terms of this thread, since he’s often referred to as Joe in discussions of the film, thanks to the recurring, “I am Joe’s \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_” line from the film. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-character-has-no-name-name-them/833197.md?page=2)