I have just finished watching a terrific Scottish movie Dear Frankie on TV and it stimulated 3 threads. This is one of them.
The adult male lead is billed as The Stranger.
Any other examples of unnamed leads??
Edward Norton’s Character in Fight Club.
I believe there was some Clint Eastwood flick or two from way back, where he played a man whose name was never revealed. Anyone know what they were called?
Clint Eastwood’s character in A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and (I believe) The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is referred to as “The Man With No Name”, although IMDB does list the character name as, respectively, Joe, Monco, & Blondie. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any of them, so I can’t recall any details of how the character is referred to in the movies.
ETA…nice timing!
In the new movie Once the lead male is named guy, and the lead female is named gal.
Clint Eastwood was also a man with no name (“The Stranger”) in High Plains Drifter.
In the recent film Once, the lead characters are “guy” and “girl.”
ETA: Damn! Simulpost!
Kill Bill: **Uma Thurman ** was only referred to as “The Bride”
El Mariachi, Desperado, and Once Upon A Time In Mexico all have the same lead character who just goes by El Mariachi (the guitar player).
Marilyn Monroe’s character in ‘The Seven Year Itch’ is referred to only as ‘The Girl’
Paul McGann’s character in ‘Withnail & I’ is never named in the film itself, although he’s called Marwood in the script
I thought her name was Beatrix Kiddo?
At least, that’s what the overly dramatic bit in Kill Bill 2 where they revealed her name told me.
Chiwetel Ejiofor’s character is only called The Operative in Serenity.
StG
Although obviously she takes on a new last name, the femaie lead in Rebecca is never given a first name (or maiden name), and is listed in the credits only as “the 2nd Mrs. de Winter”. I don’t think anyone actually calls her Mrs. de Winter, though; she’s just referred to as variations of “Darling,” “Madam,” etc.
American Graffiti. Suzanne Somers
From Halloween “The Shape.”
They Live Starring Rowdy Roddy Piper, the character is in the credits as “Nada”
In That Thing You Do!, the bass player is never given a name, and is listed in the credits as “T. B. Player”.
In Modern Times, the character played by Paulette Goddard is referred to in the credits as “A Gamin.” Though if you look closely, you’ll see her name is Ellen Peterson (but no one ever knows that).
Of course, Charlie Chaplin’s character hardly ever had a name. He’s billed as “A factory worker,” “A tramp,” “The Lone Prospector,” “A father,” “A recruit,” “The Convict,” “Immigrant,” “The Inebriate,” “The Derelict,” and “Pawnshop Assistant,” among others.
Daniel Craig’s protagonist in Layer Cake.
IIRC, Michael Douglas’s character in Falling Down was not named in the movie. IMDB lists the character name as William Foster, but I don’t remember him being called that during the film.