# What fictional character did you aspire to be like as a child? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2018, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063 "2018-07-17T04:34:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/41 "2018-07-17T21:25:35Z")
Spock, but I’ve turned into Bones. Gollum seemed all right. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/42 "2018-07-17T21:54:14Z")
Spock. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/43 "2018-07-17T22:00:04Z")
Lazarus Long. Then Belgarath. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/44 "2018-07-17T22:03:02Z")
James West; cowboys were cool, gadgets were cool. A cowboy with gadgets? 🆒 🆒 🆒 🆒 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/45 "2018-07-17T22:12:44Z")
Until I was in mid-fourth-grade and a teacher I adored chewed me out, I was a real asshole. To answer this question? I thought the **Great Brain** series was a set of instruction manuals. ---
**Author:** ![CurrlyD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CurrlyD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurrlyD)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/46 "2018-07-17T22:35:37Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Anne Shirley. I’m 50 and I still aspire to be Anne Shirley. So do I, and I have a few years on you. And then, sometimes . . . > [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > As a yoot, I as aspired to be the generic Heinlein male protagonist. I still want to be one of Heinlein’s strong, smart, sassy, red-headed women. Or maybe even . . . > [@Noelq](#): > > Lazarus Long. but female. There seems to be a red head thing going on here. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/47 "2018-07-17T23:06:32Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Bret Maverick, Illya Kuryakin, James Bond. > I would say they were all men of action and adventure, but Bret and Jim were kind of interested in avoiding action as best they could. Yeah, those guys too. I also wanted Fess Parker to be my dad. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/48 "2018-07-17T23:18:26Z")
50’s kid here. \*\*Zorro \*\*(Disney version). ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/49 "2018-07-17T23:22:01Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Yeah, those guys too. I also wanted Fess Parker to be my dad. That’s funny. I always associated George Reeves/Clark Kent with my father. They had a passing resemblance, glasses, wore a suit to work. I wanted my dad to wear a fedora, but he never did. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/50 "2018-07-17T23:33:56Z")
Growing up, I always wanted to be The Professor from Gilligan’s Island. Dude could solve any problem, build any gadget! And look good doing it! Interestingly, I \*did \*grow up to be a college professor (although “the” professor was really a high school teacher). ETA: I also wanted to be Scotty from ST:TOS, but if you think about it, they are pretty similar. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/51 "2018-07-17T23:39:22Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Growing up, I always wanted to be The Professor from Gilligan’s Island. Dude could solve any problem, build any gadget! And look good doing it! “I once knew a guy who could build a nuclear reactor out of coconuts but couldn’t fix a two-foot hole in a boat.” —Bob Denver in _ **Back to the Beach** _ (1987) ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/52 "2018-07-17T23:48:11Z")
Growing up in the fifties, I wanted to be John Carter, Warlord of Mars ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/53 "2018-07-18T02:46:39Z")
Anne-with-an-E (who was smart and tough and imaginative and dramatic) or Jo March (until she married the wrong guy). ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/54 "2018-07-18T03:39:54Z")
As a child? That’s a slam dunk. Christopher Robin. Having your own wood and going on adventures with talking animal friends is hard to beat. A bit older as my reading choices expanded I would have killed to be Dorian Hawkmoon or Corwin, Prince of Amber. Or from television, Steve Austin. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/55 "2018-07-18T04:22:11Z")
James T. Kirk and Steve Austin and Buck Rogers each had their period of my rapt adoration. In my teens, I really admired Francis X. Furillo and even considered becoming a cop. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/56 "2018-07-18T22:48:47Z")
Dr Who. I had this long knit scarf I’d wear all the time. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/57 "2018-07-19T00:57:34Z")
Jo March from _Little Women_, but, like **amarinth** above, not after she married old shaggy-bearded Professor Bhaer. Beth from _Little Women_, but not after she died. If she could have remained an interesting lovable invalid all her life she would have been almost perfect. Susan and Lucy from the Narnia books, but not after Susan is no longer a friend of Narnia. Eowyn from _Lord of the Rings_, the book and not the film (I haven’t seen the films and don’t know how they’ve portrayed her) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/58 "2018-07-19T07:04:11Z")
It disstresses me to no end that you feel the need to specify that Jo March is a character in LITTLE WOMEN, but I suppose you’re right. Do not inflict the Peter Jackson movies on yourself. Eowyn is awesome throughout (And Theoden’s dying speech is delivered to her rather than to Merry), which The films’ loan improvement over the book), but even so, they are nothing but a crapfest. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/59 "2018-07-19T20:44:24Z")
Indiana Jones was the first character I aspired to be like in my youth. It was then, in my twenties, that I admired and emulated Randall P. McMurphy every chance I could. His anti-authoritarianism stance really resonated with me, as did his devil-may-care outlook. Never let someone hold hostage your free will. This has not worked out for me so well in real life. It’s like Chief Bromden says to McMurphy: (paraphrasing a bit here) “My pa wanted to do whatever he felt like, but the Combine wouldn’t let him. He fought them for years but they finally beat him down so much and became such a drunk that the dogs didn’t even recognize him anymore.” This still holds true, in my opinion. You better conform and be a wily rabbit (as Harding describes himself and the other patients) just so you can survive. Don’t even ATTEMPT to become a wolf. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063/60 "2018-07-20T01:51:15Z")
I wanted to be Nancy Drew for the longest time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-did-you-aspire-to-be-like-as-a-child/818063.md?page=4)