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Axel Foley. He’s funny, he’s badass and he has the best theme song ever. How can anyone not love Axel Foley? (And Eddie Murphy, of course). He kicks ass, takes out the scary British guy (why they always British? Do Americans hate us Brits?) and still manages to crack jokes along the way.
Django. Djangoooooo….man, Jamie Foxx is one hell of an actor. Smooth, silent and strong, Django literally travels miles to save his wife. With the help of that nice German guy, he is freed from his slave shackles, kills a bunch of people and comes out tops. The best part is him walking away from the house he blows up, and leaving with his wife. Free, strong and steady with the world at his feet. I hope there were some real-life Djangos around the time of slavery!
Tobias Beecher from Oz. Oz is one of my favourite shows (an American show that was out in the 90s; can be streamed online cos I was too young to watch it when it was out). Tobias Beecher is a lawyer who was arrested for accidentally killing a girl whilst drunk driving. What I love about Beecher is he goes from this poor underdog who is treated like crap to this crazy sociopathic maniac who doesn’t take shit off anyone, whilst still retaining his basic compassion for his kids and his intelligence. Like me, Beecher is a recovering alcoholic, which I can relate to.
Jesse Pinkman. Recently been watching Breaking Bad, and man I love Jesse. I must say I prefer him to Walter, who annoys me at times. (Yeah, I know the poor man has cancer but still.) Jesse is good-hearted and tries to do the right thing. He’s a guy in a shitty position, being a drug addict and dealer, but still wants to do right by his empathy for others. He’s not a cold-blooded evil freak like Tuco, but he’s not perfect with his street attitude and laziness.
Steve from Sex and the City. Steve is definitely the best guy on that show. I don’t know what Miranda’s problem is; I would literally be all over Steve if he was my man. He’s sweet, funny, laid back, cute and just all round lovely. Steve hardly has a bad bone in his body. He isn’t a pushover though – when Miranda gets sooo bloody uptight and unreasonable he puts his foot down. He’s a well balanced dude who’s fun and chill.
Donkey. Again with Eddie Murphy, yay! You gotta love Donkey. Yeah, he’s like that annoying talkative friend that never shuts the hell up, but we still love him. (I’ve been told I can be like that in real life. Erm. Yeah.) Donkey is just cute and hilarious and so innocently cheerful; he’s practically oblivious to Shrek’s surliness at the best of times.
Phoebus from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Esmeralda and Phoebus are definitely my favourite Disney couple. Rather than being a prissy prince and princess, she’s a gypsy who stands up for her people and he’s a war hero. Hot right? He’s gorgeous, funny and good-hearted. The first scene we see him he chucks the money into the pot even before he sees the beautiful Esmeralda dancing in the street. He fights for Paris, stands up to that prick Frollo, and helps and supports Quasimodo. He’s way cooler than flipping Prince Charming.
Tony Soprano. Tony is somewhere between sociopathic mafia cunt and vulnerable loving parent and husband. He isn’t a nice guy, but we sympathise with him as an audience. We’re on his side. We see things from his perspective. He charms us just as he charms Dr Melfi. I relate to him on a personal level because like Tony I suffer from depression and panic disorder, which is fucking awful.
Unnamed black prisoner in American History X. Although he’s not a ‘leading’ character, if it wasn’t for this guy and Dr Sweeney, Derek Vineyard wouldn’t have overcome his racial hatred and Neo-Nazi idealism. I love this guy in particular because he’s so wholesomely kind and good-hearted, as well as being humorous. Even though he’s a small character, he epitomises a kind person. He’s working side by side with a Neo-Nazi prisoner and doesn’t ostracise him or hate on him once; instead he befriends him. Later he protects Derek from the other black prisoners. In Derek’s words, if it wasn’t for this guy Derek probably wouldn’t have gotten out of prison alive. (And he was in prison for stealing a TV; not great but it hardly makes him evil).
Andy Dufresne. A fucking amazing character. He literally climbs through a tunnel of shit to freedom. Andy is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit and spends nearly two decades of his life in prison patiently tapping away a hammer at a wall. He uses his skills as an English teacher to help young criminal boys to get their qualifications so they can come out of prison and make something of their lives. If you want to see persistence, look at Andy. When he crawls out of that tunnel of shit out of Shawshank prison at the end and looks up at the sky, I want to cheer with him. Well done Andy, what a fucking hero you are.
Ricky from American Beauty. Out of everyone in that movie, Ricky is the only one to see through it all. The so-called ‘psycho kid’ who spends his time selling marijuana (and making a fortune off it) walks around filming everyone and sees the beauty in everything. He makes a simple plastic bag blowing in the wind look amazing because of its simplicity. He forces us to take a look at ourselves and our lives and to see the beauty within ourselves, and to realise that it’s not about what people think of you, but what you think of yourself.
Roger from American Dad. He’s a cunt, but he’s also hilarious. He pisses you off and is a fricken sociopath, but he also makes the show. He’s very similar to Sheldon Cooper and Tony Soprano; an entertaining TV character who in real life would be awful to be around. Roger could have his own show where he played all of the characters. The best thing is when he says he knows someone, and then it’s just him in disguise. He’s nasty but he’s awesome, and he does at times show care for the family – apart from when he cuts off Jeff’s body parts because he claims to be in love with Hailey. That’s pretty fucked up.
Jack from Titanic. The hero of the movie; he literally risks his life for the woman he loves. The character of Rose grows throughout the movie from a spoilt, depressed and unsettled person, into someone who becomes strong and learns to live her life standing on her own two feet. She saves his life, and he gives her a life. Jack is kind, cheerful, and has a positive and optimistic outlook on life right until the end, despite his hopeless position. He’s a poor young man who constantly has to rely on luck and chance to move through the world, but manages to do so by seeing life as a gift rather than a burden.
Rocket from City of God. The eyes-and-ears of this breathtaking movie about life in the slums of Rio. Rocket is an aspiring photographer, who is a bit of an underdog. He doesn’t get the girl he wants, he isn’t ‘strong’ or street, and he’s poor. But he’s smart, he has his love of photography, and he manages to capture the injustice going on between the gangs of Rio. In the end he is the hero of the film, becoming an intern photographer at the newspaper he takes pictures for, and capturing the death of that shitbag Ze.
Sheldon Cooper. He’s one of the most complex fictional characters ever to be created. He’s annoying, hilarious, super logical, genius, obnoxious, hypochondriac, and completely crazy. But better not tell him that; his mother had him tested. Sheldon is one of those characters I simultaneously love and can’t stand. I love him because he’s funny and most of the time he’s actually right, and his rationale is very entertaining to watch. However, I can’t stand him because of the way he treats his friends; he constantly belittles them (particularly Howard), he expects them to run errands for them, he often has no consideration for anyone but himself, he acts like he’s a mortal God and at times seems like an evil genius that would blow up everyone given the chance. Sheldon clearly has asperger’s syndrome and extreme OCD; at times he even seems like a sociopath, but he clearly displays affection for others, albeit hidden affection at times.
And there’s my list of leading lads. Who are some guys you like in film and TV? Leave a comment below!
Also see list of favourite females: http://www.thezarinamachablog.co.uk/2017/03/15-favourite-females-in-film-and-tv.html
