What are the 2 main types of characters in a screenplay?

The two main types of characters in a screenplay are the protagonist and the antagonist, it is these 2 characters that will help a screenwriter to drive the plot forward and shape the narrative of his story.

The protagonist.

The protagonist also known as the super-hero is the main character who the whole story revolves around. This is usually the character with whom the audience wants to identify and root for, thus the goals and obstacles of this character will drive a screenplay forward while their transformation and growth will serve as the emotional core of the story.

Characteristics of a protagonist.

The characteristics of a protagonist are:

1. Relatable and believable.
2. Must be active.
3. Vulnerability.
4. Goal-oriented.
5. Emotionally relevant.

1. Relatable and believable.

When writing your screenplay you must ensure that your protagonist is relatable and believable so he could be accessible to your readers and audience. That is to say, your audience must be able to see their lives being reflected in your character.

It is common knowledge that too many people in the world are going through the same situation or circumstances in life at the same time, so when you are creating your protagonist, Make sure his life style is applicable to real-life situations; and in doing this you will hook the audience who are going through the same time at the particular time.

The reason this method works is that the audience will be eager to watch the story to the end in order to see what becomes of that character who is going through their same phase of life.

2. Must be active.

The goal of your protagonist as one of the 2 main types of character in a screenplay should be to drive the plot forward, and to do this you must ensure he takes decisions and actions that are going to impact the whole story.

The audience must see your protagonist around every other time, and when they do they must find him or her making moves that will keep the story interesting until the end.

3. Vulnerability.

Another characteristics of a protagonist is vulnerability, which is the flaws or weaknesses that makes him or her a human being.

The Holy Book has clearly made us to understand that no human being on earth is perfect, so even though your protagonist is a Pope, you must should his weakness in one or more negative attitude he always exhibits at every given time.

In the Bible, Moses was a man filled with the spirit of God, but he was always given to anger which was his weakness and the very reason he was forbidden to enter the promise land by God.

4. Goal-oriented.

Your protagonist must not be someone that goes about in the whole stry doing nothing, and for that reason you must ensure you define clear goals and the motivations that propels his actions.

This is to say that your protagonist must have something they want or needs to achieve in life, and these goals would be the very reason he is doing the ‘this and that’ which helps to develop the screenplay concept and drive the story forward.

5. Emotionally relevant.

You need to ensure your protagonist makes an emotional journey the audience can easily relate. By this I mean, you must create an emotional connection between your protagonist and audience.

Your audience needs to clearly feel how the character is feeling at the particular time.

The antagonist.

The antagonist is also known as the villain, and he is the character who opposes the protagonist and all the time creates the obstacles that he must overcome.

The antagonist goals and motivations must be the opposite of the protagonist and creates the tension and conflict that will keep the story flowing.

Characteristics of an antagonist.

The characteristics of an antagonist are:

1. Strong opposition.
2. Cunning.
3. Hateful
4. Clear goals and motivations.

1. Strong opposition.

The antagonist actions should always oppose that of the protagonist, and serve as an obstacle that serves to prevent the protagonist from achieving his own goals.

2. Cunning.

Your antagonist must not be a good person, thus you must make him cunning and a formidable opponent to the protagonist.

3. Hateful.

Your antagonist must be someone the audience hates a lot, therefore all his actions, dialogues and moves must be distasteful to the audience who will even go as far as wishing they drag him out of the screen and deal with him.

4. Clear goals and motivations.

The antagonist must have a reason they are trying to obstruct the protagonist, therefore make sure you define clear goals and motivations for your antagonist, but ensure they are in opposition to that of the protagonist.

Relationship between the protagonist and antagonist in a screenplay.

The relationship between the protagonist and antagonist is the crucial aspect of a screenplay, thus their actions must center on the conflict and interactions that will drive the plot forward, create tension, suspense and emotional connection with the audience.

Below are some of the key relationship between the protagonist and antagonist:

1. Opposing goals: The protagonist and antagonist goals must be opposite and this will create the conflict and tension that will make the story interesting.
2. Physical confrontation: There must be a physical confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist, and as a screenwriter, you must create these confrontation in a way that will inflict tension and suspense on the audience.
3. Emotional relativity: The emotional connection between the protagonist and antagonist must be complex enough so as to help the audience relate to either of them.
4. Thematic relevance: The relationship between the protagonist and antagonist must be relevant to the theme of your story in a way that will create a deeper and meaningful narrative for your screenplay.