Best Way To Introduce Your Hero
So, what is the single best way to introduce your hero? There’s a very simple answer to this question:
Make them ACTIVE.
But here’s the key: The very first thing we should see the hero doing is what makes them who they are as a person.
Audiences want to see what the hero’s all about straight away. They want to be shown the heart of their character right off the bat. This is what we like to call a character’s essence.
When showing your lead protagonist for the very first time, think about what kind of character they really are. What makes them tick? Once you’re clear on this, SHOW THEM ACTING IN THIS WAY.
Let’s take a look at some examples.
How is Indiana Jones introduced? Less skilled writers would’ve chosen to introduce him at home talking to someone on the phone about the Ark. Or maybe on a routine dig somewhere in the desert.
Sure, he’s actively doing what defines him to a certain extent in these examples, but what shows us the essence of what Indy’s really all about? Yep, being chased by boulders, dodging poisoned darts and leaping chasms in pursuit of a golden artefact.
The same goes for the hero in any action film. Look again at the beginning of any James Bond film, or Die Hard. Often, the action at the beginning of these films is completely unrelated to the eventual plot, but it’s there in order to get us straight away into the character of the hero.
Action films show this principal at its extreme, but whatever genre you’re working within it remains the same.
What’s the essence of Mike’s (Jon Favreau) character when we first meet him in Swingers? He’s depressed about splitting up with his ex and can’t understand why she hasn’t called. And what’s he doing the first time we see him? No, not happily playing golf, or shopping, he’s sat across from Rob in a diner, miserable and talking about his ex.
In The Truman Show, the first image of him is peering into the camera in his apartment, reassuring himself he can make it. This is what Truman is at the beginning of the film—completely hoodwinked about the circumstances of his own life—so the writers show this in his opening scene in as clear a way as possible.
A Stronger Opening to Your Script
Showing this heightened version of the hero the first time we encounter them has a few other functions. By introducing the hero in a more powerful way it follows that your script will open in a more powerful way.
Genre and tone become clearer. Take another look at the opening of The 40 Year Old Virgin. The things he’s doing are the most mundane imaginable, and yet they sum up perfectly who he is at this point in his life. And through these actions we know straight away the genre and tone of the film we’re about to see. Without words or music it would still be conveyed just through Andy’s actions.
Opening with a strong sense of who the hero is also serves as the hook to get the viewer interested in the film straight away. And often, this is seeing the hero doing what they do best, whether it’s saving a plane from going down, attacking someone or waking up alone to the same fussy routine.
Take a look at your hero the first time we encounter them. What are they doing?
What’s the opening image we see of them? Are they actively doing something that displays their core essence as it stands at the beginning of the film?
