Make or Break: Character Exposition

Your central character is your fulcrum, playing the essential role in the movie and every single situation in it. Get this one thing right and everything else will fall into place. Miss the mark and no matter how well you've managed everything else, it will all be for nothing.

"You had me at hello."

— Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger), Jerry Maguire (1996)

Make an impact from the word go. Establish early whose world are we in: Why must the audience invest close to two hours to go on this journey with this character? What makes your character unique and yet relatable? Do they stand out from the rest of the characters in their environment? Do their conflicts and flaws clearly translate on screen? Does it make us want to root for them? Do you have the right actor to the play the part (this is possibly the most critical of all questions ... the real crux of the make or break element)?

Always revisit the introduction of your character as the development of your screenplay progresses to ensure that all these questions are asked over and over again till you are satisfied with the end result: Your character must win over the audience at hello.

Let's visit the first moment when some of the most memorable characters said hello to the world and have since remained an integral part of the cultural zeitgeist and have also made the actors who played these characters some of the biggest stars in the history of cinema

Stay tuned as we analyze each of these characters in depth to find the secrets of great character development for movies:

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