Screenwriting : Hero/Villain interchangeable? by Tamara Hinton

I think you mean "anti-hero" rather than just straight-up hero.

Go for it! As long as you're truthfully exploring a character's desires, obstacles, relationships, and growth, you've got a story. There's plenty of examples out there these days: Nightcrawler, Joker, Megamind, Breaking Bad, etc...

The key difference in my opinion, is that while this character might be a villain in other characters' stories, they are the hero in yours! If you're still taking us on a journey with a beginning, middle, and end, and still focusing authentically on the human experience... then following the story of a "bad" person can be very unique and exciting!

If you need help keeping your story on track, I'd highly recommend reading The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell, specifically the idea of the Story Circle. This is a base, archetypical understanding of what makes a good story no matter what it's about.

Thanks Adam!

Thanks Duncan!

You can definitely have a story that focuses on the villain. Duncan gives great examples.

Sure you can. Your 'villain' must truly believe in the rightness of his behavior (he's the hero in his own mind).

Thanks Martin!

Thanks Doug!

Absolutely!

This is why it's better to use "protagonist" (usually the hero) and "antagonist" (usually the villain) because they have no moral or legal elements. The protagonist is the lead character, the antagonist is the person who stands in their way (antagonizes them).

In my Secrets Of Action Screenwriting book I look at the 70s movie THE DRIVER where the protagonist is a getaway driver for armed robbers and the antagonist is a police detective trying to arrest him.

We want the getaway driver to get away with it - and avoid the police detective. We are rooting for the bad guy, not the police!

Anti hero. Usually in these cases though they are the lesser of two evils. They save the day by beating the Other bad guy usually for the wrong reasons.

Uwe actually got anti-hero like Alonso Harris of "Training Day" or Michael "D-fense" Douglas of "Falling Down" which is pretty cool, but if you study those movies closely you'll see there are villains in there too. Hero can never be a villain in a script as Ying cannot be Yang...

To quote one famous writer "The villain is always a hero in his own story." Meaning that a person can do bad things for the right reasons, or good things for the wrong ones. As Obi-Wan would say "...many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.." One character can ruin another's life because they believe that the other deserves it. One character can worship the ground that a criminal walks on based on belief that the criminal can be saved. Its these contradictions in human nature that makes for the most interesting characters and stories.

Thanks everyone!

A villain must be the hero of their own story. So a simple change of perspective could make them the hero.

House of Cards was a show that made the lead character the biggest villain of the piece. It lures the audience in with him cleverly slapping down other arrogant politicians (a catharsis for the audience meaning they are on his side), but when the character does something terrible and shocking the audience feels complicit and guilty for enjoying the ride so far. Its a great way to toy with the viewer's emotions.

Sure. There are numerous examples of the "bad guy" being the protagonist of the story.

Watch The 4:10 to Yuma.

@Tamara In some tandem narrative films the hero in one act is villain in another because different stories are in juxtaposition. It could also be in your story that the real villain might be the journalistic corrupt “system” the guy merely another role player sucked into its vortex. The nemesis is the “ultimate” inescapable agent in protagonist’s downfall, often not another person EG Force of nature/self sabotage/the system. One interesting train of thought is Hannibal Lecter was not villain but mentor in film Silence of The Lambs. Off course we attach moral judgement to him, a grotesque individual but in film he did not drive the nemesis force as he was caged.

Breaking Bad is a great example way of a hero becoming a villain, as he starts out with good intentions for his family. Michael Corleone in The Godfather is another example. Blurring these lines is a great way to make characters more complex and engaging.

... I don't know Tamara... The pro's say a "pitch perfect authentic" script is what producers are looking for nowadays. Also you aren't born a vilain. You become one because you've been given a bad hand.The antag. and the protag. go hand in hand, like they can''t exist without each other; as in "Unbreakable".

Also, offten they are brothers, one going bad, the other serving the Law.

And think of "American Psycho". Our protag. here is an anti-hero. He's bad -- but at least at some point in the movie-- he's trying to be good. His DNA just works against him.

Still, who can resist a classy guy with a fabulous business card!

Wonderful to meet you all.

I think most heroes in Film/TV today have flaws and do bad things ("Breaking Bad," "Dexter," "Cobra Kai," etc.), but we as an audience must still connect & sympathize with them in some way. Their chaos causation must be balanced with seeing that they're doing it for a noble purpose or fighting a bigger evil even if they break the rules.