In a work of media adapted from a real or fictional narrative, a composite character is a character based on more than one individual from the story.[1]
Examples
Film
The Great Escape (1963): The characters in this
John Sturges film are based on real men, and in some cases are composites of several men. The main character, Capt. Virgil Hilts (
Steve McQueen) a.k.a. the "Cooler King", was based on at least three pilots:
Bill Ash,
David M. Jones, and John Dortch Lewis.[2][3][4][5]
Bonnie and Clyde (1967): The character of C.W. Moss (portrayed by
Michael J. Pollard) in director
Arthur Penn's film is a composite of two
Barrow Gang members:
W. D. Jones and
Henry Methvin. In the film, the Moss characterization relies predominantly on the basis of Jones, a juvenile devotee adept at carjacking, whom the couple take under their wing up until the climax. Then, traits of minor but catalytic member Methvin are interwoven near the end as his father, via Moss's dad, bargains with vengeful law enforcement for his son's immunity in exchange for luring the unsuspecting
Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker into the fatal, bullet-ridden ambush.[6][7]
Schindler's List (1993):Steven Spielberg's masterpiece contains one blended composite character. Although
Ben Kingsley's character of
accountantItzhak Stern is based upon a real person and he did interact with
Oskar Schindler (
Liam Neeson), in the film Stern also absorbed aspects of a few other historical figures:
Abraham Bankier, who planted the seed with Schindler to employ
Jews for cheaper labor, thereby keeping them safe; and
Mietek Pemper, who was at the
Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp and later worked for
Amon Göth (
Ralph Fiennes) as his
personalsecretary. He was instrumental in persuading Schindler to utilize Jews in assembling war materials. A possible fourth person in the mix is Marcel Goldberg, a corrupt
Jewish cop who nonetheless aided Stern in the expansion of their lists, which kept thousands of Jews alive and safe. (In
Steven Zaillian's screenplay, Goldberg and Pemper have minor roles played by other actors, but nevertheless are still considered to be part of this composite.)[9]
Apollo 13 (1995): The character Henry Hurt (
Xander Berkeley) in director
Ron Howard's
docudrama is portrayed as a
NASApublic relations employee assigned to assuaging Marilyn Lovell (
Kathleen Quinlan)—the wife of astronaut
Jim Lovell (
Tom Hanks)—while simultaneously tasked with answering reporters' questions. This character is a composite of the NASA protocol officer Bob McMurrey, assigned to act as a buffer between the Lovell family and the press; and several
Office of Public Liaison employees, whose job was to actually work with the press.[10]
Catch Me If You Can (2002): In yet another Spielberg film, based on the true story of
Frank Abagnale, Jr. (
Leonardo DiCaprio) and his
counterfeit escapades, the main character is pursued by
FBI agent Carl Hanratty, played by
Tom Hanks. However, his character is a mixture of several agents, primarily
Joseph Shea, who didn't want his name used in any film adaptation—a request Abagnale and the film crew honored after he died.[11]
21 (2008): Director
Robert Luketic's characters were fictionalized; in some instances, with
whitewashed versions of their real-life counterparts, stirring controversy.
Jeff Ma, whose saga was the main focus, was accused of being a
race-traitor, in allowing
Jim Sturgess to be cast as his facsimile. But it's
Kevin Spacey's Micky Rosa who is a composite of John Chang, Bill Kaplan, and J.P. Masser.[12]
Bombshell (2019):Margot Robbie's character Kayla Pospisil was an amalgamation, based on a number of
conservative women who spoke to the filmmakers about harassment from
Roger Ailes (
John Lithgow). "We’re not revealing the people we talk to. We’re trying to protect them," director
Jay Roach said of the project's sources.[19]
Ulana Khomyuk in Chernobyl is a composite character created to represent "the many scientists who worked fearlessly and put themselves in a lot of danger to help solve the situation."[23]
Literature
The three Herods in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles (Herod the Great (Luke 1:5), Herod Antipas (Luke 3:1; 9:7-9; 13:31-33; 23:5-12), and Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1-23)) are three separate historical rulers, but are portrayed as a single character in Herod as a Composite Character in Luke-Acts, described "as an actualization of Satan’s desire to impede the spread of the good news though his ["Herod’s"] rejection of the gospel message and through political persecution".[24]
The Senator: My Ten Years with Ted Kennedy, a memoir by Richard E. Burke allegedly exposing various activities of U.S. Senator
Ted Kennedy featured several composite characters associated with Kennedy's alleged drug use and sexual dalliances; the inclusion of such became a point of criticism for the book.[25][26]
Journalism
A series of 1944 The New Yorker articles by
Joseph Mitchell on
New York's
Fulton Fish Market which were presented as journalism. Once the stories were published in 1948 as the book Old Mr. Flood Mitchell disclosed that "Mr. Flood is not one man; combined in him are aspects of several old men who work or hang out in Fulton Fish Market, or who did in the past."[27] Mitchell assigned his composite character his own birthday and his own love for the
Bible and certain authors.[28] In his introduction to Mr. Flood, Mitchell wrote, "I wanted these stories to be truthful rather than factual, but they are solidly based on facts."[29]
John Hersey is said to have created a composite character in a Life magazine story, as did
Alastair Reid for The New Yorker.[29]
^"Riding with Bonnie & Clyde". Playboy Magazine. November 1968. That C. W. Moss in the movie was me, up to the end, when he let his old man turn in Clyde and Bonnie.. It was Henry Methvin that done that, not me I was in jail when that happened. The papers was right when they said Moss was a composite of me and Methvin.
^"Death Comes in the Sun: Trading one life for two; mistrust". BabyFace Nelson ~ Journal. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2023. After months of constant tracking, Hamer was finally ready to make his move. For some time, he had been meeting with Methvin's family, which was trying to broker a deal that would not only keep Methvin out of the electric chair, but possibly even out of prison. In exchange, they would hand over Barrow and Parker.
^Pagnotti, Sean (28 February 2023).
"Catch Me if You Can: The "True" Story of Frank Abignale Jr. Explained". Collider. Retrieved 3 September 2023. Speaking of the FBI, Carl Hanratty is actually a composite of several agents who were assigned Frank's case, the main one being Joe Shea. Joe has since passed on but didn't want his name used in the movie when he was alive.
^Thapa, Shaurya (14 May 2023).
"Dallas Buyers Club True Story: 7 Things The Movie Changed From Real-Life". Screen Rant. Retrieved 3 September 2023. [Ravon] was supposed to represent the judgmental behavior and stereotypical assumptions that many trans people living with AIDS faced during that time.…\\….Saks also bears similarities with the late physician Dr. Linda Laubenstein, one of the first American doctors to spread awareness of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.