This meme is interesting because it’s asks that I recognize the character and not the characterization. In so many cases this is almost the same thing. Often an actor will be continually overlooked at casting calls until they come up for a part that is very much who they are. Then, Bingo! They’re a hit! People are looking for honesty, so when an actor ‘plays themselves’ they’re being honest and people connect to that. So today, I looked for two characterizations in which I could not rely on the person playing the character for my instant like/dislike of them.
R2-D2 (Artoo Detoo)
(No quote for obvious reasons. Just make some beeping noises in your head.)
Come now. You know it had to happen. There had to be at LEAST one Star Wars character on this list. In this case, this could be the only one, for me at least. Artoo is an incredible character if for no other reason than he is completely non-verbal and yet is capable of communicating everything you need to know in a few short beeps. He’s useful, loyal, cunning and inventive and, and the end (or the beginning, depending on how you look at it), he’s the only one who knows anything! If you say he’s not a favorite of yours, you’re a liar!
Teddy from Artificial Intelligence
“Do you know David? Where’s David? Can you help me find David? I have to find David. Are you taking me to David?”
Other than the simple fact that I believe that I am the only person who loved this movie, this character is one that has always stuck with me. First of all, he’s a teddy bear that moves and talks – *on its own*. What kid wouldn’t want that? Second, he’s the smartest and kindest character in the movie. He’s really the only one looking out for David, which is really what I would expect from an AI teddy bear. Third, he’s got soul. For something that is only operating based on its programming, he’s remarkably sage. To David’s Pinocchio, he’s Jiminy Cricket and he does a wonderful, loving job of it. I adore watching this character and in this movie’s darker moments, he was the only mental lifeline I had. Which was, of course, his job.(NB. Incidentally, AI is not a movie about the retelling of Pinocchio, even though that *is* how it’s structured. It’s a movie about faith. And a brilliant one too.)
