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100 Most Memorable Film Characters Of All Time: Nominations 21 thru 40 - Page 4© Jason O'Brien 29) James Bond in THE JAMES BOND FILMS (Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan) There's probably no more recognizable film hero than James Bond. Through 20 + films, he has been a fixture of enjoyable and thrilling action/adventure films. Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan have been the most effective and most memorable at playing this dashing secret agent, but even the Roger Moore films have a certain charm to them. What man doesn't idolize James Bond, the suave agent who gets all the beautiful women and escapes danger at every turn? From DR. NO to last year's DIE ANOTHER DAY, he remains the trustworthy choice for anyone simply looking for a good and thrilling time at the movies.
28) Joe Clark in LEAN ON ME (Morgan Freeman) This was an engrossing true story about a principal who went by his own rules to help turn around a school which had been taken over by drugs and violence and kids who had stopped believing in themselves. Clark came in and immediately laid down the law ... that the law was his. He began by kicking out all the students who had been messed up in drugs, and then worked hard every day to rein in students out of control. By film's end, his efforts landed him in a jail cell, but his students, so proud of what they had achieved under him, come to his rescue in droves. It's an inspirational film, and one of Morgan Freeman's best performances. 27) Blanche Dubois in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Vivien Leigh) The central character in the drama of this 1951 classic was Blanche, embodied so completely by the alluring Vivien Leigh in what I feel was a much deeper performance than her more well known turn in GONE WITH THE WIND. She comes in to the film, visiting her pregnant sister and brute husband Stanley, only to be pushed by Stanley, in one of the most powerful scenes from any 1950's film when the two are left alone in the house. An amazing performance. 26) Butch & Sundance in BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (Paul Newman & Robert Redford) I have to put these two together, because one can't imagine one without the other. Butch & Sundance came around in 1969 at a time when the new Hollywood cinema was beginning to take over. And what better way to take over Hollywood than redefine that most American of film genres, the Western? Butch & Sundance are not the typical Western hero. They're more anti-heroes. These men steal and rob, but they remain engaging throughout, mostly due to the performances of Newman and Redford. These men are more down to earth than the typical Western hero, not afraid to show their faults and weaknesses. The immortal image still remains the two believing they have one final chance to get away, only to emerge into a hail of bullets. Thankfully, we are spared their final death scene, instead their frozen image slowly fading into sepia.
The copyright of the article 100 Most Memorable Film Characters Of All Time: Nominations 21 thru 40 - Page 4 in Academy Awards is owned by Jason O'Brien. Permission to republish 100 Most Memorable Film Characters Of All Time: Nominations 21 thru 40 - Page 4 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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