Optimists

Alright, folks—everyone’s always arguing about who the best villains are, claiming the bad guys are always the most compelling characters. But I want to flip the script and talk about the heroes for a second. Who is your ultimate all-time favorite protagonist? Ever felt like the hero actually stole the show from the villain? Personally, I think playing a "good guy" is way harder because the scope is so limited. A villain can do whatever they want—make wild faces, wreck their personal lives, drop sarcastic or biting remarks—they have total freedom. Meanwhile, most heroes are just... good guys. And let's be honest, "good" isn't always interesting.

And just to be clear, I'm talking about genuine heroes, not those gritty anti-heroes with an edge (like the types played by Bruce Willis).

Man, that character from 😠Kill a Mockingbird
—she’s just such a total disaster. Honestly, I’d love nothing more than to just spit and go absolutely ballistic on that old-school reactionary.>

Indiana Jones...

Great thread! Here's a random one I always think of after a night out: Sean Penn playing Sergeant Edward Welsh in 'The Thin Red Line'.
🙏

Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li. At least they actually know how to throw a punch...

Luke Skywalker 🥳 🙏

😬

Edward Norton in Red Dragon, Al Pacino in Heat

And naturally, Chuck Norris in Lone Wolf McQuade🙏 😬

Monty Python's Life of Brian😬

Walker, Texas Ranger! 🙂 🙏 🙏 🙏

I mean, you could count the TV shows too, right? 😁

poirot said:Alright folks, I'm sick of seeing everyone obsess over who's the greatest villain ever—it’s always some dark, edgy antagonist being hailed as the GOAT. Can we please pivot for once and talk about the good guys? Who’s your absolute favorite hero of all time?

Al Pacino in "Sea of Love"

Robert De Niro and Bill Murray (both of them, in their own unique ways) in "Mad Dog and Glory".😁

William Shatner in Rescue 911😬

I'm just kidding.
I was actually just watching Random Hero on FOX starring Dustin Hoffman, and honestly, he wouldn't be a bad choice for a role like that...
Furthermore, I'd suggest Ian Holm in The Fifth Element...

Look, there are plenty of excellent options out there.

Man, it brings it all back—Leon is a total pro, a complete legend.👍

Bob the Builder from Bob the Builder😬

Jeremy Bishop5 said:Walker, Texas Ranger! 🙂 🙏 🙏 🙏

I mean, you could even pull from TV shows, right? 😁

Fair enough... That’s pretty much exactly who I had in mind.

Oh, Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck in "To Kill a Mockingbird") is an absolute standout. Then you've got Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation." Someone also made a brilliant call bringing up Al Pacino in "Sea of Love." If I were to expand that list, I’d throw in John Wayne from "Liberty Valance," Kevin Spacey in "American Beauty," and that Indian actor from "Flight over the Cowardly Nest"—honestly, my mind is blanking on the rest of them right now. But let's be real: Atticus steals the show 👍

Alan Arkin from Platoon. 😢

...that’s a tough one—I honestly have no idea how I’d even define a hero... and let's be real, I always end up getting distracted by those morally gray characters anyway...

...but hey, if we're starting somewhere—take everyone from Operation Positive😁😉

Sandra King86 said:It’s Alan Arkin in Platoon. 😢

👍 fair enough...

xavierkat said:...that's a tough one—I honestly don't know how I'd define a hero... plus, those morally gray characters always end up hooking me more...

Honestly, it’s always bothered me how people assume playing a villain is harder than playing the hero. For me, it's actually the complete opposite. A villain has so much room to move—you basically have to be a total amateur to mess up a bad guy role. Think along the lines of Val Kilmer, for example. On the flip side, the "good guy" has such a narrow lane to run in. They can't just cheat on everyone and call it a day, and they can't go around making wild, bulging-eyed faces—looking at you, Al Pacino🤮—so they really have to work twice as hard to outshine the antagonist. That's why I started this thread—to give some credit to the ones who usually get overlooked.😁

Val Kilmer in The Shawshank Redemption 👍

James Stewart in The Man Who Knew Too Much, if you absolutely had to pick just one single performance from Jimmy.