A Collection of Great Characters

Perhaps the most important part of a work of fiction for me and I'm reasonably sure some of you would agree, is the characters. Now, its of course possible to have a great work of fiction, which relies less on the strength of its cast, than things such as plotting, world-building, etc. For example; I'm a huge fan of the stories written by Jorge Luis Borges, but if you asked me if I had a favorite character from his works, I'd be hard-pressed to think of one. Those are exceptions though, as a rule I find that a cast of well-drawn, engaging characters is the key to a truly great story. With that in mind, I've picked out ten characters that I've found particularly memorable over the years. These aren't all my favorite characters, of course (that would be a way longer list), but they're ones I found particularly worthy of recognition, for a variety of reasons.

Al Swearengen (Deadwood)

If you asked me what my favorite TV-show is, than there's a pretty large chance that I'd answer Deadwood and one of the many things that contributed to the brilliance of this sadly short-lived series, was its cast of characters, one character in particular: Al Swearengen played by Ian McShane. Based on a real life Saloon owner of the same name (though the character's personality and mannerisms are obviously the invention of the show's writers), Swearengen is a man willing to commit any crime, provided that he will profit from it in some way. He's also charming, funny and strangely likable, which probably serves to make him even more dangerous.
As the Deadwood went on, Al transformed into something of an anti-hero, frequently going up against people even worse than him, such as the show's ultimate big bad; George Hearst. However, no matter which label you want to put on the guy, Mr. Swearengen remains one of the finest characters ever to appear on Television.

Ed (Digger)

I'm a fan of characters that start out relatively simple and gradually reveals themselves as deeper and more complex as the plot goes on. Ed from Ursula Vernon's web-comic, Digger, is a great example of this type of character. Introduced early on in the story as a weird hyena that tries (and fails) to eat Digger (the main character), Ed comes of at first as the character who will play the role of comic relief and little beyond that, an impression which his tendency to refer to himself in third person does nothing to help. However, as Digger continues, Vernon starts to reveal more sides to Ed's character; showing him to be both courageous (its he who performs the most heroic act in the comic) as well as surprisingly insightful regarding a variety of topics. Of course, one can't talk about Ed without at least mentioning his back-story. I won't go into too much detail, but suffice to say that its a sad one, containing both abusive relationships and murder. Ed is by far the most purely sympathetic and lovable character I have on this list, I'm pretty sure its impossible to read Digger without wanting to give the poor guy a hug.

George Smiley (George Smiley series)

Who is the greatest secret agent or spy in fiction? A lot of people when asked this question would probably go with James Bond, but for me, another name comes to mind. That name, is George Smiley, the star of several books written by John LeCarré, most notably the trilogy which consists of the following books: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. Now, Smiley has none of the style of 007. Instead, he's a grey, middle-aged man of the kind that you wouldn't look twice at if you saw him on the street, or on the bus. However, he is a far more compelling character than Fleming's super-spy. Discreet, clever and manipulative, Smiley's the kind of guy who'd go into your country, figure out its secrets and you'd never even knew that he was there.
Plus, he's been portrayed by both Alec Guinness and Gary Oldman, which is not something to be sneezed at.

MacBeth (MacBeth)

When I was a kid, my mom took me to see a local performance of MacBeth, it made a huge impression on me and to this day it remains my favorite of the bards' plays and its titular character my favorite Shakespeare character. I'm pretty sure that my affection for villain-protagonists can be traced back to this play. No, MacBeth wasn't my first of these, I was already familiar with the Brain from Pinky and the Brain and Edmund Blackadder, to mention just two examples. However, unlike these two characters, MacBeth's villainy was not played for laughs, something which no doubt contributed to my fascination for the character. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the Thane of Cawdor, like most of Shakespeare's creations is an extremely complex character and I never get tired of either reading about, or watching him wrestle with his conflicting emotions, whether its his doubt, his guilt or his ambition.
Hail, MacBeth, king hereafter.

The Nameless One (Planescape: Torment)

If there's a game that proves that games are capable of telling stories just as deep and involving as any other medium, it must be Planescape: Torment, a game which took the hoary old "amnesiac protagonist" cliché and made it interesting. The main character of Planescape wakes up in a morgue, without no idea how he got there or who he is. However, one thing soon becomes clear; he is immortal and so, our "hero" begins his journey through Sigil: City of Doors in order to learn his identity. During his journey he's joined by a variety of characters, some of which he shares history with.
Planescape: Torment is a game that has been rightfully praised for its strong writing, something which is particularly true when it comes to its characters. This game features one of the strongest and most memorable casts to be found in the medium, from a wisecracking floating skull, to a succubus, thorn between her desire to live a life of Good and her nature as a creature of Evil. However, its the Nameless One who is the heart and soul of the game and the developers deserve a lot of credit for making a character whose personality is largely dependent on what choices the player makes, into a deep and intriguing protagonist, regardless of the path he pursues.
What can change the nature of man? I may not know the answer to this question, but I do know that the Nameless One is one of the greatest characters in gaming.

Oscar Francois de Jarjayes (The Rose of Versailles)

I wanted to include at least one female character on this list and so, I thought long and hard which one to choose. Eventually, I decided to go with The Rose of Versailles' Oscar Francois de Jarjayes. From an early age, Oscar was raised as a boy and trained in all manners of manly activities, such as sword-fighting and horseback-riding, which she, of course, does better than any man in France. Of course, being a badass isn't enough to make a great character. Fortunately, Oscar also benefits from a strong, memorable personality, which makes her very easy too root for. As the story moves on, we also see her being thorn between her loyalty towards the crown she has sworn to serve and her increasing sympathy towards the people of France. She is, in short, one of the best heroines to ever appear in a work of fiction.

Pfirsich Rommel (The Desert Peach)

The fictional, homosexual younger brother of Erwin "The Desert Fox" Rommel, created by Donna Barr. Much like Ed, Pfirsich can, at a first glance, come of as pretty superficial and shallow, the vehicle of cheap jokes. However, he soon reveals himself to be intelligent, brave, compassionate and honorable, while also being a fully rounded and believable character. Possibly my favorite hero in comics.

Philip Marlowe (Philip Marlowe series)

I have a deep affection for the old-school, hard-boiled private-eye and out of all the representatives of this particular archetype, Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe is, by far, the best one. A tarnished knight, Marlowe wanders the mean streets of the city, solving crimes and waxing cynically about the society he inhabits. Anyone who has the least bit of interest in crime and mystery-literature, owe it to themselves to make Mr. Marlowe's acquaintance.

Don Quixote (Don Quixote)

What list of great characters is complete without The Knight of the Mournful Countenance? Don Quixote is certainly an interesting character: On one hand, he's a figure of ridicule; a deluded kook who fancies himself a knight in shining armor. On the other hand, in some ways, Don Quixote really is the knight he imagines himself to be; the wizards and giants he fights might be products of his imagination, but that doesn't really makes the chivalry or courage he displays on his quest any less real. Its easy to laugh at Don Quixote and the mishaps he gets into, but I must admit that there's a part of me that can't help but feel admiration for the man.

Steerpike (Gormenghast)

He has neither magical powers nor dark armies or evil henchmen at his beck and call and yet, Steerpike, the arch-villain of Mervyn Peake's first two Gormenghast novels, is one of the greatest evil-doers to come out of the fantasy-genre. One of the things that make Steerpike so interesting is the fact that its very easy to root for the guy, at least when the first book begins. After all, Steerpike starts out at the lowest rung on the castle's hierarchy ladder, so its understandable that he would want to improve his lot in life. Not to mention that he's both intelligent and charismatic. However, Steerpike actually achieves this goal when doctor Prunesquallor agrees to take him on as his apprentice and it soon becomes clear that Steerpike is only planning to use his new master as a stepping-stone to climb higher and higher.
A consummate actor and manipulator, Steerpike cares for only one thing: Power, but he's quite skilled at making other people believe that he cares about the same thing they do and that he's on their side. He reveals himself as more and more evil as the plot progresses and its a testament to Peake's writing that even when I had reached a point where I just wanted Steerpike to die, I was still fascinated by him and wanted to know what he would do next and that, dear reader, is the sign of a truly great villain.