is it OK to have two protagonists?

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  • is it OK to have two protagonists?

    just another question. This is something I've always wondered. What if you have two characters, where you clearly have one of them as a more central character but they are almost equally as important to the story?

  • #2
    Re: is it OK to have two protagonists?

    Butch and Sundance...Thelma and Louise...there's plenty more (Terminator 1 and 2) but those two are known for the dual protagonists.

    Just think about the reason why you need two protagonists instead of only one and how your story would suffer if one was lost.

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    • #3
      Re: is it OK to have two protagonists?

      that's my issue. the two of them working together is what gives my story what it is I suppose. It's just rare when I watch movies to find one with two protagonists so I worry that maybe no body will want to read it if it doesn't follow the typical order

      They're both great characters but they are each in such contrast to each other that it wouldn't work without one of them

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      • #4
        Re: is it OK to have two protagonists?

        Make sure your two protagonists are equal... In screentime AND screen presence*... And that they mirror each other in some ways even if they are on the same side(s).

        *Screen presence means they are equally strong characters even if one is percieved as the stronger of the two either physically, or psychologically.

        Aside from the great examples given by Biohazard, also look at the film "Training Day" with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. This is a great study in duality and demonstrates the very things (screen strength and prescence via characterization (vs. acting)) mentioned above.
        Positive outcomes. Only.

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        • #5
          Re: is it OK to have two protagonists?

          I have three. *shrugs* Sometimes the mutant tree monkeys fall out of the trees and pick up a rock to use as a tool; sometimes they hit their heads on the rock and lay there dead. Either way ... unexpected possibilities are explored.

          I have three.
          sigpic
          "As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world -
          that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves."
          -Mahatma Gandhi.

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          • #6
            Re: is it OK to have two protagonists?

            Originally posted by jewishhoodrat View Post
            just another question. This is something I've always wondered. What if you have two characters, where you clearly have one of them as a more central character but they are almost equally as important to the story?
            Lethal Weapon
            Rush Hour
            Tango and Cash
            Twins
            etc.
            Do not dream - Do.
            Do not imagine - Be.

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            • #7
              Re: is it OK to have two protagonists?

              Originally posted by tabula rasa View Post
              I have three.
              21 Grams.

              PS: Midnight Run is awesome.

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              • #8
                Re: is it OK to have two protagonists?

                The Buddy movie has a long and storied tradition. Go for it.

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                • #9
                  Re: is it OK to have two protagonists?

                  My latest has two protagonists too. It works nicely as long as you know where your story is going.
                  sigpic

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                  • #10
                    Re: is it OK to have two protagonists?

                    For casting top actors, it often may be better to make your two protagonists equal and the two parts equally attractive. Storywise, though, it sometimes may be better to have a protagonist and a sidekick. The differences between the two characters may help the audience see how your main character needs to change over the course of the story.

                    Most scripts have one protagonist with a goal and a story arc, even if others go along for the ride. That gives the audience a character to identify with and root for, with a problem to overcome.

                    Instead of two halfwits like Dumb and Dumber or Beavis and Butthead who are pretty much the same, you might consider looking at the example of the two guys in Sideways who go on the trip together. They may start out on an equal level, but here the point is that Paul Giamatti finds he no longer likes who his friend is, and he has to learn to grow beyond him. That makes Paul Giamatti the protagonist. He's the one who grows and changes.

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                    • #11
                      Re: is it OK to have two protagonists?

                      Couldn't you argue that Louise is the main character because she does all the instigating: it's her friend who has the cabin, she wants to take the trip, she's the one with the bad past stuff in Texas, she's the one who shoots Harlon, she's the one who can get the money, she's the one pissed because Thelma hooks up with Brad Pitt and loses the money, and she's the one who really, as a result of it all, causes the change in Thelma?

                      Or did I just spend too much time thinking as a result of a class/seminar thing I went to?

                      Heck. I think you can have two main characters. Do wahtever you want. It's your story.

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