“How to introduce a character?”
That question arose in the screenwriting class I’m currently teaching. How much physical description to give to a character when they’re introduced? Should a writer just describe the character’s physical attributes or can we describe who they are in terms of personality, world view, etc. And so I went to several scripts and copied examples of how a number of characters were introduced for the class to consider. Here are a few:
AS GOOD AS IT GETS
POV - MELVIN UDALLin the hallway... Well past 50... unliked, unloved,unsettling. A huge pain in the ass to everyone he's evermet. Right now all his considerable talent and strengthis totally focused on seducing a tiny dog into theelevator door he holds open.
THE BIG LEBOWSKIINTERIOR RALPH'SIt is late, the supermarket all but deserted. We are trackingin on a fortyish man in Bermuda shorts and sunglasses at thedairy case. He is the Dude. His rumpled look and relaxedmanner suggest a man in whom casualness runs deep.BLADE RUNNER
DECKARD is standing near the noodle bar waiting for aseat. He's in his thirties, wiry, athletic, rumpled,used, unshaven. He's holding a newspaper, made oftissue paper, open while he glances at the blimppassing NOISILY overhead.
BULL DURHAMThese represent a range of approaches, some describing just physical attributes, but others taking the moment to allow the reader to peer ‘inside’ the character’s persona:
* “unliked, unloved, unsettling.”
* “her view of the world crosses Southern, National, and International borders.”
* “long on confidence, charm, and salesmanship.”
It’s possible to overdo this approach, but my default is to think about the poor, blighted script reader. In Act One, the writer is asking this person to sort out all the characters we introduce. I don’t think it’s too much to provide a thumbnail sketch of each primary character’s essence or core persona to facilitate the identification process.