Influence character who is also protagonist

questions
#1

Any examples of IC who is also the protagonist?
Furiosa in Mad Max Fury Road.
any others?

trying to write a story where the MC occupies the position of being along for the ride with the IC/protagonist.

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MC Througline is Superfluous
Main Character who is very obviously not protagonist
#2

Andy Dufresne in Shawshank redemption?

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#3

Gatsby in The Great Gatsby.

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#4

The story I’m working on right now has the IC as protagonist, so let me know if you have any specific questions!

Actually … your question helped me understand something better about my own story. The way you phrased “along for the ride” made me think about my MC and I realized that she’s both along for the ride and Hindering that ride … which is cool because Hinder is the MC crucial element. I never saw that perspective before!

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#5

I’m thinking main character Sidekicks and Sherlock Holmes comes to mind… mulling it over, more later.

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#6

Amadeus? - is mozart the protagonist in that one?

#7

@mlucas cool!
yea i’m trying to give the MC perspective the feeling that the MC is not the hero or has any particular obsession to solve the big problem, but that nonetheless the MC can fall into a pivotal role in shaping the world of the problem. i think that is an important perspective to feel right now, and more relatable than the usual hero perspective. its like the ivanka trump perspective or the huma abedin perspective lol.
there is something about michael clayton that feels close, i.e. the role of the fixer, someone in a secondary position to the ride (even though i get that arthur eden is not the protagonist)

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#8

Manchurian candidate?

#9

The Insider - Lowell Bergman is IC to Jeffrey Wigand’s MC; but Bergman is also the protagonist trying to break the whistleblowing story.
Wigand is steadfast MC along for the ride, waiting waiting waiting for his info to start breaking the news.
Bergman flips the bit when out of options to break the story and he realizes he has to basically take a page from the Wigand playbook and blow the whistle on CBS corporate’s pressure/self-censorship to the nytimes to get Wigand’s story out without legal permission.

#10

Fight Club
Tyler Durden is the IC and the Protagonist
The Ed Norton character is the MC

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#11

Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Source: http://narrativefirst.com/analysis/star-wars-the-force-awakens.

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#12

Influence Character as Protagonist movies:

(in addition to ones listed above)

  • Inside Man with Denzel Washington
  • Terminator Reese is Pro, Sarah is MC
  • The Lives of Others (the writer is the IC/Protagonist)
  • The Yellow Birds - a great film I just saw at Sundance based on the book and starring young Han Solo as new recruit in Iraq. Very Platoon like (mom, CID officer are co-protagonists)
  • Come to think of it, Platoon is probably the same - (Barnes/Tom Berenger is IC/Protagonist)
  • The Bucket List (Freeman is IC Pro)
  • Brokeback Mountain (Jack is IC Pro)
  • Casablanca is almost IC Pro (depending on how you see Ilsa & Laszlo’s combined influence on Rick)
  • Eastern Promises pretty sure Viggo is IC Pro
  • Election Witherspoon is IC Pro
  • The Fugitive - Tommy Lee Jones is IC Pro (though you can also see he & Harrison as co-Pros)
  • How to Train Your Dragon - Stock is IC Pro
  • Sideways Jack is IC Pro

I think that’s it, but if I find anymore I’ll list them here!

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#13

Isn’t John Book an IC/pro in Witness?

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#14

Yes he certainly is. Thanks!

#15

Mistborn: The Final Empire. Kelsier is the perfect example of this.

#16

I’d say in The Princess Bride Westley is the IC Protagonist.

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#17

Tangentially related: taking the concept further, some examples of the rare “the mc is neither the protagonist nor the antagonist AND the ic is also neither:”

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Cooler

#18

ET in ET: The Extra Terrestrial.

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#19

̶W̶e̶l̶l̶,̶ ̶A̶t̶t̶i̶c̶u̶s̶ ̶(̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶I̶C̶)̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶t̶a̶g̶o̶n̶i̶s̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶"̶T̶o̶ ̶K̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶ ̶M̶o̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶b̶i̶r̶d̶.̶"̶ ̶H̶o̶w̶e̶v̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶L̶o̶g̶i̶c̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶r̶a̶c̶t̶e̶r̶i̶s̶t̶i̶c̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶M̶o̶t̶i̶v̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶q̶u̶a̶d̶.̶
̶
̶S̶o̶u̶r̶c̶e̶:̶ ̶"̶T̶o̶ ̶K̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶ ̶M̶o̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶b̶i̶r̶d̶"̶ ̶D̶r̶a̶m̶a̶t̶i̶c̶a̶ ̶F̶i̶l̶e̶,̶ ̶i̶n̶c̶l̶u̶d̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶g̶r̶a̶m̶.̶

My mistake. Arthur Radley is the IC.

Favorite Films where Protagonist- and MC-Roles are Split
#20

Atticus isn’t the IC. He doesn’t affect Scout’s central worldview. That would be Boo Radley, her mysterious neighbor.