How to Make an Anti Hero

Define your anti-hero’s flaw. A good anti-hero has something that makes him or her hard to put up as a great example to others. An anti-hero will not exhibit all the traits that society considers admirable, and will probably reject some of them explicitly. Anti-heroes can lie, cheat, steal, act cowardly, and even kill as part of accomplishing their goals. Your anti-hero doesn’t need to do all of these things, but must have some flaw that prevents him or her from being a true hero, at least when your story begins. Your anti-hero’s flaws will influence the role he or she plays in your story.^[6]

• Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a good example, as while he wants to avenge his father’s death, he is consumed with self-doubt and hesitation, which prevents him from acting throughout much of the play. Dr. Gregory House, though a brilliant physician, abuses drugs and mistreats his friends and co-workers throughout the series.

Decide if your anti-hero is the protagonist. A good anti-hero doesn’t necessarily need to be the main character, but instead a sidekick or helper to the main hero. If your anti-hero is the main character, their emotional arc, decision-making, and internal struggle will become a central feature of the story. A good anti-hero sidekick can add some color to your story, and help provide the moral choices your hero needs to accept in order to achieve the ultimate goal.^[7]

• Han Solo is a helpful sidekick to the main character, Luke Skywalker, during “Star Wars: A New Hope,” providing assistance throughout the story while complaining about getting his financial reward.

Create some limits for your anti-hero. One big difference between an anti-hero and a villain can be that the anti-hero has some limit to their bad actions, some things he or she just won’t do. This is important, as without limits, your audience won’t find the anti-hero sympathetic.^[8]

• Not hurting children or pets is a good one, or maybe your anti-hero writes a letter to their mother every week. Explaining this limit can be a good way to help flesh out your anti-hero’s backstory.^[9]
• The Godfather, Vito Corleone, orders others killed or threatened as part of his leadership of the crime family, but draws the line at selling drugs until he is forced to by the other families. He is also willing to use his influence to help friends and family members. Even his son Michael, the main character in the three movies, waits to have his brother Fredo killed until after their mother dies (so she doesn’t have to know about it).

Think about your audience. Consider who you expect to watch/read your story, and why your anti-hero would appeal to them. Look for things they consider to be negatives, flaws that would make your character an anti-hero, but also what limits they might expect an anti-hero not to cross. Remember that different audiences, including genders and age groups, will find different kinds of anti-heroes compelling.^[10]

• Many anti-heroes in modern television series are middle-aged, reflecting a large portion of the audience who watches those shows. While most people are not mobsters like Tony Soprano or womanizing ad men like Don Draper, they can recognize the fear of reaching that part of their lives, balancing work, family, and personal concerns, and struggling as the world changes around them.^[11]

Explain your anti-hero’s backstory. Make sure your audience knows why the anti-hero acts the way he or she does. By providing an explanation, your audience will be able to justify liking, or at least not hating, the anti-hero character.^[12]

• Maybe your anti-hero has a tragic past, something that makes them act the way they do. Giving your anti-hero a reason for their actions can generate sympathy from your audience, and forces them to think how they would respond in those circumstances. Severus Snape, for example, expressed a dislike of Harry Potter because the character’s father bullied him when they were in school.
• If you want to add some drama to the story, you can make the anti-hero’s backstory a mystery, something for other characters to discover or reveal.^[13]

Make sure your anti-hero is good at something useful. Even if your anti-hero is a despicable character, he or she needs to have some skill that makes them useful to the story or otherwise gives them a reason to stick around. It will be easier for your audience to accept your anti-hero’s flaws as long as the character serves some purpose.^[14]

• The TV doctor House, for example, is difficult and unpleasant with other characters, and tries to solve medical mysteries not to help people, but satisfy his own ego. He is also excellent at solving those mysteries, meaning other characters put up with his flaws, and even want him around.

Give your anti-hero a noble purpose. If nothing else, there needs to be a good thing your anti-hero is working toward. As long as the end result is good, your audience will probably forgive a lot of otherwise negative actions.^[15]

• The main character is the series “Dexter” is a serial killer, but one who only targets other serial killers. Though his actions are brutal, he is doing them to rid the world of other dangerous people.