Screenwriting : Depth to a character by Nikhil Bagore

It's all about having character itself. Think about the people in your life who would describe as having character. It's typically a mixture of many things that makes them unique and interesting from superficial elements like how they dress and speak to more profound characteristics such as their approach to life.

Give it job, give it past, give it goal...

I have discussed Empathy Matrix a lot. They are a simple tool that gives you an understanding of your character. It enables you to empathise with them. Once you can do that, you can add all the depth you want.

video https://youtu.be/IX77Ohvx4Hs

Give the character a back story. What's their favorite food? Their favorite color? etc.

Dunno. Use your imagination & tools of the trade- craft? Actors are artists too; hopefully, you're in a position to work with actors during development. As for now, since it is just a spec script, you just gotta make the characters appealing. "Actor bait" scripts, meaty roles for actors.

Backstory is key - but not their fave color or whatever. Where did they come from? What made them the way they are now? What drives them? What are their deepest desires?

Very little of this will go into the script. But it will inform you, when you write, about how that character reacts.

Also, too, is the toothpaste strategy - squeeze a person and see what comes out. Conflict, turmoil, contention, stress - squeeze the character on every page. Then, by having the answers to the above questions, you''ll know what's going to come out.

THAT goes on the page.

What is their backstory wound? All great stories and characters have one.

In The King's Speech, King George's speech impidement comes from a childhood trauma he suffered at the hands of his nanny.

In the Imitation Game, Alan Turing is nailed under floorboards by bullies at boarding school.

From an acting perspective, in a nutshell -It's all about the character being vulnerable in someway.

I agree with the comments so far and great scripts offer these and make life easier developing characters, but some don't have an option to accommodate backstories or contrast characters and when I get a script like this I do look for the inherent flaws. EG If my character refuses to sit down on a tube train when offered a seat I have to make the decision of why and that will come across via the reaction, is she upset she was approached at all? Is she just incredibly shy? Is she getting off at the next stop and generously knows it's not worth taking the seat? Is she flattered but believes the person offering should remain seated in preference? Does she just ignore it? The reaction tells me a lot about the back story / personality without needing all the details in the script itself.

The slamming of a door instead of a deliberate closing, even a fast walker rather than a sloping walker says a lot. That trembling 'tick' Tom Hanks has in Saving Private Ryan was enough to make you realise he'd been through hell well before this latest assignment. He chooses to keep it at bay and hidden from his troop to get the job done. That says a lot too.

I don't know if Tom did that or if the script writer put it in to show his trauma/history but, as an actor, without those options present, it's the character's flaws and mental attitude evident in their responses that give-them-away.

if there's very little of this then I, and most actors I know, create something. Merryl Streep held on to the thought, "I never really loved him'" (her husband) throughout her role in Kramer v. Karmer for instance. Not in the script but got her an academy award.

It's a hint of vulnerability inherent in the character that grabs the audiences attention in my view.

Being that film is a visual medium, show your character's depth by their actions, and what they choose to say (and ultimately not say).

Colette "ByFilms" Byfield Thank you. So kind of you to say.

I'm pleased to be of service and happy my perspective on things is helpful in someway .