Movies focus on the protagonist, but they're not the only ones on screen. Most films have plenty of background characters who fill the screen but don't impact the plot. However, some movies feature a background character who becomes vital to the story. These characters often appear at key moments, sometimes as plot twists. It's rare for a movie to emphasize a seemingly unimportant character at a key moment, making it stand out when done well. This can boost the film's success. Here are the most important background characters who proved to be more than meets the eye. Check them out and upvote your favorites.
About this list
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Seven follows murders linked to the Seven Deadly Sins. Two detectives talk on a stairwell outside a crime scene. A photographer harasses them.Seven follows murders linked to the Seven Deadly Sins. Two detectives talk on a stairwell outside a crime scene. A photographer harasses them.The photographer takes pictures. Detective Mills chases him off, asking, "How do they get here so quick?" This question suggests the photographer used bad methods to reach the scene.He takes pictures. Detective Mills chases him. Mills asks, "How do they get here so quick?" This question matters. It shows the photographer used dirty methods to reach the crime scene.
Mills finds photos at the suspect's house. These photos were taken during their crime scene meeting. The photographer reached the scene fast; he was the criminal. John Doe, the name used in the film, followed the detectives. He posed as a photographer. His plan only worked if he made Mills kill him, ending his Deadly Sins spree with rage.
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Each child finds a golden ticket soon after finding one in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryChildren meet a strange man who whispers in their ear. When Charlie wins, a man who identifies himself as greets him.Arthur SlugworthHe offers cash for one of Wonka's new Everlasting Gobstoppers. Slugworth appears for under two minutes. By the end, most people forget him.
The third act shows Slugworth was Mr. Wilkinson. Wonka hired him to talk to the winners. He tested their morals and generosity. When Charlie returns the Everlasting Gobstopper, Wonka knows he can trust him. A cash reward would have helped his family. Slugworth matters greatly; without Charlie passing his test, he would not have won.
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After a trick kills Robert Angier's wife, he blames magician Alfred Borden.Alfred BordenThey become rivals developing acts to be top magicians. Borden teams up with Fallon; Angier works with John Cutter. They sabotage each other's tricks, causing violence and losing two of Borden's fingers. This tracks their feud to its darkest end.
Angier seems killed during a trick, making Borden take the blame. He is convicted of Angier's murder and sentenced to death. Borden is hanged, but he reappears, shooting his rival, showing Borden was two people. Alfred Borden plays the magician; his twin brother, Freddy, plays the assistant.FreddyFreddy
Fallon acts as a background character in the film. However, Fallon and Borden swap places, changing their original Transported Man trick. Borden becomes a background character, a plot twist, and the protagonist all at once.
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Watchmen appears in the list of Background Characters Who Turn Out To Be Very Important.Watchmen opens with the Comedian's death in his high-rise apartment. Soon after,Rorschach appears in the list of Background Characters Who Turn Out To Be Very Important.Rorschach meets his old teammate, Nite Owl II, and tells him about the Comedian's death. He theorizes people kill costumed heroes and asks for help, leading them to Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias). The audience and other characters keep Rorschach's identity secret.
Throughout the first two acts, a man carries a sign reading, “THE END IS NIGH.” He does not talk to any characters and appears only for a few seconds. This man is a background character. Later, he is revealed to be Rorschach in disguise. Rorschach sees his mask as his real face; the man underneath is a disguise, so he performed reconnaissance while carrying the sign.
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Saw appears in the list of Background Characters Who Turn Out To Be Very Important.Saw opens in a dirty bathroom. Adam Stanheight finds himself chained to a pipe. Lawrence Gordon is also there, chained. Between them lies a corpse holding a gun in his hand amidst his own blood. The film shows the two men learn they can cut their ankles to escape.
Horrific events follow. Gordon saws off his own foot to escape. He then grabs the corpse's pistol and shoots Adam, but Adam lives. Zep Hindle dies shortly after. Adam sees the long-dead corpse rise toward him. He was the killer.John Kramer appears in the list of Background Characters Who Turn Out To Be Very Important.John Kramer locks Adam in the room, leaving him to die.
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The Queen of Naboo appears as a young woman wearing large robes and makeup for a regal look. When Jedis Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn arrive on Naboo to save the people from the Droid Army, they leave for Coruscant with the Queen and her handmaidens. One handmaiden, Padmé appears in the list of Background Characters Who Turn Out To Be Very Important for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.Padmé takes an active role as she joins Qui-Gon Jinn while he repairs their ship's engine.
The Queen meets the Gungans to form an alliance by the end of the film. As they talk, Padmé steps out, revealing she is the Queen of Naboo. Her handmaidens act as her bodyguards and confidants. This revelation raises Padmé's role in the franchise above what the audience thought. Eventually, she becomes a Senator, marries Anakin Skywalker, and gives birth to Luke and Leia.
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Ready Player One appears in the list of Background Characters Who Turn Out To Be Very Important.The story is about nostalgia and obsession. It centers on James Halliday, one of the two creators of the OASIS. When Halliday dies, his will shows a competition. People find Easter Eggs. The winner gets all Halliday's assets, making them the richest person on Earth.
Halliday built the quest around his life. Everyone focused on him. A museum exists in the OASIS. The Halliday Journals Archive serves as a museum of his life. The Curator oversees this archive.The Curator is a most important person in the film.The Curator acts like a butler. He talks to people who ask questions. He seeks key details about Halliday's life.
The Curator interacts with Parzival. They bet Karen Underwood only appears once in Halliday's Archive. Parzival wins the bet and gets a quarter, which he keeps in his inventory and forgets. Later, that quarter gives Parzival the second life needed to win the game. This makes the Curator (who was Halliday's business partner, Ogden "Og" Morrow) one of the most important people in the film.The most important people are featured.These people appear in the film.
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In Howl's Moving Castle,Howl's Moving Castle is listed.Sophie Hatter meets a scarecrow while fleeing Market Chipping. She frees him from a bush. The scarecrow, with a turnip head and torn clothes, follows her.Turnip-Head is listed.Turnip-Head follows Sophie throughout the film. He appears in many scenes. He plays a more active role, helping find Sophie's cane and shawl.
At the film's end, Sophie, Markl, Howl, The Witch of the Waste, Hin, and Calcifer slide down a cliff. Turnip-Head slows them enough to save them, though it breaks his pole. Sophie then revives Howl and kisses Turnip-Head, breaking the curse that made him a scarecrow. He is revealed to be a prince who vows to end the war and reclaim his kingdom.
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Erin Brockovich is listed.Erin Brockovich details the lawsuit the town of Hinkley, CA, brought against Pacific Gas and Electric. PG&E dumped chromium-contaminated water into unlined waste bins since the 1950s. Town residents got many cancers. As the main character investigates what happened, she sees a man staring at her from afar.
This makes her think he is doing something wrong. However, the man finally approaches her near the film's end. The man introduced himself asCharles Embry is listed.Charles Embry worked for PG&E. Embry offered proof of PG&E's guilt instead of supporting his former boss. Embry became the key to winning the case. He brought $333 million in damages to Hinkley residents.
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Mr. Gao is listed.Mr. Gao appears early inTurning Red is listed.Mr. Gao is associated with the Lee Family's Temple. Mei Lee greets him while playing chess. He appears again when he sees Mei jump over him in her panda form. Mr. Gao looks like an old gentleman who knows the Lee family but plays little part in the story.
Mr. Gao becomes plot-critical later. He acts as a shaman, helping the ritual. He guides Mei through the process and almost captures the panda spirit before Mei leaves for the concert. Mr. Gao does not leave. He goes to the SkyDome and helps with the ritual again. At the film's end, he plays chess once more, back to his usual routine.
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The Internship is listed among background characters who become very important.The film shows the older generation being replaced by the young. However, the heroes win. They join a summer recruiting event. Interns compete in teams. The team that finishes tasks wins the biggest Google client if they get guaranteed jobs; others do not.
While prepping for the tech support competition, Billy (Vince Vaughn) interacts with an introverted person wearing headphones. This explains his name in the movie. Billy helps a little and stays in the background until the end. Billy's team signs a pizzeria, which is smaller than other teams' clients.
Billy argues the company might be small. He claims it has potential because it uses new technology. Just as Billy faces rejection, Headphones.Headphones steps in and gives Billy and his team the win. Headphones is Andrew Anderson, the head of Google Search.
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When Billy Madison calls,Danny McGrath.Midway through the film, Danny McGrath apologizes sincerely for how he treated them as kids. After they hang up, McGrath looks at a sign on his wall titled "People To Kill.McGrath crosses Madison's name off the list. This scene is funny and short, lasting about a minute before the film moves on.
Jump to the end. Madison runs the decathlon. As everyone cheers and Billy smiles, the judge scolds him, and the final question arrives. Eric Gordon gets flustered and pulls a gun on Madison instead of answering. As he aims at Veronica, McGrath appears in the theater with a rifle and shoots Gordon in the butt, saving him. Billy says, "Man, I'm glad I called that guy," showing Danny's importance.
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21 Jump Street.The series builds on the show's premise for big comedy. It tracks a criminal plot that leads two detectives to a high school. They do not fool anyone into thinking they are kids. Still, they find the culprit and confront a motorcycle gang in the third act.
Just as the order comes to kill the two police officers, two gang members the audience missed step out. They reveal themselves as undercover DEA agents Tom Handon and Doug Penhall, former members of the 21 Jump Street program.
One of the disguised DEA agents says, "If these guys are cops, I'm a DEA Agent," which proves true. Gunfire trades, and both DEA agents get killed. They turn out to beJohnny Depp.Handon.Peter DeLuise.(Penhall), both of whom played their roles from the TV show.
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In the first film,Charlie's Angels.Crispin Glover's " film.Thin Man.plays an assassin hired to kill the Angels, hoping to get Charlie Townsend into the public. He plays a big role, so he is not just a background character. Fast-forward to the second film,Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle., and the Thin Man returns in a different way.
He is no longer a villain. He acts like an anti-hero with a strange obsession: pulling out women's hair and smelling it. He affects the first act, but fades as the Angels handle bigger issues. He shows up at the movie premiere as a photographer helping the Angels during their rooftop fight. He saves Dylan but gets stabbed in the back and thrown from the roof. The film shows him dead, but the unrated cut shows something else…
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Friday the 13th: A New Beginning.A group of teenagers at the Pinehurst Halfway House faces problems. One resident loses control. In a fit of madness, Vic Faden brutally murders Joey Burns with an axe, dismembering him. An ambulance arrives to remove the remains, and one driver reacts to the horror of the crime.
They collect the body, and the film moves to what makesFriday the 13th.movies so gripping: teens get murdered by Jason Voorhees. The killings increase. In the final fight, Jason's mask comes off, showing him to be the paramedic who was shocked to find Joey's remains early on.
The paramedic turns out to beRoy Burns., and Joey was his son. Grief over the killing drives him to act like Pamela Voorhees did: he blames others for his son's death and starts a killing spree disguised as Jason.
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UHF.UHF is a silly comedy. Weird Al Yankovic plays George Newman. Newman tries to save a television station by putting wacky ideas on air. His shows gain huge popularity. A bum approaches Newman seeking change. Newman offers his hand, and the manHe picked out one dollar in change.returns a $1 bill
Newman tries to get as many station shares as possible when the bum returnsreturnsNewman buys many shares, saves the station, and helps Newman win. He bought the shares because of the change incident, explaining it like this:
I know you! You gave me that double-die Denver mint penny. Thanks, Mister! That coin was worth a fortune. Cashing it in gave me enough money for shares and a Rolex watch. See?
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