The Top 10 Best Fictional Actors from Movies
These Fictional Actors Deserve All the Fictional Academy Awards.
Hollywood loves itself. So, it’s no wonder that there have been a ton of movies where actors have portrayed fictional actors on screen. Recently, I found myself inspired by my previous list of the best movies about filmmaking and decided to honor some of the better characters from films like that. In order for a character to be included on this list, they had to be playing fictional actors. In other words, no biopics about actual actors. I broadened my scope and decided to include television and stage actors on this list, as long as the character appeared in a movie. The end result is a list with a lot of (fake) star power with some of the biggest and brightest names that never existed. Check it out and be sure to let me know what you think of the characters that earned a spot on this list of incredible fictional actors.
10. Miss Piggy- The Muppet Movies
One of the most recognizable muppets earns among the rest of these fictional actors because she believes she’s destined to be a star. Like so many other of the fictional actors on this list she’s got plenty of problems though, including incredibly scary anger issues that she usually takes out on the love of her life, Kermit the Frog. She’s got an ego as big as she comes and tends to come across as narcissistic more often than not. Still, Miss Piggy is a pop culture icon and has appeared in pretty much every Muppet movie and television series. While she hasn’t exactly become a huge star yet, there’s no doubt that she’s one of the most memorable fictional actors in movie history, mostly because she’s a muppet.
9. Martin Weir- Get Shorty
Danny DeVito is one of the strangest real actors of all time. Don’t get me wrong, the man is a genius and I love everything he’s ever been in, but the fact that he played one of the biggest names in Hollywood in Get Shorty is just too weird for words. Martin Weir is an bankable A-list actor who has played every kind of role imaginable from actor heroes to Napolean himself. So, when Chili Palmer needs a star to make sure his movie is a success he won’t settle for anyone less than Weir. While we don’t really get to see his character do much “acting” in the movie, we get to see that he’s just another stereotypical Hollywood superstar that thinks the world revolves around him. Still, it would be a travesty not to acknowledge that he’s one of the greatest fictional actors of all time.
8. Margo Channing- All about Eve
Moving from movies to Broadway, we’ve got famed thespian Margo Channing. However, as most real actresses know, the world doesn’t look kindly on women over the age of 40 (unless you’re Charlize Theron). While she’s still a renown star, her fame is fading and soon a young up and coming actress inserts herself into the stars life as a frienemy. While Eve might be the up and comer in the fil, (it is all about her, after all) I chose Margo for this list of fictional actors because while she might have not enjoyed her fading stardom, she at least wasn’t out to ruin anyone or steal anything from those who had earned it. Instead, she eventually made peace with it and chose roles that might not have been leading ladies, but let her remain in the spotlight.
7. Norma Desmond- Sunset Boulevard
Apparently, there was a trend in the 1950s of fictional actors fading from stardom, because Sunset Boulevard came out the same year as All About Eve. This aging actress though is a far cry from Margo. Emotionally unstable, Norma is a woman who clings to the fantasy that she is still the toast of the town with many adoring fans who won’t hesitate to write her fan mail (all of the letters are actually penned by her faithful butler). She plans to make a come back with a script she’s been working on for a movie starring her. Unfortunately, the script is hot trash and she hires an unwitting script doctor to help her out. Her delusions though get the better of her in the end and she takes things further than Margo ever would have.
6. Don Lockwood- Singin’ in the Rain
I’ve always been a huge fan of Gene Kelly, especially his performance as silent film actor/ stuntman Don Lockwood. Like so many other silent film stars, Don was thrown by a loop when “talkies” started becoming all the rage in the Hollywood of yesteryear. As with so many other industries, if you don’t adapt, you die. This led to Don joining forces with his fellow co-stars to come up with a movie concept that would blow all those other new-fangled movies with sound right out of the water. Not just a movie with talking, but with singing and dancing too. His hard work pays off and his new movie is a success. Unlike the other fictional actors on this list though, Don is a down to earth guy who believes in giving credit where it’s due, even if that means stepping out of the spotlight.