Does Your Antagonist Have Teeth?
How do you strengthen your ANTAGONIST?
Annie Wilkes in MISERY–she goes from fawning fan to your worst nightmare. She’s delusional, unstable, and sad. She’s also a capable nurse and an enthusiastic reader.
Alonzo Harris in TRAINING DAY–smart, cunning, charming and convincing when he needs to be as well as completely ruthless.
Terence Fletcher in WHIPLASH–he’s brilliant and abusive. He loves the music, and he desperately wants his students to leave a musical legacy… even if he has to destroy them.
What do all of these characters have in common? They are fully-developed, three-dimensional characters with strong goals. And they are a lot stronger (at least, at first) than the protagonist.
Of course, we also have antagonists in oh, so many movies that are one-dimensional, mustache-twirling villains? Of course. Will you be able to break in with those? Probably not. Will you be able to show off your writing chops with those? Nope. Will you be able to convince a name actor (important for raising your budget) to forego their regular quote for a part like that? Definitely not.
What do you need to create a strong Antagonist?
1. Goals & Stakes
Just like the protagonist, the antagonist needs an all-important goal that is extremely personal to them. Look at the above examples: Annie’s whole world was Misery… and she was about to be killed off. Alonzo’s life was literally on the line and so was Terence’s legacy. It’s vital that you give your antagonist a strong, specific goal with sky-high personal stakes.
2. Strengths & Weaknesses
As with the protagonist, we should always ask: “what makes this the perfect, maybe the only, possible antagonist for this particular story?” In other words, what strengths and weaknesses does this character have? What are their particular skills and their Achilles’ heel? Annie has the skills to heal Paul and she’s completely mentally unstable and insanely devoted to Misery. Alonzo is Jake’s superior, tasked with showing him the ropes. He’s experienced and skilled…and he’s a complete crook fighting for his life. Terence is a brilliant teacher and completely devoted to music while he cruelly tries to wring greatness out of his students.
3. The Protagonist Relationship
Look at the relationship between protagonist and antagonist from the antagonist’s point of view. As writers, we have a tendency to view the world and the story solely through our protagonist’s eyes. Let’s remember that we’re all the hero of our own story. And that for the antagonist, the protagonist is what stands in the way of achieving his or her all-important goal. The protagonist is the source of their pain or the danger to their lives or the stumbling block on the way to success.
A strong, fascinating antagonist will make your script memorable and up your chances of breaking in.