What Is a Hero? How to Play the Champion Effectively

The hero is a type of stock character: a selfless protagonist who finds themselves on a literal or metaphorical quest. 

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They’re protagonists with admirable qualities. Heroes share the commonalities of courage, determination, and selflessness. Many older examples of heroes seem to possess some sort of exceptional quality, such as extreme intelligence, virtue, or strength, while many modern works depict a sort of everyman hero: the average person who’s thrown into extraordinary circumstances and is able to save the day. Unlike the equally beloved antihero, the hero is renowned for their innate goodness and usually puts others’ needs first.

They go on quests and overcome hardship. In most ancient examples, the quest is a physical journey from one place to another, such as Odysseus making his way from Troy to Ithaca in “The Odyssey.” In more modern examples, though, the quest can just be a series of necessary events or obstacles, such as Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) searching for glory in “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.”

They follow the Hero’s Journey. To be a hero, one must also go on a Hero’s Journey (or monomyth), a concept defined by literary scholar Joseph Campbell describing the recognizable quest every hero finds themselves on. In brief, with examples from “Tangled” (2010, dir. Nathan Greno, Byron Howard), the journey goes a little something like this:

• Departure: The hero is compelled to leave their everyday life to start a quest, be it for a matter of personal fulfillment or to save those they love from an impending threat—such as when Rapunzel leaves the tower with Flynn Rider to go see the lanterns.
• Initiation: The hero encounters several obstacles (physical or mental) that stand in their way of achieving their goals. Overcoming them may not be easy or straightforward, but they eventually triumph, such as Rapunzel winning over the ruffians and thugs at the Snuggly Duckling pub with a few optimistic refrains.
• Return: The hero returns victorious, having gained something along the way. This could be an important life lesson, unexpected friendship, newfound appreciation for the humdrum of everyday existence, or—like Rapunzel—a long-lost family, romantic love, and a sweet new haircut (and color!).

Here are a few selections across film and theater, ranging from the blatantly obvious to those that are less so. 

Maria von Trapp, “The Sound of Music” (1959, music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse)

First played on Broadway by Mary Martin, and most famously immortalized by Julie Andrews in Robert Wise’s 1965 film, Maria makes a fascinating hero when you consider that the events of “The Sound of Music” are (loosely) based on real life. In the musical, the deeply well-intentioned nun Maria is sent out of her beloved abbey to become a governess for seven children—something she has absolutely no experience with. Although she’s out of her element, she manages to care for and nurture the children, forge a relationship with their strict father, and eventually devise a plan to help them all escape from the Nazis. Hero, indeed.

Marty McFly, “Back to the Future” (1985, dir. Robert Zemeckis)

The protagonist of the cult classic film “Back to the Future,” Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is a great example of a contemporary hero on a more ancient hero’s journey. In Marty’s case, he finds himself sucked back in time to 1955, where he has to figure out how to get back to the present. Things get complicated, though, when he meets his own (teenaged) mother, who promptly falls in love with him. The only caveat to Marty’s inclusion as a hero is that his motivations aren’t entirely selfless; if he fails to get his parents back together, he’ll cease to exist as well.

Hercules, “Hercules” (1997, dir. Ron Clements and John Musker)

Hercules is a figure in ancient Greek and Roman mythology, but he is perhaps best remembered and beloved by modern audiences as the titular character (Tate Donovan) of the Disney animated film. As a young man with unusual strength, unaware of his godly beginnings, Hercules is sent on a quest to become a true hero. Disney’s take on the myth reimagines it for more modern sensibilities: Omitting all of the unnecessary bloodshed, Hercules eventually becomes a true hero not by his acts of strength or feats of bravery, but when he finally risks his own well being to help save Meg’s (Susan Egan) soul. “Hercules” the musical is slated to debut on the West End next summer, and there have been rumblings of a Broadway production, as well… fingers crossed!

SpongeBob SquarePants, “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical” (2016, book by Kyle Jarrow, music and lyrics by nearly 20 artists)

Though a cartoon sponge may be the last thing that comes to mind when you think of a hero, in the context of the Broadway musical, SpongeBob follows the Hero’s Journey to a T. Upon finding out a volcano is slated to erupt and wipe out all of Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob and his friends try to prevent certain doom, encountering obstacle after obstacle. SpongeBob exemplifies the modern trope of everyman-turned-hero; sure, he’s just a fry cook and average joe (a simple sponge, if you will), but his sheer determination and can-do attitude help him save his entire town from a climate disaster. Also, supposedly, Hero is his middle name.

Other notable hero examples include:

• Hamlet, “Hamlet” (1603, by William Shakespeare)
• Ellen Ripley, “Alien” (1979, dir. Ridley Scott)
• Sarah Connor, “The Terminator” (1984, dir. James Cameron)
• Clarice Starling, “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991, dir. Jonathan Demme)
• Buffy Summers, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003) 
• Neo, “The Matrix” (1999, dir. the Wachowskis)
• Katniss Everdeen, “The Hunger Games” (2012, dir. Gary Ross)
• Chris Washington, “Get Out” (2017, dir. Jordan Peele)
• Bella Baxter, “Poor Things” (2023, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)

When you’re ready to take on the hero archetype, there’s no need to go it alone. (You don’t have to be a hero! Oh, wait.) Read ahead for some key things to keep in mind.

1. Find your why. Your hero will likely be placing themselves in a precarious situation or two. That’s all well and good, but it’s important to flesh out their motivations. It goes against human nature to endanger oneself on purpose, so the hero obviously loves (or hates) something quite a bit in order to be willing to do so. Search in the text to find out what it is that the hero has such strong feelings about and go from there.

2. Mind your mannerisms. From the hushed whisper of everywoman hero Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) comforting a victim on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” to Superman’s iconic flying pose, many heroes have unique mannerisms that make them memorable. Try out various physical, vocal, and personality quirks to find your hero’s signature style.

3. Play the conflict. Every hero will have a moment or two of self-doubt—lean into it. Playing the down-to-earth moments will keep your oh-so-virtuous hero relatable to the audience. Similarly, find your character’s arc. The hero goes on an emotionally trying (and often perilous!) journey, so they will be changed from the beginning of the story to the end.

4. Do the work outside the text you’re given. One potential pitfall of playing the hero can be taking everything at face value. Heroes’ stories can be episodic, quickly moving from one obstacle to the next. This can be a lot of fun to watch, but it doesn’t leave a lot of time for introspection. It is your job as an actor to add emotional depth, even if the script doesn’t give you the opportunity directly. “Heroes and heroines are also, almost always, thinking about a bigger story than the one on the page,” writes author-director John Swanbeck. “Although half the fun of creating heroes and heroines is all those great lines of dialogue they get to say, on film a hero or heroine’s best lines of dialogue are often delivered not with the hero or heroine’s words but with the hero or heroine’s eyes.”