So much focus on screenplay writing, as well as critique, seems to be on the main character, or the hero. Certainly, a lot of that focus is warranted. No one wants to have a screenplay with a weak or ineffectual hero. However, I would submit to you that you need to spend an equal amount of time developing your supporting characters. Clearly there are different levels of supporting characters, and you need to spend an appropriate amount of time on each depending on their importance to the story. You’re not going to spend as much time developing a guy who has one line in a coffee shop as you are the love interest or the antagonist, but you do need to take all of these characters in to the appropriate consideration.
Each character is an individual piece to the jigsaw puzzle which is your script. If you’re missing a piece, your script can’t be complete.
The reason for this is because the supporting characters fill up so many roles in your story. They are the allies, the enemies, the mentors, and the lovers. They are the characters that drive your hero to her triumphs and tragedies, and they need to be just as real and empathetic as your hero is. That means they need depth. They need real personalities. They need idiosyncrasies of their own. At the most basic level they need to have all of these things so that they can perform whatever functions they have in the script.
A good place to start when developing your supporting characters is to think of them in their archetypal terms. In his book The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler discusses how characters can wear the “masks” of multiple archetypes over the course of the story. Depending on which masks your supporting characters wear, you can develop in them unique and individual personalities that allow them to wear those masks. For example, a character who starts out as a Herald, then becomes a Mentor, only to end up as a Shadow could have a certain type of manipulative and dishonest personality while a character that starts off as a trickster and turns into an ally may be more fun-loving and likable.
Now then, that was a gross over-simplification about how that works, but the basic principles are there. I wrote and earlier blog about character traits and how you want to make sure you have at least separate traits, and one trait should be negative of the other two are positive and vice-versa. That applies to your hero, and should also apply to your supporting characters.
Here’s why it’s so important. The supporting characters are really the lifeline to your hero and to her adventure. They are the Mentor that gives them advice. They are the Ally that fights side by side with her. They are the shoulder for her to lean on. They are the comic relief that keeps the story from becoming melodramatic.
Well-developed and likable supporting characters add the quality of your script and need to be given their due by being made into the integral pieces of the story for which they’re intended.
Remember that in the original Star Wars Han Solo is actually the first character to say, “May the Force be with you”. Think of all of the memorable lines that Red has in The Shawshank Redemption. Hooper from Jaws is one of my all time favorite supporting characters because he breathes new life into that film the moment he appears. Any number of sadistic drill sergeants from Full Metal Jacket to An Officer and a Gentleman fit the bill as well. The list goes on and on, but the simple fact remains that supporting characters do just that. They support the hero on her journey and they support the story. Therefor they need to be given just as much effort and development as any other aspect of your script.
If you feel like you need some assistance in developing your supporting characters, check out the link below to see how Monument Scripts can help.
http://monumentscripts.com/service/