What is a Flat Character?

When you’re trying to figure out which character types to put into your screenplay, you have to first consider what you need your characters to accomplish in your story.

Outside of protagonists and antagonists, there are going to be a lot of people across a lot of scenes who have different goals.

Some of those characters you develop will be known as ‘flat characters.’ But what does that mean, and how do they function within a story?

Let’s dive into the definition and look at some examples.

---

Flat Character Definition

Flat characters are straightforward and uncomplicated. They often serve a single purpose within the story and lack depth and complexity.

Are Flat Characters Good or Bad? 

In general, flat characters are just useful bodies in the story you can use to advance the plot. But if someone tells you your main characters or villains are coming across as flat, then you have a problem.

This is one of those great writing conundrums. Flat characters are going to happen. They’ll be the person your detective gets information from, a funny sidekick, or the gas station attendant who calls the coin flip.

They can be memorable and important, just not as important as everyone else.

Why Do You Need a Flat Character? 

Here’s a little secret from a screenwriter with some modest success: not every character can be completely full. Some characters need to help the plot move forward and that’s all.

Now, you want to make these people feel unique and real, but they don’t have to hold a deep dark secret. They can just be there to give laughs, to give exposition, or function in any way that advances the story.

You really just want them to add to the world you’re building, not take it over.

It can be hard to understand these people without looking at examples, so let’s take a peek at how some of these characters work in other stories.

Flat Character Examples

When it comes to flat characters, there’s a lot to choose from across film and television. I made a list of some of my favorites that I think illustrate my points.

• Crabbe and Goyle (Harry Potter series): Draco Malfoy’s sidekicks are primarily defined by their loyalty to him and their lack of intelligence, serving mostly as henchmen.
• Drax the Destroyer (Guardians of the Galaxy): While providing comic relief, Drax is mainly defined by his literal-mindedness and his quest for revenge, which drives his actions. I would say he’s rounded more in the first movie, but after that just is a comic relief guy, so he sort of transitions into flat.
• Janice (Friends): Chandler’s on-again, off-again girlfriend is characterized by her nasally voice and annoying laugh, serving primarily as a recurring source of comedy.
• Newman (Seinfeld): Jerry’s nemesis is defined by his scheming nature and is also there to help move story and laughs.
• Yoda (Star Wars): While wise and powerful, yes, but Yoda is really there to explain things and also teach other characters how to use the force.
• The Terminator (The Terminator): Even though he’s the main antagonist, the Terminator is programmed with a single-minded purpose and shows no emotion or development. This then gets subverted in the second Terminator movie, when they use him as a flat character to explore the deeper ones.

Summing Up Flat Characters

Hopefully, you’re a little clearer on flat characters now. Again, you want those people in your screenplays to feel purposeful and never to feel like you have undeveloped anyone. But sometimes, you just need a character to stand out for one scene.

For those kinds of characters, it’s okay to be flat.

Let me know what you think in the comments.