Iconic Film Characters Who Barely Appear in Their Movies
It’s a common phenomenon in the film industry: iconic characters who barely make an appearance in their own movies. In this article, we’ll explore nine cases of characters who, despite having a limited screen time, have become unforgettable in the world of cinema.
Let’s Review Some Iconic Film Characters Who Barely Appear in Their Films
It doesn’t matter if you’re a villain that everyone hated, a monster that kept several generations awake at night, or a princess, no one is safe from just appearing in their respective movies. But of course, there are those who took advantage of those minutes (even seconds) on screen to completely steal the public’s attention.
That is why here we tell you about nine cases of characters who, without having them all the time in a film, the appearances they had in the cinema were more than enough for us to remember them for life. By telling them that there are great actors who took on this kind of role and thanks to these brief appearances they won nothing less than an Oscar.
The Xenomorph
Since we first saw him in Alien from 1979, the Xenomorph became one of the classic monsters of suspense and science fiction films. And of course, if the creature that Ridley Scott put in this film is not only terrifying, it also has a character design that stays in your head.
However, even though the title of the film mentions it, the alien created by artist H. R. Giger is only seen in just four minutes and until after 40 minutes of the plot starting. In any case, it is understood that they presented him that way, to create tension and for his entrance to result in something epic, and so it was, because that was more than enough to go down in film history.
Bruce
As happened with the Xenomorph from Alien and other horror characters, something similar happened with Bruce, the feared shark of Jaws by Steven Spielberg. It is definitely one of the most feared characters of all time, which threatened the beaches of the West Coast of the United States just by showing its fin.
However, although we could say that it is the main character of this story, the shark only appears for four minutes in the entire film. Although that has an explanation, because due to the technical limitations of the time and the fact that the animatronic used for the film did not work as expected, it could not have the prominence that Spielberg imagined. Still, it is iconic and with that time on the tape it was more than enough.
Beetlejuice
Michael Keaton has a lot of roles that brought him fame. And without a doubt, Beetlejuice is one of the first that comes to mind because both his acting and his makeup and costume made the world fall in love with this character and love him. So much so that to this day, many people continue to dress up as this hateful but charismatic ghost.
And although the film bears the character’s name, surprisingly we only see him on screen for 17.5 minutes of the 92 minutes that this film lasts. In any case, Keaton’s work earned him another collaboration with Tim Burton a few years later, when he became the first Batman to appear on film.
Draco Malfoy
We are sure that when you saw the first Harry Potter movie, they didn’t like Draco Malfoy and they probably even came to hate him. And we understand that, because he always made life miserable for Harry, Hermione and Ron, feeling superior to them. However, as the films progressed, we began to empathize more with him, to the point that he is one of the favorites of the fans of this saga.
Although Tom Felton participated in all the films of the franchise playing Draco, oddly enough, he only has 31 minutes in the nine installments of the young wizard…just as they read it. Maybe he deserved more screen time, don’t you think? What do you think about it?
Hannibal Lecter
When we remember The Silence of the Lambs, the first thing we think of is the terrifying Hannibal Lecter, masterfully played by the legendary Anthony Hopkins. This is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic characters in the British actor’s career, as he didn’t even need to speak to scare us, his simple, creepy image was enough to keep us awake at night.
However, despite how impressive this character is and how relevant he is to the film, he only had 16 minutes on screen. But even if you don’t believe it, that time was more than enough to go down in film history and not only that, it also earned Hopkins the Oscar for best actor. Here the "less is more" does apply.
Godzilla
Ok, we already talked above about horror movie characters who barely appeared in their own movies. However, the most famous kaiju of all time is not spared from this either. That’s right, Godzilla himself also has very little time on screen, even though he is the protagonist of all the films that bear his name.
And it is so that they can check how the matter is, on average, this monster has a 10-minute appearance in each of his films. However, no matter how much time he has, whenever we see him he gives us epic scenes demonstrating his power and why he is one of the most legendary characters in the seventh art.
Joker – Heath Ledger
Over the years we have seen many versions of the Joker. In live-action films alone, actors such as Jack Nicholson, Joaquin Phoenix, Jared Leto, and Barry Keoghan have taken on the mantle of Batman’s nemesis. However, one of the most iconic representations of this great character was the one left to us by Heath Ledger, with whom he went down in cinema history.
The Australian actor shined in The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan, so many of us remember this film for the anarchist and violent attitude of the Clown Prince of Crime. But as memorable as Ledger’s performance was and he was awarded a posthumous Oscar for best supporting actor, in the two and a half hours that the film lasts, he only appears on screen for approximately 25 minutes.
Boba Fett
We started this list of iconic movie characters who barely had any participation in movies with Star Wars and we closed it with the same saga. We are sure that Boba Fett one of the most epic figures we have ever seen in the universe created by George Lucas well with his suit, the flamethrower and the rocket on his back he looked super badass, we even thought he would have more prominence.
However, between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi He barely has six minutes of screen time. Although yes, later in the prequels (specifically in Attack of the Clones), The Mandalorian and his own series, The Book of Boba Fett we learned more about the history of the most famous and beloved bounty hunter in the galaxy.
