Crappy film character names

bennyfromtheblok

Over a pint last night the conversation turned to the sad death of Patrick Swayze. My friend said she dreamed of marrying Johnny Castle (his name in Dirty Dancing), I thought it was a stupid name. Never wanting to be sad in a pub, we started thinking of other daft names in movies.

In Point Break, Swayze is just called Bodie - the really bad name is reserved for Keanu who is known as Special Agent Johnny Utah!


My own favourite unreal character names are Cole Trickle - Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder - apart from being a bad name, in the commentary of the races later in the film there is a line "...and it's Trickle on the move" OK maybe it's just me that found it funny. Snake Plissken is Kurt Russell in Escape from New York and Castor Troy who is both Cage and Travolta in Face Off.

It got me wondering why films have people with such unbelievable names - anyone else find this amusing and got examples of crappy names? Why can't John Smith save the world for once...?

David

I always thought Stringer Bell was a stupid name. But he's cool enough to get away with it.

andy

John Matrix, Captain Ivan Danko, Dutch, Gordy Brewer? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Arnold Schwarzenegger (<http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000216/>

David

Keanu must be sick of getting cast as a John. Mnemonic being a particular low point I think.

graeme

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ADGS

Al Swearengen in Deadwood struck me as a bloody stupid name for a sweary bastard saloon owner, but then I found out it was the real name of a real person who seems likely to have been pretty much as he was played on screen (except of course that standards for bad language were milder back then so he probably just said 'damn' a lot).

David

Cocksucker! _(sorry, couldn't resist)_ Whoever thought Ian McShane could be so awesome?

graeme

This puppy looks like he'd disagree

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Pete

Literature started it.

I could never get over the fact the the hero sharp-shooting warrior in Last of the Mohicans was called Natty Bumppo.

ADGS

I really want to see this new series McShane's in, which I believe is called Kings, but it sounds like the sort of thing which will alread have been cancelled and will never make it to any channel anyone keeps an eye on over here.

injoke

mcshane looks like Bad Jesus in that shot