“Dave Toschi, the S.F.P.D. inspector that led the Zodiac Killer case, was an inspiration for Steve McQueen's character/style in Bullitt and Clint Eastwood's character in Dirty Harry. George Lucas also named Tosche station on Tatooine in his honor.”

Despite whispers that that the character of Dr. Strangelove was modeled after controversial political scientist Henry Kissinger, actor Peter Sellers later clarified that the character was inspired by notorious German aerospace engineer, Wernher von Braun.

The team behind 'Tár’ has never named an explicit inspiration for the film’s embroiled protagonist, however several fans noticed a handful of similarities between Tár and Marin Alsop, a legendary conductor who was the first woman to earn the Koussevitzky Prize. Despite their similarities — though it should be noted that Alsop has never been accused of inappropriate behavior — the musician was less-than-thrilled with the flick, denouncing it as “anti-woman.”  "I was offended: I was offended as a woman, I was offended as a conductor, I was offended as a lesbian,”she told ‘The Sunday Times.’ “To have an opportunity to portray a woman in that role and to make her an abuser – for me that was heartbreaking."

“Bart Simpson's prank calls to Moe's Tavern were largely inspired by the 'Tube Bar Prank Calls' to owner Louis 'Red' Deutsch who would often be unaware of the prank. When he would catch on, he would get hilariously angry and start a slew of insults towards the pranksters.”

The iconic James Bond villain is said to have been inspired by Charles W. Engelhard, Jr., a mining mogul who was the heir to a muilti-national mining conglomerate.

“18-year-old rich socialite Ginevra King, in love with Scott Fitzgerald, wrote & sent him a Gatsby-like short story. In it, she is trapped in a loveless marriage with a wealthy man yet still pines for him, a former lover from her past. Seven years later this became the outline for 'The Great Gatsby.’”

“'Chicago' the musical was based on a play based on the real cases of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, who were both suspected and later acquitted for murder.”


“Kenny Kramer [was] Larry David's real-life former neighbor. Real Kramer has profited from his association with the show and continues to as the proprietor of The Kramer Reality Tour, a 'Seinfeld'-centric bus ride through New York City.”

“William Randolph Hearst's attempts to stifle 'Citizen Kane' included banning any advertising, reviewing, or mentioning it in his papers, having theaters ban the film, accusing Welles of being a communist, and a Hearst underling allegedly hid a 14 year old girl in Welles' hotel room closet."

“The Jack Black film 'Nacho Libre' is loosely based on the life of Fray Tormenta (Father Storm), a Mexican priest who supported his orphanage as a lucha libre wrestler for 23 years. He still wears his mask during his priestly duties.”

While George Lucas and others associated with the 'Indiana Jones' film franchise have remained tight-lipped on the specific inspiration behind the series’ titular character, American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews is speculated to have played a role in shaping Indy as we know him. Andrews is best known for not only leading expeditions through China, the Gobi Desert and Mongolia, but also discovering the first nest of dinosaur eggs.

“Thomas Harris based his character Hannibal Lecter on a real person [Alfredo Ballí Treviño] a doctor who murdered and dismembered his victims and treated patients while in prison. He spent nearly 40 years in prison before being released in 2000. He went back to practicing medicine.”

Though Waystar Royco heir Kendall Roy took inspiration from several real-life people, he’s allegedly based on Rupert Murdoch’s youngest son, James Murdoch. Much like Kendall, James purportedly took a different approach to the white-collar world than his dad, as “it may not be so much his father that he’s emulating as some generic idea of the advanced business figure,” per reporter Michael Wolff.

While initially named “Lunar Larry,” Buzz Lightyear’s moniker was changed in honor of Buzz Aldrin, who became the second man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission.

The greedy overlord of Springfield’s nuclear power plant drew inspiration from several real-life people. Alongside capturing the spirit of old-school capitalists like John D. Rockefeller, Mr. Burns was designed to look like Fox founder Barry Diller … and a praying mantis.

The ‘South Park' icon is named after Trey Parker’s pal and former high school classmate, Matt Karpman, a decision that stemmed from the events of a 1995 Super Bowl party. “So at one point Karpman jumps up to high five all of his friends and is met with a ‘Shut up Karpman’ from one of us that eroded quickly into more hilarious trash talking,” recalled Parker and Karpman’s friend, Jason McHugh, in a GoFundMe raising money for Karpman’s family following his ALS diagnosis. “All the sudden, Trey who had been sitting quietly in the corner observing this bro fest, blurts out ‘Cartman!  That’s the perfect name for the Fat Kid.’ He said it loudly and we all heard it and started laughing at Karpmen, who was quick to retort with something like ‘F—k you Trey!  I will bung sao your a—!’ … in Trey’s mind that ‘The Fat Kid’ now had to be named ‘Cartman.’ It was a done deal."