Fictional Characters and Their Real-Life Inspirations
The truth is always stranger than fiction.
Published 8 months ago in Wow
Though pop culture icons like Indiana Jones, Dr. Strangelove, and Hannibal Lecter may seem like figures that could only come from the depths of a screenwriter's imagination, the truth is a whole lot stranger than fiction. Just ask the adventurers, scientists, murderers and a whole host of other real-life folks whose crazy-but-true life stories wound up enthralling audiences around the globe.
From the teenage socialite who inspired Daisy Buchanan to the fighting friar behind Nacho Libre, here are 17 fictional characters and the real people who inspired them.
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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."
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“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.’”
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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.
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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.
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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."
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