It’s not at all uncommon for a movie to feature the name of a character in its title. Usually, this directly communicates the importance of that particular character to the plot. When a story is driven by one particular character above all others, it generally creates the perception that the movie in question will feature that character more heavily than its supporting cast. And while this is usually the case, it isn’t always as true as logic would otherwise dictate. In some cases, a movie’s title makes use of a character’s name, only for the audience to learn that they aren’t the main character at all.
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Sometimes, the reveal that the title character isn’t the protagonist is a stunning movie twist that audiences didn’t see coming. Other times, it’s because a character’s importance to the plot doesn’t translate to a large role in the movie itself, as the story concerns other characters acting on their behalf. The specific reasons for this particular phenomenon aside, it’s actually alarming how regularly it crops up in modern cinema.
7) Nemo – Finding Nemo (2003)
Although many Pixar movies are traumatizing, Finding Nemo remains one of the few able to pack a significantly emotional story without reducing its audience to a blubbering mess. Although Nemo is the character whose name is in the title, his story takes a back seat to that of his father, Marlin. Nemo being taken from his home is the catalyst for Marlin’s journey across the world to find his son, so while Nemo isn’t technically the protagonist, he’s still the movie’s most important character.
6) Spock – Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)
Although it may not be the best Star Trek movie, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is still an important chapter in the story of its characters. Despite Spock being the character in the movie’s title, he is barely in the movie at all, as it follows on from his death at the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. His resurrection leads to him playing a small role in the movie, but it’s far less than that of the majority of his co-stars, despite the title seemingly giving him top billing.
5) Private James Francis Ryan – Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Often hailed as one of Steven Spielberg’s best movies, Saving Private Ryan is one of the most celebrated World War II movies of all time. Its story, which follows a group of soldiers led by Tom Hanks’ Captain John Miller, concerns a rescue mission into Nazi-occupied territory to save the last surviving son of a military family. Despite Matt Damon’s Private Ryan being the character in the movie’s title, the film’s focus is largely on the efforts of Miller and his team rather than the man they set out to rescue.
4) Joe Black – Meet Joe Black (1998)
Meet Joe Black is a criminally underrated movie that stars Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt, and Claire Forlani, and tells the story of an aging media mogul visited by an embodiment of death. Joe Black is the name Bill (Hopkins) gives to Death, played by Brad Pitt, while he visits, rather than his actual identity. Additionally, Joe isn’t even really the main character, as the movie’s plot revolves more around Bill and his daughter, Susan (Forlani), than it does around Joe.
3) Jay Gatsby – The Great Gatsby (2013)
While The Great Gatsby might not be considered one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s best performances, it’s one of his more high-profile movies of the past few decades. The blockbuster adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s literary classic might have cast DiCaprio as its title character, but that doesn’t mean he was the protagonist. The Great Gatsby‘s story instead follows Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s former neighbor, who recounts stories of his one-time friend. Though he’s one of the most well-known title characters of all time, Jay Gatsby technically isn’t the lead in the movie named after him.
2) The Terminator – The Terminator (1984)
Not only did 1984’s The Terminator start the franchise of the same name, but it continues to stand out as one of the best movies in the Terminator franchise. The title character is a T-800, an advanced robot sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor in a plot to win a futuristic war, and is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in one of his most iconic movie roles. However, he isn’t at all the lead of the movie, but rather the relentless villain pursuing both Connor and time-travelling soldier Kyle Reese, who serve as the movie’s two protagonists.
1) Bill – Kill Bill (2003)
Quentin Tarantino’s two Kill Bill movies are some of his most gloriously violent works, but the character they’re named for is actually barely in them. The titular Bill, played by David Carradine, is the Bride’s target for revenge, and she cuts a bloody path through her former associates in order to get to him. Though the movies aren’t named for Uma Thurman’s Bride, who serves as their protagonist, she is undeniably the main character, as well as one of Tarantino’s most iconic protagonists.
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