Top 10 In Their Head Characters in Film



We weren’t kidding when we said to watch out for spoilers. What’s unique about this film is that, where usual split personality twists pertain to one or twocharacters, this film consists entirely of split personalities of Malcolm Rivers, a convicted serial killer, and the entirety of the film occurs within his head. The “killings” of these characters turn out to be a result of a treatment that’s meant to rid him of his nine excess personalities. This is used to fantastically grim effect, by attaching the audience to characters that are ultimately the product of insanity.





Christian Bale plays an insomniac in one of his most critically acclaimed performances in this trippy film. As Trevor, Bale masterfully portrays an insomniac who becomes fascinated to the point of obsession with his mysterious coworker, Ivan. In the climax, Trevor kills Ivan, only to discover...he didn’t actually exist, but is a product of the insomnia, caused by a traumatic incident. The most interesting aspect of this character is the subtle foreshadowing of his true nature throughout the movie, as we gradually come to the realization along with Trevor.





We’ve heard of being twofaced, but three-faced? Joanne Woodward won a Best Actress Oscar for her role as Eve White, a woman who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. Based on a real person named Chris Costner Sizemore, Eve Black is a highly violent alternate personality, in contrast to the timid and submissive Eve White. Meanwhile, Jane is a stable personality that ultimately gains dominance of the shared body and is ultimately able to live a happy life, in an unconventional use of the alternate personality trope.





What would you do if a man in a frightening bunny costume showed up in the middle of the night and foretold of the world’s impending end? So opens “Donnie Darko.” Frank the Rabbit is a mysterious character throughout the film, his actual nature never truly being revealed, though we know that he’s only visible to Donnie. He’s able to convince him to do various outlandish tasks, such as flood his school and burn down a man’s house. While you would normally be happy to have a bunny as an imaginary friend, you’ll probably want to pass on this one.





Michael Keaton stars in this Best Picture winner as Riggan Thomson, an actor who has never been able to reach the heights of his superhero role from more than 20 years earlier, Birdman. Throughout the film, though, Birdman speaks to Riggan, both taunting and encouraging him. He’s truly a personification of his regret for not taking his acting career more seriously, as well as his doubt that he’ll ever be able to mend that. This voice in hishead really helps develop this now-iconic character and gives the audience insight to the inner workings of his mind, while leaving it up to them to decide how crazy he really is.





We could have given each of these quite literally colorful characters a spot on our countdown, but they’d take up half the list. The emotions inside young Riley’s head, as well as her old imaginary friend, are critical in helping her through a tough move to San Francisco. These characters work together to create moments that are at times hilarious, poignant, and surprisingly deep. The chemistry between this group is the secret ingredient to one of Pixar’s best films.





Ron Howard’s Best Picture winner is a character study on the real-life Nobel-Laureate John Nash, following his development of paranoid schizophrenia. As such, his complicated mind creates Charles, his college roommate; Marcee, his niece; and Parcher, a mysterious agent from the Department of Defense, who drives many of Nash’s delusions. What’s great about these characters is the way that they flesh out Nash’s character and create a physical manifestation of his struggle with mental illness.





While most of this movie technically takes place inside someone’s head, Mal is the one character who only exists there. Arguably the main antagonist of the film, she shows up during the big mission only to cause problems, due to Cobb’s grief over her tragic suicide. Mal makes Cobb’s story arc significantly more personal, as he is forced to make peace with the personification of his loss in order to keep his friends and himself safe. Marion Cotillard gives an intense performance that echoes the meaningfulness of her character.





One of the most famous twist endings of all time involves the reveal that Brad Pitt’s Tyler was a figment of the unnamed narrator’s imagination. This means that he was the mastermind behind the fight club, as well as Project Mayhem. The reveal was incredibly impactful, since Tyler was the film’s deuteragonist and one of its most interesting characters. But we can’t help but wonder...does this mean that Edward Norton was just hitting himself then?


Before we imagine our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions:


Jackie Boy
“Sin City” (2005) 


Elvis Presley
“True Romance” (1993)


Su-yeon
“A Tale of Two Sisters” (2003)





She wouldn’t even harm a fly. Her son, however, is a different story. This iconic Hitchcock thriller is normally remembered for its shocking shower scene, but equally shocking is the reveal that Norma, who we thought had been committing these murders, is actually dead, and her son, Norman, takes on her persona when committing these murders. One of the earliest and easily one of the most effective examples of this twist, Norma makes a huge impression on the viewer, despite not technically even appearing in the film.