12 Character Archetypes Every Actor Should Know
Summary
TLDRThis video introduces 12 major character archetypes found in literature, film, and theater, exploring what drives them. Archetypes such as the Sage, Innocent, Explorer, Ruler, Caregiver, Creator, Magician, Hero, Rebel, Joker, Orphan, and Lover are explained in detail, outlining their core desires, fears, strengths, and weaknesses. The video offers examples of how these archetypes manifest in different characters, helping viewers understand their traits and motivations. It encourages viewers to reflect on which archetype resonates most with them.
Takeaways
- 💡 Archetypes are broad categories that most characters in plays, movies, and literature fit into, helping to define their roles and motivations.
- 🧙♂️ The Sage is a wise mentor, often old and knowledgeable, who helps the protagonist discover truths about themselves or the world, but can be overly perfectionistic and indecisive.
- 👶 The Innocent is a hopeful, trusting character who desires happiness and fears being abandoned. They often lack strength and are easily exploited.
- 🌍 The Explorer is an adventurous individualist who seeks freedom and new experiences, often restless and driven by a desire to avoid conformity and emptiness.
- 👑 The Ruler values power and control, striving to maintain order and authority. They can be benevolent leaders or strict tyrants, but fear chaos and being overthrown.
- ❤️ The Caregiver is nurturing, selfless, and protective, often putting others' needs before their own. However, they can be exploited or become martyrs.
- 🎨 The Creator is imaginative, seeking to leave a legacy through their work. They fear mediocrity and can be perfectionists, often prioritizing their creations over relationships.
- 🧙♀️ The Magician can be good or manipulative, striving to make dreams come true and exert their will on the world. They fear negative consequences from their actions.
- 🦸♂️ The Hero is courageous and determined, often fighting for honor and justice. Their biggest fear is weakness, and they can be overly arrogant or battle-hungry.
- ⚔️ The Rebel resists authority and seeks to challenge the status quo, but they can be reckless, self-destructive, and struggle with finding direction.
Q & A
What is an archetype and how many major archetypes are there?
-An archetype is a broad category that encompasses a certain type of character. Most characters in plays, movies, and literature fit into one or more of these twelve archetypes.
What is the role of a Sage in a story?
-A Sage is a wise, usually old mentor that helps the protagonist discover something about themselves, train in a skill, or learn something new about the world. They are knowledgeable, intelligent, and analytical.
What are the fears of the Innocent character archetype?
-Innocents fear being left out, abandoned, or being unhappy. They also fear getting punished or doing someone wrong.
What motivates the Explorer archetype and what do they fear?
-Explorers are motivated by the desire for freedom and seeking new experiences. They fear being trapped and hate conformity.
How do the Rulers in stories typically behave and what do they fear?
-Rulers seek power and control over others, striving for excellence or becoming tyrants. They fear chaos, not getting their way, and being overthrown.
What is the primary goal of the Caregiver archetype?
-The Caregiver's primary goal is to help and protect others. They are nurturing, caring, compassionate, and generous.
What are the characteristics of the Creator archetype?
-Creators are often artists or artisans who seek to create something that will endure. They are imaginative, self-sufficient, and want to leave a legacy.
What does the Magician archetype represent and what are their fears?
-The Magician represents visionary characters who can make dreams come true. They fear negative consequences from their magic and making things worse.
What is the Hero archetype's motto and what motivates them?
-The Hero's motto is 'Where there's a will, there's a way.' They are motivated by the desire to prove their worth through courageous acts and to improve the world.
How do Rebels differ from other archetypes and what do they fear?
-Rebels live by their own moral code, breaking rules that don't work for them. They fear being powerless or ineffectual.
What is the Joker archetype's approach to life and what do they fear?
-The Joker archetype enjoys life and seeks to lighten the load of the world with humor. They fear being bored or appearing boring.
What challenges do Orphans face in their journey and what do they fear?
-Orphans, often parentless or self-reliant, face the challenge of discovering how they fit in. They fear abandonment and being ostracized.
What is the primary desire of the Lover archetype and what are their weaknesses?
-Lovers desire intimacy and to be with the object of their affection. Their weaknesses include a desire to please others at their own expense and turning love into an obsession.
Outlines
🎭 Introduction to Archetypes in Storytelling
This paragraph introduces the concept of character archetypes, explaining that many characters in stories fit into one or more of twelve major categories, such as caregiver, hero, sage, or orphan. The discussion begins with the archetype of the Sage, who is a wise mentor figure that aids the protagonist by sharing knowledge and guiding their self-discovery. Sages are analytical, truth-seeking, and reflective, yet they can struggle with perfectionism and getting lost in details.
👑 The Ruler and the Caregiver Archetypes
This section explores the Ruler and Caregiver archetypes. Rulers seek power and control, either benevolently or tyrannically. They fear chaos and losing authority, often struggling with delegation and paranoia. Caregivers, on the other hand, are nurturing and selfless, always looking to help others. Their fears include selfishness and ingratitude, and they risk becoming martyrs or being exploited. Both archetypes manifest in a variety of roles, from kings and leaders to parents and healers.
🔮 The Creator and Magician Archetypes
The paragraph details the Creator and Magician archetypes. Creators are driven by a desire to leave a lasting legacy, often artists or innovators who value imagination and transformation. Their fear is mediocrity, and they can become perfectionists. Magicians, meanwhile, possess visionary qualities, seeking to impose their will on the world through wisdom, magic, or strategy. They fear unintended consequences and can be manipulative or destructive if their power is unchecked.
🦸♂️ The Hero, Rebel, and Joker Archetypes
Here, the Hero, Rebel, and Joker archetypes are discussed. Heroes are brave and determined to overcome challenges, often fighting for honor. Their biggest fear is weakness. Rebels break the rules and resist authority, driven by a desire to change the status quo, but they may struggle with powerlessness or self-destruction. Jokers are playful and fun-loving, seeking to lighten the mood. While they bring joy, they can also be unreliable or frivolous, sometimes masking deeper issues with humor.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Archetype
💡Sage
💡Innocent
💡Explorer
💡Ruler
💡Caregiver
💡Creator
💡Magician
💡Hero
💡Rebel
💡Joker
💡Orphan
💡Lover
Highlights
An archetype is a broad category that encompasses a certain type of character.
Sage archetype represents a wise, usually old mentor.
Sage seeks out knowledge and information.
Sage's weaknesses include perfectionism and getting lost in details.
Innocent archetype is characterized by loyalty, honesty, and truthfulness.
Innocent desires a utopian paradise or a happy ever after ending.
Innocent's weaknesses are naivety and being easily taken advantage of.
Explorer archetype seeks adventure and new horizons.
Explorer fears being trapped and hates conformity.
Ruler archetype is concerned with power and control.
Ruler can be a benevolent leader or a tyrant.
Ruler's weaknesses include authoritarianism and paranoia.
Caregiver archetype aims to help and protect others.
Caregiver's weakness is being easily exploited and turning into a martyr.
Creator archetype is often an artist or artisan who seeks to leave a legacy.
Creator's weaknesses include perfectionism and prioritizing work over relationships.
Magician archetype is visionary and can make dreams come true.
Magician's fear is negative consequences resulting from their actions.
Hero archetype is honorable, brave, and tenacious.
Hero's weakness includes arrogance and underestimating enemies.
Rebel archetype lives by their own moral code and resists authority.
Rebel's weakness is self-destruction and lack of direction.
Joker archetype is full of joy, fun, and silliness.
Joker's weakness includes frivolous behavior and irresponsibility.
Orphan archetype seeks to connect with others and find their place.
Orphan's weakness is losing their own identity to blend in.
Lover archetype desires to be a partner and is devoted to their loved one.
Lover's weakness is turning love into an addiction or obsession.
Transcripts
you got a character to play are they a
caregiver or a hero maybe they're a sage
or an orphan or a magician or a rebel
let's discuss 12 major archetypes that
most characters fit in and what makes
them tick join me after the boat
what is an archetype it's it's basically
a broad category that encompasses a
certain type of character most
characters in plays and movies and
literature fit into one or more of these
twelve archetypes so let's get started a
sage is a wise usually old mentor that
helps the protagonist discover something
about themselves trained in a skill or
learn something new about the world they
are knowledgeable intelligent and
analytical their motto is the truth will
set you free now they seek out knowledge
and information and they indulge it self
reflection meditation and understanding
thought processes they are free thinkers
who always have words of wisdom quotes
logical arguments ready to teach they
are usually a very calming presence and
they are great listeners and advisors
now they most fear being duped or misled
and they don't appreciate ignorant in
themselves or in others now the sages
weaknesses include perfectionism getting
lost in the details forever without ever
taking any action or not seeing the
forest for the trees they can also get
caught up in logical conundrums and
contradictions they often can't solve
their own problems and sometimes the
mistakes they make can have grave
consequences you can see the sage
represented in various characters
experts scholars detectives advisors
thinkers philosophers academics
researchers planners professionals
mentors translators shaman teachers and
contemplate errs innocents are
imaginative trusting hopeful characters
they have faith in the world and in
people in general they try to help
others and they do the right thing no
matter what your loyal honest truthful
and down-to-earth their motto would be I
cannot tell a lie they follow the rules
and they just want to be happy
they are not harmful to others they
wouldn't hurt a fly and if they did they
would be so upset about it
innocence desire to get to paradise or
to live in some utopia they long for
that happy ever after ending
what do innocents fear they fear being
left out and abandoned or being unhappy
they fear getting punished or they fear
doing someone wrong weaknesses can
include the fact that they're boring
they're naive they're easily taken
advantage of they often lack physical
strength and street smarts and they
can't handle the brutality and the
cynicism of the world and they have
often been sheltered from it an innocent
can be a child a dreamer
a romantic a naive a hopeful a mystic a
traditionalist a cockeyed optimist and
idealist or a muse the Explorer is an
individualist who seeks out adventure
new horizons don't fence me in is their
motto they long for freedom and they
boldly go beyond the limits they seek to
find out who they are by exploring the
world they like to journey to travel and
seek out new experiences and escape from
boredom they are autonomous ambitious
and true to themselves they really just
want to experience a better more
authentic and more fulfilling life they
really fear being or getting trapped and
they hate conformity they fear that
empty feeling inside they also tend to
search for perfection so they are often
restless and are never satisfied you
will find the Explorer in anyone who is
a seeker an iconoclast a wanderer an
individualist a pilgrim an explorer an
archeologist an adventurer a pioneer or
a generalist
a ruler's primary concern is power and
control over those around them they try
to make family community or society
abide by their rules by exercising some
form of power now they can be prosperous
and benevolence responsible leaders who
are stable and strive for excellence or
they can become strict draconian tyrants
they tend to have plenty of reasons why
everyone around them should listen to
them they do what they must to keep the
peace and are usually pretty good
communicators now a ruler doesn't
actually have to rule they can be other
types of characters who seek power and
control over other people or just one
person a person can exert power by
trying to seduce someone for instance or
they can manipulate somebody into doing
something that they don't want to do
rulers fear chaos and not getting their
way they also fear being overthrown and
can easily become paranoid about plots
against them their weaknesses can be a
tendency toward authoritarianism and the
inability to delegate they also tend to
continually want more power than they
have they can become misers as well so
rulers manifest in any character that is
the boss the leader an aristocrat a king
a queen a politician a role model a
manager administrator seducer patriarch
judge ambassador or sovereign ruler
the caregivers goal is to help and
protect others they are nurturing caring
compassionate and generous they have big
hearts and they commit selfless acts of
kindness we think of them as having a
motherly instinct but they can be
parents of either sex they can be
spouses and friends and lovers they
would do anything to protect their child
their friend their lover even by
sacrificing their own comfort or their
own lives they love their neighbor as
they love themselves now a caregiver
will fear selfishness and ingratitude
and the harshness of the world a
caregivers weakness is that they can be
easily exploited by others and sometimes
they turn into martyrs constantly
reminding everyone of their sacrifices
they have one-track minds and they value
other survival and well-being over their
own now they will manifest in the
following types of characters the saint
the altruist the mother the father the
helper the supporter of the Good
Samaritan the Guardian the angel and the
healer
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the creator is often an artist or an
artisan type but sometimes they can be a
god-like character they look to create
something that will endure the passage
of time and leave a legacy their goal is
to realize their visions and they are
inexhaustible in their pursuits they
want to make things that make life
easier for other people their motto is
if you can imagine it it can be done if
you build it they will come now they try
to develop their artistic skills all the
time they create culture they are clever
non conformist self-sufficient and
imaginative in their approach to life
they love to transform and transmute
things to create something new they are
afraid of mediocrity or failing to
execute a plan or failing to leave their
mark on the world
their weaknesses are perfectionism they
sometimes make bad solutions and bad
decisions they can spend more time
thinking than actually doing and they
bury themselves in their work and they
often prioritize their work over human
relationships they also sometimes have
difficulty communicating their vision to
others you will see the Creator manifest
in the following characters the artist
the inventor the innovator the musician
the writer actor the director the
dreamer the visionary the storyteller
the entrepreneur and the tinkerer let's
take a brief moment here I just wanted
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and down in the description below let's
get back to these archetypes
a magician can be good and wise or
manipulative and evil they are visionary
characters that can see what a person
could be and can make that come to pass
they have a strong desire to understand
the fundamental laws of the universe and
they strive to make dreams come true and
to try to create win-win situations they
make things happen through magic
trickery illusion strategy passion and
historical understanding they regenerate
and renew themselves and others they are
inquisitive and enlightened their
abilities are beyond the comprehension
of those around them
even if they aren't magical in nature
now unlike sages and mentors magicians
wish to impose their will on the world
around them they aren't selfless
magicians fear negative consequences
resulting from their magic and they fear
making things worse they can also fall
into being manipulative or destructive
they are often quick to anger if they
don't get their way and they can be full
of hubris and pride here's some
characters that have magician like
qualities the visionary the catalyst the
charismatic the shaman the healer the
medicine man the illusionist the
alchemist the engineer the scientist the
chemist the wizard the sorcerer or the
mystic
the helium usually is the protagonist of
a story he is off an honorable brave and
tenacious the hero will never give up
against all odds in their fight for
power and honour they are courageous and
they wish to prove their worth in the
world through courageous acts their
motto is where there's a will there's a
way
they will use their mastery to try to
improve the world in some way they tend
to find or build strength and they are
competent with physical and mental
acuity they'll do anything to avoid
losing they are confident they are
collected and they are always ready
heroes can fear things and their biggest
fear is weaknesses in themselves
vulnerability or being labeled a chicken
chicken MacBook they can also have
weaknesses they can often be arrogant
cocky and egotistical they often look
for a battle where there is none and
they can tend to create conflict and see
the rest of the world is something to
overcome or battle they also often
underestimate their enemies some
examples of hero type characters are the
Crusader the rescuer the super hero
soldier Slayer winner team player
Liberator warrior athlete the rebel
lives by their own moral code and they
break rules and laws that don't work for
them they question and resist Authority
and they can be impulsive and
uncompromising in nature their motto is
freedom or death the world sucks so
let's change it they can be radical or
revolutionary and will often protest the
powers that be they desire revenge or
revolution for shaking up the status quo
their goal is to overturn whatever isn't
working now they seek to disrupt destroy
shock and disturb they will speak their
minds but they can also be subversive
loners they provoke people and they
don't care at all about the opinions of
other
they go against the grain of society and
aren't easily pressured or influenced
but if given the chance they can inspire
the masses rebel characters are afraid
of being powerless or ineffectual they
have certain weaknesses as well they may
have a tendency toward crime or going
over to the dark side they are seen as
outrageous or dangerous by others they
can become self-destructive and they
often don't have much power or a clear
direction forward you will see a
manifestation of the rebel character
whenever you see a revolutionary a wild
man a misfit an outlaw a criminal a
maverick a reformer a gambler an
activist a villain a protester a bad boy
a loner or a gangster the Joker is full
of joy and fun and silliness they are
fun to be around everyone seems to like
on they are often wise and they make
good confidants and advisers but they do
so by using humor and flippancy they
tend to enjoy life and they have deep
souls now their motto in life is life is
too short you only live once they desire
to live in the moment with full
enjoyment they seem primarily concerned
with having a great time and lightening
the load of the world they are
comfortable being the center of
attention and speaking their minds and
making light of anything they often play
they crack jokes they come up with witty
or funny retorts they tend to break down
other people's barriers and they ignore
social graces Joker's fear being bored
or appearing boring to others or living
a humorless life being part of the
status quo now on a negative side they
can act frivolously they can be
unreliable in times of need they can be
lazy slackers who waste time it can be
irresponsible or insensitive to others
they might not be able to read the room
so to speak they may refuse to take
sides and
often can't take anything seriously
sometimes they use their humor to mask
inner sadness or depression or evil
intentions they also might be lewd or
greedy or selfish in nature and they are
constantly constantly distracted some
types of characters that are Joker like
our The Fool
the trickster the comedian the goofball
the sidekick the clown the entertainer
the provocateur
the shapeshifter the geek the drag queen
the prankster the practical joker the
court jester in addition to being an
actual orphan an orphan can also be a
regular guy or an everyman type
character they are often parentless
children or adults who tend to fend for
themselves their journey is to discover
how they fit in and what they are meant
to do now they believe that all people
are created equal and they desire to
connect with others they can be
sheltered and they can be loners by
nature but with a strong urge to find
where they belong
they represent the common man they are
down to earth and they usually follow
the rules they like to blend in but they
are also survivors and they have empathy
for other orphans and commoners now
orphans are afraid of abandonment or
being ostracized from a group which can
result in feeling like a loner they are
afraid of standing out from a crowd as
well as not being included in the crowd
in the first place they also fear being
misunderstood the negative side of the
everyman or the orphan is a tendency of
losing their own identity in order to
blend in they might stay in superficial
relationships for long periods of
I'm they never take risks in life and
they don't speak out against long doing
they often carry open emotional wounds
and they want others to take care of
their lives for them they lack
self-confidence and this can lead to
disappointment or playing the victim the
orphan also may have a cynical side and
may be a good manipulator so some
examples of orphan like characters are
the good-old-boy the person next door
the realist
the working stiff a solid citizen the
good neighbor the servant the advocate a
networker the administrator the average
Joe the beggar or the street urchin the
lover desires to be a partner or support
the one that they love the most they see
the object of their affection as the
only one and they are devoted to them
their motto might be I only have eyes
for you
they seek out intimacy and experience
with a friend or lover and they want to
be in a relationship with a person but
it could also be a career or the
surroundings that they love they work
toward becoming more physically and
emotionally attractive they are open
with their feelings they have passion
and gratitude and appreciate commitment
and enjoy romance they love to feel
loved and they love beauty a lovers fear
being alone
unnoticed feeling unwanted or unloved
and a lover's weakness can manifest in a
desire to please others at their own
expense and their love can easily turn
into an addiction or an obsession or a
willingness to commit harm or self harm
in order to get the attention of the
object of their love characters that are
lovers traditionally are the partner the
friend the intimate the enthusiast the
sensualist the spouse the companion the
hedonist the matchmaker
the romantic the [ __ ] and the obsessed
what character archetype do you feel
represents you most of all let me know
down in the comments below you might see
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hope to see you next time
[Music]
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