Top 10 4th Wall Breaking Characters
Ah yes. The famous 4th wall. For those that aren’t aware (yes I’m talking to you), that 4th wall is what I just broke in those parenthesis. In film, it’s when the actors reference refer to the audience and often look into the fourth wall surrounding them, AKA the camera. If you’re still confused (yes, you) I’m sure you’ll understand after the first entry. While TV character were not considered for this list, there are many notable examples as well such as Fleabag (‘Fleabag’), She-Hulk (‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’), & Will Smith (‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’). Some films feature various characters breaking the wall throughout the film (a la ‘The Big Short’), while others feature one character who is just slightly more self aware than the others. Many movies feature a character looking directly into the camera when a particuarly poignant joke occurs or towards the end of the movie, but I tried to go for entries that break the wall, not just gently tapping it. Looks into camera. ‘The Proposal.’
Deadpool in ‘Deadpool’- I mean, come on. Deadpool is THE fourth wall breaker. While he wasn’t the first character to do so, he perhaps does it the most and the best. He does it across all three movies he appears in and it makes the films extremely meta. Deadpool references his own actor, Ryan Reynolds, other actors in the film and their other works, and will often talk about the behind the scenes studio drama with the ‘X-Men’ films.
Ferris Bueller in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’- Again, Ferris wasn’t the first character to break the fourth wall. Most believe the first 4th wall break actually occurred in 1918’s ‘Men Who Have Made Love To Me.’ It occurred several other times throughout the 20th century, but I personally think Matthew Broderick’s school-ditching teen was the pioneer. Various times throughout the film, Ferris would stop the ensuing scene to fill in the audience, give them advice, or crack a joke. The post-credits scene of this film is also one of the best examples of breaking the 4th wall, with Bueller asking the audience why they’re still in the theater and to go home. This scene is later parodied, basically shot for shot, in the post-credits scene of ‘Deadpool.’
Steve Irwin in ‘The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course’- In this film, the beloved Steve Irwin plays himself with a surrounding plot that includes a piece of a government satellite being swallowed by a croc and various agents pursuing said croc. I think the absolute best choice for this film was having Irwin just play himself. All of the segments with him are exactly like his show, with him directly addressing the audience and looking into the camera, as well as showing off a variety of animals to the lens.
Jordan Belfort in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’- In this 2013 film from Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio’s take on the real life figure of Jordan Belfort. Just like Ferris Bueller, Belfort would stop whatever was happening around him to crack jokes to the audience and provide some exposition. Where he differs from Bueller is that Ferris was skipping school and dancing in parades, while Belfort’s exploits featured a little more sex, money, & drugs. Just a tad more.
The Mask in ‘The Mask’- These fourth wall breaks are a little more akin to Deadpool than anyone else on this list. An anti-hero in his own right, Stanley Ipkiss’s best break comes from when he gets shot, delivers a powerful monologue, and then the character wins an Oscar for his performance. Powerful cinema.
Austin Powers in ‘Austin Powers’- In the spy parody trilogy of ‘International Man of Mystery,’ ‘The Spy Who Shagged Me,’ & ‘In Goldmember,’ Mike Myers plays the man that was lost in time. Powers is a spy from the 60s who gets dropped into the 90s. As you can imagine, outrage ensues and the film makes several jokes, both direct and indirect that are extremely self aware.
The Grinch in ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’- Oh Mr. Grinch. One of my favorite parts of Jim Carrey’s performance as The Grinch is his interactions with the narrator of the film, voiced by Anthony Hopkins. Between this, the nods to the camera, and his desire to not rhyme, The Grinch is seemingly all-knowing of the fact his life is on display in film.
The Narrator in ‘Fight Club’- Never saw Fight Club. Actually I have. But I was breaking the fourth wall with an inside joke. Ha. Look at me go. Breaking the fourth wall in a list about breaking the fourth wall. Like Deadpool said, that’s like breaking sixteen walls. Anywho, Edward Norton’s unnamed protagonist breaking the wall by, again, stopping the scene to provide an information dump. Apparently this is an effective story telling device.
Gonzo in ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’- This one is for my wife. I typically wouldn’t include a narrator (yes, I do realize the last character is quite literally referred to as ‘The Narrator’), but I’m going to include Gonzo (& his partner Rizzo the Rat) here. Gonzo actually takes on the role of Charles Dickens, who is of course, the author of the story. He interacts directly with the characters while also talking the audience through the film.
Hulk Hogan in ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch’- Finally, we have a great cameo example of breaking the fourth wall. I guess you could refer to this as an intermission in the film. When the little troublemaking Gremlins get into a movie theater and start to interfere in the projection booth, the film ‘stops’ and another film begins. Hulk Hogan then comes out of the audience in the on-screen theater to intimidate the little suckers. Hogan then looks into the camera and tells the audience, ‘Sorry, folks. It won’t happen again.’
