Top 10 Movie Mentors
Every hero has a mentor. Some are more influential and direct than others, and some are so good that they become synonymous with the role. In this list, I’m going to countdown the 10 greatest mentors in movies. I won’t be including any characters based on real people so coaches like Herman Boone (Remember the Titans) & Ken Carter (Coach Carter) will unfortunately be left off the list. And since I’m going to look exclusively at films, I’m going to have to exclude Master Splinter from ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.’ While this pains me, he just doesn’t quite get it done in the movies like he does in the shows. Also I want to shoutout my honorable mention, Peter B. Parker from ‘Spdier-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.’
Mr. Miyagi from ‘The Karate Kid’- To me, Mr. Miyagi is the epitome of a movie mentor. Pat Morita’s Oscar-nominated role teaches Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) how to stand up for himself through karate. He was the pioneer of the chores to training pipeline with his fence painting, sanding a floor, and, most famously, waxing a car. I also think Jackie Chan’s version of the character (called Mr. Han) in the 2010 remake is also a great mentor.
Dr. King Schultz from ‘Django Unchained’- While Morita was nominated for his role, Christoph Waltz won the Best Supporting Actor (his second win) for playing this dentist turned mercenary. Throughout the film we see Schultz free Django (Jamie Foxx) and subsequently take him under his wing, teaching him how to legally kill and get paid.
Gandalf from ‘The Lord of the Rings’- Something about having a long beard just really helps your mentoring skills. Ian McKellen is another actor who got an Oscar nomination for his mentor role (in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’). While many actors were in talks to play the role, it fell into the perfect hands of Sir Ian whom we see take various characters under his wing through the LOTR & Hobbit films, including Frodo (Elijah Wood), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Pippen (Billy Boyd), & Bilbo (Martin Freeman).
Obi-Wan Kenobi & Yoda from ‘Star Wars’- I’m hitting a two for here. Both Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) & Yoda (Frank Oz) serve as extremely influential mentors to Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). While Kenobi & Luke really don’t spend that much time together in life, Obi-Wan does come back as a force ghost to continue to guide the young Jedi. Yoda teaches Luke in a more practical manner and revolutionized the idea of the mentor backpack. It’s also worth noting that like the previous entries, Guinness received an Oscar nomination for his role in ‘Star Wars.’
Albus Dumbledore from ‘Harry Potter’- We don’t really see Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris & Michael Gambon) truly mentor Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) until the latter half of the saga. He teaches Harry how to defeat Voldemort (thought still leaves a good amount of room for Harry to have to figure it out on his own) & also guides the young wizard back to life when he is killed by the Dark Lord.
Master Shifu from ‘Kung Fu Panda’- Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) is really the first reluctant mentor here. While he failed at mentoring Tai Lung (Ian McShane) & gladly mentored the Furious Five, he really never wanted to have to train Po (Jack Black). Though we see him change his mind through the story (and subsequent films) as he is guided by his own mentor, Grand Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim).
Queen Clarisse Renaldi from ‘The Princess Diaries’- Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews) is a slightly different type of mentor than the others on this list. So far, all the rest have been training their mentees to fight, kill, or complete a quest. The Queen, however, teaches her granddaughter, Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) how to lead a kingdom & keep your composure in the public eye.
Chef Gusteau from ‘Ratatouille’- When Remy the Rat (Patton Oswalt) decides to pursue his dream of cooking, he is encouraged to do so by a floating spirit like image of the legendary Chef Auguste Gusteau (Brad Garrett). While Gusteau is just a figment of Remy’s imagination, he stems from the rat’s experience hearing and reading the chef’s work and his motto that ‘anyone can cook.’
Agent K from ‘Men in Black’- Similar to Shifu, Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) was a more reluctant mentor to new Men in Black recruit, Agent J (Will Smith). Over the course of the film, that turns into a trilogy of films, we see J grow on K and the world saving product that stems from the two’s relationship.
John Keating & Sean Maguire from ‘Dead Poets Society’ & ‘Good Will Hunting’- I understand that it’s odd for me to include two different characters from two different movies. But, since they’re both played by the legendary Robin Williams, I felt I could put them here together. As John Keating (a role for which Williams received a Best Actor nomination), we see the actor take a group of teenage students under his wing as their new English teacher. He teaches the boys to seize the day (carpe diem) and becomes their true captain. As Sean Maguire (a role for which Williams won Best Supporting Actor), we see the actor take Will Hunting (Matt Damon) under his wing when he takes the young mathematic genius on as a psychiatric patient. We see the two bond, connect, and how both of them are able to move on from past trauma.
