They say that quality is better than quantity, and that can be applied to many aspects of life. Even in the cinema we find several examples of this, because There are iconic characters in the seventh art that, believe it or not, barely have any screen time.And this is where we ask you the following question: what do you prefer, to appear on a film a bunch of times and no one remembers you or to have a couple of memorable appearances?
Well, Well, many of the characters that we love were directed to the second answer, this due to various reasons. There were those who constructed their interventions from the script, so that their appearances would be impressive. But the vast majority had to resort to this resource due to technical problems in the context in which they filmed these films.
Let’s review some iconic film characters who barely appear in their films
It doesn’t matter if you are a villain that everyone hated, a monster that took away the sleep of several generations or a princess, no one is saved from barely appearing in their respective films. But of course, There are those who took advantage of those minutes (even seconds) on screen to completely steal the public’s attention.
That is why Here we tell you about nine cases of characters who, without having them all the time in a film, the appearances they had in the cinema were more than enough for us to remember them for life. To tell you that There are great actors who took on this kind of role and thanks to these brief appearances they won nothing less than an Oscar.… it is not a joke.
Darth Vader
Let’s start with a character that definitely marked a before and after in the history of cinema. That’s right, we are talking about neither more nor less than Darth Vader, who left us all with our mouths open since his appearance in the original trilogy of Star Wars and is considered by many to be the greatest villain of all time.
Although we could say that the plot of the first films focuses on Luke Skywalker and this great character, it seems that his screen time says otherwise. We are not exaggerating, Well, among the three initial films we only saw it in 36 minutes…just like you read it. That was enough to make him a pop culture icon.
dawn
Everyone has their favorite Disney princess, and we’re sure that for many, Aurora is number 1.. And of course, since we saw her in Sleeping Beautythe sixteenth animated film from the house of Mickey Mouse based on the story of the Brothers Grimm, became one of the company’s most beloved characters.
However, Even though Aurora is the protagonist, we barely see her in 18 minutes of the entire film.. As if this were not enough, After 40 minutes of the film, it doesn’t have any more, not even when the prince wakes her up. Although we can understand that, from the title we assume that she would not have that much action, don’t you think?
The Xenomorph
Since we first saw him in Alien from 1979, The Xenomorph became one of the classic monsters of suspense and science fiction films.. And of course, the creature that Ridley Scott put in this movie is not only terrifying, it also has a character design that stays in your head.
However, even though the title of the film mentions it, The alien created by artist H. R. Giger is only seen for a scant four minutes and until 40 minutes after the plot started. In any case, it is understood that they presented it that way, to create tension and for its entrance to result in something epic, and that was the case, because that was more than enough to go down in cinema history.
Bruce
As happened with the Xenomorph from Alien and other horror characters, something similar happened with Bruce, the feared shark of Jaws by Steven Spielberg. It is definitely one of the most feared characters of all time, which threatened the beaches of the West Coast of the United States just by showing its fin.
However, Although we could say that he is the main character of this story, the shark only appears for four minutes in the entire film.. Although that has an explanation, because Due to the technical limitations of the time and the animatronic used for the film not working as expected, it could not have the prominence that Spielberg imagined. Still, it is iconic and with that time on the tape it was more than enough.
Beetlejuice
Michael Keaton has a lot of roles that brought him fame. And without a doubt, Beetlejuice is one of the first that comes to mind, because both his acting and the makeup and costumes made the world hooked on this character and absolutely loved him. So much so that to this day, many continue to dress up as this hateful but charismatic ghost.
And although the film bears the character’s name, surprisingly we only see him on screen for 17.5 minutes of the 92 minutes that this film lasts. Either way, Keaton’s work earned him another collaboration with Tim Burton a few years later, when he became the first Batman to appear on film.
Draco Malfoy
We are sure that when you saw the first Harry Potter movie, They didn’t like Draco Malfoy and they probably even came to hate him. And we understand that, because he always made life miserable for Harry, Hermione and Ron, by feeling superior to them. However, as the films progressed, we began to empathize with him more, to the point that he is one of the favorites of the fans of this saga.
Although Tom Felton participated in all the films of the franchise playing Draco, oddly enough, he only has 31 minutes in the nine installments of the young wizard.…just as you read it. Maybe it deserved more screen time, don’t you think? What do you think about it?
Hannibal Lecter
When we remember The Silence of the Lambsthe first thing we think of is the terrifying Hannibal Lecter, masterfully played by the legendary Anthony Hopkins. In short, this is one of the most iconic characters in the British actor’s career, since he didn’t even need to speak to cause us fear, his simple gloomy image was enough to keep us awake.
However, Despite how impressive this character is and how relevant he is to the film, he only had 16 minutes on screen.. But even if you don’t believe it, that time was more than enough to go down in cinema history and not only that, It also earned Hopkins the Oscar for best actor.. Here the “less is more” applies.
Godzilla
Ok, we already talked above about horror movie characters who barely appeared in their own movies. However, the most famous kaiju of all time is not spared from this either. That’s right, Godzilla himself also has very little screen time, even though he is the protagonist of all the films that bear his name.
And it is so that they can check how the matter is, On average, this monster has a 10-minute appearance in each of his films.However, no matter how much time he has, whenever we see him he gives us epic scenes demonstrating his power and why he is one of the most legendary characters in the seventh art.
Joker – Heath Ledger
Over the years we have seen many versions of the JokerIn live-action films alone, actors such as Jack Nicholson, Joaquin Phoenix, Jared Leto, and Barry Keoghan have taken on the mantle of Batman’s nemesis. However, One of the most iconic representations of this character was the one left to us by Heath Ledger, with which he went down in film history.
The Australian actor shined in The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan, tSo many of us remember that movie for the anarchist and violent attitude of the Clown Prince of Crime.. But as memorable as Ledger’s performance was and he was awarded the posthumous Oscar for best supporting actor, In the two and a half hours that the film lasts, he only appears on stage for approximately 25 minutes.
Boba Fett
We started this list of iconic movie characters who barely had any participation in movies with Star Wars and we closed it with the same saga. We are sure that Boba Fett one of the most epic figures we have ever seen in the universe created by George Lucaswell with his suit, the flamethrower and the rocket on his back he looked super badass, we even thought he would have more prominence.
However, between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi It only has six minutes of screen time.. Although yes, later in the prequels (specifically in Attack of the Clones), The Mandalorian and his own series, The Book of Boba Fett We learned more about the story of the most famous and beloved bounty hunter in the galaxy.
