Right on ... everyone thinks that they're the hero of the movie of their life, right?

This is why we love a great villain, the flawed version of the hero that turned down the wrong path. We recognize ourselves gone wrong.

I was just thinking about this while writing last night, because my characters all contain facets of my personality and my flaws. They share pieces of my worldview -- the anger, or the fear, or the regret, or the hope that lingers despite the madness of this world.

By crafting their unique viewpoints, I learn more about my own. And the crazy thing is that it just comes out. There's an holistic quality toward creating characters that often surprises me.

(Joshua nailed it. Think of THE TALENTED MISTER RIPLEY.)

Recently I had the chance to watch Billy Wilder's "One, Two, Three" and was fascinated by just how unlikable Cagney's protagonist is. But it was a comedy about a meeting and clashing of world views. Capitalist vs. Communist to be precise. Both characters - the old, aging, Capitalist and the young, idealistic Communist are almost caricatures of their belief system and yet they learn to stretch it to meet each other half way - forced to or not.

As a side note, it would be an interesting political comedy if remade today about the green zone in Iraq, and centered on the question of globalization.

One, Two, Three is a Billy Wilder movie that a lot of folks may have missed. I recommend it for much of the same reasons that John mentions. It's also quite funny.

It was a pleasant surprise. Wilder's great to look at character-driven screwball comedy.

And unlikable protagonists.