stock characters in film.

the chief. - Jules Winnfield - Pulp Fiction
Throughout the film, we have a constant sense that Jules (played by Samuel L. Jackson, well enough for him to be nominated for an Oscar) knows exactly what he's doing, and he does so with extreme confidence and calmness. When we first meeting, he has a human conversation with his partner (John Travolta) about burgers, above all things. They look like they're just driving to work, until you realize they're hitmen that recite Bible verses before killing their targets, as well as enjoying a good burger. It creates an effective contrast that most action films fail to see. We have to have a sense of humanness in their characters, otherwise they're merely a plot device for action scenes.

the bad boy. - Randle McMurphy - One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest
Randle is one of the most iconic example of rebellion in film and even literature, up there with Tyler Durden (Fight Club) and Holden Caulfield (Catcher in the Rye). The book was written in a time where people were constantly rebelling against the norm, and breaking the mold and pushing boundaries. Yes, the 60s was a magical time, and the rebellion of that era is personified in Randle McMurphy. Ken Kesey substituted Western Society with a Mental Asylum, and the Authoritarian Government was personified by Nurse Ratched, a cruel and wicked nurse that keeps the chronics and the acutes repressed under her tyranny. Until McMurphy comes along and raises hell. He questions authority, refuses constant medication, takes the patients out of the asylum to go fishing, and teaches the patients how to gamble. Jack Nicholson (who won the Oscar for his role) truly embodies the free spirit of the 60s , so much so that he is still iconic and relevant to this very day.

the best friend. - Francis Begbie - Trainspotting
Robert Carlyle often plays serious, dramatic roles, for example: Hitler. But in Trainspotting he plays a dangerously insane, fould-mouthed and violent friend of Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his circle of friends. The interesting thing about Begbie is that you can't say no to him. He threatens to stab Mark at one point and actually does stab another one of his friends at another point. He starts a bar fight by throwing a half-full glass of beer into a crowd of people and raises hell. He constantly picks bar fights for the most petty reasons, like someone distracting him at Snooker. All of this is rebuttaled by Tommy where he says "What can you do? He's a mate." With someone like Begbie, you don't say no to him.

the lost soul. - Jesse Pinkman - Breaking Bad (Season 4 and 5) 
For the first half of Breaking Bad, Jesse was the comic relief sidekick of Walter White. For the latter half, without meaning to spoil, he becomes a tortured soul. Endlessly tormented after he killed an innocent man to keep an illegal business going. He is essentially a harmless character, so when he is put out of his comfort zone, he becomes unstable. He becomes vague, distant, dissatisfied with life,  enough to throw thousands of dollars out the window of a movie car. He can't live happily due to the fact that all of his profit is 'Blood Money'.


the charmer. - Jack Cole - Sideways

Sideways is essentially about a week-long bachelor party, before Miles' (Paul Giamatti) friend gets married. Miles is a divorced and unhappy writer, but Jack (Thomas Hayden Church) is like a teenager in his 40s. He is constantly looking around for women, often for Miles' sake, but is often more successful anyway. Unlike Miles, who is serious and rather pretentious, Jack doesn't pretend, and acts like a child. He's forgetful, irresponsible and dishonest, but does have a way with the ladies. This makes him more of a human character with real flaws and vulnerabilities, instead of a
one-dimensional ladies man.

the professor. - Walter White - Breaking Bad
Walter White is an underachieving chemistry genius. Instead of staying at a company he founded which is now worth billions, he's a high school teacher. Due to recent news that he has lung cancer, he uses his knowledge of chemistry to cook Crystal Meth to support his family after he's gone. Even after his family is secured, he still cooks meth and risks his life. Why? When meeting up with his former colleagues who are now millionaires due to their successes, Walter is embarrassed by his lack of achievement in comparison. When cooking methamphetamine, he makes thousands upon thousands, feeling a sense of accomplishment. After all that studying of chemistry he did, he has finally found something that has value. This adds much more depth to his character, than simply an impossibly smart lab-dweller, which most 'mad scientists' in film fall under.

 
 the swashbuckler - Beatrix Kiddo - Kill Bill
This might seem like an offbeat choice for a swashbuckler. 1. She's female. 2. She's a ninja. 3. She's not Jack Sparrow, which everyone else chose. But the very definition of an archetypical swashbuckler is: The word swashbuckler generally describes a protagonist who is heroic and idealistic to the bone and who rescues damsels in distress. His opponent is typically characterized as the dastardly villain. There is a long list of swashbucklers who combine outstanding courage, swordfighting skill, resourcefulness, chivalry and a distinctive sense of honor and justice. By this standard, she fits perfectly, apart from the damsel in distress bit; you can ignore that. She's the main protagonist of the Kill Bill series, she's very courageous, she has immaculate sword fighting skill (as evidenced in the Crazy 88 fight), she's resourceful of her surroundings (again, see the Crazy 88 fight), and believes strongly in justice and honor. The main theme of Kill Bill is revenge, and this all ties in with justice for the perpetrators of her near-death, and honor for the discipline of warriorhood she's in. This makes her a particularly interesting character, as she breaks the mold of a damsel in distress and is the sword-fighting hero herself.

the warrior - Bruce Willis - Die Hard 
As the later Die Hard films descended into obscurity, the first Die Hard remains a prolific action film in the sense that it used an average Joe as their main hero. "Bruce Willis?" they shrieked, "You mean that TV actor from that awful rom-com series? No way will he make an action hero!"  But it was because of this that he was so successful. It wasn't an action film starring impossibly muscular body builders (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone), but it was about a regular cop thrown in to impossible situations. Unlike the later Die Hard films, he doesn't drive cars into helicopters, but has vulnerabilities and motives like real human beings do. He's just a good guy that wants to do the right thing, with a veneer of sly wit.