#character tips

2. Length of History

How long have they had this relationship? If the characters have known each other since they were little kids and they’re best friends, they should know a lot about each other. That could be a conflict when one of them holds a big secret. If they’ve known each other for a week, then they shouldn’t know much about each other.

3. What perceptions do they have of each other?

What do they think of the other person? We all have separate ideas of how a person acts so your character should too. Are they friends but the one feels like the other is annoying. That defines a part of the characters relationship. Show this to create more complexity in the relationship

4. Show how they act physically around each other

How do they act around each other. Is character a very unaffectionate to most but only affectionate to character b? By showing how they express themselves and if it’s any different from how they normally do you can highlight the relationship better.

5. What do they like and dislike about each other?

What things does the other person do that irritates them. What do they do that they like? Are their problems that they have on the small to more complex level? How does it make each person feel. How do their personalities clash and work with each other. What do they admire and hate about each other?

6. Think about what needs work?

Think about if you want the relationship to develop and how it develops throughout the plot. If the characters are going through a tough time or if they’ve spent time apart and are reuniting, they’re going to have different interactions. This can help drive the characters to develop different perceptions about the other character involved.

so we've seen fall guy right?? if you're here you've probably seen fall guy at least once. hopefully. so you know that we have some pretty limited information to work with on tom's personality + characterization as provided by the film. in total, we have:

the opening scene, which is mostly centered on colt explaining who tom is as the "biggest action star on the planet". tom's screen time here is pretty much just being like "there's too much face. you know? his jaw does not look like my jaw, it's really obvious that it's not me here, like, can we do it again? just with less face?"

the party scene [both in flashback and on the phone]

the unedited footage from the film when tom forgets he's wearing a mic and complains pretty inappropriately - "god damn it jody, i mean, it looks like freakin' burning man. my balls are drenched, i need a towel"

the confrontation scene, where colt crashes into the yacht when running away from people who are veeery clearly trying to kill him. this one is the BIGGEST one because its the most screen time, most outright personality + motivation reveal, and therefore our best indicator on how he acts.

everything at the end with the chase / confession scene + helicopter scene

there's also a dozen references throughout the film of what he's like, as told by other characters [which are generally less reliable narrators than his actual person and actions as shown in film, but still super important to keep in mind anyway!]

⭐ the opening scene generally implies to me that tom is pretty self-aware in terms of his looks, and in the same vein, pretty self-involved. it's the first sign that his ego is preeeetty big

⭐ the party scene shows that he's pretty easily irritable since he flies off the handle and initiates the play-fight that gets henry killed over henry joking and going "hey, do you do your own stunts?" - i mostly attribute his irritability to the influence of drugs, because of how much drugs can alter your perception and reactions

⭐ the unedited footage from metalstorm shows that he's veeery blunt. he has very little filter, even at work, because he's tom friggin ryder, he's gonna get away with it. like, people aren't gonna throw him out of the studio because he says shit like "my balls are drenched, i need a towel"

⭐ the other videos on tom's phone [showing off a tramp stamp, whether it's real or made by makeup is up to you and your interpretation, and also reciting a monologue from richard iii by william shakespeare while drunk/high] tell me three different things. 💫 firstly, he really likes himself and his body, and he has no shame when it comes to showing off said body - it also shows that, when he's flirting with someone, he's pretty much just generic fuckboy flirty. dick pics, "wyd?" texts at 2 am, etc. 💫 secondly, he enjoys his job. a lot. i think he is genuinely passionate about acting and he practices even when there's nothing to practice for. reciting richard iii's monologue line for line without a script, to me, is proof that he dedicates himself to his craft. 💫 thirdly, and this one is just how i interpret it into a headcanon - i think tom likes theater, be it plays or musicals, and i think he was a theater kid in high school. he has an appreciation for the classics, as shown by the richard iii monologue, and i honestly would love to view it as him just appreciating theater/acting as a whole craft, and not just the job aspect of it.

⭐ the confrontation, to me, is proof that tom is pretty self-absorbed and doesn't actually think too much about how other people perceive him. he's tom friggin ryder. most people should love him. he's using his image, things he's done for colt, to make him feel bad about not willing to roll over and die for tom's image, on top of not actually caring how colt sees him - he just assumes they were as close as all get out, refers to them as 'being like brothers' because they're so close. doesn't actually care if colt sees it the same.

⭐ more on that same scene. "it's nothing personal, it's just business. tom ryder is a global brand, i literally move markets." this is proof to me that his ego is not unfounded. he knows what influence he has in the world, he's seen it himself first-hand more than a few times, and furthermore, he's willing to do just about anything for that image because - again - why shouldn't he? he's tom friggin ryder. 💫i think it's also really reaaaally important that we're viewing this with the lens of how tom reacted when he accidentally killed henry, when gail called him and said "this doesn't look good, bad for marketing, and renting, and blah blah blah," - he's literally sobbing in a bath tub, he had not changed since the party, he was barely holding himself together. he feels guilt. tom is not apathetic. he feels remorse for what he did, he's actively trying to push away the consequences of his actions and sobbing over it because he feels terrible. 💫 keep this in mind for viewing how he's approaching colt's framing and murder - he's not doing it by his own hand, he cant bring himself to. that is a sign of how guilt-prone he is. he's also actively trying to build a barrier between how he feels about it all with "it's just business", actively trying to separate himself from the situation or reason it away so he doesn't feel bad about murdering colt and using him as a scapegoat.

⭐ MORE on the confrontation scene - literally the entire plot of fall guy is founded because of tom ryder doing drugs, which makes him paranoid, which makes him act insane. the original accident is caused by "colt pushing his buttons" and "trying to hog the spotlight" [prompted by the fact that colt was 'showing too much face' in a scene, mind you]. he tampers with colt's stunt because he feels like colt is out to get him, to surpass him - paranoia, caused by drugs. henry making fun of him at the party in front of other people like that, felt like a personal attack, because of the paranoia, because of the drugs.

⭐ i think its also really telling that tom didn't want to frame anyone, he didn't want to make anything out of henry's murder, but gail recognizes what it looks like and acknowledges they can't just sweep it under the rug, so she's the one who has to orchestrate the cover-up after the fact. i think its telling that tom didn't want to do any of this, didn't even think of any of this on his own. also telling that he doesn't get involved in colts murder. refuses to even stick around for while they're doing it.

⭐ coward. he is most definitely a coward. he doesn't do his own stunts and cannot handle the fear that comes with doing them or being in dangerous situations. his high and mighty, self-important view completely crumbles when he's faced with any kind of real danger. it also proves that he did not have that much respect for his stunt doubles because he's never actually processed the danger of stunts until he was in one.

⭐ also. tom hesitates when he's faced with the responsibility of shooting colt, himself. and his reasoning for why he hesitates isn't that "everyone would know i'm a murderer if i shoot him now" or "there's no way we can get out of this anymore, almost a hundred people have heard me say that i killed henry and you helped me cover it up". it's "he's the best damn stunt double i've ever had". that is his reasoning. that is his hesitation. and i will guarantee you that it's because of the car ravine jump, he's probably thinking about the stunts colt has done over the years and the fear he must've had to curb for the sake of his job, and how he's always done them fucking flawlessly. also the fear he has when colt jumps out of the helicopter cause he doesn't know they have an airbag down there for colt??? man, it's clear that he actually does care about colt and i think that's so important

⭐ and god please don't forget about the sticky notes. i have so much to talk about regarding the sticky notes. dialogue explains that tom didn't always do the sticky notes, or at the very least, it wasn't as bad as it is now. it's gotten way worse over the year that colt's been gone, where tom fell further into drugs - i honestly believe that his memory is deteriorating because of the drugs, which is why he posts sticky-notes everywhere, things to remind him of stuff to do. but then, ironically enough, he also forgets to take them down when the tasks have been done. AND GOD THE STICKY NOTES ARE EXCELLENT FOR CHARACTERIZATION. my point is the sticky notes are a big part of who tom is and how he acts. you lose a lot of tom's character if you take away the sticky notes. genuinely.

A LOT of bullet points about him, y'all probably like "yes ambrosia we saw the movie we know what he acts like in the movie. but how do you do it?"

i characterize every single character i write by compiling a list of their personality traits and thinking of how it shapes their overall mannerisms, reactions, and behaviors

tom is selfish, he's cowardly, he's paranoid, he's pretty much constantly high or drunk, but he's also caring [even if he tries to hide it], he's passionate, he's creative, he's pretty open, and he is damn good at acting, and he knows it.

so get into that headspace! genuinely, writing is a LOT like acting - you have to get yourself into the character you're writing, understand their perspective, why they're thinking what they're thinking, how they're doing what they're doing, etc. you need to know what's going on in someone's head to write them effectively, especially when you're telling a story from their perspective.

something that really helps me to approach a situation like tom would, is just wondering what the possible reactions are. given example: i'm at a grocery store. the check out clerk is being kind of a bitch. what are my options? - i could be a jerk back. you get what you give type behavior. - i could shrug it off. it doesn't really matter at the end of the day. - i could dig into why they're acting like this, ask if everything's alright. - i could talk to a supervisor at the store and tell them what's going on with that clerk being a jerk - i could be manipulative. play into my already horrible day that i made up on the spot, and make them feel bad for being a jerk to me.

ultimately, when you consider the options for reactions, it gives you an overview of what the reaction says about a personality, right? if you're being a jerk back, you have the capacity to be a jerk. if you're shrugging it off, you're a pretty relaxed person. dig into why they're asking, you're a caring person. talk to a supervisor, you're responsible. manipulative, you're probably playing it back in their face to force the empathy onto them, which means either you're empathetic, or you like to make people feel bad about their decisions.

with tom's character in mind, i usually rely on the actual wording of the scene, but by vague descriptions like this, i'd say he's probably either going the manipulative or jerk route.

"but what about flirting, ambrosia? how do you write tom's flirting?" you may ask, and to be honest? i genuinely approach every single moment with a dirty mind. "how can i make this funny, charming, or sexy?" you can literally apply it to almost ANY situation - obviously, pay attention to the moment. it's really weird to be flirting in the middle of someone's life story full of traumas and hardships. tom has to have social awareness like that - but any other moments? he will make it flirty. you could genuinely give me anything and i bet you i could come back at one point or another and make it a flirty moment from tom.

and mind you, flirting doesn't always land! that's fine! sometimes people are dense, sometimes it doesn't have to be obvious, and sometimes it might just sound awkward and clunky. that's totally fine. when you're writing, you just have to sound it out - i fought with this line SO hard for like two days because i knew the idea of what tom wanted to say, but phrasing it... ugh.

but thats fine! getting it out, figuring out the idea of what you want to say - "we're literally just talking about brushing my teeth, but i want to make this about kissing you. brushing my teeth with your tongue? maybe? something like that?" - that's the first step! you can sound out how to make it natural from there, just make sure you read it back to yourself when you're not sure it lands right, make sure it sounds natural and you'll be golden!

and also more importantly, flirting isn't just the spoken word - its a LOOOOT i mean a LOOOOOOOT of body language, too. touching is one of the most intimate ways you can initiate any kind of flirting, that's why when films show glimpses of people flirting for comedic effect or scene context, most of the time the default is just the flirter listening to someone talk and touching their arm. touching is so important, but it also has to be natural.

this is an EXCELLENT example of flirting by body-language alone. this is a totally chaste touch that still feels intimate. all tom is doing is brushing the back of his fingers against the back of ryland's neck, and looking over ryland's shoulder as he says "ttyl sweetheart, enjoy the coffee." there is nothing else happening, but the touch is intimate enough on its own.

never forget to describe the body language and the feelings that go with it.

and one last note to send you off with - PLEASE GOD don't forget to expand on tom as a human being beyond what we see. build your own headcanons! write your own story! use the story you have to interpret more personality traits! use the personality traits to influence his decision making! some good starter questions for you to build up his character:

he had a life before he was an actor, what was that like?

what kind of people does he generally surround himself with?

what are his thoughts on this subject [science, math, chemistry to be broad, or video games, iced coffee, role playing games, to be more specific]?

put him in situations - how does he react to them? follow the example i used before, the rude clerk, what other situations does he get into? how does he react? why is he in them?

what are his hobbies? what's his go-to pastime?

what does his work-life balance look like?

how does he act around certain people who share certain relationships with him [his family, his friends, his coworkers, his uncomfortable acquaintances, his lovers, etc]?

BUILD FROM THERE!!!!!!!! THERE'S ALWAYS SO MANY QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER. ASK THEM!!!!!!!!! you can literally start a random tumblr post to talk to yourself about it! you can write in your notes app! you can go on any social media platform and ask someone to bounce ideas around with you! you can write drabbles about these things, make them real by writing them!

and remember, above all else, have fun with it! write him literally however you want, he is a fictional character and you are writing for the love of the game!!