What is a Foil Character? How Writers Can Leverage Contrasts

What is a foil character? Many believe a foil character is the enemy or antagonist to the hero of your story, but that’s not always the case. The truth is the foil character is simply someone who contrasts with another character.

The goal behind a foil is to emphasize aspects of the protagonist by contrasting their personality, morals, behavior or life choices. The foil is generally a supporting character, and could be anyone who can shed light on the protagonist’s qualities as well as add depth to your main character. Foil characters, by design, can play a key role in your character development.

Some of the best modern foil character examples can be seen in comic book movies. Not only will comic book movies have antagonists as villains, but they could be other characters close to the protagonist. Here are some examples.

It’s hard to find a better example of a foil character than the Joker (Heath Ledger) is to Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale). The Joker is an agent of chaos and destruction. As Alfred (Michael Caine) states, “Some men just want to watch the world burn.” The opposite of that type of morality is Bruce Wayne who dresses up as Batman to help bring justice and order to Gotham City.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are two characters who are the perfect example of a protagonist and their foil: Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). In the context of the movies, they both have the same goal of keeping the world safe against any number of earth or intergalactic enemies. However, they are characters with opposing traits.

Tony Stark is an ego-maniac who is impulsive, innovative and relies on highly-advanced technology to be Iron Man. Steve Rogers is selfless with a clear sense of morality and doesn’t use technology the same way as Stark. He comes from a military establishment where he values leadership, discipline and teamwork.

The foil character’s job is to highlight the qualities of another character. While it’s often the protagonist, that’s not always the case. You can have two supporting characters who foil each other and not the protagonist at all.

Remember, the point of a foil is to contrast another character. Here’s an example.

Most people will point to Lord Voldemort as the foil to Harry Potter. While that is true, you can also look to Harry’s best mates for another example of a foil: Hermione and Ron.

• Hermione is logical, disciplined and believes in the rules
• Ron is a giant ball of emotion and tends to be more impulsive.

Put these two together and you have two supporting characters who foil one another.

Another thing about foil characteristics is that it only needs to contrast one part of the other character. In fact, a protagonist can have more than one foil. Let’s look at our favorite wizard once again and some of his foils. These examples also show how the foil character isn’t always the antagonist, but rather a device storytellers can use for contrasting any two characters in the story.

• Neville Longbottom starts off clumsy and with no confidence. He helps make Harry Potter stronger by highlighting Harry’s competence.
• Voldemort is the Darth Vader to Harry’s Luke. He’s the opposite of Harry in all ways using power for evil versus Harry’s power for good.
• Draco Malfoy is the foil character when it comes to Harry’s personality. Where Harry is humble and looks out for others, Draco is arrogant and tends to be selfish.

Screenwriters might seem unsure about creating a foil for their protagonist. It seems obvious and cliché, doesn’t it? Having another character who is the opposite of your hero?

But it’s been used since the days of Greek mythologies thousands of years ago.

It’s not always a matter of the foil being opposite in every way, but rather to emphasize certain aspects of another character: Batman is order, Joker is chaos. Harry Potter is good, Voldemort is not-so-good.

As you create your characters, find ways that they can contrast each other – this not only adds conflict but can force your protagonist to prove themselves. This is why The Dark Knight is so good – the Joker uses chaos to force Batman to prove his conviction to justice and order.

Still skeptical? Here are some foil character examples in some popular films.

Based on the Neil Simon play, The Odd Couple follows Oscar (Walter Matthau) as a divorced, slovenly man who takes in a recently separated Felix (Jack Lemmon), a man who likes things tidy and is strict about time.

They play the foil to one another with perfection, causing conflict and comedy in how they contrast one another.

Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) and Cameron (Alan Ruck) are best friends, yet polar opposites. Ferris is faking sick for the ninth time whereas Cameron seems to be lying on his death bed. But Ferris forces Cameron to get out of his shell and head to the city for the most epic day off of school ever. Whereas Cameron is responsible, concerned about lying and wants to do what’s right, he becomes the perfect foil to Ferris who is free-wheeling, fun and lives by his own rules.

Light vs. Dark. Good vs. Evil. Luke vs. Vader. Darth Vader is the one of the ultimate foils as everything about him is the opposite of Luke (Mark Hamill). At the beginning of the movie, Luke is just a farmer’s son with no mystical strength whereas Darth Vader is the malicious villain of the dark side. Even the clothes they wear (black and white) represent opposites.

Once you know about foil characters, you’ll start noticing them everywhere. They are used in so many stories, you’ll be able to find examples whether they’re the antagonist or the protagonist’s friend, co-worker or sibling.

As you continue with character development, remember that a foil character may not always be necessary and you shouldn’t cram one in because they seem like something you should do. You can still enhance a protagonist’s qualities and morals by other means other than a foil – a foil character is just another tool in your screenwriting toolbox.