Starting to read another book or deciding to watch a movie about the adventures of your favorite characters, we are all well aware that we are talking about fictional events and characters. However, writers are often inspired by ordinary people.
Many famous heroes have prototypes that few people know about.
10. Michael Llewelyn Davis - Peter Pan
The creator of the story of Peter Pen never wrote for children, although he was a rather famous person in literary circles. In 1897 he lived in London. While walking his St. Bernard in Kensington Gardens, he met the Lluelin Davis family. He was fascinated by their 3rd kids: George, who was 5 years old, Jack at the age of 3 years, and baby Peter. Michael and Nicholas were later born.
The writer made great friends with the boys and their parents, especially with older George and Michael. It was the latter that became the prototype of Peter Pan. But some researchers believe that the image of the hero was deducted from the brother of the writer, David. He died when James was 6 years old.
Or the prototype was James Matthew Barry himself, who admitted more than once that in childhood he was afraid that he would have to give up games. He did not know how to do this.
9. John Nettleship - Severus Snape
In the books of J.K. Harry Potter Rowing, We Meet Severus Snape. He teaches potions at the school of witchcraft and wizardry.
It is believed that the prototype of this character was a chemistry teacher who taught this subject at Rowling School. His name was John Nettleship, the nickname is Sting. He was not her favorite teacher, on the contrary, not the most pleasant memories were associated with him.
John himself recalled her as a quiet but promising girl. He died in March 2011, at 71 years old.
8. Joaquin Murieta - Zorro
Murieta was often called the Mexican Robin Hood. Some were sure that he was a gangster, while others spoke of him as a patriot. It was Joaquin Mourieta Carrillo who became the prototype of Zorro.
He became famous in the 1850s, but his name was overgrown with so many rumors that it is difficult to determine where the truth is, where the fiction is. He arrived in California in 1849, like many, attracted by the gold rush.
According to surviving documents, he had his own gang, consisting of relatives and friends. They attacked the settlers, stole horses and gold. Murieta is believed to have been caught and killed. But there were rumors that he had survived, and the rangers had caught the wrong person.
7. Joseph Bell - Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the detective story series Sherlock Holmes, was familiar with surgeon Joseph Bell. He was famous for his ability to guess the character and past of any person, relying on small details.
Bell was a professor at Edinburgh University and encouraged students to use not only the brain, but also their eyes, hearing, and sense of smell. So, he could easily determine that in front of him was a left-handed shoemaker by tears in his trousers, and by the smell he could recognize the varnisher.
Sometimes Scotland Yard consulted with him when a doctor's opinion was required. The writer met him in 1877. He worked as his assistant, so he could watch the professor every day. Conan Doyle never hid that it was his mentor who became the prototype of the hero.
6. Mehran Karimi Nasseri - Victor Navorski
In 2004, the film "Terminal" was released. It is about Victor Navorski, who arrives in New York. During the flight, his visa is canceled, because a coup occurred in his country, and it ceased to exist. Victor is forced to stay at the airport, although not everyone likes it.
The film was shot based on the autobiography of a real person, Mehran Karimi Naseri. He lived at the terminal of one of the airports from 1988 to 2006. He was expelled from Iran, and he was going to stay in Glasgow. But on the way, documents were stolen from an Iranian.
Naseri stayed at the airport. The authorities could not let him into France, as well as force him to leave the terminal. It was difficult for him to draw up new documents. And the Iranian stayed to live at the airport.
Later, journalists found out about him, interviewed him. In 1998, lawyers helped him recover documents, but Nasseri did not want to leave the airport. He left there only in 2006, due to health problems.
5. Hyrum Bingham III - Indiana Jones
This character was the protagonist of a series of adventure films. The creators of the paintings never directly said who exactly was the prototype of their hero. They could be paleontologist Roy Chempen Andrews, German archaeologist Otto Rahn or American archaeologist Hyrum Bingham. Indiana Jones knew the history of South America well.
Bingham became famous for his expeditions, which found the lost Inca cities. At the risk of his life, he discovered archaeological sites about which he later wrote several books. Indiana Jones was a professor at one of Connecticut's colleges. Bingham in 1907 also taught at the University of Connecticut.
4. Gozo Shioda - Master Yoda
Yoda is one of the main characters of Star Wars, the most powerful and wise. It is believed that 2 Japanese martial artists became its prototype. It could be Sokaku Takedu, of short stature, dedicated to the war.
According to another version, it was Gozo Shiodu, the founder of Yoshinkan Aikido. He was fluent in martial arts, was a born teacher, and, as a famous character, was not tall (his height was 154 cm).
3. Keith Richards - Jack Sparrow
The role of Jack Sparrow went to Johnny Depp. He prepared for it, explored the life of pirates of the XVIII century. Depp decided that in spirit they were close to rock stars and created his character, like the likeness of British guitarist Keith Richards.
The producers were embarrassed by such a Jack Sparrow, they felt that he looked like a drunk or gay. Michael Eisner was sure that the actor was ruining the whole film. But critics praised Depp's work.
2. Jeff Dowd - Jeffrey Lebowski
In 1998, the film "Big Lebowski" was released. He did not bring his creators a lot of money and was not approved by critics, but he got a lot of fans. They were attracted by an abundance of humor. Now many replicas of the picture have become catchphrases.
The prototype of the main character of the film, Dude, was Jeff Dowd. It was a friend of the directors, the Cohen brothers, an independent movie promoter. His friends also called him “Dude”, he loved the cocktail “White Russian”. There were other similarities.
1. Albert Einstein - Dr. Brown
The protagonist of the Back to the Future trilogy is Dr. Brown. Incredibly smart, eccentric scientist with tousled hair. If you look closely, you can determine that it resembles Albert Einstein. In addition to this scientist, the creators of the Doc were inspired by the conductor Leopold Stokowski.