Character

Characters are one of the most important parts of a film, often films are driven by the leading and supporting characters and their personality, for example the film Big Fish is a film in which the narrative is completely driven by the main character Edward Bloom. Characters can either lead a narrative or support, improve and add to it greatly.
Here are some examples of iconic characters in films and what they add to the narrative:

Lou Bloom  (Jake Gyllenhaal) - Nightcrawler

Lou Bloom is a former thief who starts filming crime scenes selling the footage to local news channels as a stringer in Los Angeles. Lou Bloom is a very determined and riven yet quite creepy and mysteriously dark character that has a noticeable lack of empathy. This dark and very creepy persona is what makes Lou Bloom such an iconic character. To all but the audience for the majority of the film Lou Bloom can be seen as a driven and slightly nerdy, weedy character when in fact he's a much more twisted and dark character who won't let anything stop him from achieving what he wants. Lou Bloom as a character adds much to the narrative of the film, his complex character and the dark things he is prepared to do through his lack of empathy adds a lot to the narrative. Without the character Lou Bloom in the film the film would have no sort of narrative. Within the first 2 minutes of the film you straight away get an idea of what he is like, you seem him trying to steel some copper wiring. He is found by a policeman and he beats down the policeman and takes his watch without a blink or sight of remorse. Within the first 2 minutes you straight away know that he is quite a dark twisted character with a lack of empathy and emotion who is prepared to do pretty much anything to make money.

Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) - No Country For Old Men

Anton Chigurh is the main antagonist in the film No Country For Old Men. He is a cold hearted psychopathic killer hunting down Llewelyn Moss to retrieve a satchel containing $2.4 million. His extremely cold and psychopathic character is what makes Anton Chigurh such an iconic character. He is also particularly iconic for his short and clever word play. In addition he is iconic for flipping a coin when deciding to kill someone or not. He has a twisted sense of morals and his cold personality adds a lot to the narrative. This cold psychopathic character he has helps to emphasise the fear experienced by Moss when being chased by him. Without this character the film wouldn't have as much of a thrill to it and the character of Anton Chigurh is definitely one of the main components in the narrative. In the opening not much is given away about Anton Chigurh, you simply see him put into a police car whilst some narration plays over the top, you do however through the narration find out within the opening 2 minutes that he is a ruthless killer.

Han Solo (Harrison Ford) - Star Wars episodes IV, V, VI and VII

Han Solo is a smuggler, pilot and hero in the Star Wars series. He is a particularly iconic character in the Star Wars series due to his sarcastic and often funny personality. He is also particularly well known for being a bit rebellious and very reckless. He isn't the kind of character that you would usually see as a hero but through his almost accidental involvement in becoming tied up with the rebel alliance ends up becoming a big hero. He also very famously falls in love with the rather innocent looking Princess Leia. Although Han Solo isn't one of the main characters he does have a reasonably big role in all the films he features in and is often considered on the greatest Star Wars characters ever. Han Solo definitely adds some wit and sarcasm to the Star Wars franchise he is also a very likeable character in the series and is one that as a viewer you always want to come out on top. Han Solo adds a much needed role in the narrative to the Star Wars films as an almost accidental hero. Han Solo isn't featured in the opening 2 minutes of any of the Star Wars films, he is first introduced part way into episode IV. You do hear his voice as he speaks to Luke Skywalker through a transmitter in the opening 2 minutes of episode V, however you don't see him and it doesn't give away any thing more about his character as you already know most things about him from the previous film.