How to Create a Three Dimensional Character in a Screenplay

You need to cheer for him, loathe her, or sympathize with them. In order for any screenplay to be successful, characters must fulfill their narrative goals. If an audience doesn't identify with your characters, then they are going to lose interest in your story. Avoid making your characters cardboard cut-outs and you're on the way to writing a viable screenplay.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Write a complete biography for all main and secondary characters. As a writer, you need to know every single detail about your characters so when they react in a situation it will feel real. Where did she go to school? What is his economic background? Does she have siblings? Where did he grow up? You protagonist's college education may never come up in your script, but you still need to know about it in order to shape him.
2. Show the audience who your character is, don't tell them. If you have your hero telling another character how angry he is, it is not going to have the same effect as him punching the walls in a church basement. A character is what a character does. Film is a story in images.
3. Avoid all stereotypes. We've all seen the grieving widow, the doughnut eating cop and the alcoholic detective. What makes your characters different? Give them traits that make us remember them and want to get to know them better.
4. Give your hero a misbehavior. In most screenplays, there is a character arc where the main character changes over the course of the story. Therefore, a writer needs to establish how the protagonist adversely affects other characters while still remaining "heroic."
5. Give your main character both an internal and an external conflict. All drama is conflict, without conflict there is no story. For example, take a look at the successful "Bourne" Trilogy. Jason struggles internally with not being able to remember his past. However, he also has to contend with the external: being chased, government conspiracy and the murder of his girlfriend.
6. Develop a strong second star. Who does your main character take the journey with? By developing this driving relationship, a writer can show an audience how a hero reacts in all situations.