Gaelle Biguenet asks film buffs which character they wish they were. Psychotherapist Farah Naz sheds light on what their answers reveal about their personalities

David Jenkins, editor at Little White Lies, says: “I think it would have to be Detective Gino Felino. I know it’s very déclassé to choose Seagal now that he’s come out as a vile Putinist shill, but his character in this action caper is very cool. Monosyllabic, wears a ponytail, and seems to be able to dispatch with an army of goons with the minimum of fuss and energy.”

Farah Naz: “This man values justice but cares less about how he achieves it! He also values external image and a traditional idea of what a man should be: uncommunicative, macho, cool and simplistic. He has black and white thinking, can be idealistic, and doesn’t always see the grey and complex in life. At his worst he may struggle in relationships where he is not put on a pedestal and at his best he is a fghter for what is right and just.”

Mike Muncer, founder of hit podcast The Evolution of Horror, fantasies of being Superman’s Clarke Kent: “He’s got a successful career in journalism, wears a great suit, works with great colleagues and rocks a pair of awesome glasses. Plus, in his spare time, he fies, uses x-ray vision and can move faster than any speeding bullet. So... there’s also that.”

Farah Naz: “This man shows psychological balance, strong empathy, idealism, a strong moral compass with a focus on duty and fairness. There is also a dual persona, he can move between how he sees himself – sometimes he sees himself as an ordinary man, and at others as someone who can achieve anything! He might also struggle with knowing his limitations and thinking everything is accomplishable. He is optimistic and will take on every problem no matter the cost! At his best he has a can-do anything attitude. At his worst he will struggle when things seem to be out of his control.”

“I should probably choose Wonder Woman or something but that sounds like an awful lot of work, and not the kind of work I like,” says Rosie Fletcher, UK editor at Den of Geek. “Instead my hero is Amy Archer, the journalist and ‘fast talking career gal who thought she was one of the boys’ from the Coen Brothers’ warmest movie, The Hudsucker Proxy. She’s a trailblazer, a news hound with a Pulitzer, and she’s not afraid to admit she’s wrong. Plus Jennifer Jason Leigh is perfect, Muncie girl or not…”

“Sure, [Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings] has to walk halfway across the world without any shoes on and carry his slowly dying best mate up a fery mountain,” says Alex Flood, commissioning editor at NME “But when he’s done, the movies’ most famous gardener is treated like a hero and gets to potter about in the fowerbeds for the rest of his days. Dreamy.”

“Most answers that frst occurred to me had some drawbacks. For example Jude Law’s Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr Ripley has a great set-up until he’s bludgeoned to death with an oar. But then I turned to the queen of wish-fulflment, kitchen-catalogue cinema: Nancy Meyers,” says Max Copeman, sub editor at Radio Times. “Just about every character in her flms has an impossibly beautiful life, but Amanda has it all: a fun job making movie trailers, a multi-million-dollar property in the Hollywood hills, friendships with Kate Winslet and Jack Black— and a happily-ever-after ending. I think I could live that life quite happily.”

Farah Naz: “This woman’s choice refects an internal confict about what she thinks a woman should be and what she can be. She asks herself if she should be selfessly saving the world, putting things right, or choosing something that is more about suiting her personal, free, preference. At her best, this woman is relaxed, unafraid to challenge, not occupied with perfection or what people think about her and comfortable in her own skin. At her worst she may at times be self-obsessed and lazy!”

Farah Naz: “This choice refects someone who values the simple things in life: friendship, loyalty, and nature. He has a secure attachment style and is very comfortable in his skin. He is not so worried about how he appears to the world, even if he has hairy feet, and more interested in the people and things he loves. He is not driven by being in the limelight or shiny shoes and doesn’t lack the courage to do the right thing.”

Farah Naz: “This [man] shows a predilection for external beauty and a focus on how things look rather than how they feel and what they might mean. [He] might have issues with commitment, a sense of fulflment and looking at a deeper meaning to life. [He] chooses materialism and hedonism over and above any other values and so [he] is not a person we would trust or even get to know easily. Such a person hides a true self possibly from themselves and defnitely from others. [He] may struggle with the realities of life and possibly have a low stress threshold. At [his] best, he will be fun to be with.”