26 Characters (Surprisingly) Based On Real People

We can all take a moment and immediately think of a fictional character we consider iconic. And chances are, that character are heavily influenced by someone who really lived (or currently lives).
26 Characters (Surprisingly) Based On Real People

We can all take a moment and immediately think of a fictional character we consider iconic. And chances are, that character are heavily influenced by someone who really lived (or currently lives). And it makes sense, someone who seems pretty much larger than life will likely translate well into a fictional setting.

With that in mind, we teamed up with image wizard AuntieMeme to bring you some of pop cultures most famous characters -- and their real-life influences.

URSULA IS LITERALLY DIVINE. The Littie Mermaid sea witch is based on drag queen Divine, who made a splash in the 970s with Pink Flamingoes and Mondo T
Sydney Greenstreet was a film noir actor famous for playing greedy gangsters in movies like Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon. He WAS THE InsPirAtion
Travis Bickle, the nut-job played by Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver, was based on actual nut-job Arthur Bremer. OTHLONELY AND AWKWIARD BOTH RuINED RELAT
JOHN NETTLESHIP described himself as a short-tempered chemistry teacher with long hair... gloomy, malodorous laboratory who enjoyed picking
THE REAL SOUp NAZI HATED seinFeLd. His name is Al Yeganeh, and he claimed the show ruined his business. Not that the character was inaccurate. When
KRATOS IS EDWARD NORTON. Specifically, Norton's character in American History X. According to God of War director David Jaffe, his design team based K
Eric Stough is one of the producers on South Park. The other producers like to tease him for his nice-guy attitude about the show's often brutal, targ
CHUCK WePneR IS known AS STHE REAL ROCKY Wepner was an unknown club fighter who fought Muhammad Ali in 1975. In the 9th round, he knocked down Ali wit
THERE WASA REAL SHREK Maurice Tillet was a French wrestler known as the freak ogre of the ring in the '40s. Tillet suffered from acromegaly, a thick
ROCKO IS WOODY ALLeN. When producers pitched Rocko's Modern Life to the network, they described him as a young anthropomorphic Woody Allen, who has j
Norman Bates, the knife-wielding momma's boy in DeVUN UU was actually much tamer than the real-life inspiration for the movie, Ed Gein. Gein liked to
POPEYE WAS BASED on A REAL GUY. SE His name was Frank Rocky Fiegel, and he was a tough guy from Popeye creator E.C. Segar's hometown. He was known f
Sergio Gutierrez Benitez was a Mexican priest who fought as mysterious masked wrestler Fray Tormenta, then used his winnings to buy food for orphans.
This is Louis Red Deutsch, a New Jersey bartender and ex-boxer. In the '70s, professional prank callers Jim Davidson and John Elmo used to constantl
Eugene Francois Vidocq was an 18th-century French businessman running from his criminal past. He reached an arrangement with the authorities that allo
THE obSessIvE COP in LAKEVIEW TERRAcE WAS A REAL GUY. In 2002, Officer Irsie Henry terrorized his Altadena, CA neighbors for being a mixed-race couple
MEET Kenny KRAMER. He gives reality tours of his life for $37.50 a pop - just like his Seinfeld counterpart Cosmo Kramer. He also enjoys cigars, golf,
When Wes Craven was 11, he looked out the window of his apartment building to see a disfigured homeless man staring at him. Startled, Craven ducked in
MeET THE REAL DON DRAPER. This is Draper Dan Daniels, head of the Leo Burnett Agency in the '60s. He was the creator of the Marlboro Man, and a mino
INCREDIBLES COSTumE DeSIGneR EDNA MODE IS BASED on HOLLYWOOD COSTUmE DeSIGneR EDITH HEAD. Head, who was a petite brunette in bangs and round glasses,
MONTY PYTHON STAYED AT THE REAL FAWLTY TOWERS. It was called the Gleneagles Hotel, and the proprietor was named Donald Sinclair. The Pythons stayed th
THE REAL DIRTY HARRY WAS named DAVE. Dave Toschi was a San Francisco cop who caught Hollywood's eye when he was hunting down the Zodiac killer. He was
JACK NICHOLSON'S DILDO-WAVING DEPARTED VILLAIN IS BASED on A REAL MOBSTeR. Nicholson played Frank Costello, a brutal Irish mob boss with a mole in the
50 FIRST DATES IS BASED on A REAL person. In the movie, Lucy suffers from anterograde amnesia, where she's unable to remember anything that happens af
BETTY BOOP STOLE HER EVERYTHING FRom HELEN KAne. Kane was a popular actress and singer from the '20s who pretty much invented the whole I'm a sexy ba
THE DUDE IS A REAL DUDE. This is Jeff Dowd, friend of the Coen brothers. The Big Lebowsky Dude's personality, drink of choice, nickname, and even biog

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