Baz Luhrmann’s Film Characters Ranked by Likeability

Split image of Romeo + Juliet and Elvis

Auteur Baz Luhrmann is back in the spotlight with 2022’s flashy Elvis biopic, and star Austin Butler recently spoke on how the director pushed the limits of his performance. In order for Butler to achieve the feel of performing as Elvis, he told VMAN that Luhrmann brought executives to heckle him at a rehearsal. The director’s push helped Butler channel the character and make the King even more relatable to audiences.

Luhrmann is known for his visually stunning films, and each of his characters has qualities that make audiences swoon and cringe. His heroes and villains leap off the screen and are part of what makes Luhrmann’s films so compelling. From mustache-twirling villains to dreamy ingénues, these characters either missed the mark or had viewers applauding.

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10 The Duke (Moulin Rouge)

The Duke singing "Spectacular, Spectacular"

Lurhmann’s 2004 jukebox musical Moulin Rouge! saw star-crossed lovers Christian and Satine find love and purpose at the Moulin Rouge. The Duke entered the story as a jealous villain, whose attempts to keep Satine for himself threaten the lovers’ dreams of being together.

RELATED:20 Things You Didn’t Know About Moulin Rouge The Film for It’s 15th Anniversary

The Duke’s jealous nature is nefarious, and his actions in the film are unforgivable. His selfish claim on Nicole Kidman’s Satine propels him to heinous acts, such as sexual violence, and attempting to kill her love interest. Other than being a well-characterized villain, he has no redeeming qualities throughout the film, and audiences rejoice when he loses at the end.

9 Colonel Tom Parker (Elvis)

Tom Hanks in Elvis

Elvis Presley’s scheming manager, Colonel Tom Parker, in the recently released 2022 bioic, Elvis, led the King of Rock and Roll to fame and fortune. Though Hanks has had some truly likable characters, Parker is not one of them. Tom Hanks’ slimy portrayal saw the Colonel cripple and control Elvis financially to protect his own gambling addiction.

Tom Hanks’ turn as Elvis’ manager is off-kilter, and is supremely unlikeable. As the film’s unreliable narrator, his relationship with Presley seems innocent at first. He capitalizes on Presley’s talent under the guise they are too alike to find fame without the other. He’s essentially unknowable, and it’s hard to like someone so guarded and remorseless.

8 Daisy Buchanan (The Great Gatsby)

Tom, Gatsby, Nick, and Daisy at a party in The Great Gatsby

Based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, 2012’s The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire also saw a new kind of love interest in Carey Mulligan’s Daisy. One of the most interesting literary characters, she reciprocates Gatsby’s love until she snatches it away.

Daisy begins the film as the unattainable object of Gatsby’s affection. She’s demure, and the picture of youth and beauty. The reason she’s one of the most unlikeable characters is her unwillingness to leave her abusive husband for true love. She dangles herself in front of Gatsby, plays the pretty fool to his advances, and is shown to be vain, selfish and self-serving.

7 The Drover (Australia)

Nicole Kidman as Lady Sarah Ashley hugging Hugh Jackman as Drover in Australia (2008)

2008’s post World War II epic starred Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman as unlikely lovers who traverse the terrain of Australia together, encountering natives and unexpected romance. Kidman’s Lady Sarah Ashley enlists Jackman’s Drover as her rugged guide across the Australian terrain.

The Drover is in the latter half of this ranking, for not being here nor there. He is a rugged Aussie cattle driver with a heart of gold, who is friendly with the Aboriginal people. Though he has plenty of charisma, Drover is too thinly realized a character to have much substance.

6 Tybalt (Romeo + Juliet)

Although it is not the best Romeo and Juliet adaptation, John Leguizamo as Tybalt in the explosive 1996 film, sears the screen. Besides the eye-catching, whimsical costume design, Tybalt causes all sorts of trouble as Juliet’s volatile cousin, and ends up dead when Romeo slays him in retribution for his friend, Mercutio.

Despite being Romeo’s main antagonist, Leguizamo’s performance was electrifying. Tybalt’s charisma and personality are hard not to adore, and the flamenco-style combat he engages in is both whimiscally hilarious and incredibly titillating. He commandeers the screen with intensity and rage, and while he’s engaging and brimming with confidence, he’s not the most likable character.

5 Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby)

Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby in 'The Great Gatsby' (2013) Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘The Great Gatsby’

2014’s glitzy flapper drama introduced one of DiCaprio’s most absorbing roles to date. The mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby is center to a style-driven ambitious drama. Playing all the character’s triumphant peaks and vulnerable valleys, he throws lavish parties to attract the attention of his first love.

Gatsby as a character is masked by his wealth and status, whose quick to anger and idealizes his life without playing an active role in it. While the glamour of Gatsby’s life seems to suit him, the path he took to wealth was shallow and dishonest. Although dedicating his life to the American Dream, so he can win Daisy is romantic, he longs for an idealized version of her.

4 Christian (Moulin Rouge)

Ewan McGregor at Typewriter Moulin Rouge

Moulin Rouge’s romantic Christian, played by the angelic-voiced Ewan McGregor is the movie’s heart and soul, as well as the central hero. He woos Satine, star of the Moulin Rouge, all while sharing his songwriting skills with the Moulin Rouge benefactors.

As a romantic lead, Christian has all the likable qualities. He’s charming, doe-eyed, innocent to the ways of the glamorous yet depraved Moulin Rouge, and moves to Paris with hope of pursuing his dreams. He has big romantic ideals, and forgives Satine at the film’s end when she was attempting to save his life.

3 Romeo (Romeo + Juliet)

Romeo kisses Juliet's hand

1996’s modern take on Shakespeare’s greatest romantic tragedy starred a young Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes as his Juliet. A modern New York setting saw Romeo battling the city streets and the Capulets for Juliet’s hand and heart. As the most well known hero in literature, Romeo is not a small part for a small actor.

RELATED: 20 Differences Between Romeo and Juliet The Play And The Movie

DiCaprio’s Romeo moves through the film with such an undeniable swagger. Romeo is Dicaprio at the height of his romantic-hero career phase, with a youthful awkwardness and infectious lovesick twinkle in his eye. The audience can’t help fall in love with him, and judging by his first appearance, in which the camera moves head to toe over him, backlit by the sun and writing poetry while smoking a cigarette, Luhrmann intends this.

2 Elvis (Elvis)

elvis austin butler plays that's all right

2022’s biopic Elvis attempted to humanize the untouchable King of Rock and Roll, and bring him down to audience level. Though the film takes some liberties, Austin Butler’s portrayal is genius, and traces a talented musician who becomes one of the greatest entertainers in American history.

Besides being truly captivating, Elvis is immensely likable. The way Butler played into his vulnerabilities encouraged the audience root for him. Elvis is haunted by the death of his brother, tries to provide for his family, and leans into the innate talents and quirks that come to define his success. His downfall in the latter half of the film is incredibly heart-wrenching, as we’re alongside him the whole time.

1 Satine – Moulin Rouge

Nicole Kidman staring into a mirror in Moulin Rouge

As talented courtesan and wide-eyed dreamer of the Moulin Rouge, Satine remains one of Baz Luhrmann’s most likable characters. Her commitment to leaving her profession in pursuit of true love and a better life ultimately propels her to a tragic fate.

Satine’s flashy entrance at the film’s start invokes a self-centered, absorbed showgirl. She cynically gives up on love, but secretly pours her desires and longing for becoming a real actress into her work. Upon opening up to Christian, she discovers the possibilities of romance and ultimately chooses to pursue a life for herself beyond the confines of the nightclub. Her determination and the blossoming from cynic to lover endears her to the audience.

NEXT:Every Tom Hanks Character In A Steven Spielberg Movie, Ranked Worst To Best

Author: Deann Hawkins