Seven Confident Movie Characters That Will Boost Your Morale

Confidence can be a hard thing to come by, but whenever I’m feeling a little down, I look to the power of movies. The characters films give us can boost our morale, take us out of that dark black hole we’ve carved for ourselves.

When I was a young kid, I remember being highly influenced by the badasses I saw in movies. They impacted me instantly that right after I left the theater, I pretended to be them by dressing similar or using cool phrases like “No, no… that wasn’t a question.”

This happened a lot actually, especially with thriller films where most of the main characters flew off buildings or killed with a single bullet (thank heavens I’m still alive!).

But confidence is more than killing, it’s a state of mind. It’s being able to be your best when you look or feel your worst. That’s what the characters below have in common. Even in their times of woe, they’re able to be bold and say brass things like, “I want you to hit me as hard as you can.”

1. Lisbeth Salander – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

One of the most influential badasses I’ve ever seen on film is Lisbeth Salander. Even with her horrible past, she has the confidence of a little girl whose father tells her she’s beautiful every single day.

2. Miranda Priestly – The Devil Wears Prada

Miranda Priestly has every reason in the world to be an extremely confident person. She has the most desirable job in all of New York, and probably the best wardrobe. She knows she’s fortunate and she doesn’t mope around. She holds her head high and showcases her fabulous self.

3. Tyler Durden – Fight Club

Witty, fearless, and cool – that’s Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden. And, by the way, he looks like Brad Pitt. That’s a plus plus!

4. Penny Lane – Almost Famous

Aw, Penny Lane. The great thing about Penny is that she can be both confident and insecure, like any young girl her age. But when she’s high on self-esteem, she’s the most wonderful person, full of charisma and life. Who of us didn’t want to be Penny when we first met her? I still find myself snooping (to buy) around for that famous furry coat of hers sometime.

5. Jackie Brown – Jackie Brown

Cool, calm, collected. Quentin Tarantino knows how to give us a confident character, and Ms. Brown is definitely one of them.

6. Mr. Jack Fox – Fantastic Mr. Fox

Mr. Fox knows he’s just a fox. We even catch him pondering about why he’s a fox and not an eagle or something else. But even with his limitations, he goes against the odds and takes down three of the meanest and toughest farmers ever. An act like that takes a lot confidence if you ask me.

7. Lilly Dillon – The Grifters

Anjelica Huston is confidence. Except for that Woody Allen movie (Crime and Misdemeanors) where she came off a bit needy, her characters tend to be bold and oozing with confidence. Her character in The Grifters’ Lilly Dillon is a badass lady. She gambles. She goes up against mean old men. And she’s a woman.

You can also read:

• 10 of the Most Memorable Betrayals in Movies
• The 15 Most Iconic Movie Masks of All Time
• The 10 Biggest Alpha Males in TV History
• 20 Memorable Green Characters from TV, Movies, and Video Games
• 10 Great Vomit Scenes in Movies