Five great movies with characters breaking the fourth wall

While Deadpool is famous for talking to the audience, he is also not the only character in a movie that has engaged the viewer with meta-commentary. Here are some of our favorite characters that also love breaking the fourth wall!

One of the best aspects of Deadpool is how self-aware the character is about his legacy. He is constantly poking fun at the genre while also breaking the fourth wall and making an engaging story for us to experience with him. He’s also one of the only characters that stops to have a conversation with the audience. It’s one of the many reasons his presence is so refreshing in a genre overloaded with formulaic output.

Breaking the fourth wall, when executed properly, can bring extra flavor to the story. If not, it can feel gimmicky and feel more like a sloppy narrative tool to communicate something to the audience.

With Deadpool 2 coming out this weekend, we decided to take a look back at some of the best characters who enjoy breaking the fourth wall! For obvious reasons, we will skip the choices that are widely known such as Ferris Bueller and Deadpool himself.

Bear in mind Spoilers will follow…

#1 Tyler Durden, Fight Club

To this day, Fight Club remains one of my all-time favorite movies. It has so many layers and individual elements that make it worth watching many times. Plus, there’s just no other film like it because of its insane subversive narrative. The extreme force of nature that is Tyler Durden has a lot on his mind, and throughout the film, he isn’t just trying to influence his world, he is also trying to influence the viewer.

His perspectives of the modern man fly off the screen with statements on consumerism, fashion, and marketing propaganda. He looks right at you and makes you tremble about buying your next pair of khakis.

#2 Wayne Campbell, Wayne’s World

Wayne’s World is one of the best examples of using breaking the fourth wall as a comedic joke. The entire film uses it in various ways that are clever and unexpected. One scene, in particular, involving Wayne speaking to his love interest Cassandra in her native language has a clever subtitle bit that pokes fun at the use of them while they awkwardly stare at the audience.

As a comedy, Wayne’s World was ahead of its time, and just like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the comedic tropes also probably shaped the influence of Deadpool’s humor.

#3 Everything and everyone in Last Action Hero

I don’t care what anyone says, I love Last Action Hero. This is a movie I still believe is highly underrated and deserves more love. When I was a kid, this film brought me as much joy as Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The idea had so much greatness behind it, yet somehow the film still flopped.

The entire movie as a whole is smashing the fourth wall. No one technically looks at the camera the whole time, it’s just the subject matter. A kid gets to live inside an action movie and tries to convince the action hero he is, in fact, an action hero, while poking fun at his body of work. The movie also makes fun of the predictable nature of action films while also pushing them into different areas later in the film. Also, it winks at the silliness of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s invincibility in all his action movies.

#4 Lester Burnham- American Beauty

This pick is a choice typically overlooked but very much counts. All through the film Kevin Spacey’s character is addressing the audience in unconventional ways. Sometimes it’s after a fight and sometimes it’s through narration. Some might argue that this method occurs in a lot of films but I would argue that Lester’s character is a tad bit more meta than most.

Towards the end of the film, Lester is very self-aware of his story and speaks on his impending mortality. When the moment arrives, he again speaks to the viewer directly saying, “I feel nothing but gratitude, for every moment of my stupid, little life… You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?” It’s not as blatant or as direct fourth wall breaking as Deadpool or Ferris Bueller but it’s one of the most understated uses of the method in most films.

#5 Tom Hardy as Bronson

In Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey Jr. makes a joke about his method acting by saying, “I know who I am. I’m the dude playin’ the dude, disguised as another dude!” I feel like this statement perfectly encompasses Tom Hardy’s performance as Bronson.