Chunk
Jake Brigance
The Character: In A Time To Kill Matthew McConaughey bagged his most endearing role in the form of crusading lawyer Jake Brigance, a man torn between the need to protect his family and a desire to do the right thing. Somehow he manages to do both, but not without significant personal risk. Throw in the fact that he manages to resist the advances of an extremely alluring Sandra Bullock, and there’s nary a bad word to say about him.
Most Endearing Moment: His tearful final summation in which he challenges the jury to see past their prejudices and clear Sam Jackson’s grieving father.
Phil "Duckie" Dale
The Character: Duckie is head over heels with his best friend Andie, but just can’t seem to pluck up the courage to tell her. Shy and working-class, Duckie doesn’t think the preppie rich kids Andie hangs out with are worthy of her, but eventually concedes that in Blane, she might have found the exception. Always putting her happiness first, isn’t he? Whadda guy!
Most Endearing Moment: When he tells Andie he loves her, before advising her to give Blane another chance. We’re welling up…
Juno MacGuff
The Character: A feisty, smart-mouthed teen is nothing new, but one who manages to balance her precociousness with a very human vulnerability is one to be cherished. First and foremost though, Juno is very, very funny. And sometimes, that alone is more than enough to be considered likeable!
Most Endearing Moment: The hand-written note she leaves for Jennifer Garner’s would-be adopter: “If you’re still in, I’m still in.”
Jack Foley
The Character: Narrowly edging out another Clooney creation in the shape of Danny Ocean, Foley gets the nod on account of his being slightly rougher-around-the-edges, if equally scurrilous. A loveable rogue of the first order, Foley is a born charmer, as that erotically-charged car-boot scene so aptly demonstrates.
Most Endearing Moment: His whole routine during the cocktail bar scene he shares with J’Lo’s Karen Sisco is utterly electric. We defy anyone to resist that charm offensive.
E.T.
The Character: Quite possibly the best-loved alien in celluloid history, E.T. is not only great with kids, he’s also got magical extra-terrestrial powers (as proven by Drew Barrymore’s magically revived flower). Mum, will you buy us one? Please?
Most Endearing Moment: The tear-stained farewell in which he reminds Elliot that, “I’ll be right here.” Sniff.
Arthur Bach
The Character: Forget Russell Brand’s misjudged reinvention of the character as a braying manchild, Dudley Moore played the dissolute charmer with way more panache back in the ’80s. Brimming over with bonhomie, he was someone you would actively have liked to hang around with, rather than have avoided like the plague…
Most Endearing Moment: Hanging out of the side of his chauffeur driven car, a visibly sloshed Arthur attempts to pick up a couple of hookers without wetting himself laughing.
Roger O. Thornhill
The Character: Played to perfection by the infinitely charming Cary Grant, North By Northwest 's Thornhill is a very easy guy to root for. A reluctant hero, roped into a web of intrigue he’d rather have nothing to do with, he’s the ultimate average joe (albeit an insanely smooth one), thrown into the deep end of a plot he can barely keep up with.
Most Endearing Moment: His performance in the auction scene, in which he enquires, “how do we know it’s not a fake?” “Well we know you’re not a fake,” snaps a nearby woman, “you’re a genuine idiot.” “Thank you” replies Thornhill, smiling.
Bob Harris
The Character: A fading movie star, muddling his way through a failing marriage and a late-career slump, Bob is not a happy man. However, he is a charming one, and its that charm that leads to a brief almost-relationship with Scarlett Johanssen’s young newlywed. Radiating an irresistible, sad-eyed kindness, its no wonder she gravitates towards him.
Most Endearing Moment: His pleasingly awful performance at the karaoke bar. For a movie star, he’s not too fussed what people think of him!
Tallahassee
The Character: A shotgun-toting, banjo-swinging badass with a taste for zombie-slaying, Tallahassee might paint himself as an ice-blooded badass, but having lost a son to the undead plague, much of that bluster is just a front. He’s got a heart of gold in there really, as witnessed by his decision to stick by Columbus and go rescue Little Rock and Wichita.
Most Endearing Moment: His obsession with rediscovering normality is manifested in his quest to find an unspoiled Twinkie, and the moment when he finally does is an absolute joy.
