The Most Memorable Punk Characters From Movies
- 1186 VOTES
Steven 'Stevo' Levy From 'SLC Punk!'
Photo: Sony Pictures ClassicsWho He Is: Matthew Lillard plays Steven Levy in 1998's SLC Punk! "Stevo" rejects the generally conservative lifestyle of Salt Lake City, Utah. His parents want him to embrace a traditional way of life, but he's not having it.
His Style: Stevo sports bright blue hair and often wears a razor blade on a chain around his neck.
His Most Punk Moment: He turns down acceptance to Harvard Law School because that's for squares, man.
What He Rages Against: Salt Lake City is a conservative town, so the liberal Stevo is continually rebelling against what he views as a politically backward mindset. SLC Punk! is set in 1985, so he similarly rages against his parents' embrace of Ronald Reagan.
- 2169 VOTES
Who He Is: Mark "Rent Boy" Renton (Ewan McGregor) is a Scottish junkie looking to get clean in Danny Boyle's 1996 masterpiece Trainspotting.
His Style: Because he's so deeply hooked on controlled substances, Mark isn't really spending a lot of money on punk accouterments. He does, however, have a shaved head and an earring. His clothes often look dirty, which could be either a fashion choice or simply an economic issue.
His Most Punk Moment: Diving into "the worst toilet in Scotland" to retrieve some suppositories wins this distinction by a country mile.
What He Rages Against: Sobriety, for starters. Trainspotting is, in part, about the allure of substances, how people often enjoy them, and the way recovering junkies still feel the pull of them even after getting clean. It's also about the explicit rejection of living an ordinary, "upright" life, as Renton famously declares in his "Choose Life" speech: "Choose life.... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life: I chose something else. And the reasons? There are no reasons." That's undeniably punk.
- 3138 VOTES
Trash From 'The Return Of The Living Dead'
Photo: Orion PicturesWho She Is: In 1985's great horror-comedy The Return of the Living Dead, B-movie legend Linnea Quigley plays Trash, a punker stuck in Louisville, Kentucky. There's little to do there aside from wander the streets with her fellow punks, Spider, Scuz, Casey, and Chuck.
Her Style: Trash stands out with her brightly dyed hair, painted-on face designs, sleeveless vest, and leather arm covers.
Her Most Punk Moment: While the crew parties in a cemetery, Trash jumps on top of a tomb and does a complete striptease dance.
What She Rages Against: Initially, Trash just rages against all the conservative people in Kentucky. After brain-eating zombies are unleashed upon the town, her rage is eventually directed toward the undead.
- 473 VOTES
Jack Diddley From 'Suburbia'
Photo: New World PicturesWho He Is: Jack Diddley (Chris Pederson) is one of the characters in the 1984 coming-of-age drama Suburbia. He lives in a "punk house" with other misfits and rejects. They occasionally wander into suburban neighborhoods to take food from homes.
His Style: Spiky blonde hair, black leather jacket, and a cross earring.
His Most Punk Moment: Diddley helps instigate a brawl at a friend's funeral after he and his cohorts are asked to leave.
What He Rages Against: He has an intense dislike of his police officer stepfather.
- 5131 VOTES
Deb From 'Empire Records'
Photo: Warner Bros. PicturesWho She Is: Deb (Robin Tunney) is one of the employees of the titular record store in the cult favorite Empire Records. She's known for being depressed and despondent.
Her Style: She likes tank tops and necklaces, and she's got a nose ring. At one point, she shaves her head.
Her Most Punk Moment: Aside from the aforementioned head-shaving, Deb allows her coworkers to hold a mock funeral for her, even going so far as to hop into a makeshift coffin. Then again, she also stares down a guy with a side arm. There are honestly so many punk moments with her that choosing one is impossible.
What She Rages Against: Herself, mainly. Deb is depressed and harbors thoughts of self-harm, so she's in a near-constant state of emotional agony.
- 666 VOTES
Nicky Marotta From 'Times Square'
Photo: Associated Film DistributionWho She Is: Robin Johnson stars as Nicky Marotta, the lead character in 1980's Times Square. She's a rebel with musical aspirations who is repeatedly referred for psychiatric treatment as a result of her behavior. While in a facility, she befriends another patient, Pamela Pearl (Trini Alvarado). They break out and form a band called the Sleez Sisters.
Her Style: Nicky is fond of a black leather jacket adorned with pins, including one that reads "Stick it in your ear."
Her Most Punk Moment: She and Pamela throw televisions off the top of a roof. Nothing is more stereotypically punk than that.
What She Rages Against: Pamela's father, a conservative commissioner looking to clean up Times Square, is the target of both girls' rebellion. Where's the fun in a clean, safe place, right?
- Photo: Paramount Pictures
Who She Is: In Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, Diane Lane plays Corinne Burns, a teenager who leads a punk rock band. After mouthing off to a television reporter, she and the group start getting gigs, and eventually become something of a musical sensation. The wilder she behaves, the more popular they become.
Her Style: Corinne purposefully dyes her hair to make it look like she's got a skunk on her head. She also wears see-through clothing to mess with the squares. Heavy face makeup is an essential part of her appearance.
Her Most Punk Moment: Giving herself a skunk-inspired hairstyle is probably the most punk of the many punk things she does in the film, and that includes dubbing herself "Third Degree."
What She Rages Against: Corinne has a laundry list of things to rage against, from life in a working-class Pennsylvania town to any form of mistreatment of women by men.
- 880 VOTES
Riff Randell From 'Rock 'N' Roll High School'
Photo: New World PicturesWho She Is: Riff (P.J. Soles) is the central figure in Rock 'n' Roll High School. She's a massive Ramones fan and is determined to bring the band to her school.
Her Style: She sports a couple different looks in the film. Early scenes have her in colorful sweatpants and jackets. Later, she's dressed more traditionally punk in a black leather jacket and, of course, a Ramones t-shirt.
Her Most Punk Moment: In the finale, she literally blows up the school while the Ramones perform in front of it.
What She Rages Against: Principal Togar (Mary Woronov), who takes away the ticket she bought to a Ramones concert.
- 995 VOTES
Otto Maddox From 'Repo Man'
Photo: Universal PicturesWho He Is: A year before his breakout role in The Breakfast Club, Emilio Estevez starred in Alex Cox's delightfully weird Repo Man. He plays Otto Maddox, a punk who has to clean himself up a bit when he goes to work at a supermarket. After encountering a mysterious stranger named Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), Otto agrees to help him repossess cars. This puts him on the trail of a Chevy Malibu that is alleged to have aliens in the trunk.
His Style: Otto is a little less obvious than most punks. He often wears a t-shirt and jeans, with another shirt tied around his waist. The punk giveaway is the cross earring he refuses to take out.
His Most Punk Moment: When the supermarket manager chides him for being late again and not spacing products on the shelf correctly, a nerdy coworker laughs. Otto grabs the guy by the collar and tosses him into a huge display of canned peaches.
What He Rages Against: Otto has a lot of anger toward his parents, who took money saved for his education and gave it to a televangelist instead. He also despises having rules imposed upon him.
- 1075 VOTES
Randy From 'Valley Girl'
Photo: Atlantic ReleasingWho He Is: Nicolas Cage landed his first significant screen role in Valley Girl, Martha Coolidge's charming 1983 odd-couple rom-com. Cage plays Randy, a punker from Hollywood who enters into an unlikely romance with Julie (Deborah Foreman), a girl from the San Fernando Valley. In other words, she's upper middle class and he's strictly working class.
His Style: Randy can often be found wearing leopard print shirts and sunglasses. Sections of his hair are dyed, and he sometimes wears an American flag pin or 3D glasses.
His Most Punk Moment: This one's probably a tie. On one hand, he starts a food fight at a school dance. On the other, he sneaks into someone's house during a party, hides in the shower, and waits for Julie to eventually use the bathroom so they can talk. That's punk-romantic.
What He Rages Against: Randy really isn't a fan of stuffy dudes from the Valley, especially Julie's ex-boyfriend Tommy, whom he punches in the big finale.
- 1160 VOTES
Pat From 'Green Room'
Photo: A24Who He Is: Pat, played by the late Anton Yelchin, is the bass player for a punk band called the Ain't Rights. When the band is booked to play at a skinhead bar, he stumbles across the body of a girl who has been slain. He tries to call the cops, only to have the bar's owner decide the band needs to be eliminated to keep the incident covered up.
His Style: Dyed hair, t-shirt, and ripped jeans. Perfect for looking punk, but also comfortable enough for hardcore touring.
His Most Punk Moment: Pat shrewdly fends off an attack dog using microphone feedback.
What He Rages Against: Despite embracing the punk ethic, Pat knows there's a line that can be crossed. He fights back against the skinheads for their malice, even wiping a couple of them out in the end.
- 1294 VOTES
Duncan From 'Some Kind Of Wonderful'
Photo: Paramount PicturesWho He Is: As played by Elias Koteas, Duncan is a skinhead who forms an unlikely friendship with Keith Nelson (Eric Stoltz) after they meet in detention in the John Hughes-scripted romantic comedy Some Kind of Wonderful.
His Style: Duncan has a shaved head and a studded leather jacket. He also carries a knife on him.
His Most Punk Moment: Knowing that preppy snob Hardy Jenns has invited Keith to a party with the intention of beating him up, Duncan crashes the event and tells Hardy that he's come to "wipe the floor" with him. Hardy is visibly terrified from the moment this uninvited guest arrives.
What He Rages Against: The school establishment in general, preppy rich kids in particular.
- 13106 VOTES
Kim Pine From 'Scott Pilgrim VS. The World'
Photo: Universal PicturesWho She Is: Kim is the drummer for Sex Bob-Omb, the band at the center of Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Portrayed by Alison Pill, she is usually angry and is whatever you'd call the opposite of a "people person." Maybe that's because she's still angry that she and Scott broke up.
Her Style: Kim doesn't dress in typical punk style. She wears sweaters and hooded sweatshirts, but a lot of the movie takes place in winter, so that partially explains her choices. She does, however, have a massive chip on her shoulder.
Her Most Punk Moment: Kim famously tells Scott, "I wish I could punch your life in the face."
What She Rages Against: In a word, Scott. She's still miffed at how callously he acted when they broke up, and she doesn't hesitate to call him out for his insensitive behavior and emotional immaturity.
- 1456 VOTES
Grant From 'Dudes'
Photo: The Vista OrganizationWho He Is: In Penelope Spheeris's fascinating and unjustly forgotten 1987 punk-Western Dudes, Jon Cryer is Grant, a punk driving cross-country with his pals Biscuit (Daniel Roebuck) and Milo (played by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea).
His Style: Earrings, a studded bracelet, sleeveless shirts, and wild, unkempt hair are all part of his look.
His Most Punk Moment: Grant hits on a bigger, burlier punk's girlfriend in a restaurant, then sucker punches the guy when he objects.
What He Rages Against: Dudes is primarily about how Grant and Biscuit seek revenge against the rednecks who slay Milo. The movie mixes punk rock imagery with Western conventions to uniquely illustrate the rage Grant carries inside.
- 1566 VOTES
Abbie Porter From '20th Century Women'
Photo: A24Who She Is: Abbie (Greta Gerwig) is a punk photographer going through cervical cancer treatments in Mike Mills's 20th Century Women. She ends up becoming something of a mentor to a 15-year-old boy whose mother is her landlord.
Her Style: Abbie's got dyed red hair and likes ripped t-shirts, but sometimes also rocks a thrift shop ensemble.
Her Most Punk Moment: During a dinner gathering, she announces to everyone at the table that she's menstruating, then rips into the guys for feeling uncomfortable with the subject.
What She Rages Against: As a big-time feminist, Abbie doesn't hesitate to take on misogyny, the patriarchy, and anything she perceives as sexist.
