Content Warning: This article includes images and descriptions of drug addiction.
Cult British film Trainspotting reached heady new heights for British cinema. A gritty yet funny take on the book of the same name, it is by turns funny, fearsome, and provocative. With its stark depiction of drug addiction, the film encapsulates the entrapment and disenfranchisement experienced by a group of addicts.
Audiences have a love-hate relationship with many of the characters in the film - they're both relatable and objectionable, and also incredibly intriguing. Their anti-hero status makes them some of the best characters in modern movies. More than 20 years after the film’s release, the despondent youth of Trainspotting still live large in cinematic memory.
Mother Superior - Peter Mullan
Named for the religious leader of a convent or other faith group, Mother Superior is Renton’s reliable dealer, who also has a long-term heroin habit. His experience has taught him that none of them are likely to be able to kick their addiction.
Mother Superior embodies the notion that, for many addicts, their relationship with substances trumps their friendships. He's cheeky and even likable - but when Renton overdoses, Mother Superior puts him in a cab, thereby avoiding the inevitable line of questioning that would come with an ambulance. It's this action and the fact that he's really just taking advantage of young kids for profit, even if it costs them their lives, along with his lack of screentime - that puts Mother Superior at number 8.
Gail Houston - Shirley Henderson
Before her roles in the Bridget Jones and Harry Potter franchises, Shirley Henderson played Spud’s jaded girlfriend, Gail Houston, in Trainspotting. Gail keeps Spud at arm’s length, rejecting the notion of any kind of physical intimacy at the start of their relationship, having read in Cosmopolitan that it’s a good way to prevent their relationship from being defined by sex.
At least, that’s what she tells Spud. When she talks about the situation with her girlfriends, she tells them watching him suffer is “just too much fun” to give in to. Gail cuts a lovelorn figure, but she’s by no means feeble - she’s just a woman trying to figure out what she wants from her relationship.
Tommy Mackenzie - Kevin McKidd
Tommy is the most genuinely likable character in the main group - and his story is one of the saddest. Along with Begbie, he’s also the only one who doesn't have a heroin addiction - at least, at first. A footballer in a relatively happy relationship, he’s one of the few characters in Trainspotting who sparks genuine affection in the viewer.
While Tommy's affability makes him one of the more relatable characters in the film, he's also less intriguing than some of the other characters on this list. That said, his decision to try heroin following a difficult break-up and the ensuing consequences are difficult to watch, but make him an interesting character, even it is to watch his inevitable demise.
Diane Coulston - Kelly Macdonald
Renton picks Diane up in a nightclub after he sees her unceremoniously dispatch another suitor - but it’s not until the morning after that he realizes she’s underage. After blackmailing Renton into seeing her again, she proceeds to offer him encouragement and advice, particularly while he’s working in London.
Despite her age, she ends up being one of the true positive influences in Renton’s life. Diane is by turns charming, scathing, kind and conniving - making her one of the more compelling characters in the movie.
Daniel “Spud” Murphy - Ewen Bremner
The lovable bonehead of the group, Spud doesn’t feel that he has much going for him - which is one of the reasons he turns to drugs. His most memorable scene is arguably the grimmest one in the film - in which he accidentally flings his dirty bedsheets all over his girlfriend and her parents.
But Spud’s job interview scene is more indicative of the character’s spirit. Encouraged by Renton, Spud takes some speed to give himself more pep and enthusiasm for the interview - and to ensure he doesn't actually get the job. Despite these scenes, viewers empathize with Spud - he's goofy and sincere. Unfortunately, for Spud, doing drugs seems like the easiest way to get through life.
Simon “Sick Boy” Williamson - Jonny Lee Miller
Sean Connery fanatic Sick Boy is one of the more villainous members of the group. His name comes from his morbid tendencies, as seen when he shoots a dog with an air rifle for no particular reason. Sick Boy considers himself to be above drugs and the lifestyle they lead - instead, he sees himself as a connoisseur of culture and fountain of knowledge.
Sick Boy's apparent lack of conscience, as well as his skewed self-perspective - makes him one of the most interesting characters in the film. He's not necessarily always very likable, and the gulf between how he sees himself and how audiences perceive him is enormous - making Sick Boy a fascinating character.
Francis Begbie - Robert Carlyle
Francis “Franco” Begbie is a vicious, terrifying character - and the rest of the group are usually too fearful to confront or protest him. Like Sick Boy, Begbie believes himself to be superior to the rest of the gang - but unlike Sick Boy, Begbie is not addicted to drugs. Rather, he is addicted to violence.
Played with stunning ferocity by Robert Carlyle, Begbie is terrifyingly unpredictable - though his friends always seem to know he’s going to resort to violence. Begbie relishes the power his cruelty gives him, even over his friends - making him an incredibly fearsome villain and an exciting character to watch on-screen.
Mark Renton - Ewan McGregor
Renton is intelligent, charismatic, and somewhat privileged - and it’s these traits that help him escape the fate many of his friends seem destined for. While Spud gets sent to jail, Renton wrangles a rehabilitation program; while Tommy succumbs to his addiction, Renton’s parents help him go cold turkey and beat withdrawal.
Despite his flaws, Renton is one of the more likable, relatable characters in the group. With a self-awareness lacking in Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie, Renton is a compelling narrator - no other character could tell the story like he does. He also ultimately breaks out of the cycle of addiction - which is perhaps why Trainspotting is really his story.