Lead characters in movies tend to be charismatic and successful who always overcome any obstacle put in front of them, but that isn't always the case. In fact, some of the most compelling movies are ones where the characters are completely incompetent, cowardly weasels.
Even characters who aren't in the lead roles, the cowardly supporting characters tend to be the most memorable, hilarious, and sometimes the smartest.
Jerry Lundagard in Fargo
Fargo features one of the biggest cowards in a lead role ever, and as NinjaOK6773 notes, the "weasel portrait makes you love how incompetent he is, and you want to see him put into the wood chipper." The character might have a pleasant accent and is overly nice, but those are actually red flags.
Some of the nicest characters in movies turn out to be serial killers, and though Jerry isn't exactly a serial killer, he's a massive coward who can't keep up with his own lies. But the flustered portrayal of the character is so fascinating to watch unravel and is part of why Fargo still holds up today.
Cypher In The Matrix
The Matrix is full of deep philosophical debates, groundbreaking action scenes, and the best movie villain named Cypher (there are a few). But Reddit user Mr-peabody notes how massively cowardly he is. As the Redditor succinctly puts it, "I understand his motivations, but damn... he did them dirty."
In many ways, Cypher was right to do what he did. Who wants to live in the rotten Zion, eating mush every day? As the antagonist himself says, ignorance is bliss, but he just went about it in the wrong way. He turned on his crew and he only did something about it when they had no chance to fight back.
Harry Ellis In Die Hard
Canifatokyolife believes that Harry Ellis in Die Hard is one of the most repentant cowards in movies, but he's also one of the most entertaining. The Reddit user defends the choice by quoting one of Ellis's most iconic lines, "Hans bubby, I'm your white knight."
It's just one of the many examples of why Ellis is such a fun character, but at the end of the day, he was willing to work with terrorists just to save his own skin. He turned on all of his coworkers and he was trying to turn in John McClane, but as is usually the case with two-faced cowards, those very actions led to his murder.
Otho In Beetlejuice
free_range_celery claims that Otho in Beetlejuice is one of the biggest movie cowards, and it's easy to see why. The character is such a narcissist, he believes his own lies, and he talks about how successful he is in so many different fields. But when it comes to proving any of those things, he procrastinates to no end.
But an argument could be made that every adult character in the movie is a coward, as they all laugh at Lydia when she voices her concerns and they even make fun of her. But when they learn that she was right all along, they beg for her help, and at one point, they literally hide from Beetlejuice by standing behind her, essentially using her as a shield.
Weasel In The Suicide Squad
What writer-director James Gunn did so well with Guardians of the Galaxy is that he managed to create hilarious, quirky, and lovable animal characters that became fan favorites. And he did exactly the same with The Suicide Squad, most notably with King Shark. But when it comes to the biggest movie weasels, one of them is quite literally a weasel.
The googly-eyed Weasel became one of the biggest talking points of the movie, especially when he came back to life and waddled away on the beach in the post-credits scene. Z0mbiepete thinks he's one of the best movie cowards. The character was utterly useless and he preys on kids, as Rick Flag explained that he killed 27 children, and not much is more weasely than that.
Fredo In The Godfather
Outside of Vito Corleone, The Godfather is about four brothers who all have important roles in the mob, but there's one who is always letting the team down. Flinch85 wastes no time citing Fredo Corleone as one of the biggest movie cowards. The Redditor doesn't go into any detail as to why, but for those who have seen the movies, not much needs to be said.
In the first movie, Fredo is sent to Las Vegas to oversee a casino so he can stay out of harm's way. When Vito gets shot on the street, in an attempt to defend himself, Fredo drops his gun on the floor. And worst of all, in The Godfather Part II, he ordered a hit on his own brother out of jealousy and spite. But somehow all of that makes it so easy for audiences to feel sorry for him, and his death is one of the saddest moments in the Godfather trilogy.
Kano In Mortal Kombat
Kano does have some great combat skills in Mortal Kombat, not to mention that nothing excites him more than using his laser eye to cause destruction. But it all boils down to being a glory supporter, as he jumps between good and evil, tending to side with the characters who are having more success at the time.
Rude-Waltz-6191 calls Kano out for being a coward, but they also call him "the star of that film." The character has some brilliant one-liners, and he's one of the best villains of Mortal Kombat. But there's nothing more cowardly than siding with whichever team is winning just because they're winning.
Grandpa Joe In Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory
Everybody has their days when they don't want to get out of bed. But in Grandpa Joe and Charlie's other grandparents' case, it seems like they were given an inch and they took a mile. AmericanJelly makes an astute observation about Joe, saying that he "fakes a disability so he can lay in bed all day while Charlie's parents work themselves to the bone to feed everyone."
When Charlie revealed he had a golden ticket, Grandpa Joe jumped out of bed and literally busted out some dance moves. But at the end of the day, it was still Joe who told Charlie all the stories about the factory when he was growing up, and audiences are often more excited about Joe experiencing the factory's magic than Charlie.
Mr. Pink In Reservoir Dogs
NewClayburn votes that Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) is one of the best movie cowards, and though they don't give much of a reason why, the answer is obvious. The character taps out and hides whenever there's trouble around the corner, leaving his partners to get the job done by themselves. But there's a reason for the popular phrase, "don't be a hero," as Mr. Pink hid in the shadows, and he ended up being the only character to get out alive, and he ended up with the diamonds too.
Though some Redditors think Steve Buscemi was miscast as Mr. Pink, there's no character more in the celebrated actor's wheelhouse than the weasely Reservoir Dogs character. Buscemi is a great actor and though he isn't typecast, he tends to play a lot of cowardly characters.
Dennis Nedry In Jurassic Park
In Jurassic Park, Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) is bribed into stealing fertilized dinosaur embryos. Being so able to be bribed, wile_E_cayote_genius names Nedry as the most unrepentant coward. The Redditor doesn't even have enough respect for him to call him by the character's name.
As Wayne Knight also famously played the hilarious antagonist, Newman, in Seinfeld, the user simply refers to the Jurassic Park character as "Newman." Knight is typecast as playing slimeballs in movies and TV shows, and he's so good at it. Both Nedry and Newman are bumbling idiots, and they don't have the guts to be upfront with their allies or enemies, and that's usually what leads to their downfall.