This list is for characters in fictional works who exemplify the qualities of an antihero—a protagonist or supporting character whose characteristics include the following: imperfections that separate them from typically heroic characters (such as selfishness, cynicism, ignorance, and bigotry); lack of positive qualities such as "courage, physical prowess, and fortitude", and "generally feel helpless in a world over which they have no control"; qualities considered dark traits, usually belonging to villains, (amorality, greed, violent tendencies, etc.) that may be tempered with more human, identifiable traits that blur the moral lines between the protagonist and antagonist.

Each of these examples has been identified by a critic as an antihero, although the classification remains fairly subjective. Some of the entries may be disputed by other sources and some may contradict all established definitions of antihero.

Literature

CharacterWorkAuthorFirst published Lázaro de Tormes Lazarillo de Tormes anonymous 1554 Shylock The Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare 1596 Prince Hamlet Hamlet 1599–1602 Othello Othello 1603 Lady Macbeth Macbeth 1623 Satan Paradise Lost John Milton 1667 Phèdre Phèdre Jean Racine 1677 Redmond Barry The Luck of Barry Lyndon William Makepeace Thackeray 1844 Edward Rochester Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë 1847 Becky Sharp Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray 1847–1848 Raskolnikov Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky 1866 Huckleberry Finn Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain 1884 Stephen Dedalus A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManUlysses James Joyce 19161922 Jay Gatsby The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald 1925 Quentin Compson The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner 1929 Sam SpadeThe Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett 1930 Scarlett O'Hara Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell 1936 Pinkie Brown Brighton Rock Graham Greene 1938 Bigger Thomas Native Son Richard Wright 1940 Meursault The Stranger Albert Camus 1942 Bob Jones If He Hollers Let Him Go Chester Himes 1945 Annie Allen Annie Allen Gwendolyn Brooks 1949 Holden Caulfield The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger 1951 The Narrator Invisible Man Ralph Ellison 1952 Cross Damon The Outsider Richard Wright 1953 James Bond James Bond novels and short stories Ian Fleming 1953–1966 Humbert Humbert Lolita Vladimir Nabokov 1955 Tom Ripley The Talented Mr. RipleyRipley Under GroundRipley's GameThe Boy Who Followed RipleyRipley Under Water Patricia Highsmith 1955–1991 Okonkwo Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe 1958 Elric of Melniboné Elric of Melniboné Michael Moorcock 1961 Yossarian Catch-22 Joseph Heller Alex A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess 1962 Paul AtreidesDuneFrank Herbert1965 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard 1966 Woland The Master and Margarita Mikhail Bulgakov 1967 Wei Xiaobao The Deer and the Cauldron Jin Yong 1969 Harry Flashman The Flashman Papers George MacDonald Fraser Alexander Portnoy Portnoy's Complaint Philip Roth Michael Corleone The Godfather Mario Puzo Raoul Duke Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson 1971 Lestat de Lioncourt The Vampire Chronicles Series Anne Rice 1976–2018 Macon "Milkman" Dead III Song of Solomon Toni Morrison 1977 Fëanor The Silmarillion J.R.R. Tolkien Túrin Turambar The SilmarillionUnfinished TalesThe Lays of BeleriandThe Children of Húrin J.R.R. Tolkien 1977–2007 Randall Flagg The StandEyes of the DragonThe Dark Tower series Stephen King 1978–2012 Dr. Hannibal Lecter Red Dragon Thomas Harris 1981 Roland Deschain The Dark Tower series Stephen King 1982–2012 Francis "Frank" Cauldhame The Wasp Factory Iain Banks 1984 Dr. Hannibal Lecter The Silence of the Lambs Thomas Harris 1988 Geralt of Rivia The Witcher Andrzej Sapkowski 1986 Shrek Shrek! William Steig 1990 Mark Renton Trainspotting Irvine Welsh 1993 Tyler Durden and the Narrator Fight Club Chuck Palahniuk 1996 Tyrion LannisterA Game of ThronesA Clash of KingsA Storm of SwordsA Feast for CrowsA Dance with DragonsGeorge R. R. Martin1996–present Severus Snape Harry Potter series J. K. Rowling 1997–2007 Bruce Robertson Filth Irvine Welsh 1998 Artemis Fowl II Artemis Fowl series Eoin Colfer 2001 Dexter Morgan Darkly Dreaming DexterDearly Devoted DexterDexter in the DarkDexter by DesignDexter Is DeliciousDouble DexterDexter's Final CutDexter is Dead Jeff Lindsay 2004–2015 Lisbeth Salander The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson 2005 Greg Heffley Diary of a Wimpy Kid Jeff Kinney 2007–present Christian GreyFifty Shades of GreyFifty Shades DarkerFifty Shades FreedGreyDarkerFreedE. L. James2011–2021

Film