INTP main characters?

[JoeJoe]

I seem to find that there are very few books with INTP main characters, in fact, I can't think of any.
INTJ's however seem to be quite common (Artemis Fowl).

 

[Felan]

I think the main character, played by Robin Williams, in the movie "Of What Dreams May Come" was an INTP.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

Caden Cotard in Synecdoche, New York.

 

[JoeJoe]

Thanks guys, would be cool if you kept them coming.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

Caden is really the only one I can think of. I find INTPs to be a rare breed in fiction, as main characters or otherwise. I think that, as an author, to write an INTP character, you have to write with your head in the clouds.

(And one of the most common complaints I hear with Synecdoche, New York is that it's overly pretentious and artsy. I can see where this is coming from but I think it's a masterpiece.)

 

[JoeJoe]

I guess INTPs are also so rare in books, because they have such a bad habit of imperfection and procrastination, which could be frustrating for many readers.

e.g. INTJs on the other hand are hard-working and dedicated. They achieve their goals. A lot more satisfying to read.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

My current project has an INTP main character... (Maybe. I haven't decided which character will take the protagonist role yet.) Coincidentally, my current project is also nonsensical bullshit with severe implications on reality as we know it.

But yeah, you have a point. And I think that for this reason, almost all INTPs in fiction are given J tendencies just to achieve more.

 

[motrhead]

I think the main character, played by Robin Williams, in the movie "Of What Dreams May Come" was an INTP.

That would make sense to me. I really identified with the character. It's one of my all-time favourite movies, after "Wings of Desire". Having been through some heavy (near death for my wife) trauma many years ago, I really felt everything this guy went through.

 

[motrhead]

My current project has an INTP main character... (Maybe. I haven't decided which character will take the protagonist role yet.) Coincidentally, my current project is also nonsensical bullshit with severe implications on reality as we know it.

Is this a case of using yourself as the role model for the character?
The novel I wrote last year ended up with the protagonist being too much like myself (unintentionally, but probably unavoidably). I have to rewrite some of it before I will be comfortable with having friends and family read it
My character is a reluctant anti-hero. For some strange reason I can identify with those guys
Daredevil and Ben Grimm from the comic books come to mind.

I would guess that a few of Robert Heinlein's and Edward Hamilton's characters from their sci-fi books could be INTP.

 

[Enne]

I always thought Ender, from Ender's Game was an INTP.

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Enne... what am I looking at? Is that work safe?

Anyway, INTP characters are common is stories dealing with insanity, existualism and other such mind-screw topics... Shinji (NGE) could be one, not exactly the most uplifting example of an INTP but his tendency to retreat within himself is uncomfortably familiar.

The Doctor is probably the best example of an INTP, exploring the similarities between an open minded, non-judgemental individual who knows better than to label anyone (or anything) good or evil, and his morally dissonant dark-side.

 

[loveofreason]

Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever.

From literal and social leper to unwilling and unbelieving saviour.

He epitomises doubt.

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, by Stephen Donaldson.

 

[Kidege]

Any specific Doctor you have in mind, Cog (10th?).

(and *cough* I'll have to disable images in my browser, Enne.)


Edit: More on topic:

I think Pierre Bezukhov from War and Peace may be INTP. He's introverted, has intellectual tendencies, is detached, can be easily led astray... Only problem is that his spiritual quest is far more important to him than his intellectual hunger. So, maybe INFP...

Julien Sorel from The Red and the Black shares some traits with us, but he's very ambitious. Has to be INTJ.

Demetrii Rudin, however, does seem like an INTP to me. The guy's intelligent and loves to show it... Like one of us in flirtatious mode.
Then he screws up because he can't get in touch with his F, and screws up again because he can't get over his extreme P tendencies... It's not a flattering portrait.

Now that I think about it, the whole Rudin novel is about how lame INTPs are when compared to Feelers or Sensors. *sniffle*

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Any specific Doctor you have in mind, Cog (10th?).

Yeah, he's good.
But it depends more on the writer, some understand the character, some don't.

 

[meshram.alok]

What about Howard Roark?

I think he's the ultimate INTP - maybe with some J characteristics.

 

[snowqueen]

I recently read a gently engaging Nigerian novel called Measuring time by Helon Habila. Its about twins, Mamo and LaMamo, one of whom is clearly INTJ and one who is INTP. the novel is written from the INTP brother's perspective and is very much an insight into his thinking and the dilemmas and situations he gets into are very familiar - it'a a very sympathetic character and the whole novel gives a good insight into Nigerian rural life and politics. I loved it.

 

[motrhead]

Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever.

From literal and social leper to unwilling and unbelieving saviour.

He epitomises doubt.

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, by Stephen Donaldson.

That character bothered me. I read this as a teen, and saw too much of myself in him. The character's choices really bothered me. I couldn't get enough of the series, but disliked it at the same time. Weird.
Between the ages of thirteen and nineteen I read every sci-fi and fantasy novel I could get my hands on, at a rate of three to six books a day(I read very fast), and I hardly remember any of them- but this character was memorable.
Nowadays I rarely read novels, although I did pick up a few classics last year, when I began writing again. I find I remember very little about the story lines or characters that I read about. I have way too much information crammed into my brain...

 

[Vegard Pompey]

I read very slowly. I stop and think over every little passage, and if it's a book that doesn't reward such behaviour, I probably won't find it very good.

 

[motrhead]

Haha. I read a bit slower than I used to, but still faster than anyone I have ever met, except for my eldest daughter, who reads the same speed as me (and reads voraciously). I do sometimes go back and reread interesting passages, but I have excellent comprehension. Unfortunatley my brain flushes the information out of my head as soon as I start the next book

 

[snowqueen]

Haha. I read a bit slower than I used to, but still faster than anyone I have ever met, except for my eldest daughter, who reads the same speed as me (and reads voraciously). I do sometimes go back and reread interesting passages, but I have excellent comprehension. Unfortunatley my brain flushes the information out of my head as soon as I start the next book

Bet I read faster than you!! But I have the same thing with forgetting it all when I start the next book.

 

[motrhead]

Hmmm. Maybe, but I doubt it. Nothing I have ever been able to get through has ever been more than a single day's read. Most are done in an afternoon. Except War and Peace: I cannot finish that book. It is far too dry for my consumption, and I always stop a few chapters in. That one would take more than a day. Is there a *good* translation?
I may forget books, but I remember stupid facts and figures. I have a head full of dimensions and formulae, and I am still better than most at trivia games (although that claim probably wouldn't hold true in this forum). I'm not really a game person, but once in a while I get sucked into a quiz or bunch of quizzes, and sometimes I can't stop until I have done them *all*.
The problem with novels, is that my brain knows they are fiction; therefore they are irrelevant, and are to be discarded. I had that problem with Shakespeare. I found Heinlein to be much more relevant.

 

[drumir93]

I saw alot of myself in Holden from The Catcher in the Rye. Whinch made me feel a little crappy since the whole class and the teacher discussed how screwd up he is. The thinking patterns and the way we handle forced commentary are similar,and we both think of our peers as superficial phonies.

 

[Zero]

It seems like there are a lot to me. Mostly in fantasy and sci fi. I'm pretty sure Terry Pratchett's character Rincewind is an INTP.
I know people have said that L in Death Note is an INTP. Near is an INTJ and Ryuuk is an ENTP.
I've seen INTPs stereotyped as "Nerds" (and wizards -_- and often seem to be villains.
Though I think Ada in PoisonWood Bible is an INTP?

Also:
http://www.mypersonality.info/personality-types/intp/
Scroll to the middle.

 

[Ermine]

It's a possibility, but the way she keeps focusing on spelling words forwards and backwards is kind of autism/aspergers behavior, along with other things about her like her noted lack of close relationships outside of her family (while INTPs just have few relationships rather than none).

 

[Sapphire Harp]

Theodore Faron from the novel 'The Children of Men' seemed like a pretty good fit as an INTP... (Vastly different from the film, I understand, having not watched it yet.)

I recognized a lot of personal habits in Theo when I was reading it... particularly when he has something just like the 'emotion.exe not found' moments in the story.

Hmm... come to think of it, I thinkTheo might be a better fit for me, personally, than the INTP type as a whole... Does anyone have a perspective on this?

I wonder if the author P.D. James could be an INTP, as well?
​

 

[zephryi]

I saw alot of myself in Holden from The Catcher in the Rye. Which made me feel a little crappy since the whole class and the teacher discussed how screwed up he is. The thinking patterns and the way we handle forced commentary are similar,and we both think of our peers as superficial phonies.

I found the same thing when we did Catcher in the Rye this year. We would have a discussion on Holden's motives and attitude, and whenever the more feeling-leaning kids started trying to dissect him, I would just wince because I felt like I knew exactly why he would do something, and they were getting it all wrong. XD

 

[Red Mage]

My best friend in high school/college told me I reminded him a lot of Holden and told me to read the book. I started it but it was too boring and put it down. Oh well, I'll probably never know what he really thought about me.

 

[del]

This isn't a book, but Daryl Zero from the movie The Zero Effect was definitely an INTP.

 

[JoeJoe]

*makes a note that he will have to sum up all the books mentioned*

 

[Inappropriate Behavior]

Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever.

From literal and social leper to unwilling and unbelieving saviour.

He epitomises doubt.

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, by Stephen Donaldson.

Good thing I read through this thread or else I'd be just repeating this. Covenant is most certainly INTP.

I can't remember the name of the character, but I believe the main female character in Donaldson's Gap series also might be INTP.

 

[Jaico]

C. Auguste Dupin, from The Murders in the Rue Morgue/The Mystery of Marie Roget/The Purloined Letter (by Edgar Allan Poe) struck me as very INTP-ish (although one could make a case for INTJ, he seems to be more of an INTP - in contrast to later detectives, like Holmes).

 

[Trebuchet]

Neal Stephenson's book Cryptonomicon has a good candidate. The book goes back and forth between Randy Waterhouse in the present (INTJ) and his grandfather Lawrence Waterhouse in WWII (INTP). Lawrence is a cryptography expert. He can't remember anyone's name, has no interest in current events, is a good and loyal friend, tends to unconventional approaches, and improvises well when solving problems.

I have also thought that Harry Dresden in the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher might be INTP. Harry is the only professional wizard in Chicago. (Nothing like Harry Potter, though people do give him a hard time about that.) He has way too much action for an INTP, really, but he is generally motivated by trying not to get killed, rather than a lot of gumption. He is messy and not much of a planner.

Stephen Maturin in Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin novels could be INTP also. He is a bit too adventurous, perhaps, but he spends a lot of time alone, doing research. He cares nothing for his appearance, is intellectual and condescending to those who aren't, is gullible, loves music, and is good with his hands. He is very good at concetrating his attention.

Finally, Bob Howard in Charles Stross's Atrocity Archives and Jennifer Morgue might be INTP. Come to think of it, he is probably more INTJ. He is a computer hacker in a Lovecraft world, fighting elder things with tentacles with his laptop, and working for the British government.

 

[travelnjones]

Sal Paradise of on the road has a couple of very INTP moments, The scene where Dean talks with Carlo as Sal silently watches and the reader alone hears Sals thoughts is very INTP.

 

[Loki]

1. Louis Wu the main character from Ringworld by Larry Niven.

2. The Mule from The Foundation Series by Issac Asimov.

I'd recommend both novels to INTPs interested in quality science fiction.

 

[Jaleho]

Let's see...

Kidder from "Microcosmic God"
Ethan Hawke's character in "Explorers"
Weird Al's character in "UHF"
Doc from "Back to the Future" (but probably a J)
Gonzo the Great
Cosmo Kramer (More of an E perhaps)

 

[Black Pat]

INTP main character:

Dr. Becker from the defunct television show "Becker" was an INTP for sure.

INTP supporting character:

Dr. Cox from the television show "Scrubs" is an INTP.

Their "good INTP" traits: brilliant at their jobs, independent, objective, sarcastic, well-respected by their peers.

Their "bad INTP" traits: caustic, arrogant, insensitive and mean to everybody, excessively mean to the less-competent, task-masters, self-saboteurs, problems with love life, constant nagging fear of failure, reclusive tendencies.

Both of these characters are shown as quite bitter, because they are unnaturally using their "J" trait to be successful in the world rather than their inclination toward "P". I think most INTPs who've tried to sustain a successful project can identify with these folks.

 

[Adymus]

INTP main character:

Dr. Becker from the defunct television show "Becker" was an INTP for sure.

INTP supporting character:

Dr. Cox from the television show "Scrubs" is an INTP.

Their "good INTP" traits: brilliant at their jobs, independent, objective, sarcastic, well-respected by their peers.

Their "bad INTP" traits: caustic, arrogant, insensitive and mean to everybody, excessively mean to the less-competent, task-masters, self-saboteurs, problems with love life, constant nagging fear of failure, reclusive tendencies.

Both of these characters are shown as quite bitter, because they are unnaturally using their "J" trait to be successful in the world rather than their inclination toward "P". I think most INTPs who've tried to sustain a successful project can identify with these folks.

Uhhhm no, Dr. Cox is an INTJ, frustrated by The incompetence of a world that is not meeting up to his Ni model.

 

[Ran]

Sorry for jumping in here in the middle of your debate...

I always thought Ender, from Ender's Game was an INTP.

Really??? That would be awesome. I loved the Ender's Game series. I'm not knowledgeable about MBTI enough to know who's what type exactly, but I always thought I identified more with Bean (if you've read Ender's Shadow) than Ender.

 

[Waterstiller]

What about Jaye from Wonderfalls and George from Dead Like Me?

Both are essentially the same character from the same creator. Dead Like Me even talks about personality types in one of the episodes and the character growth of George throughout the series is based on her resolving her I, T, or P with the real world while spouting some darkly hilarious and sarcastic Intuitive narration..

 

[Adymus]

I just saw a movie called Bickford Shmeckler's Cool ideas, the main character of this movie (Bickford Shmeckler) is classic INTP.



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421045/

 

[Oblivious]

Surprised no one mentioned the architect yet.

Howard Roark - The Fountainhead

 

[The Fury]

Surprised no one mentioned the architect yet.

Howard Roark - The Fountainhead

I always thought he was an INTJ, very driven judgemental and without the INTP quirky sense of humour.

I think Fox Mulder from The X Files might be an INTP.

 

[Adymus]

I always thought he was an INTJ, very driven judgemental and without the INTP quirky sense of humour.

I think Fox Mulder from The X Files might be an INTP.

Agreed, The Architect had the Chilliness of an INTP, but he just came off as a pretty classic example of the INTJ perfectionist of design. Builds a model, if fails, builds a better model, that fails too, Builds an Epic model, and neo fucks up it.

 

[aracaris]

Uhhhm no, Dr. Cox is an INTJ, frustrated by The incompetence of a world that is not meeting up to his Ni model.

I think P fits him better than J. He could possibly be an ISTP (I'm not so sure whether he's a S or N).
He's very "gray"as far as his views on rules and regulations, having really no problem at all going against them when the situation would benefit from doing so.
Kelso seems like he's probably a J to me though, he was much more for the status quo, for following established regulations than Cox, whom tended to upset Kelso partially for that reason.

 

[Adymus]

I think P fits him better than J. He could possibly be an ISTP (I'm not so sure whether he's a S or N).
He's very "gray"as far as his views on rules and regulations, having really no problem at all going against them when the situation would benefit from doing so.
Kelso seems like he's probably a J to me though, he was much more for the status quo, for following established regulations than Cox, whom tended to upset Kelso partially for that reason.

That is because he is an N. INTJ's have an Ni model that is perceived to be far superior to the rules and regulations, there is no doubt that they would go against them.

You are confusing J with Si.

Which is why Kelso is indeed an ISTJ: Si-Te-Fi-Ne

 

[aracaris]

Well, that's how a lot of the descriptions of J vs. P that I've seen describe the two.

 

[Adymus]

Well, that's how a lot of the descriptions of J vs. P that I've seen describe the two.

That's because Meyers-briggs dichotomies are a flawed system that is neglecting a ton of other factors that are going into personality types. Look into Jungian Cognitive Processes sometime.

 

[Ghost1986]

Mitch Rapp in Vince Flyns books i think is a intp. the way he acts reminds me of my self. except the charecter has a nice body and more confidence and skills then i ever will. yet he is very organized and my be a intj. i sm not quite sure. that is the only one i can think of.

 

[intuitivet]

I heard somewhere than Tom from (500) Days of Summer is an INTP. I found that at the start he seemed very F, but later on he did feel more like an INTP.

 

[Adymus]

I heard somewhere than Tom from (500) Days of Summer is an INTP. I found that at the start he seemed very F, but later on he did feel more like an INTP.

I've never seen the movie... But I get the feeling that character is more of an INFJ, just because the actor that plays as him is an INFJ. And type casting is actually extremely common. Not that they are deliberately MBTI typing the actors, but that they just see how the actor naturally acts and sees it fit with the character concept. Much like Jim Parsons, Playing an INTP on the Big bang theory, and being an INTP in real life.