From film to literature, these sensational fictional characters are actually more real that you would have thought.
Many movies are accompanied by the phrase “based on a true story” when they feel the events they depict are close enough to reality to claim them as fact.
Norman Bates
Zorro
Sherlock Holmes
Pete “Maverick” Mitchell
Don Draper
Betty Boop
Ari Gold
Charlie Chan
Olivia Pope
Dill From To Kill A Mockingbird
Alejandro Sosa
John Munch
Moe Syzlack
Auric Goldfinger
Moby Dick
But what about the many fictional works that may have lone characters or events based on reality, while other aspects of the narratives are pure fiction?
Often, we audience members are left in the dark about what aspects of these works are based on real people. While some characters are obvious in who they parody or imitate, others are harder to pin down but have also been based on real people.
Even many of those that were once obvious references to figures of popular culture have become more obscure as they outlive their own inspirations.
Hundreds of the characters from movies, TV, and books were once based on other, real people, but as they have become ubiquitous, we have begun to think of them as unique entities.
Here are some characters from fiction that you might not know where drawn from the lives of real people.
Next, check out the real-life hotel that The Shining is based on. Then, take a look at these nine X-Files episodes that were inspired by real-life events.
