Category: Character Stories

KOMARAM BHEEM, NINE

This is our other RRR hero, the tribal leader. He’s such a Nine. Unbelievably powerful, and yet never seeking conflict until it knocks on his door, Bheem is like a boy when in the city. Raju is much more confident and worldly, taking Bheem under his wing. 

When Bheem is roused, though, he is stronger than anyone else — physically and mentally. He is the perfect protector for his people. His indomitable sense of justice, even to the point of extreme suffering, is the only thing that can break Raju’s purpose. Throughout much of the film it’s hard to see how these two men can remain friends when all the truth is out, and yet they do.

Don’t let their energetic and glorious dance sequence deter you from appreciating the craft of the acting and filmmaking. Their jacked handsomeness is plot- and character-driven, I assure you. This is classically epic storytelling — reality is secondary — and these protagonists are the movie stars this genre deserves.

RAMA RAJU, EIGHT

This movie, RRR, has two heroes. Raju is in the military during the end of the British Empire in India. He investigates the other hero, befriends him unwittingly, and leads a surprise double life throughout. Both men play complex characters. The movie introduces us to them in separate over-the-top, fabulous action sequences that resonate during the rest of the story. I can’t recommend this film enough.

Okay, so who is Raju?

He will finish his mission, no matter how difficult. His opening scene hammers that trait home, lol. However, his secret mission with the military, which is more mental than physical, is also unstoppable. He was forged as a child and has become an indefatigable man.

Given almost superhero strength and agility, is Raju a Body Type? Oh, look at that. He’s an Eight. It’s his willpower. When so many forces press against him — loss of family, career, and country — he won’t bend. He won’t give up.

He also has a great joy in being with his friend. He has every reason to hold back, to stay unengaged, yet he jumps in. That lack of worry, of rolling in the moment, is very Eight. The only thing that thwarts his mission is a display of genuine compassion by Bheem, something that an Eight respects as a strength move. Physical dominance just makes Raju fight back harder, but Bheem’s acceptance of suffering moves Raju to sympathy.

JAVI GUTIERREZ, TWO

A multi-millionaire with his own island in Mallorca, Javi is just a guy who loves the acting of Nick Cage. He even has a room dedicated to memorabilia. He hires Nick for a birthday party with the intention of convincing him to star in his spec script (which is probably not very good). Meanwhile, he may be a ruthless mob boss; that’s for Nick to discover.

What makes this fun is the chemistry between Pedro Pascal and Cage. I could watch these two riff off each other for days. It’s a buddy film, which delighted me.

So who is this very rich man who is a dedicated Nick ‘stan?

Well, haha, he’s a Two. He collects Nick Cage, figuratively and literally. He’s also a happy man with a tender heart. The Two/Four dynamic between the men is very successful. Strength/Weakness Enneagrams support and challenge each other. The choice of portrayals (or natural chemistry) these men create turns an awkward plot into a tour de force. Star power is worth money, if there was ever any doubt.

NICK CAGE, FOUR

Just because Nicolas Cage plays himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent doesn’t mean that this character is the same as the real man. Any discussion of his Enneagram assumes that Cage is much too good to give us a simple version of who he is. This Nick is a mash-up of possibly real characteristics and all the heroes he’s played on film. It is, unsurprisingly, a delicious performance.

So who is Nick?

He’s intensely committed to acting. He insists on giving a line reading to a prospective director, terrifying him. He thrives on jobs that interest him rather than paycheck gigs. However, he’s broke from living in a high-priced hotel. (When Nick became divorced and moved out of his home is unclear.) In order to pay his bills, he agrees to perform for one million dollars at a birthday party on a private island.

So, lol, not a One (no money acuity). Not a Six (no worries), not a Nine (loves conflict), not a Five (too risk-oriented).

When he arrives he’s approached by the CIA. He’s the only one who can get onto Javi’s island, and they suspect a kidnapped girl is held there. That means he plays a double game during his visit. The ease with which he lies to his host suggests he’s not a Two.

Although he loves his work and is a master craftsman, Nick is probably not a Three. Too intense, too variable in his success.

If you’re keeping track, we’re left with Four, Seven, and Eight. I want to jump immediately to Four. Although all of those numbers can be intense, Nick is pretty extreme. Nicolas Cage’s career is defined by how volatile his characters are. I think I know already what Javi is, and their friendship is the surprising treasure of this movie. Four is going to be a good choice for Nick.

NEMO, SEVEN

An independent child, Nemo (as in Little Nemo from the classic cartoons of Winsor McCay) is left alone at the lighthouse with her father’s full trust. She loves stories and dreams, basically creating her real life into the tales her father tells her at bedtime.

I honestly don’t need to delve very far to see a Seven. Her competency and confidence, her imagination and lucid dreaming, and her determination to macgyver a way back to her father after she’s sent to live with Uncle Philip speak of an innovative Head Type. Fear will not stop her and despair will not rule her. Also, her lack of balance and reason, her willingness to go to the edge of safety and sanity, call out as the Seven’s dark side. She feels consistently written and is a pleasure to watch as our heroine.

We also have a sweetness in knowing that Nemo and Philip are both Head Types. Although the beginning of their relationship is tragic and painful, they will be fine together. They will come to understand each other. The Enneagram tells us so.

And one more thing I must mention. Nemo has a stuffed pig toy she sleeps with in the real world. In slumberland, the pig is alive and the animation is some of the most wonderful CG work. I am biased toward cuddly pigs, but this is an empirically adorable creature. 

I will not, however, be checking its Enneagram.

JUDE LAW’S DR. WATSON, NINE

He’s a caretaker of Holmes, a bridge between reality and Sherlock’s head. Of course, a medical doctor would indeed always evaluate the state of their patient (even when he’s a friend). Does Watson go beyond a professional involvement, though? He can’t seem to stop saving Holmes.

Tidy, brave, prepared — Sherlock himself names these traits for Watson. He’s also courteous. When Holmes insults his fiancee, Watson restrains himself in a public restaurant with a lady. He approves of her wine toss in Sherlock’s face, and he later, when alone with him, punches Holmes in the nose. This Watson has a physicality controlled by good manners.

The two of them are like an old married couple, sniping and circling, knowing everything the other is thinking. Holmes is so erratic (these days we would say he’s on-spectrum) that Watson initially seems grounded and normal. 

He’s not, though! His co-dependency with Holmes is possible because they’re both strange men. Watson is just better at socially hiding it. What would he do if he couldn’t roll his eyes at Holmes? He’s able to pretend he’s a regular bloke by showing exasperation with Sherlock. This isn’t the traditional sidekick role. Law’s Watson is an actual character with separate motivations.

He’s a Nine. The competitive spirit between him and RDJ’s Holmes, a Seven, is appropriate for these numbers. And Watson is very much someone who thinks as a Body Type. He enjoys the intellectual pursuit with Sherlock, but he prefers his profession — tending to the physical — and clues that require him to interact with them. He is a Nine who pushes the edges of his Enneagram: a little bit daring and reckless, a little bit angry and injudicious. He hates himself for it, but luckily he can blame it all on Holmes.

ROBERT DOWNEY, JR.’S SHERLOCK HOLMES, SEVEN

One of my first character posts was a generic look at Sherlock Holmes. I’ve come a long way, lol. I assessed an unspecified Holmes as a Seven, and declared that RDJ would portray him well. Let’s dig in, though, and see what and who his Holmes is.

Downey’s Holmes really does dabble in it all. The drugs, the violin-plunking, the pugilism, the chaos — his Holmes tries everything. He even conducts, for research, a satanic ritual. Sometimes he envisions events many steps into the future, like his boxing technique, and sometimes he has to experience something to deduce it.

He’s brave. Indomitable and fearless, really. He’s either supremely confident or a lucky fool. He’s a mediocre friend to Watson. Loyal, yes, but selfish.

Not a One or Six. Rules are meaningless to him. Not a Two. All of that detective gear is too haphazard. Not a Five. He’s an intuitive thinker, not one to organize a problem. Not a Nine. He thrives on conflict.

So, we have Three, Four, Seven, or Eight remaining. Socially, he’s a fiasco. Not a Three or Four.

Seven. His fighting style comes from the head, not from the gut, as an Eight’s would. And I really like that Sherlock Holmes has an Enneagram type. I mean, we all knew he’d end up a Seven. The excessive edges of his personality and his success in that lifestyle are really only manageable by one number.

HENRY CAVILL’S SHERLOCK HOLMES, NINE

Now, I love Cavill. He’s a real-life gamer! But, lol, does he always play his characters as Nines? Geralt the Witcher, Superman, and now Sherlock. All of these heroes have a cool distance from the problems surrounding them.

In the first Enola Holmes movie, Sherlock makes only a few brief appearances. Obviously, he detects. He also involves himself in his sister’s life reluctantly. It’s not his business; Enola is Mycroft’s ward. When he does poke in, though, he meets a mind that thinks like his own.

In the second movie we see more of him. He’s inebriated in one scene, which is what we expect of Sherlock. We’re not shown why, or told of his drug/drink choice. Instead, it’s presented as normal: the dude had a night out. It’s not the debauchery we associate with him. It’s almost like a box is checked. 

Same for a brief moment when he lifts a violin.

Look, it’s not his story. It’s okay that Sherlock is only an outline of a known character. Everything we see, though, is not a Holmes who is a Seven. (That honor goes to Enola.) I mean, it’s a good choice. We don’t want carbon copies in the same show. And, it’s Henry Cavill busting the arm seams of a double-breasted frock coat! He can steal the scene right out from under everyone if they don’t keep him in the background. The judicial detachment of a Nine is a wise Enneagram decision for this Holmes. We believe he’s competent, famous, and not the protagonist.

ENOLA HOLMES, SEVEN

Here’s the question: In Enola’s first movie, how much of her character can I attribute to her own Enneagram? Her mother’s training dominates her young life. She even says something about her purpose — what she was made for — is to fight. Does Enola relish fighting, or does she pursue fighting because her mother relishes it?

Like her brother, Sherlock, she has a mind that solves puzzles. Her mother exposed her to word games, but she is also naturally good at it. This is a trait that genuinely belongs to her.

She is not, however, natural at physical pursuits. She’s willing to try anything, but she wobbles on the bicycle and can’t initially master the jiujitsu takedown maneuver. The tennis she and her mother play is more about luck than skill. Although she’s very active, Enola doesn’t seem a Body Type.

In the second movie she leans into her detective skills. She’s brave, unintimidated, and socially comfortable in awkward situations. Her mother makes a brief appearance (as a small-scale terrorist, actually), but doesn’t drive Enola’s behavior like she did in the first movie.

I’m tempted to say she’s a Seven. It’s very Holmesian to love the world of the mind, yet engage in so much of the physical and dangerous. Also, the showrunners and Cavill have made their Sherlock a not-Seven, which gives Enola breathing room.

At this point, Enola’s rebellions are her mother’s. I hope the series continues and we see Enola embrace her own countercultural instincts. As a Seven she should become more efficient, more focused, and more comfortable with her own beauty. Right now she manipulates her image to be more boy-like. When she matures, that will become less believable. A whole world of disguises awaits her, and the use of prosthetics is very Holmesian. I look forward to it!