14 Fictional Characters Who Got Their Names From Real Guys
Imagine bullying a kid so hard he creates a $100 million movie franchise and names it after you.
Mr. Bevilacqua
In the Season Six episode of Seinfeld “The Race,” Jerry constructs a rematch of a highly contested ninth-grade footrace, officiated by gym teacher Mr. Bevilacqua. Al Bevilacqua was the real Jerry Seinfeld’s driver’s ed teacher back in high school. Al once said he never watched the show, but remembered Jerry as “a nice kid.” He passed away recently at the age of 85.
Steve Urkel
The character was supposed to be a zany, shark-jumping, one-off guest of the Winslows, so Family Matters showrunner Michael Warren named him after his buddy Steve Erkel as a joke.
Grunkle Stan
Mystery Shack owner Grunkle Stan is a combination of Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch’s great aunt and great uncle. His great uncle was named Stan, and he called his great aunt “Graunty Lois.”
Camilo
The Encanto character is named after Camilo García, a tour guide that the Disney crew really hit it off with when they were doing research in Colombia.
Abe Simpson
Matt Groening named most of the Simpson family after his own — his dad Homer, his sister Lisa, his mother and sister Margaret — but decided to let the writers name Grampa Simpson. They chose Abraham, which coincidentally happened to also be Matt’s grandfather’s name.
Khan
The Star Trek antagonist Khan Noonien Singh was named after Kim Noonien Singh, a pilot that Gene Roddenberry served with in World War II. If you knew you’d get your own wrath in 1982 and be played by Benedict Cumberbatch in 2013, would you sign up to go to war?
Dopinder
The faithful cabbie in the Deadpool movies is named after a friend of Ryan Reynolds, who tragically died after being struck by lightning.
Michael Myers
Michael Myers was the name of an English producer who got one of John Carpenter’s early works into the London Film Festival: “That’s where my reputation kind of began, so I felt I owed him.”
Goldfinger
One of the most on-the-nose bad guy names in cinema history was named after Ian Fleming’s neighbor, architect Ernő Goldfinger.
Zan Owlson
The businesswoman in DuckTales is more than just a cutesy bird name, she’s actually named after a producer on the series, Suzanna Olson.
Max Arciniega
In the Breaking Bad universe, Max Arciniega is Gus Fring’s business partner and chicken brother. In our universe, Max Arciniega is the name of the guy who played Krazy-8 in the series.
Max Shreck
Christopher Walken’s unsettling character in Batman Returns is named after unsettling German actor Max Schreck, who played the vampire in 1922’s Nosferatu.
Freddy Krueger
Director Wes Craven named his iconic freak after a kid named Fred Kruger who used to beat him up in middle school.
Jim Halpert
One guy who doesn’t get enough blame for 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is Jim Halpert, D.C. attorney and best friend of The Office showrunner Greg Daniels.