15 Characters Based On Their Own Creators
![15 Characters Based On Their Own Creators](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/2/1/770121_320x180.jpg)
Write what you know, goes the proverbial writing advice. And what (or rather who) do you know better than yourself? So some writers take the maxim to its extreme, and create characters based on themselves. Maybe they want to vicariously explore their make-believe worlds through their clones; maybe they just don’t feel like coming up with yet another goddamn full character. Whatever the reason, authors often indulge in playing imaginary dress-up in their own works. Here are some examples.
![Spider-Man J. Jonah Jameson is an over-the-top Stan Lee. Lee has admitted that the publisher of the Daily Bugle is an exaggerated version of himself. I thought, if I were a grumpy, irritable man, which I am sometimes, how would I act?](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/4/770114.jpg)
Source: NPR
![How the Grinch Stole Christmas The Grinch Dr. Seuss is at his grumpiest. Dr. Seuss wrote the book to vent his own frustration with the commercialization of Christmas. I was brushing my teeth... when I noted a very Grinchish countenance in the mirror. It was Seuss!](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/7/770117.jpg)
Source: Biography
![Star Trek: The Next Generation Wesley Crusher Gene Roddenberry's is alter ego. When the space wunderkind was promoted to full ensign, Roddenberry gave Wil Wheaton his own second lieutenant bars from the Army Air Corps. Also, Roddenberry's middle name curiously happened to be Wesley.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/2/770112.jpg)
Sources: Memory Alpha, Star Trek (Official Site)
![Fantastic Four The Thing is a clobberin' Jack Kirby. Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) put a lot of himself into Benjamin Jacob Grimm. Among other things, they both had rough upbrinings as Jewish boys in Manhattan's Lower East Side, and are fond of cigars.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/0/770110.jpg)
Sources: CBR, Encyclopedia Britannica
![30 Rock Liz Lemon Tina is just Fey. Start with the fact that Fey's first name is Elizabeth, and then consider that the show draws heavily from her stint as SNL's head writer. try to share as many of Liz's habits as possible SO it feels truthful.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/5/770105.jpg)
Sources: NBC (via archive.org), Tina-Fey.org (via archive.org), Vogue
![The Devil Wears Prada Andy Sachs Lauren Weisberger. is pretty much The book is partly fiction, partly based on Weisberger's work experiences I see a lot of myself in Andrea. from her love of writing to her tendency to get SO wrapped up in things that she somehow finds](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/9/770119.jpg)
Source: Random House (via archive.org)
![Misery Paul Sheldon clearly is Stephen King. Misery is about how obsessive King's fans can get- and also about his struggles with addiction. Annie was my drug problem, and she was my number-one fan. God, she never wanted to leave.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/8/770118.jpg)
Sources: The Paris Review, The Stephen King Companion by George Beahm
![Harry Potter Hermione Granger is based on a young J. K. Rowling. Hermione is a caricature of what was when I was 11, a real exaggeration ... I hope I wasn't that annoying. (We have to wonder what Hermione would tweet today, and how annoying that would be.)](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/6/770116.jpg)
Source: Accio Quote!
![Seinfeld Ceorge Costanza Larry David. is Jason Alexander based his performance on Woody Allen, until he realized George was a self-insert for the show's co-creator. When Alexander questioned a scene, David retorted: This happened to me, this is exactly what I did.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/1/770111.jpg)
![Redwall Gonff the Mousethief Brian Jacques. is a rodent version of The author of the Redwall book series has stated that Gonff was based on himself as a kid. Also, Gonff was his favorite character.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/3/770113.jpg)
Source: Brian Jacques: The Official Site
![Das Boot Lt. Werner is a stand-in for Lothar-Gunther Buchheim. Herbert Gronemeyer's young lieutenant is a war correspondent aboard the German submarine U-96 -exactly like Buchheim was.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/7/770107.jpg)
Source: The Washington Post
![Fear and Laathing in Las Vegas Raoul Duke is a barely disguised Hunter S. Thompson. The fueled blend of fact and fiction is based on two different trips to Las Vegas Thompson took in 1971, along with activist Oscar Zeta Acosta.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/9/770109.jpg)
Source: Ranker
![Buffy the Vampire Slayer Xander Harris is a stand-in for JOss Whedon. Xander, I've always identified as the figure I most was like, cause he did have that inability to sort of... talk to the girl and come through in the big moment. Xander was often criticized for not](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/4/770104.jpg)
Sources: CBR, Bitch Media
![Alice in Wonderland The Dodo Lewis Carroll. is A lot of the animals in the book represent people the real-life Alice knew, with the dodo as the author himself It was a play on Dodgson, his real name- as he was a stutterer, he'd sometimes introduce himself as Dodo-Dodgson.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/6/770106.jpg)
Source: Live Science
![A Song of Ice and Fire Sam Tarly is a pacific nerd like George R. R. Martin. Martin has said that he resembles Sam way more than any other character in his saga. Tyrion might be who I want to be, but Sam is probably closer to who I](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/8/770108.jpg)
Source: Polygon