2025 has been a strong year for film and television, with dozens of great performances across drama and comedy alike, establishing plenty of new fan-favorite characters for audiences to fall in love with. Some of the best new characters are in family-friendly fare, deploying unexpected comedy and unveiling surprising depth. Others are dark subversions of typical archetypes, adding layers to the standard tropes they embody. What they all have in common is a level of memorability that makes them stand out in a crowded field.
The best new characters are both timeless and of the moment, charming and horrifying. More than anything else, these 10 characters stand out as painfully human, even when they are decidedly not. Not every great new character can be featured on this list, with the likes of Iris in Companion (2025), Garrett Garrison from A Minecraft Movie (2025), and Mickey from Mickey 17 (2025) also standing out as fun new additions to the cinematic landscape. However, these are the 10 best characters of 2025, and where you can find them on Netflix, Apple TV, and Disney+!
Aunt Gladys - Weapons (2025)
The primary antagonist of Weapons and one of the best horror creations in a year full of strong additions to the genre, Aunt Gladys is one of the most memorable aspects of the Zach Cregger horror film. Introduced as a somewhat campy supporting character, Gladys’ full dangerous potential doesn’t become evident until her supernatural capabilities are fully revealed. The result is the best of both worlds in a horror movie.
Her purposefully awkward presentation recalls the dark comedy of Cregger’s work on the sketch show The Whitest Kids U’ Know (2007), but it bleeds easily into the scarier presentation of the character in the film’s second half. It’s a testament to the performance that neither side of the character feels out of place with the other, leading to a fully realized, deeply unsettling horror character. Fans of darkly funny horror films like Barbarian (2022) and Misery (1990) will love how Gladys can be both scary and hilarious.
Laura - Bring Her Back (2025)
On the other side of the spectrum is Laura, the tragic and haunting antagonist of Bring Her Back. A mother in mourning, Laura’s upbeat attempts to move on with her life by adopting new foster children gradually reveal a more embittered and desperate character. Played by Sally Hawkins, Laura has moments of sweetness that recall the natural charm Hawkins has previously infused into films like Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) and Paddington (2014). However, this gives way to a woman willing to do anything to bring her daughter back to life.
The trick to Hawkins’ performance and Laura as a character is that she never feels anything less than desperately, painfully human. Even at her worst, there’s a somber element to the character and her actions that help keep her from ever feeling truly inhuman. If anything, that only makes her more frightening, as she’s someone who remains strangely sympathetic, even when she’s committing terrible things in this heartbreaking and harrowing movie that’s perfect for Talk to Me (2023) fans.
Rumi Kang - K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025)
The primary vocalist for the in-universe band HUNTR/X, KPop Demon Hunter’s Rumi doesn’t necessarily break new ground as a character, but the force of personality that bleeds through the animation and vocal performances makes her unforgettable. Rumi is the leader of the trio, both on stage and in their secret role as demon hunters. This means she has a lot of confidence and commitment, almost comically so. However, the film’s gradual arc about her mysterious origins and demonic heritage introduces a surprising complexity to the animated musical.
Elevated by a truly magnificent musical performance by the film’s songwriter Ejae, Rumi is a modern musical answer to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) in the best of ways. Audiences craving an authentic female character who feels right at home on stage just as much as she does fighting demons get that here.
Mister Terrific - Superman (2025)
Superman is full of scene-stealers, but no one does it better than Mister Terrific. A member of the Justice Gang who operates in this new version of the DC Universe, Mister Terrific is a genius inventor and crafty fighter who ends up being crucial to stopping Lex Luthor’s plans. Instead of the typical snarky and self-important heroes that the genre has produced in the last decade, Mister Terrific delivers every line with a certain amount of deadpan confidence that inspires respect in his capabilities, as well as plenty of laughs.
Taking center stage for one of the film’s biggest action set-pieces in an unofficial answer to James Gunn’s iconic musical interludes in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Mister Terrific may not have any formal powers or even be the titular hero of Superman, but he’s one of the best cinematic action stars of 2025 and a welcome showcase for Edi Gathegi. In case you don’t already know, superhero fans shouldn’t sleep on Superman.
Bob Reynolds/The Sentry - Thunderbolts* (2025)
The other big breakout superhero character of 2025 is Bob, an initially unassuming but quietly troubled man introduced in Thunderbolts* in direct contrast to the more confident and deadly co-stars. Gradually revealed not to just be an unstoppable powerhouse but also to contend with mental illness, Bob’s transformation into The Sentry is the kind of horror movie take on the superhero genre that shows like The Boys (2019) and Invincible (2021) thrive on.
The softer edges of the MCU give Bob a cleaner storyline, though, one that only works this well because of Lewis Pullman’s understated performance as a fundamentally nice man dealing not just with potential godhood but also the highs and lows of the human condition. Elevated by a game cast and emotional storyline, Bob is one of the most compelling creations of the MCU in years and a terrific commentary on mental health and the importance of community.
Smoke & Stack - Sinners (2025)
It’s impossible to talk about Sinners without mentioning Smoke and Stack. Both played by Michael B. Jordan, Smoke and Stack are a pair of bootlegging brothers who find themselves dealing with a lot more than they bargained for when they open a speakeasy in their rural hometown. Horror fans, this one is for you.
Jordan plays both characters with a sense of undeniable magnetism, even as he finds different ways to channel it. The serious Smoke and the charming Stack are perfect contrasts to one another, and their emotional arcs are the vital grounding element that the rest of Ryan Coogler’s period-piece vampire film orbits around. Even after their previous collaborations in Creed (2015), Fruitvale Station (2013), and Black Panther (2018), Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan continue to strike gold with their most compelling collaboration yet.
Abaddon - Haunted Hotel (2025-Present)
While this list has been fairly film-heavy, there have been plenty of additions to the TV landscape in 2025 that are worth citing. However, none are more funny and surprisingly effective than Abaddon from Haunted Hotel. Introduced as a gag character to help establish the supernatural scope of the Netflix comedy, Abaddon is a demonic entity trapped within the now-immortal body of a Victorian-era boy.
Thanks to solid comedy writing throughout, Abaddon quickly steals every episode as a comic weapon of mass destruction, able to elicit big laughs with a single unexpected delivery or sudden outburst. What elevates the character, though, is his ability to offer a more human perspective into the demonic-infused comedy. Abaddon is an absolute delight, especially for fans of tonally similar shows like Rick and Morty (2013) and Gravity Falls (2012).
Steven J. Lockjaw - One Battle After Another (2025)
As the primary antagonist of One Battle After Another, Sean Penn’s Steven J. Lockjaw is a fierce and brutal critique of fragile toxic masculinity, simultaneously absurd and terrifying in a way few characters can ever hope to match. As the arm of an increasingly despotic crackdown on communities that don’t adhere to the white nationalist conspiracy he hopes to join, Lockjaw is cold, calculating, and unsettling as he transforms crisis into opportunity and turns the U.S. military into his own personal hunting party.
In Penn’s hands, though, all that self-importance and bluster barely masks a deeply troubled and unstable man, who will defend himself as someone with a great destiny in the same breath that he’ll deny using platforms in his shoes to appear taller. Anyone who loved Paul Thomas Anderson’s previous explorations of that archetype in films like There Will Be Blood (2007) or The Master (2012) will find plenty to love in Penn’s turn in this film.
Dr. Ian Kelson - 28 Years Later (2025)
28 Years Later was tasked with living up to the legacy of the highly influential 28 Days Later (2002), and did so by approaching the same world from a very different perspective. A more meditative and somber film than the 2002 horror classic, Ian Kelson is the key element of 28 Years Later that elevates it into a very different beast.
Played by Ralph Fiennes, Kelson initially seems to be a new riff on the classic horror movie mad doctor. However, once the character is introduced as a soft-hearted and pleasant physician, the movie takes a tonal shift. The coming-of-age film sets up an unexpectedly funny and deeply moving performance from Fiennes, who delivers one of the best single performances in the entire franchise. Emotionally understanding and quietly charming, Kelson brings a major dose of humanity to the Rage Virus-infested ruins of Britain. If you love this franchise, or zombies in general, 28 Years Later is a standout entry.
Gabriel - Good Fortune (2025)
Good Fortune is a reminder that, sometimes, the best characters come about when a great actor just gets the room to cook. There’s nothing fundamentally groundbreaking about his performance as Gabriel, a guardian angel who finds himself sent to Earth. However, Keanu Reeves deploys all the comedy chops he perfected in the Bill & Ted films to create an effortlessly charming creation.
As a direct contrast to the more morally complex humans at the center of the plot, Gabriel is endlessly quotable, effortlessly sweet, and delightfully endearing. Action fans might prefer Reeves as John Wick, but that character’s deadpan comedy is a direct tonal cousin to the non-plussed positivity that makes Gabriel so entertaining, elevating him above the other most memorable cinematic creations of 2025.
