6 Movie Characters Who Overcame Insurmountable Odds

Paramount Pictures/Metro Goldwyn Mayer

The cinematic tradition of the underdog who has to fight his way to the top against seemingly insurmountable opposition has always held a certain allure—we love these stories because remind us of ourselves, of what each of us is capable of. We’ve all been the underdog at some point in our lives. We’ve all fallen, been cast out, or have lost something or someone we loved, and had to claw our way back up, despite hardship, difficulty, or ridicule. There’s simply something very human about fighting the impossible.

This is the essence of the upcoming film, “Ben-Hur,” the story of a man whose life is taken from him, and of the epic journey he undertakes to regain it. In celebration of its release, let’s take a look at the titular character, and a few of our other favorite film protagonists over the years who have overcome insurmountable odds to achieve their goals.

Frodo Baggins

New Line Cinema

“The Lord of the Rings” is the ultimate story of the underdog hero who overcomes the impossible.

Frodo Baggins is a hobbit—one of a humanoid race of short, portly beings who love nothing more than good food and good talk. They live out their simple lives in the ease and comfort of their hobbit-holes—comfortable homes built into hillsides.

When the evil, tempting, one ring of power comes into Frodo’s possession, he soon finds out that he must take it deep into the lands of the enemy and cast into the fires therein to destroy it. But how can one small hobbit undertake such a journey where an army of men could not?

Frodo makes it because of the power of friendship. Frodo’s gardener, Samwise Gamgee, accompanies him all the way, supporting him, giving advice, and comforting him when the journey becomes particularly difficult. Although the odds of Frodo carrying the ring all the way into the lands of Mordor by himself were incalculably small, he was able to succeed because of good Samwise.

Moses

Paramount Pictures

Cecil B. DeMille’s adaptation of the story of Moses, “The Ten Commandments,” was a landmark film, a movie of literally Biblical proportions. It’s also an adaptation of one of the greatest challenges of all time—freeing the Hebrew slaves from the Egyptians.

Moses’ story bears some similarities to that of Ben-Hur’s in that he, at first, holds a position of great honor and power, but is later exiled from his kingdom when it is revealed that he is of Hebrew descent, and wishes he could free the Hebrews who are enslaved by the very kingdom he is a part of.

Moses finds victory when he meets God, who charges him to free the Hebrews from their powerful Egyptian slavers. Despite the seeming impossibility of this task, Moses succeeds through his faith in God, who delivers him and his people from the hands of the Egyptians

Forrest Gump

Paramount Pictures

Life wasn’t always kind to Forrest Gump. Born with a mental disability and a crooked spine that left him in leg braces, Forrest was the very image of the outcast, of the scorned and the “unable”.

But the change in Forrest’s life began when he was pelted with rocks by bullies, and subsequently chased. As Forrest struggled to run in his leg braces, they began to break apart, and as he sheds them, he runs faster than ever before, shooting across a football field and outrunning all of the players.

Forrest’s simple nature allowed him a luxury that few of us give ourselves—the ability to not overthink. Throughout the film, he takes life as it is, going on to become an all-star football player, meets the president twice, becomes a war hero decorated with the Medal of Honor, a ping pong champion, a wealthy shrimping company owner, and an inspiring cross-country runner.

He accomplishes these impossible tasks because he simply does what he wishes without fear of failure, and without the anxiety of overthinking. Forrest is childlike and free—qualities that can take you far.

William Wallace

Paramount Pictures/20th Century Fox

A tragic story that ends with in a bittersweet swirl of hope, “Braveheart” tells the tale of William Wallace. A Scotsman who sees the love of his life killed by the English, he goes on to unite the Scottish clans in opposition to the conquering English king, King Edward, and even in death, becomes a martyr that propels Scotland to keep up the fight until they regain their freedom.

While some may call death failure, for Wallace, it was his greatest accomplishment, his execution at the hands of the English serving to inspire his entire country to achieve what were his goals in life.

Sometimes, our failures are simply another road to victory, albeit in a different way than we might have imagined.

Rudy

TriStar Pictures

“Sometimes a winner is a dreamer who just won’t quit.”

The trailer for the biographical sports film, “Rudy,” sums up the movie well—the story young man who dreams of playing college football at the University of Notre Dame, despite lacking the money, grades, and athletic ability to do so.

After years of rejections, Rudy overcomes dyslexia, improves his grades at a junior college, and is eventually accepted into Notre Dame, where he convinces a coach to allow him onto the practice squad. He’s kept off the field until his last opportunity to play, when the head coach finally allows Rudy to play—and play he does, sacking the opposing team’s quarterback.

Rudy is carried victoriously off the field, and in the epilogue of the film, it is made known that no other player for Notre Dame has been carried off in such manner.

Rudy never quits, never gives up trying to improve himself, even when he is ridiculed repeatedly, called crazy, and denied his dreams. He doesn’t stop until the door opens.