Flamboyant Characters

I've never made a flamboyant character.  Yet they stick with me.  For instance Sir John Falstaff in Shakespeare's Henry IV was very flamboyant, talkative, inquisitive, even pushy.  He was Henry's companion among his friends as a prince, and loved his company.  Yet as a King, Henry rejected him.  Self-absorption does not begin to describe Falstaff.  Shakespeare makes us love and pity this character.  Tragedy is often a trademark with Shakespeare.  But how unforgettable was Falstaff.

Another unforgeable character was Dr Zachary Smith of Lost in Space.  Focussed on self preservation, he was both a villain and a help to the rest of the characters.  Sometimes it seemed he would switch roles several times in an episode.

Dart Vader in Star Wars was also self absorbed but in a non funny way.  But when I look at The Empire Strikes Back, Vader's ways of dealing with his crew is almost comical.

An actor who has played several flamboyant and self absorbed characters is Christopher Lee.  He has played Dracula, Count Dooku, Saruman from what I remember.  His wiki page gives a good account of his work.  I've always enjoyed his work.  He was my favorite Dracula, and I hate horror movies.

These characters are desperately flawed.  I just want to sit them down and teach them a lesson or two.  Kill them with lecture.  Change them to conform.  But that's their allure.  They do not conform.  They will not conform.  They are monolithic monuments to the Ego.  Something for the heroes to deal with.  Causing the reader to place in check his own desires and will.  They are an Aesop's Fable of self absorption.  And yet we can learn a great deal from them with their monologue antics.