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30 Bespectacled Characters on Film

30 Bespectacled Characters on Film

30 Bespectacled Characters on Film
Danielle de Wolfe
05 February 2013

When a movie character dons a pair of glasses, you can almost guarantee it'll be accompanied by ill-fitting high-waisted trousers, bad hair and an affinity for Algebra.

But not all chaps wearing thick-rimmed bottle tops are the socially-awkward pointdexters they appear to be. Sometimes the humble spectacle can make a protagonist seem more serious and brooding, or as in Clark Kent's case, aid with an, albeit unconvincing, disguise.

Whatever they're worn for, glasses can transform a character's personality to make them appear funnier, more intellectual and even a little creepy (Patrick Bateman, we're looking at you).

So, here is our salute to the 30 greatest four-eyes on the big screen. Tell us if we've missed any out in the comments below.

(Images: Rex Features, All Star)

Napoleon Dynamite

2004

Worn by: Napolean (Jon Heder)


Manhattan

1979

Worn by: Isaac (Woody Allen)


The Royal Tenenbaums

2001

Worn by: Royal Tenenbaum Gene Hackman


Rushmore

1998

Worn by: Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman)


Ghostbusters

1984

Worn by: Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis)


Mulholland Dr.

2001

Worn by: Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux)


Stand By Me

1986

Worn by: Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman)


The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

2011

Worn by: Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig)


Superman

1978

Worn by: Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve)


Harry Potter

2009

Worn by: Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe)


The Talented Mr Ripley

1999

Worn by: Tom Ripley (Matt Damon)


Kick-Ass

2010

Worn by: Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson)


The Ipcress File

1965

Worn by: Harry Palmer (Michael Caine)


Malcolm X

1992

Worn by: Malcolm X (Denzel Washington)


The Amazing Spider-Man

2012

Worn by: Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield)


American Pie

1999

Worn by: Jim's Dad (Eugene Levy)


American Psycho

2000

Worn by: Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale)


The Da Vinci Code

2006

Worn by: Sir Leigh Teabing (Ian McKellen)


The Dark Knight

2012

Worn by: Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman)


Superbad

2007

Worn by: Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse)


Notting Hill

1999

Worn by: William Thacker (Hugh Grant)


Revenge of the Nerds

1984

Worn by: Lewis Skolnick (Robert Carradine)


Jurassic Park

1993

Worn by: John Hammond (Richard Attenborough)


Good Will Hunting

1997

Worn by: Sean Maguire (Robin Williams)


Jaws

1975

Worn by: Brody (Roy Scheider)


Trainspotting

1996

Worn by: Spud (Ewen Bremner)


The Hangover

2009

Worn by: Stu (Ed Helms)


Junior

1994

Worn by: Dr. Alex Hesse (Arnold Schwarzenegger)


X-Men: First Class

2011

Worn by: Hank McCoy / Beast (Nicholas Hoult)


A Dangerous Method

2011

Worn by: Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender)

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