Top 10 Movie Heroes Who Saved the Day By Accident
#10: Johnny English
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“Johnny English” Franchise (2003-18) Rowan Atkinson is renowned for playing a similarly clumsy character in Mr. Bean, but in the case of the titular Johnny English, he actually manages to put those pratfalls to good use. Johnny English may be a secret agent, but he is incredibly accident prone and not terribly good at his job. However, as often as his mistakes and pratfalls land him in embarrassing or dangerous situations, English also manages to luck into saving the world, or at least the U.K., on a regular basis. Although a spy like this in real life would be a disaster, Johnny English makes for a funny and entertaining fictional one.
#9: Inspector Jacques Clouseau
“The Pink Panther” Franchise (1963-93; 2006-09) In a similar vein to our last entry, Inspector Jacques Clouseau may be an investigator, but his deductions are not so much brilliant as they are lucky. With a brain nearly as thick as his accent, Inspector Clouseau’s cases are usually solved through no intentional effort on his part. The comically inept police officer blunders his way through life, blissfully unaware even of his own commissioner’s rampant hatred of his success. We doubt Clouseau would even notice his manservant Cato’s attacks on him, if it weren’t he who instructed the guy to attack him in the first place! Convinced of his own brilliance, and hilarious throughout his films (except maybe the Steve Martin ones), Inspector Clouseau is a classic accidental hero.
#8: Frank Drebin
“The Naked Gun” Franchise (1988-94) Arguably the best of the buffoonish investigator trope, Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective Lieutenant, is a majorly incompetent police officer. At first glance he seems like a hard-boiled detective, but that only makes it funnier when he does or says something incredibly silly or stupid. Whether he’s exchanging weapons with the villain or gunning down a production of Shakespeare in the Park, Frank’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer…or a suspect’s back. He always manages to save the day though, even if he has to do it by tripping into it – literally, in some cases.
#7: Gary King
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“The World’s End” (2013) Depressed and looking to accomplish something, Gary King gets his old friends together in their hometown to complete a pub crawl they once failed to complete. However, he and his mates soon discover that many townspeople have been replaced with android duplicates by aliens. Gary and company manage to fight the “blanks” and remain under the radar fairly well, considering how progressively buzzed they get. However, it’s Gary’s drunken rant to the alien intelligence’s leader that finally convinces them to leave Earth for good. Then again, whether Gary truly “saves” the world may be a matter of debate, since the aliens take all advanced technology with them when they leave. It could be the lesser of two apocalypses…
#6: Anakin Skywalker
“Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” (1999) Even as a young boy, Anakin Skywalker is a gifted pilot, in part due to his strong connection to the Force. Still, one of his first big victories happens through little skill of his own. During the battle of Naboo, Anakin, who was brought to a warzone for some reason, goes to one of the starfighters to hide, and ends up activating the autopilot. This takes him into battle and lands him in the heart of the droid control ships up above. Anakin accidentally destroys it from inside, which leads to all the droid soldiers down below getting deactivated; effectively saving the planet. Yippee indeed. “Yippee!”
#5: Forrest Gump
“Forrest Gump” (1994) Forrest Gump is a simple man. He’s not clever and even lacks a lot of common sense. But he’s got a very good heart, and he has a single-minded determination to see through whatever is asked of him. Through no intention of his own, Forrest ends up doing a lot of incredible things, from being a successful football player, to helping open relations with China. However, easily his most heroic moment happens when he manages to rescue his lieutenant and many other soldiers while searching for his friend Bubba after they’re separated. Forrest didn’t set out to save them all, but he did it while doing what he does best – running.
#4: Baby Groot
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“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017) Baby Groot is adorable and occasionally kind of frightening when he gets angry. But at the end of the day, he is still a baby. That means that he doesn’t always understand what’s going on, nor is he able to follow directions well. Whether he’s munching on candy during a crash landing, or coming back with someone’s thumb instead of what Rocket asked for, it’s clear that little Groot has a hard time staying focused on his objective. This becomes a matter of galactic importance during the final battle with Ego, as Baby Groot has to push one of two buttons; one of which will start a countdown, and one of which will detonate a bomb immediately. Luckily, he chooses correctly.
#3: A Rat
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“Avengers: Endgame” (2019) Sticking with the MCU, calling this one a hero might be a bit of a stretch with this one, but at least it’s not a villain... that counts, right? Following Thanos’ Snap, Ant-Man is trapped in the Quantum Realm. The shrinking superhero is only released from it after a rat crawls across his van’s dashboard and accidentally presses a button that brings Ant-Man back. And because Ant-Man returns, he’s able to gather the Avengers together and give them the Quantum technology that allows them to travel back in time to get the Infinity Stones to revive everyone killed in the Snap. So, half the universe owe their lives to a rat!
#2: Dorothy Gale
“The Wizard of Oz” (1939) As a protagonist, Dorothy Gale isn’t exactly the most proactive. Her arrival in Oz is by complete happenstance, and by pure luck, she lands on the Wicked Witch of the East. The Munchkins are happy to give her the credit, though this ends up backfiring, given that the witch’s sister blames Dorothy too. After following the Yellow Brick Road, Dorothy is eventually captured by the Witch, and while she’s being rescued by her new friends, she tips water onto the green villainess. Of course, H2O happens to cause her to melt. It seems like Dorothy only gets things done in the movie by following basic directions and coincidentally causing the deaths of evil witches.
#1: Han Solo
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“Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi” (1983) Han Solo is a loveable rogue who has saved the day many a time throughout the “Star Wars” films, but one of his most famous, or perhaps infamous, victories happens by accident. After being frozen in carbonite by Boba Fett, Han is unfortunately blinded after he’s taken out of it. As it turns out, this temporary status turns out for the best. Jabba the Hutt is about to throw Han, Luke, and Chewbacca into the Sarlacc Pit, when a fight breaks out. While Luke engages with Boba Fett, Han is alerted to the bounty hunter’s presence and swings wildly. He blindly hits Fett’s jetpack, causing it to malfunction and sending him into the Pit. Great shot Han, that was one in a million!
