Years ago, it’s quite difficult to be a nerd or a geek as a lot of people shunned them just because they were nerds. But today, nerd culture has made its way deep into mainstream culture. With this, it’s no longer challenging to be a nerd or a geek anymore. In fact, many things that used to be liked only by ultra-nerdy people are now popular with everyone. Some of these include board games, video games, anime, and comics.
The stereotypes about geeks and nerds are also made popular by some films. But there have also been some fantastic depictions of nerds in some movies that reminded people how cool it is to be a nerd. That is why today, we are going to give you a list of the biggest movie nerds and geeks of all time.
1. Peter Parker – Spider-Man
Peter Parker is probably one of the most iconic movie nerds out there. There is a big difference between Peter Parker and his superhero alter ego, Spider-Man. Peter Parker is quiet, sheepish, and awkward, while Spider-Man is fearless and energetic. But Peter Parker is cool because once he throws on his spider suit, he becomes one of the toughest superheroes in the world. As he says, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
2. Elle Woods – Legally Blonde
Elle Woods, played by Reese Witherspoon, is one of the secret-nerd characters in movies. Her story tells that some nerds can be just as mean and judgmental as other people. But while being a nerd does not always mean you’re a good person, it does mean that you can get a client out of a murder charge, set up a good friend with a nice guy, and show up your ex-boyfriend at the same time.
3. Evelyn Carnahan – The Mummy
Evie in The Mummy is among the most awesome movie nerds out there. In the movie, she shows how incredibly smart she is. However, she’s also socially awkward. But nevertheless, in the end, she managed to come through and ended up saving the day. Her character reminds us that even geeks can be tough and dangerous when they need to.
4. Chuck Sherman – American Pie
Chuck Sherman in the American Pie movie is more popularly known as The Shermanator. He is massively nerdier compared to anyone else in the American Pie movies. He’s one of the coolest as he’s able to find a way to overcome his social issue. In fact, he ended up with some of the most attractive and popular women in the movie.
5. Brian Ralph Johnson – The Breakfast Club
Most nerds in movies are depicted as dedicated and hardworking, and it is rare to see the pressure they put on themselves and they get from others depicted. Most of the time, they are just shown with a stack of books and busy studying. But Brian Ralph Johnson in The Breakfast Club is different. This is because he talks about the pain that he suffers under the intense scrutiny from himself, his parents, and his teachers. This is actually nice for nerds out there to see this problem recognized in the film.
6. Gabriella Montez – High School Musical
Gabriella Montez in High School Musical is the nerd to Troy’s jock. But both of these characters attempt to break out of their status quo to be part of the school musical. The nerd side of Gabriella is mostly shown by her writing a lot of equations on a giant chalkboard and her fellow math nerds being amazed. She is one of the classic movie nerds out there.
7. Dennis Nedry – Jurassic Park
In most movies, geeks and nerds are usually good guys. But it is different with Dennis Nedry of Jurassic Park. It’s because his actions cost lots of people their lives and spiral on the events that make up the conflict in the film. He is an annoying hacker, and the audience surely hates him.
8. “Doc” Brown – Back to the Future
One of the easily most famous geeks in the world is “Doc.” Why? Because he created a time machine out of a DeLorean. He also talks about gigawatts while being one of the strangest individuals to ever appear on the silver screen. While he might accomplish the impossible, he is among the nerdiest characters in any movie, and he rocks being a nerd with pride.
9. Napoleon Dynamite – Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon is probably one of the most recognizable nerds in movies in the world. Whether you like his character or not, you can’t help but agree that he is a giant nerd. He also has some of the most quotable lines. In fact, even those who haven’t seen the movie know him. For a time, he was among the most popular characters across all genres.
10. McLovin – Superbad
Superbad is probably one of the funniest movies out there. And this is because one of the characters, McLovin, aka Fogell, is not even in large part of the movie. But he is part of one of the film’s funniest scenes. It was when he gained the respect of his peers by purchasing alcohol successfully using a fake ID which states his name as simply McLovin.
These are some of the biggest movie nerds and geeks of all time. There are still a lot of nerds and geeks with unforgettable scenes in movies, but the characters in this list seem to have standout from all of them. Which of these nerd and geek movie characters is your most favorite?