History Characters / ShaunOfTheDead

->'''Played by:''' Creator/SimonPegg

->'''Played by:''' Creator/NickFrost

->'''Played by:''' Kate Ashfield

->'''Played by:''' Creator/LucyDavis

Liz's flatemate and a failed actress.

->'''Played by:''' Creator/DylanMoran

->'''Played by:''' Creator/PenelopeWilton

->'''Played by:''' Creator/BillNighy

->'''Played by:''' Creator/JessicaHynes

->'''Played by:''' Creator/PeterSerafinowicz

-> '''Played By:''' Creator/RafeSpall

-> '''Played by:''' Creator/JeremyThompson

* StrawLoser: No matter how pathetic Shaun's life is, he is clearly better when compared to Ed. Unlike Shaun, Ed is jobless and acts as if he is still a 10 year old. This is why Liz and Pete persuade Shaun to move on from Ed since they know that Ed is holding him back and he could do better without him. Pete even theorizes that Shaun only keeps Ed around to make himself look better by comparison.

* CommanderContrarian: Always ready to insult Shaun's efforts, while offering no constructive suggestions of his own, even though he himself proves to be TheLoad at one point and Shaun has to improvise with a genuine act of nobility.

** Of the CommanderContrarian. David loves to poke holes in every plan Shaun makes and he does have moments where's [[JerkassHasAPoint has a point and a fair argument]] about how the protagonist's ideas are too risky to pull off. [[spoiler: However, rather than portray him as the smartest person in the room, David is either smug at best or insufferably pessimistic at worst as he rarely contributes or brings anything of value to the group. As Ed points out later in the film, if David really thought it was a bad idea to leave the flat then he should have just stayed behind because nobody forced him to go. When Shaun endures one too many criticisms from David, he says "take charge if you think you can do better!", which makes David repent and back away.

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Diana is last changing into the zombie horde in a futile attempt to save David. Her fate is revealed in [[AllThereInTheManual an extra on DVD]] where she manages to hide at the top of a tree and is currently living with her aunt, too traumatized over the event]].

** Of the CommanderContrarian jerk who [[JerkassHasAPoint ironically happens to have a point]] about how the protagonist's ideas are too risky (ex. Harry Cooper of ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead''). [[spoiler:In the end, he brings absolutely nothing to the group and even goes out of his way to try to see Shaun fail (at one point he is told "take charge if you think you can do better!" and he immediately deflects the responsibility back to Shaun). The group finally gets fed up with him, pointing out that being right does not stops him from being a twat, and he tries to storm off, becoming directly responsible of the climactic siege.]]

** Deconstructed,He's right about Shaun's inept leadership, [[RightForTheWrongReasons but he's only saying it]] [[GreenEyedMonster because he's jealous that Liz hooked up with Shaun instead of him]]. The other characters also point out that Shaun is at least trying, while all that he does is [[TheLoad complain and never actually does anything to help their situation]] and the only reason he went along with Shaun's plan is that he didn't have any ideas of his own

* {{Jerkass}}: Though unlike Ed, David isn't at all likeable. He is an arrogant, whiny and pretentious snob who acts as an intellectual while making inept and impulsive decisions during crucial moments.

** Constantly accuses Shaun of being selfish, such as when he ran off to distract zombies and David tries to make it sound like he abandoned them, while the audience gets the clear feeling that what David really wants to do is having an excuse to shut Shaun out with the zombies. [[spoiler:He himself is defined by his selfish fawning over Liz and hating Shaun.]]

* TheMillstone: Outright causes a lot of the group's problems. Deliberately crashes Pete's car so he could drive Phillip's Jag, [[TooDumbToLive answering his phone whilst surrounded by zombies...]] Unlike [[TheLoad David]], however, he can actually contribute to the group by fighting zombies -- except he gets himself zombified anyway.

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: As a salesman for a tech shop, Shaun is the tech-savviest person in the group. As soon as he sees the streetlights come back on, he quickly deduces that the electrical grid is still working and that the Winchester is only out of power due to circuit breakers. He then proceeds to effortlessly restore electricity to the bar without turning on the bright Neon signs, which he correctly guesses is on a separate power grid. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for the gang, David doesn't share his savviness.]]

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: As a salesman for a tech shop, Shaun is the tech-savviest person in the group. As soon as he sees the streetlights come back on, he quickly deduces that the electrical grid is still working and that the Winchester is only out of power due to circuit breakers. He then proceeds to effortlessly restore electricity to the bar without turning on the bright Neon signs. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for the gang, David doesn't share his savviness.]]

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Being a salesman for a tech shop, Shaun is the most tech-savvy person in the group. As soon as he sees the streetlights come back on, he quickly deduces that the electrical grid is still on and that the Winchester is only out of power due to circuit breakers. He then proceeds to effortlessly restore electricity to the bar without turning on the Neon signs. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for the gang, David doesn't share this savviness.]]

* BerserkButton: Being called a prick is this, as Ed learned the hard way.

* ManChild: Downplayed compared to Ed and David, but Shaun's irresponsibility and lack of ambition are his {{fatal flaws}}. He gets his act together as the film progresses.

* {{Manchild}}: Of a different flavor than Shaun or Ed; David is a pseudo-intellectual snob who spouts off condescending wisecracks at Shaun's expense because he thinks it makes him look mature, but considering how precious little he does to help the group's situation, it comes off looking petulant. This isn't helped by the reveal that [[spoiler: David's criticisms of Shaun are made in bad faith and motivated by anger that Shaun "stole" Liz from him]].

* {{Gasshole}}: "I'm sorry, man."

* ManChild: He's an overweight slacker who makes a living selling drugs part-time.

* StrawLoser: No matter how pathetic Shaun's life is, he is clearly better when compared to Ed. Unlike Shaun, Ed is jobless and acts as if he is still a 10 year old. This is why Liz and Pete persuade Shaun to move on from Ed since they know that Ed is holding him back and he could do better without him.

* IAmAHumanitarian: [[spoiler:Survived the ZombieApocalypse sitting in a tree eating David's leg whenever she was hungry.]]
* IdiotBall[=/=]NiceJobBreakingItHero: She let the zombie horde in so that she can [[spoiler:rescue what's left of David. In fairness, they were breaking in through the windows ''and'' the backdoor at around the same time, so she really just sped the process up a little.]]

* {{Manchild}}: He is not nearly as mature as he thinks he is.

* WeaponOfChoice: He uses a cricket bat until he loses it before the group arrive at Winchester.

* WeaponOfChoice: A shovel, which he uses to bash the zo-those ''things''' heads in.

* GolfClubbing: Her WeaponOfChoice.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of the DoggedNiceGuy. [[spoiler:Deep down, David never accepted Liz's rejection and chose to be with Dianne just so he can be closer to Liz and prove himself as a better man than her current partner. His support towards Liz after breaking up with Shaun is akin to a vulture circling around a dying animal. When Shaun is attacked in the garden, David doesn't help and excuses his cowardice by saying "Didn't wanna' to cramp your style". When a heartbroken Shaun and Dianne outs David's feelings for Liz, David meekly forces Shaun to shoot Barbara, Shaun's own mother. After being punched by a grief-stricken Shaun for coldly dismissing Barbara's death, David retaliates by attempting to shoot him with an empty Winchester Rifle. He then attempts to escape the pub through the front door despite the horde of zombies on the other side, trying to convince Dianne and Liz to go with him. This cowardly act reveals David as a predator who leaches off of Dianne's kindness in order to salvage whatever he could from Liz's rejection. This also recontextualizes the garden scene and his reason for going along with Shaun's plan. David was going to let a zombie kill Shaun so he can seduce a mourning Liz. He left with Liz and Dianne so he can play the white knight who saves the girls from danger, but he is ultimately revealed to be a cowardly contrarian who finds it easier to point out Shaun's shortcommings than prove his own superiority.]]

-->'''David''': Well, I wasn't the one who was blowing our cover by having a tiff with my boyfriend.
-->'''Shaun''': He's not my boyfriend!
-->'''Ed''': (''handing him a beer'') It might be a bit warm, the cooler's off.
-->'''Shaun''': Thanks, babe.

-->'''Shaun''': I've spent my entire life sticking my neck out for you, and all you ever do is fuck things up! Fuck things up and make ''me'' look stupid! Well, I'm not gonna let you do that, anymore! Not today!

->'''Played by''': Creator/NickFrost

--> '''David''': I trust Shaun has another genius scheme up his sleeve.
--> '''Liz''': This is hardly constructive, David!
--> '''David''': No, Lizzie, this is a waste of time, we should've stayed at the flat!
--> '''Ed''': Yeah, well why didn't you?
--> '''David''': Because... because... Because of... [[NeverMyFault Captain Wow]].

* ChivalrousPervert: [[spoiler: He makes juvenile jokes about Shaun's mother but when David points a gun at Barbara upon discovering a bite wound, he immediately and furiously defends her.]]
-->'''Ed''': Don't point that gun at [[spoiler: Barbara!]]

--> '''Ed''': She asked me to.

* TooDumbToLive: He takes this to new levels and plays it for laughs. The characters need to get past a horde of zombies, and do so by acting like zombies to avoid drawing attention. When they are nearly to apparent safety, his phone goes off... ''and he answers it and starts cheerfully talking on the phone, less than ten feet from dozens of zombies.'' Previously, he had "accidentally" crashed their first car, giving him an excuse to drive Phil's Jaguar instead. Following after the cellphone incident, the electricity comes back on and he starts playing a pub fruit machine, which draw the attention of a zombie in the same building as them. In fact, he’s so profoundly stupid and ignorant that it’s arguable that [[spoiler: turning into a zombie]] is an ''improvement''.

* ToxicFriendInfluence: Played with. Ed holds Shaun back, but it’s far from intentional and he does love Shaun.

->'''Played by''': Kate Ashfield

* WellExcuseMePrincess: She is trying to push Shaun into being a more proactive and ambitious person, instead of just mindlessly following his daily routines and settling for the path of least resistance. She gives up on him when he, despite promising to change his ways, forgets their date one time too many. [[spoiler: Once the crisis has passed, and after all the terror and danger they've been put through, her relationship with him has mellowed out considerably.]]

->'''Played by''': Creator/LucyDavis

* IdiotBall[=/=]NiceJobBreakingItHero: She let the zombie horde in so that she can [[spoiler: rescue what's left of David. In fairness, they were breaking in through the windows ''and'' the backdoor at around the same time, so she really just sped the process up a little.]]

--> '''David''': So you're gonna stay with him!?
--> '''Dianne''': Look Shaun-
--> '''David''': After everything [[NeverMyFault he]]-
--> '''Dianne''': [[SuddenlyShouting WILL YOU LET ME FINISH]]!? ''Shaun'' didn't ask you to come here. You came for the same reason I did; because you didn't know what else to do. Now get away from that door this instant!
--> '''David''': But-
--> '''Dianne''': '''David!!'''

* SatelliteLoveInterest: She's never seen without David, yet she plays with this since she's able to interract with Shaun and the others and actually help the group (Unlike David). [[spoiler: This is ultimately deconstructed as David is only dating her so he can be close to Liz, and since they do so little together while spending so much time together, it makes her know that deep down he wants to be with Liz.]]

--> '''Shaun''': Oh come on, we all know you love [[spoiler:Liz]]!
--> '''David''': That is not true!
--> '''Shaun''': It is!
--> '''David''': That is not true.
--> '''Dianne''': [[spoiler:Yes, it is.]]

->'''Played by''': Creator/DylanMoran

--> '''Shaun''': Feel free to step in ''anytime!''
--> '''Ed''': You did alright.
--> '''David''': [[DirtyCoward I didn't wanna cramp your style.]]
* AllForNothing: [[spoiler: He spent ''years'' trying to be with Liz, and when he finally has to be forced to admit his feelings, she tells him to shut up since it was the worst possible time. Not to mention he spent the whole Zed Apocalypse being a twat, which Liz is quick to point out. If that wasn't bad enough, he's dragged out a window by said Zed's and ripped to shreds.]]

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of the DoggedNiceGuy. [[spoiler: Deep down, David never accepted Liz's rejection and chose to be with Dianne just so he can be closer to Liz and prove himself as a better man than her current partner. His support towards Liz after breaking up with Shaun is akin to a vulture circling around a dying animal. When Shaun is attacked in the garden, David doesn't help and excuses his cowardice by saying "Didn't wanna' to cramp your style". When a heartbroken Shaun and Dianne outs David's feelings for Liz, David meekly forces Shaun to shoot Barbara, Shaun's own mother. After being punched by a grief-stricken Shaun for coldly dismissing Barbara's death, David retaliates by attempting to shoot him with an empty Winchester Rifle. He then attempts to escape the pub through the front door despite the horde of zombies on the other side, trying to convince Dianne and Liz to go with him. This cowardly act reveals David as a predator who leaches off of Dianne's kindness in order to salvage whatever he could from Liz's rejection. This also recontextualizes the garden scene and his reason for going along with Shaun's plan. David was going to let a zombie kill Shaun so he can seduce a mourning Liz. He left with Liz and Dianne so he can play the white knight who saves the girls from danger, but he is ultimately revealed to be a cowardly contrarian who finds it easier to point out Shaun's shortcommings than prove his own superiority.]]
* DevouredByTheHorde: [[spoiler: How he dies. It's not pretty.]]

* DirtyCoward: For all his snarking at Shaun from the sidelines, he's clearly not massively imbued with courage and resolve. Most notably (and dickishly), despite being the one to pick up the gun and callously insist on the necessity of shooting [[spoiler: Barbara to prevent her from rising from the dead]], he ultimately bottles out and gets Shaun to do it. [[spoiler: This essentially means that he forces Shaun to shoot ''his own mother'' in the head.]]

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: In a panicked state, he begins to unlock the pub doors despite a horde of zombies being on the other side. The horde could have easily killed the main characters but he's instead torn apart by those zombies and only succeeds in infecting Ed. If David wanted Shaun to be killed by the zombie in the garden, then it's pretty cathartic how he's dismembered by zombies as Shaun tries to save him.]]

--> '''David''': Well, I think we all agreed you did the right thing there.

** PsychopathicManchild: [[spoiler: Trying to outright murder Shaun out of sheer petulance puts him squarely in this category.]]
* MurderTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler: Twice, he nearly allows a zombie to kill Shaun after when the latter is tackled by one. He also tries to shoot Shaun after having his heart broken by Liz and being punched by Shaun.]]

--> '''David''': There's also a huge hole in the window.
--> '''Ed''': You did that, you twat.

* NotGoodWithRejection: [[spoiler: After Shaun and Dianne out David's feelings for Liz and after Liz rejects him by calling him a twat for wanting to kill Barbara. David's resentment and envy finally boils over and he tries to shoot Shaun after being punched.]]

* OpportunisticBastard: When Shaun is attacked in the garden by a zombie, David is too scared to save him and justifies his cowardice by saying "Didn't wanna' cramp your style". [[spoiler: After trying to shoot Shaun when the latter punches him for coldly dismissing Barbara's death, this creates the question if David ''intentionally'' refused to help Shaun in the garden. In the garden, David looks more agitated than scared and looks more upset about Shaun's survival. Since it's pretty clear that he hates Shaun and still harbours feelings for Liz, it's not hard to assume that he wants Shaun out of the picture so he can get together with Liz by [[SexForSolace sharing their grief]]. He didn't plan for this, he just won't interfere.]]
* PlotIrrelevantVillain: [[spoiler: He serves as the contrarian who berates Shaun at every opportunity, he seemingly tries to kill Shaun twice in the movie. The first time is when he refuses to save Shaun from a zombie, and a second time when he tries to shoot Shaun after Barbara's death.]]

--> '''David''': [[spoiler:Lizzie, I just want you to know that my feelings for you have always-!]]
--> '''Liz''': David, please! [[LampshadeHanging There are more pressing matters at hand here!]]

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Standing ''right in front of the pub window'', seconds before he gets eaten]]. His behaviour also degenerates into this as his SkewedPriorities, childish grudges and TantrumThrowing would have, [[spoiler: even if he wasn’t dragged out the window and eaten]], likely ensured his death further down the line regardless.

* UriahGambit: Implied, [[spoiler: When Shaun is tackled by a zombie in the garden, David is seemingly too scared to move, forcing Liz to intervene. Rewatching the scene after knowing how willing David was to kill Shaun, it makes you wonder if David ''refused'' to help because he saw the attack as an opportunity to kill Shaun without the ramifications.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: After Liz angrily rejects his feelings for her by calling him "a twat" and being punched by Shaun, David tries to shoot Shaun while laying on the ground. After doing this, David immediately freaks out and tries to escape the pub through the front door despite the hoard of zombies on the other side. He tries to convince Liz and Dianne to join him by insulting Shaun.]]

->'''Played by''': Creator/PenelopeWilton

->''"It’s been a funny sort of day, hasn’t it?"''

* TooDumbToLive: What did she ''think'' would happen [[spoiler: opening the door to a zombie?]]

->'''Played by''': Creator/BillNighy

->'''Played by''': Creator/JessicaHynes

->'''Played by''': Creator/PeterSerafinowicz

* BrickJoke: When Shaun tries to leave the bathroom after finding the infected Pete in the shower, tells Pete that he and Ed and are taking his car to the pub, and he can join them if he feels better. [[spoiler: He shows up when the other zombies break through the pub's barricades.]]

->'''Played by''': Creator/SimonPegg

* TheMeanBrit: He's an annoying and vulgar FatSlob who happens to be English.

* DyingDeclarationOfLove: [[spoiler: After getting bitten twice, a dying Phillip apologizes to Shaun for making him hate him, assuring that he always loved him, and asks that he takes care of his mum.]]

* TheMeanBrit: He can be a British ice king.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Ed shows some mild symptoms of autism, showing severe ADD and being unable to look people directly in the eyes when being spoken to directly.

* WeaponOfChoice: A cricket bat.