Jerk With A Heart Of Gold - Television Tropes & Idioms

Bad Bird from Samurai Pizza Cats gets into this sometimes. Especially when his childhood friend Carla is around. Guido also fits, though being one of the good guys, he has more "Heart", and a lot less "jerk".
Ranma Saotome, in the self-titled Ranma ½. And, by the end of the series, The Rival Ryōga.
- Also Akane Tendo, although in her case the proportions might be reversed (i.e. mostly nice, but a real jerk when inclined).
Similarly, Inu-Yasha, in Inu Yasha, an Expy of Ranma, cranked up to 11. Rumiko Takahashi seems to like these.
Naruto Uzumaki, Naruto.
- Sasuke ~~has his moments, too. Sometimes he's this, sometimes~~ he's a straight up Jerk Ass...
- Sai is also introduced as an abrasive Jerk Ass, but mellows out and turns into one of these after Naruto establishes bonds with him.
Eikichi Onizuka, Great Teacher Onizuka.
Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara, Yu Yu Hakusho. Hiei goes beyond this and all the way to Noble Demon.
Officer Ohta, Patlabor.
Shirogane Ryou, Tokyo Mew Mew.
Doumoto Kaito, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch.
In an odd main character variation, Sara Werec of Soukou No Strain. The difference is, we already know how good of a person she is, and how she's put away her kind and friendly nature because she blames herself for her dead schoolmates and just wants to stop her brother. The Space Squadron, however, does not.
Crossdresser Izumi Kido, Tenshi Ja Nai
Yasumi from the comic strip Potemayo.
Lelouch Lamperouge, the Magnificent Bastard protagonist of Code Geass, depending on character interpretation, may fit into this. The general tendency of the fandom seems to be that the more you hold this to be true with Lelouch, the more you consider Suzaku to be an inversion.
- And vice versa.
- Mad Scientist Lloyd cares about his Knightmare Frame more than people; openly mocks the royals (and, well, everyone else too) and generally seems to have absolutely no respect for rank or privilege (though he possesses both); proposes to Milly just so he can acquire her Knightmare Frame (and then never mentions it again); and even teases Suzaku when he's extremely unhinged about Euphemia's death (to be fair, he may not have known much about Suzaku's feelings, but still). However, he also took Suzaku on as a pilot for the Lancelot, at a time when discrimination against Japanese people was commonplace; and he and Cecile come to the rescue of the Ashford students when they're held hostage by the Black Knights.
Tsume from Wolf's Rain. Always acts tough and cynical and frequently argues with the other wolves, especially Kiba, but is often protective of them, especially the younger wolf Toboe who idolizes him.
- Also to some extent the human Quent. When he's not obsessed with wolf-hunting he can be a fairly decent guy, if you buy him a drink.
The titular character in Suzumiya Haruhi. Kyon likely also qualifies for this trope. He's prone to presenting himself as a world weary Deadpan Snarker but he has hidden affection for SOS-dan that he hides behind his perpretual sigh and frown.
Several characters in The Prince of Tennis, starting with the main character himself. Others are: Jin Akutsu (ex Jerk Ass), Kaoru Kaidoh (who borders on Oranyan - and in the anime, nearly drowns trying to save a puppy), Akaya Kirihara, Genichirou Sanada, Hiyoshi Wakashi, Kevin Smith (after going through both Break The Haughty and Character Development), Keigo Atobe, etc.
Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist appears this way to many, many characters — including Alphonse, who constantly has to apologize for him in the trend of "Don't take it personally, he's like that with everybody and he's actually nice deep inside."
- Greed might also belong to this category. He doesn't seem to be as selfish and insensitive as he claims to be and is occasionally quite serviceable.
- Roy Mustang makes it into this category as well, frequently appearing callous and arrogant to those (Ed in particular) who don't understand his past and/or motives.
- Olivia Armstrong could also fit in this category.
Kujyou Kazune of Kamichama Karin.
Midou Ban in Get Backers has a mocking nickname for nearly everyone (monkey trainer, thread spool, computer boy, etc.), is selfish, sneaky, gropes women constantly, and is generally just not a nice guy to be around... unless your name is Ginji, and you get to see that "Ban-chan" is really just a cuddly, misunderstood dork.
Junichi Sato seems to really, REALLY like this trope in the anime he directs:
- Probably the most famous example, Mamoru Chiba, the title character's love interest in Sailor Moon, who starts out as a handsome Deadpan Snarker who loves to tease and poke Usagi for everything, from her bad grades to her childish idealism.
- Hayate from Pretear, the Tall Dark And Snarky knight who pushes people away for fear of creating another Big Bad
- Fakir, the jerkish, controlling guardian of Mytho in Princess Tutu, who turns out to be using the tough exterior to hide his fear of being killed in service as Mytho's "Knight" and being a failure in the end
- Layla Hamilton from Kaleido Star, the Broken Bird who is as tough on herself as she is on new recruits to the Kaleido stage and has quite the daddy issues.
- Keith Harcourt aka Black Rose and Antonio Fabiani from Ashita No Nadja.
In Medabots, Couch Mountain seems like a cruel man who makes students run laps for no reason, and seems to be doing deals with shady characters. In reality, he was trying to buy land to put up a park for poor children. And then, in the end, he makes the main characters run some more laps for staying up late.
- Lead bully Samatha might also be one of these, charitably keeping around her totally incompetent minion Spyke and often helping the heroes out when they really need it. She just does a damn good job at hiding it (and does actually fire Spyke in one episode, though not without provocation).
Youichi Hiruma, from Eyeshield 21. He never refers to anyone by their real name, only by his personal nickname, and all his personal nicknames start with "fucking" (toned down to "damn" in Viz's translation of the manga). (Sena is "Fucking Shrimp", Mamori is "Fucking Manager", and then there's his best friend Kurita, "Fucking Fatass", and so on.) He's a violent gun nut who slings a constant string of verbal and physical abuse on his team, uses blackmail to get his way like some people say "please", and lies like it was going out of style. He also never fails to reward perseverance, dedication, and effort as long as the team doesn't suffer for it, has his own unique brand of showing affection which he doles out with regularity, and puts himself through all the same crap that he puts everyone else through.
Daichi, from Dennou Coil.
Randou, from Pretty Face. The jerk part caused basically everyone he was in contact with to either fear or hate him, except for his crush, who saw the gold part in him. Eventually the gold part becomes more notable.
Asada from Team Medical Dragon frequently acts like a misogynistic, perverted, carefree Jerkass. Then a patient gets in with an improbable injury, he saves the day and proceeds to lecture everyone about how the patients' well-being is the most sacred priority. And he's totally incorruptible.
Nicholas D. Wolfwood from Trigun is an epic Jerk With A Heart Of Gold. When you get over the fact that he insults you, beats you up out of "affection" and struggles with the Sliding Scale Of Idealism Versus Cynicism by sadistically killing bad guys, he's actually an altruistic and generous dude.
In Soul Eater, Soul and Black Star border on this at times, as Black Star often seems so full of himself he hardly has time to care about anyone else, and Soul is usually the Deadpan Snarker that appears to only really care about advancing himself at times. However, both care about their friends and partners, with Black Star willing to "share the stage" with Tsubaki, while Soul regularly protects Maka from harm.
- Don't forget Mifune, who is one of the best swordsmen in the world and regularly faces off against Black Star, yet carries around candies for children and swings his sword for a small child witch named Angela.
Tomoya Okazaki from CLANNAD. Yes, he tries to project the front of a lazy ass who delights in twisting the truth for practical jokes on anyone and everyone (leading to some impressive amounts of confusion and misunderstanding among the more naive cast — Nagisa especially), and tries to look all though and detached. Yet he ends up trying to help the mains of every arc, without a second thought, and has been seen to drop Manly Tears, or openly crying in frustration and sadness, at the endings of some.
Several characters from the Gundam franchise fit in her perfectly.
- Shin Asuka from Gundam SEED Destiny certainly fits into this trope well. He initially seems to be a troubled youth with authority problems and chews out anyone who tries to help him in most ways, but also is more than willing to take care of Stella — long after she's discovered to be an enemy pilot. As the series goes on, it becomes more and more obvious about this, but that doesn't stop the fanbase from pulling a Flanderization on the guy and making him 'emo.'
- Also, Lyle Dylandy from Gundam 00. He pretends to be a lazy Handsome Lech in the beginning, but that's a Jerk Ass Facade destined to both discourage a girl who idolized his dead twin brother from falling for him because of the Loving A Shadow effect and keep a low profile so CB won't interfere in his own Double Agent plans... in the beginning, at least .
- Kamille Vidan Yes, the girly-looking and girly-named boy has huge Wangst and can be a big Mood Swinger, but he also genuinely cares for those he loves and tries to help them.
  - His rival Jerid Messa is also one, though quite more brutal. Basically, he's a huge Jerk Ass, but if you do manage to make him care for you, he'll genuinely do so... and it will be your downfall
Byakuya Kuchiki from Bleach also fits the bill — he is shown to be very arrogant and snobby (possibly to do with his noble family upbringing). However, he's proven on more than one occasion that he is fiercely devoted to his adopted sister, Rukia.
- Same goes for his lieutenant, Renji Abarai, who's just as devoted to Rukia (and possibly in love with her) as well as ginormously Hot Blooded and loyal to those he cares for.
Domyoji Tsukasa of Hana Yori Dango, who manages to be a sympathetic male lead despite frequently beating up random bystanders for no reason.
Kyoushiro Shirogane from Ginga Densetsu Weed.
Magari Kazuma of Nora spends the first two volumes of the series treating the titular Hot Blooded demon like a misbehaving puppy and most of his classmates like idiots, claiming flatly to make decisions based solely on which outcome will most benefit or least inconvenience him, and being generally bastardly to everyone. And yet... he will do anything to protect the people around him, often foregoing magic and just leaping irrationally to their defense, quite at odds with his normal Magnificent Bastard-in-training persona. And you really don't want to imply that humans are inferior; the results are not pretty.
Ryuji Takasu from Toradora, in a manner of speaking. He isn't a jerk at all, but his sheer appearance is menacing enough that people assume he's a delinquent and give him a wide berth.
Toru Muhyo in Muhyo and Roji. While he is typically fairly cold, showing either irritation with or disdain for those around him, he often does this to teach Roji subtle lessons, and typically goes out of his way to get the best possible result for the ghosts he deals with, even when he seems to be taking a harsh stance on them.
- Rival Executor Daranimaru Goryo might fit into this trope as well. Although he may appear a ruthless bastard, he actually shows genuine concern for his assistant Ebisu, and even cries over him. Twice.
General Cross Marian from D.Gray-Man put his cute little traumatized apprentice Allen Walker through training from hell, which included a lot of stuff that had less to do with becoming an exorcist and more with dumping his considerable debts onto Allen. But he does care about his "idiot apprentice" and has MANY Crowning Moment Of Awesomes in the series, as well as hugging Allen when he tells him about being the Fourteenth Noah.
Chamo of Mahou Sensei Negima seems to fall under this. Sure, he's a Dirty Old Man in ermine form, and constantly tries to manipulate people for his own gain... but he never puts his own goals above the safety of the rest of group, tries to make sure everybody else benefits along with him, and generally tries to make himself as useful as possible, even when an ermine generally wouldn't be able to do anything.
- Ayaka Yukihiro has her moments as well — when she's not being a spoiled Ojou, she shows herself to have strong principles and be genuinely quite caring of others.
- Tosaka seems to be like this too. He constantly bullies Ako, and constantly complains about her, Negi, and everyone else, and willingly turns over the evidence that could send Negi to prison at no cost after blackmailing him with it, even though Ako volunteered all of her rights and was willing to essentially become his slave for life. Tosaka also implies that while that is what she might have meant, some rather nastier things may have happened as well if she'd gone through with it. That, and he also tells Negi that his Missing Mom, Arika, was an extraordinary person, and he cherishes the memory of the single time he met her (when Tosaka was a mere Street Urchin) very fondly.
Hamel, the titular Violinist of Hameln (manga continuity only). He purposely humiliates people, charges exorbitant prices for anyone who hears his music, plans zany schemes to make money, actually uses his friends as ammunition and is so selfish he'd rather eat his crow companion than go hungry for even a little while. And believe it or not, he really is a good guy underneath it all.
Sawamura Takeshi in Wa ga na wa Umishi seems to be this, but only because the main character Rintarou rubs him the wrong way. He's not above hitting and threatening Rin frequently, but he's also saved Rin's life more than once. Whenever there's a job to be done he's the man to do it.
Takuto, the male protagonist of Full Moon O Sagashite, is a mild example (bit moreso in the manga) of Jerk With A Heart Of Gold, as his mannerisms are rather limited to his way of speaking to others. Occasionally rude, anti-social, and snarky ("baka" is his favorite word) he will always say the exact opposite of how he truly feels, yet when nobody's looking, he'll do something incredibly sweet. Just make sure you don't blink because you'll miss it. Because of an overwhelming number of "tsu-tsun" traits, he can also be classified as the Type A male Tsundere. By the end of the anime series, his jerkish side pretty much vanishes for his last action is to sacrifice his life and soul to save Mitsuki from her cancer. A heart of gold as well as it can be defined indeed!
Roronoa Zoro from One Piece. Acts distant and somewhat insensitive to others (and outright insults Sanji a lot of the time), but has shown himself willing to go through Hell and high water for his Nakama, even willing to take on the World Government and all their resources to rescue them.
- He's had plenty of pet the dog moments too. Mostly to do with Chopper or kids.
Kittan in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
Tasuki in Fushigi Yuugi is a thieving, Hot Blooded, hard-drinking He Man Woman Hater who loudly, pointedly and frequently reminds members of the Love Dodecahedron of their unfulfilled status. But he's also ferociously loyal to the group, cries the hardest at Nuriko's death, and reams out brainwashed Tamahome for hurting Miaka's feelings., and then breaking the poor girl's arm.
Seto Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh!
- Well, he's definitely a jerk (and a rich snob with serious issues), and he has a heart, but it's only golden for Mokuba.
In Scryed, Kazuma is known as a mercenary who will take just about any job if the pay is right, but his most vicious moments are when he's found out that his target has been abusing people, or threatening children, or generally doing anything that makes the audience say "Kazuma, please kick his ass". And when his best friend dies in a confrontation with HOLY he abandons all strategy and madly swings his fist at anything with a HOLY logo on it.
Gareki, Hirato and Akari can all be JerkAsses, considering that Gareki's personality is rather Tsundere and the latter two are rather cold toward people. BUT Gareki obviously has a weak spot for Nai's innocence (though it won't spare the poor kid getting bonked in the head, and all the other annoying brats in the world can go rot for all he cares), Hirato seems to effectively hide how much he cares for his crew and how often he makes certain of Nai's safety, and Akari is harshly vocal about Hirato's apparent callousness toward his crew and the people essentially under his care.

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Tony Stark is this trope.
Green Lantern Guy Gardner. Rowdy, egotistical, self-centered, boistrous, loudmouthed, short on impulse control and long on bravado. However, his side of the Slap Slap Kiss relationship between him and teammate Ice is genuinely tender and sensitive, a fact that Ice's friend Fire flat out refuses to believe. Additionally, originally he consciously put on his tough guy facade to cope with being The Un Favorite with an overachieving big brother.
- And underneath his bad attitude is a true hero, a man willing to fight and die to protect the universe from harm and deemed best suited to lead the GL Corps as the #1 Lantern.
- It's worth noting that he was on the list of "best dudes on Earth" to wear the ring when the Earth lanterns were being chosen. That alone means he's a genuinely deep, heroic guy inside... he just happens to be kind of a douche outside.
  - It's also worth noting that Abin Sur's ring would probably have gone straight to Guy in the first place, had he just been closer than Hal Jordan.
- In his early, pre-Green Lantern days he was a kindergarten teacher. Hal had to save him when he hurt himself rescuing a busload of his students he was taking on a field trip.
  - The bus rescue happened at the beginning of the issue that introduced John Stewart in 1971, the Jerk Ass persona came about later with the Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985. It was apparently attributed to brain damage caused by his many misfortunes in the previous decade or so, starting with the injury he suffered at the aforementioned bus rescue when the bus fell on him and culminating with a few years in a coma before the Guardians revived him.
The snarky outcast drow rogue Downer, from the comics Downer: Wandering Monster and Downer: Fool's Errand by Kyle Stanley Hunter (formerly published in DUNGEON Magazine). A down on his luck "proven loser" who survives by his wit, quick tongue, quick blade and quick reflexes (and mainly by running the hell away when outnumbered, unless he's sufficiently pissed off that he decides to indulge his inner Badass and take on a whole bunch of enemies by himself). Although he considers himself an "evil bastard" who puts his own survival first and claims he's "always prepared to be screwed over by his friends", Downer has demonstrated amazing loyalty to friends and guild mates on several occasions, and he always pays back his debts. Downer's brother Aristide claims Downer is a "jerk", but then, Aristide is more of a typical drow (read: selfish and cruel) and his viewpoint is questionable.
This is a frequent characterization of Wolverine from X-Men.
- Northstar tends to be something of an acerbic arrogant bitch to everyone around him... except his Tennessee Williams-style mentally ill sister (well, most of the time, anyway) and especially his deceased adopted infant daughter, Joanne Beaubier.
J. Jonah Jameson from the Spider-Man comics is another good example. Sure, he's short-tempered, tight-fisted, and an often obnoxious loudmouth, but he's also been shown as a tireless crusader supporting everything from labor union rights to mutant rights, going after organized crime figures and corrupt politicians despite repeated attempts on his life, and discreetly supporting various charities and social projects, and even hiring a good lawyer for Peter Parker when Parker was falsely accused of murder.
- In the recent arc where Spider-Man publicly unmasked himself as Peter Parker, Jameson went so far as to refer to Parker as being like a son to him, and that he had always regarded Parker as the "last honest guy in town". What does Jameson do next? Turns around and sues the crap out of Parker for misrepresentation.
  - Of course, to be fair, he wasn't entirely unjustified in doing this; he was also later confronted by other characters about how much of a jerk he'd been to Spider-Man / Peter over the years.
- It should also be noted that Jameson's character is interpreted drastically differently, Depending On The Writer. Some writers really tend to push the "heart of gold" aspect, whereas others still prefer to present him as a genuine Jerk Ass, ignoring any character development to the contrary by other writers. (This usually coincides with alternating interpretations of Jameson as a genuinely competent newspaper publisher and an angry tabloid publisher with an agenda. The latter version is occasionally characterized as clueless and outright sociopathic, too, whereas the former version sometimes borders on hidden philanthropist. It's really inconsistent, to say the least.)
- Mainly though, the character seems to be kind of like Spider from Transmetropolitan. He's a complete asswipe, no doubt, but he surely is also a kind person at heart and has shown this on several occasions. For example he genuinely cares about honesty, integrity and civil liberties and can be quite nice (or at least, less caustic) to his friends, like Peter or his employees, despite being a sarcastic jerk.
- JJ was once offered a deal: if he stopped bashing Spidey every time he needed an editorial, he'd get an exclusivity deal with the New Avengers. He even got to hear Captain Fucking America tell him Spidey was a hero rather than a monster. His response? After shaking hands on the deal, he promptly went back to not only committing libel, but making accusations of bribery and digging up things like "wanted murderer" (Wolverine), "terrorist" (Spider-Woman) and "convicted drug dealer" (Luke Cage, who was framed and exonerated).
Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a few comics, and also more than just the comics as the first couple of films, the new animated series, and the most recent CGI film have shown.
Scrooge Mc Duck, who pretends to be more of a jerk than he really is. On the rare occasion that he has a genuine charitable impulse, he attempts to hide it from everybody.
Gennosuke from Usagi Yojimbo, who is, in the title character's words, "a money-loving cheat" who has managed to swindle Usagi more than once. Still, he's done several acts out of the goodness of his heart, which upsets him to no end when Usagi compliments him on it.
- The same applies to Gen's fellow Bounty Hunter and occasional partner Stray Dog, who shows every sign of being a ruthless, cheating Jerk Ass until we learn that he donates the lion's share of his profits to an orphanage.
Spider Jerusalem from Transmetropolitan is a huge jerk, but he does have a heart of gold. He stands for truth and justice, he's just an ass while doing it, and has done something so small and good-hearted as comforting a lost little child and buying her pawned doll back for her.
Flash Forward, a.k.a. "Negative Man" from the Doom Patrol. An irreverent smartass who never has a nice thing to say about anyone, he has a soft spot for introverted teammate Ava and often seems like the only person who cares about her, and vice versa.
- Although the original and current versions were straight-up Deadpan Snarker.
- Robotman, also from the Doom Patrol.
Tanimoto of Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple. He acts like a Jerk Ass towards Kenichi, but when push comes to shove, he's willing to throw his lot in with the Shipaku Alliance.
- Nijima also counts; while he seemingly doesn't care about the desires or well being of the Shinpaku Alliance (especially Kenichi), he's shown that his is willing to stick out his own neck for the team when he really needs to.
Depending On The Writer, Batman

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Danny Trejo's character in Spy Kids.
Kikuchiyo in both Seven Samurai and Samurai 7.
The bandit who turns out to be a big fan of Kathleen Turner's character Joan Wilder (a romance-adventure novelist) in Romancing The Stone.
Captain Jack Sparrow of Pirates of the Caribbean, having been described, as far back as the original screenplay incarnation, as having an "honest streak", which seems to serve as the pirate equivalent of a heart of gold, and also as his Achilles Heel.
- Most of the surviving pirates have touches of this, but not to the extent that viewers who aren't paying attention assume.
Rick Blaine sticks his neck out for nobody.
- Of course, you could probably fit all of Humphrey Bogart's characters into this trope.
Han Solo
Commander Richard Burke in Alone in the Dark.
Sgt. Bryce Dignam of The Departed is a good example of this trope. He is incredibly abrasive to pretty much everyone, but at the end of the film after being dismissed from the case, he found Sullivan and brought him to justice showing that he is a dedicated cop and one of the most respectable characters in the whole movie.
Godzilla is not only a city destroying monster, he's also a loving and devoted father. And he's also fiercely loyal to his friends and will come to their aid whenever they are in danger.
There's a reason why Gamera is also known as the "Friend to All Children". This fire-breathing turtle has a soft-spot for kids and will do anything to keep them safe, even put his life on the line. Of course, his attack on Tokyo in the first film causes adults to fear the monster.
The movie Waitress has two: grumpy diner manager Cal, and grumpier diner owner/crotchety old man Joe. Both turn out to be fairly nice guys. This is in contrast to Jenna's husband Earl, who's just a Jerkass
Averted in The Opposite of Sex. "I don't have a heart of gold, and I don't grow one later."
Inspector Jacques Clouseau is an arrogant man who believes himself to be the greatest detective in the world. In truth he is a chronically clumsy idiot, which is partially the result of this self-confidence, and gets him and many of the people around him in trouble. He is also genuinely on the side of good, chivalrous with women (even after being betrayed by his own wife), conducts himself with dignity as often as he can, and he simply will not give up no matter what obstacles are in his way.
Detective James Carter in Rush Hour.
Walt Kowalski, the main character of Gran Torino is one racist son of a bitch, but we forgive him for it because he's actually a decent guy deep down toward the people against whom he's racist.
The first Spider-Man movie shows a great example of how J. Jonah Jameson fits this. As Jameson is chewing out Peter over whether or not Spider-Man's a hero, the Green Goblin busts into the office and demands to know who takes Spider-Man's photos. Jameson's immediate reaction is to lie and protect Peter.
- To be fair, you could say that he was just trying to protect his professional interests (the good photos he's getting).
Barton Keyes in Double Indemnity, as noted in the page quote above.
Warren Peace from Sky High, especially during the Chinese restaurant scene with Layla.
Bluebeard from the cult animated film Felidae certainly applies. He constantly calls Francis a "Smartass", takes a piss on things to "mark his territory" (sure, it's normal for cats... but still...), and refers to humans in a very derogatory fashion (IE: He calls them "Can-Openers" which basically means "Slave"). However, he's also willing to help Francis solve the mystery and even risks his life several times in the film.
In Shrek, the title character plays up his Complete Monster reputation to keep others off his land. But he ends up risking his life to help not only the Distressed Damsel, but hundreds of refugees as well.
Mike, the disillusioned poet, in The Philadelphia Story.
In Clueless, Cher's father Mel is a tough, feared stony divorce lawyer who can make his maid scurry away in fear just by entering the room. However, he's also a devoted father not only to his daughter Cher but to Josh, his stepson from a previous (failed) marriage to whom he remains a loyal father-figure and mentor despite the fact that they have no blood relation together.
Mel: You divorce wives, not children.

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Sherlock Holmes, making this Older Than Radio.
Commander Sam Vimes, of the Discworld City Watch, is reputed as a hard-faced, hardheaded, cynical, foul-tempered, arrogant thug. Yet even the most dangerous mob boss in the city respects him as a straight-arrow, unbribeable (and though this is helped by his being the wealthiest man in the city, he was giving half his pay before that to the widows and orphans of the Watch), almost painfully-upright man who always does the right thing and never lets the Watch overstep its authority. He is, in fact, one of the most powerful authorities in the city, who hates and distrusts authority — as the Patrician says, "practically Zen".
- Invoked and demolished with regards to Albert, Death's manservant. "And it's no good thinking you can appeal to my better nature under this here crusty exterior, 'cos my interior's pretty damn crusty as well."
- Despite her intimidating demeanor, Granny Weatherwax is a good witch, albeit with much reluctance. She's hard and sharp as flint, but that's because she likes to test people; as Tiffany Aching notes in A Hat Full Of Sky, witches do their hardest work on "the edge" (between life and death, right and wrong, and so on), and "the edge is no place for people to break."
  - In Discworld/Wintersmith, Granny makes very, very sure that Tiffany is out of sight before she takes in the kitten Tiffany left on her doorstep. She has a reputation to maintain.
- Moist von Lipwig fits this to a degree (though he is more of a reformed Gentleman Thief), in that all his plans are self-serving, but he usually manages to do a ton of good deeds along the way. In Making Money, he reflect: "Am I really a bastard or am I just really good at thinking like one?"
There are many, many world-weary, cynical characters in Boris Strugatsky's "The Powerless Ones of this World". While one of them is a genuine Jerkass, the others, despite having grown to be nasty old men that had explicitly given up on trying to achieve anything good or worthwhile with their superpowers, do at least come through to rescue the main character Vadim (a fellow pupil of "the Sensei") from a tight spot.
Zaphod in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy — literally. He's a jerk, and he has the Heart of Gold.
- Ford Prefect veers in and out of this trope - he's something of an asshole, but he did save Arthur from certain death and is passionately opposed to cruelty to any animal but geese.
In William King's Warhammer 40000 Space Wolf novel Ragnar's Claw, after the inquisitor tells the injured Ragnor that other Marines have repaired his gear, she tells him that one, Sven, said that he's not an armorer and Ragnar can do it himself next time, whatever the sergeant said. Ragnar laughs and assures her that Sven has a good heart under his harsh manner.
Severus Snape of the Harry Potter series perhaps walks the line between this and all out Jerkass. He's ridiculously biased towards Slytherin, he has a particularly nasty grudge against Harry Potter and his associates due to the actions of Harry's father, and holds a nearly-homicidal grudge against Sirius Black for his childhood antics. And yet, in the end, he was in fact fanatically devoted to Dumbledore, saving Harry's life and eventually getting himself killed by Voldemort.
- The grudge against Sirius Black appears nearly homicidal only in the scene in Prisoner of Azkaban in which he has an emotional outburst at Sirius' escape. However, at the time, he still believes that Sirius is responsible for the betrayal of James and Lily Potter, and so the outburst can be attributed for his life-long love of Lily (Evans) Potter, Harry's mother, another major addition to his "heart of gold" status. His rivalry with Sirius is much tamer in all later moments in the books when he has been assured of Sirius' innocence, even going so far as checking up on Sirius' safety when Harry has visions of him trapped in the Ministry with Voldemort.
- Speaking of which, Sirius Black himself fits this trope, as well as his best friend, James Potter. Snape has a good reason to act like this, after all the bullying he received from both of them.
Artemis Fowl. He successfully manages to extort a metric ton of gold from the fairies, and he gives up half of it to help his clinically depressed mother recover from the apparent death of his father.
Vidia from the Disney Fairies series is usually described as the nastiest fairy, and has been shown time and again to be condescending to others, and only care about herself. Yet in Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg, she shared the last of her dust to save Neverland, and has occasionally shown a soft spot for Prilla.

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Tom Paris in Star Trek Voyager. In fact, the going-away speech given by Neelix in "Investigations" sums up this trope admirably.
"Good morning, Voyager. I want to tell you about a friend of mine. I first met this man almost a year ago and, to tell you the truth, I didn't like him much. He seemed a little too cocky, a little too sure of himself. A lot of people had questions about him. He'd proven he'd pretty much sell himself out to the highest bidder, go wherever the wind blew him so people wondered, could you trust this person when things got tough? Would he stand side by side with you or would he let you down when you needed him most? But the fact of the matter is he proved himself right from the beginning. I wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for him and the same goes for many of you. It took me a while to realize it. Like a lot of people, I was too caught up in first impressions to see the truth that was right in front of me. I overlooked his bravery because I was focusing on his brashness. I ignored his courage because I saw it as arrogance and I resented his friendliness because I mistook it for licentiousness. So while this man was giving us his best every minute of every day I was busy judging him. And now he's leaving. I'm proud to say that in spite of my narrow-mindedness Thomas Eugene Paris became my friend. I'm going to miss him. No more laughs over a game of pool. No more sitting up into the wee hours swapping stories. No more complaints about my cooking. (chuckling) Goodbye, Tom. I think I speak for more of us than you might imagine when I say you're going to leave an empty space when you go. I hope you find what you're looking for."
Major Charles Emerson Winchester, M*A*S*H, making him more than just a Suspiciously Similar Substitute for Maj. Burns. Self-centered, elitist and, despite being rich already, often greedy and self-promoting, he is saved from pure Jerkassdom by a strong core of personal integrity and occasional moments of genuine kindness and sympathy. Plus he's also actually just about as good as he thinks he is in the operating room.
- Hawkeye and Trapper John too, really — they're cocky, insubordinate pranksters and hellraisers who irritate others constantly, and two of the best and most caring doctors you could hope for.
Subversion: There was an episode of the short-lived sitcom Bram and Alice which has Bram having the "jerk" who beat him in poker earlier taking Alice out to a jazz concert. After a brief talk between Bram and Alice's roommate, Alice is storming back in and calling the guy the biggest jerk she ever met (or words to that effect).
Bill McNeal of News Radio is a subversion of this. He's always on the verge of doing the right thing, but always falls back on his selfishness.
- Although even he rises to the occasion from time to time:
  Bill: Jimmy, Dave is quite simply the best news director I have ever worked with.
  Catherine: But?
  Bill: What? No, I really mean it.
  Catherine: Well. Bill McNeal shows a little compassion and sincerity. Remarkable.
  Bill: Those dimensions are there. They're just unexplored.
Sawyer in Lost starts as a Jerkass and evolves into this.
Ari Gold in Entourage, a foul-mouthed, ambitious Hollywood agent who loves to berate people's social status, sexual orientation, appearance, age, and just about any weakness he perceives others to have. He actually cares deeply about everyone around him and would go great lengths to help them, proving his loyalty, compassion, and kindness under his Jerkass facade.
Spike of Buffy the Vampire Slayer often acted in accordance with this trope between the end of season 2 and the later episodes of season 5 (though due to a case of Applied Phlebotinum, he could also be a monster, a minion, a Heroic Sociopath, or even something of a Darwinist, all as demanded by the situation). After this, full BadassDecay finally kicked in.
- Angel could also be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, as he could be moody, angsty and bad tempered, yet would always put aside his own problems (even if it took him some time) to help his friends.
- Probably the best Buffyverse example, however, would be Wesley. Whether he's a stuck-up Watcher obsessed with doing things by the book, or an alcholic, borderline sociopathic rogue demon hunter, he's complelty devoted to doing the right thing. He would both die for his friends, and betray them for the greater good.
Dr. Cox and his wife Jordan from Scrubs are examples. They are both exuberantly acerbic and sarcastic especially to each other, but deep down are caring (albeit emotionally repressed) and loving, although they only express this to each other and their son, Jack — and, in the case of Cox and very very occasionally, to J.D.
- Dr. Kelso is a variant; he actually is a Jerk, and an unapologetically sadistic and mean-spirited one at that, but occasionally reveals himself to be ultimately more caring and decent than he cares to admit, and and at least partially acts the part of a ruthless, uncaring and egotistical bastard in order to keep the hospital running efficiently.
- This seems to be common on Scrubs, as it's also sometimes implied that the Janitor is actually quite fond of J.D., and his cruel bullying is just his sociopathic and socially maladjusted way of showing it.
  - The Finale shot this down by having him say that the "Did you put a penny in the door?" bit was a Secret Test Of Character which JD failed, and that's why the Janitor tortures him.
House: Dr. Gregory House threatens to get into this during his Pet The Dog moments, particularly when he was diagnosed with cancer and still insisted on focusing on the patient. As always, it turned out he was just a Jerk With The Heart Of An Even Jerkier Jerk Than We Had Assumed — he faked having cancer, although to be fair, his team only "found out" he was sick by snooping around behind his back.
- House is just a Jerk With A Heart Of Gold with the "jerk" aspects played up to ludicrously selfish extremes. Doesn't make his heart of gold any less sincere... just covered in more crud.
Alex P. Keaton from Family Ties dreams of reaching the top of the corporate ladder and being rich — and he often acts pompous about his intelligence. His views also sometimes appear sexist and he often appears to hold a certain contempt for people who lack intelligence and/or wealth. However, he has shown many times that he truly is a lovable and compassionate person — and his good buddy is Skippy Handelman.
Becker, from the sitcom Becker.
Kim Kelly from Freaks and Geeks.
Johnny LaRue (played by John Candy) on SCTV. Johnny LaRue is a rather hefty millionaire celebrity who's a bit of a jerk at times but is often a sweet guy too. He's also one of the resident gentle giants on the show.
Of course this trope just screams for Dr. Rodney McKay in Stargate Atlantis, who is egoistical, egomaniac, a self-centered, selfish and cowardly Jerkass, but brave, selfless and understanding when he feels like it.
- In particular, there's one moment that pretty much sums him up in a nutshell. Upon finding out that, in an alternate universe, he spent his last moments unflinchingly trying to save others, he brags about it.
Most of the incarnations of The Doctor from Doctor Who would touch on this trope at some point, but in many ways the Sixth Doctor matches it most of all; for the most part he's a pompous, arrogant, blustering jackass filled with a monumental sense of his own self-importance... who, every so often, does something that reveals him to be more than capable of acts of astonishing compassion and generosity.
- Shows up especially in the audios and especially with companion Evelyn Smythe, simply because she refuses to let him get away with being a jerk.
Dr. Frasier Crane, likewise, is a pompous, self-righteous and snobby jackass who nevertheless genuinely loves and cares for his family and friends, is devoted to psychiatry and his patients, and is deep down ruled by an inner need to be liked. His brother Niles is similar, in that he's even more of a pompous, arrogant jerk who nevertheless demonstrates genuinely decent redeeming qualities.
- Martin is in someways like this as well, at times to the point of being an inversion; although a lot more down-to-Earth, practical and, on the surface at least, likable than his two sons, he's nevertheless in the early seasons a crabby, bitter and emotionally repressed and distant man whom, it's suggested, has rarely actually made much of an effort to connect to his sons in any meaningful way (although he remains proud of them nevertheless). Whilst Niles and Frasier tend to wear their jerkiness on their sleeves, especially towards Martin, it's frequently established that Martin also has his jerkass side and partial responsibility for his difficult relationship with his sons.
Brian Kinney on the American version of Queer as Folk was a huge jerk to every character on the show at one time or another, but always ended up doing the right thing or saving the day for everyone.
Supernatural is full of these but Dean especially has a nasty temper and is a cocky, self-righteous, not-too-bright, hypocritical, judgmental, always-wisecracking Jerkass manwhore with such low self-esteem he thought he deserved to go to hell, an almost obsessive devotion to his family (and he really wanted them back together again, which was never going to happen), a desperate need to be liked, an unwillingness to actually stand up for himself (when it came to Missouri, John and sometimes Sam) and all that wisecracking is just to "mask all that nasty pain". Not forgetting that he's also the show's favourite bitch, so you've got to give him some sympathy.
- Sam really does deserve to be here as well. He's self-absorbed, doesn't seem to think much of Dean, can be incredibly cruel at times ("You were four when Mom died. How could you possibly know how I feel?", anyone?) and is prone to self-pity by the bucket-load. He uses the whole "Captain Empathy" thing as an act at least half the time, he's incredibly violent when he fights and he knows just how to twist Dean around his little finger. But he tries a hell of a lot harder to make Dean feel better than John ever did, he falls apart trying to save Dean in Season Three, he's using his demonic powers for good, he really did try to make it up to his father after "In My Time Of Dying" by focusing on the hunt and most of the bitchiness is leaning towards the affectionate Deadpan Snarker style and not the unsympathetic Jerkass type. It's also hinted that his violent streak may not be quite natural in origin.
Jayne Cobb is on the borderline, and definitely leaning toward "Jerk" but shows some nicer moments, such as sending a chunk of his pay to his mom to help take care of his ailing brother, and wearing a truly hideous hat because his mother made it for him.
- Jayne actually LIKED the hat (possibly just because his mother made it, but still). More telling is his reaction to the Mudders in "Jaynestown":
Jayne: You guys had a riot? On account o' me? My very own riot?
- The expression on Jayne's face when Kaylee's life is threatened is an example of this.
- Malcolm Reynolds could be said to be leaning in the other direction of the trope, being less of a jerk, but still fitting
  - Besides we need him to hit Jayne with a wrench.
Adam Baldwin, the who played the above role, does this trope better as Casey in Chuck. While Chuck's other handler quickly becomes a viable Love Interest, Casey continues to emphasise how little he thinks of Chuck, generally insulting him, not caring about him, and always following orders above all else. But by the end of the second seasons, he has quite a large amount of hidden fondness for both of his partners, even if he would never admit it.
- (He does.He tells General Beckman that Sarah is the "Best partner I ever had". Mind you, he is saving her job at the time...)
Barney from How I Met Your Mother is usually a pretty good example, although he may be more of a Jerkass Facade.
- There's a catch - this is only to his friends and family. To other people, especially his one night stands, he's just a plain Jerk Ass.
Conner from Power Rangers Dino Thunder is one of these, which was a very interesting example considering he was the Red Ranger. This made for some funky team dynamics during the time it took for the group to begin to actually trust each other, since his teammates were a male geek and a female loner musician.
- Dillon of Power Rangers RPM strays into this trope, but there tends to be more emphasis on the "heart" and less on the "jerk". Most notably is in the second episode when he and Ziggy are in prison. Ziggy as it turns out, is something of a prison bitch and Dillon makes it clear that he has no interest in looking out for him. But after he overhears another prisoner taunting Ziggy for being an outcast, Dillon goes out of his way to defend him. And it is awesome.
In the later seasons of Farscape, Dominar Rygel XIII.
Almost every character in Murphy Brown displays these traits at some point, but Murphy especially exemplifies it.
Dan Fielding from Night Court is one, despite any protests he may make to the contrary. Despite being greedy, power-hungry and sex-crazed, Dan is an honest lawyer who repeatedly sacrifices chances for advancement because of his ethics and risks his life and dignity to help his friends.
- One great example of this is how he gave up a partnership in a very high-profile law-firm despite promises of a private office and an attractive female boss who wanted him after he found out that he was being hired for his reputation as a good lover — not because of his record as Assistant D.A. Of course Dan slept with the woman offering him the job first THEN quit, excitedly telling a confused janitor as he left her office "You can have your principles and STILL get lucky!"
- Another shining example was when he found some way to coerce Christine into bed (he saved her life and played the "you owe me" card) — but he couldn't do it to an unwilling woman that he genuinely cared about. She's as stunned as he is, and basically cites this trope verbatim... only to have him point out that this is only going to make him chase her more and that someday, somehow, he will wear her resistance down.
At the start of the show, Sebastian Stark from Shark is almost a complete Jerkass, but begins to show a softer side as the series progresses thanks to his daughter, his loyalty to his team and his newfound desire for redemption.
Stefan from Top Chef season 5. A very heavy competitor, he comes off as an overconfident ass (which he is, honestly). However, he does have friendships with the other contestants (outside of competition of course) and he tried to comfort Carla when she started to cry during the final judges session.
Both Tony Di Nozzo and Jethro Gibbs in NCIS stray into this on occasion.
Dr. Cottle from Battlestar Galactica is a grumpy, sarcastic, chain-smoking, cantankerous, uncompromising doctor who's downright feared by many of the fleet because of his gruff, unsympathetic attitude and willingness to amputate. He's also the first to not discriminate against the Cylons, treating Athena and her pregnancy with concern as he would anyone else and is visibly furious when Athena is almost raped by Lt. Thorne, occasionally shows signs of warmth for his patients, and is truly moved when Laura Roslin thanks him for never giving up on her when she should've died years ago, but she tells him to cut it out, go grumble, and light a cigarette, lest he ruin his image. He fondly bids her farewell anyway.
Nathan Petrelli, when running for congressman, is a good example of this trope. He cultivates some bad connections and habits but genuinely loves his family and does what he can to help them.
Logan Echolls from Veronica Mars. Described in his first appearance as a psychotic jackass, but god help you if you hurt someone he cares about.
Emerson Cod in Pushing Daisies is grumpy, snarky and is always annoyed at having to listen to Ned and Chuck's problems...but he always does listen to them, and often provides helpful advice.
- Lily as well. A gun-toting, foul-mouthed, cantakerous old lady who loves her sister more than anything in the world.
Peter Bishop in Fringe. He could very well be an all-around good guy if not for the fact that his father is what keeps his Jerkass side intact.
Sam in iCarly. A lazy, gluttonous bully she is saved by her genuine feelings of friendship for Carly and (very rare) moments of decency towards Freddy.
Arthur in Merlin. Arrogant and self-centered yes, but with a genuine sense of justice. In fact he might not be a jerk at all, or at if it wasn't for his sense of duty towards his father, who is a true Jerkass.
Alex from Wizards of Waverly Place. Yes, she's selfish and as close to an out and out anarchist as you're ever going to find in a Disney Channel series but she does genuinely care about her friends and family and in the end always help them, even if most of the time what she's helping them out of is something she caused.
While occasionally played straight in Married with Children, one episode brutally subverts this. Al enters himself in an athletic competition for senior citizens (despite not being a senior citizen himself) and his last remaining competitor tells him how much it would mean to him to win this. Al considers for some time to let him win but in the last seconds decide to take the cup for himself. Then we see Al on first place on the podium and the narrator telling us that if we really expected anything else, we probably haven't paid attention all these years. All the while the old man on second place is sobbing.
Steve Wassenfelder in Defying Gravity especially in regard to Paula, both the Jerk and the Heart of Gold parts.
Nick Cutter from Primeval. James Lester blends this with Jerkass Facade.
Gene Hunt from Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes. He generally behaves like a sexist boor, but he's loyal, honest (more in the latter than the former) and has Heart of Gold moments that made this troper go Squee.
- Ray Carling has his moments too.
Ted Mc Griff on Hey Dude.

Close Live Action TV

Gulliman, the primarch of the Ultramarines was a hard ass, but he legitimately cared about the people he ruled and established the government of the Ultramarines mini empire around the idea of meritocracy (it is theoretically possible for a peasant to one day rise and become chapter master thus rule the empire). His actions have resulted in one of the best places (and least corrupt) to live in the entire Imperium.
Close Tabletop Gaming

Christina Aguilera.
Patrick Wolf.
Genghis Khan

Close Truth in Television

Kanji from Persona 4 is a rather awkward nice guy with a bit of a temper, who acts like a delinquent. At one point he threatens to tear down a man's cafe for misplacing his order... Before correcting himself and adding that he'll rebuild it twice as good; he's gonna RENOVATE his ass.
In a similar vein, Shinjiro from Persona 3. Grumpy, unfriendly, uncooperative loner...who is very fond of animals and loves cooking shows!
Jimmy, the main character of Bully. In the opening cut scene Jimmy appears disrespectful to his mother and new step father and starts off quite unsociable. However he does mention that "I only give people what they have coming to them." He proves to be as good as his word, as his early missions involve protecting the Nerds from the Bullies. He goes out of his way to help the ugliest and least popular girls get their stolen items back and told the biggest kid in the school that "There are a lot of kids at this school who need a beating, and you're picking on the few who don't! So I want you to leave me and him (Petey) alone!"
The various Sonic The Hedgehog series have a good number of characters like this. The most prolific being Knuckles the Echidna. He is shown as a short tempered, arrogant and anti-social loner but he's also been said to have "a trusting heart, and wants to believe there's goodness in everyone." This element of his character really comes into play in Sonic Adventure 2, when he saves Rouge from falling into the lava and then actually apologised for hurting her. In Sonic 06 he was noticebly upset when Sonic was temporarly dead. His trait also spilled over into most adaptations, such as Sonic The Comic where he cheerfully helped Tails' Fake Ultimate Hero scenario by pretending that he was Sonic, and that he was Tails' sidekick.
- SatAM Sonic gave Antoine, who although being a cowardly, pompous oaf has proven to be unquestionably loyal to Princess Sally, and on occasion shown traits of Crouching Moron Hidden Badass when one of the others was in trouble, like when Sonic was about to be ambushed from behind by a Nasty Hyena. The comics gave a few more redeeming moments such as a very early example of when the Freedom Fighters thought Sonic was dead, Antoine cried out that Sonic would be avenged.
- Later in the Comics Ash the mongoose was introduced. From his first appearance, he had a grudge against Sonic, (though some say his reason for hating Sonic wasn't good enough )and was outwardly bitter. The 'heart of gold' part of his character came out when he risked his life to save Mina from a bomb in her dressing room.
Squall in Final Fantasy VIII is socially awkward, standoffish, and often quite rude, but underneath his emotional immaturity he's a decent kid. To a lesser extent, Cloud from the previous game also fits, although the "jerk" phase lasted all of two hours of gameplay.
- Oddly, Cloud's "jerk" persona was supposedly copied from his dead friend Zack... except that Zack was a fun-loving, cheerful, laid-back guy, absolutely nothing like Cloud's fake persona.
- Don't forget Cid *&^%$# Highwind.
Nash from LUNAR: Silver Star Story is a borderline case: he's a jerk from the instant you pry him from that ridiculous trap he ended up in; he sells you out to Ghaleon once or twice; at the end of the game you find that all he's done, he's done for love of Mia. Mia slaps him into sensibility, and he rejoins you as an invaluable mage in the taking down of Ghaleon.
- If Nash was a borderline case in the remake, he WAS this trope in the original. He might have been egotistical and frequently abrasive, but he goes quite far out of his way to help Alex out and is one of the few people in Vane to recognize that Mia is actually quite stubborn and strong-willed underneath her sweet personality. By pretending to switch sides, he gets the team to the Frontier, and nearly dies for it when Xenobia figures out what he's up to. He goes from annoying to downright heroic.
- Ghaleon also may count in this category. He was the main villain in the first game and one of the last bosses in the second game, but his long-winded death speech, gift of an ass-kicking sword, and a couple of fairy gardens show you he really did mean well.
Karin Kanzuki from Street Fighter, although this side is more apparent when she's not fighting. She makes friends with her longtime rival Sakura, and in Rainbow Mika's storyline, Karin agrees to provide some of her vast fortune to support Mika's wrestling career.
In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Midna, at the start of the game at least, is an abusive, snarky, whiny brat who wants only power and revenge, but she eventually begins to let slip a few signs of her soft spot for Link (by the end of the game, she's not even trying to hide it).
- Linebeck from Phantom Hourglass also counts. At first, he's a selfish coward who is taking advantage of Link to find treasure. By the end, he saves Link's life and gives up unlimited wealth to have his old boat back.
Brutally subverted, almost, in Jewel Knights Crusaders. The main star makes it abundantly clear that he is Jerk almost all the way through. Whenever he shows the tiniest bit of kindness, he subverts it. Except a couple of times when he doesn't.
Gala from the game Legend of Legaia starts out as a Jerk With A Heart Of Gold. He constantly insults Vahn and Noa at first, demeaning their violent ways and quite openly displaying his disdain at being forced to help them. Eventually, he'll lighten up and become friendlier with the rest of your team, though he still occasionally argues with Noa.
Kazooie, the loudmouthed bird from Banjo-Kazooie. She doesn't show it much, but she does care about Banjo deep down. When she and Banjo get separated in the beginning of Grunty's Revenge, she's happy as a clam to see him again.
At first, the mercenary Kratos in Tales of Symphonia appears to be traveling with the party only for the money, and then on top of that he betrays you! But, it turns out he's not as much of a jerk as Lloyd first thinks and he comes back to your side in the end.
- Zelos fits this trope even better. While he is a teasing, arrogant and care free Handsome Lech who starts off with a dislike for half-elves, he does make an effort to overcome that prejudice. He does whatever he can to help his little sister despite the fact that her mother murdered his. Also, like Kratos, he betrays you at one point but comes back to yourside in seven of the eight endings. Even in the one where he doesn't rejoin he he helps you one last time before he dies. When conditions place him closest to Lloyd, he also shows that he believes that Lloyd was right that status and race mean nothing.
Ryudo, from Grandia II, fits this trope to a tee. He starts off as a devil-may-care, potty mouthed jerk who only seems to be going along with the quest for money, but later reveals that most of it was just a bit of a coping mechanism, due to the rather low opinion most people have of mercenaries in his world. By the end of the game, he's transformed into a pretty likable and friendly guy, albeit one who can still curse like a sailor.
The "grumpy" male animals in Animal Crossing, especially in the second game. Though they are self-admitted curmudgeons, they warm up to you fairly quickly, and even though they tease you, they're very glad of your friendship. They even cry if you show up at their birthday parties!
Most of the Rival's from the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney games-
- Miles Edgeworth is probably the best example
- Franziska von Karma in the seccond game. She has a nasty temper and a tendency to attack people with a whip when she doesn't get her way. However she is kind to Adrian Andrews and she cried when Edgeworth showed brotherly affection for her. Also in the third game she got upset when Pearl yelled at her.
- Diego Armando from Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations is the typical romance novel type Jerk with a heart of Gold. He comes off as cocky and patronising towards women and he's very self assured. However he's also dedicated to catching criminals and shows care for Mia.
- Maximillian Galactica of Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney comes off as arrogant and self-conceited, but does so with the hopes that it will get his circus mates to strive to become better and follow in his example.
Neku Sakuraba of The World Ends With You hates people in general at the beginning and does his best to shut them out, but after only about 6 days in The Game he becomes a lot more friendly and tolerant.
Jade of Tales of the Abyss is a perfect example.
Yeager of Tales of Vesperia is a minor recurring villain with a German accent, crazy speech, and constantly meddles in things on both sides of a conflict so he can keep the profits coming in as a weapons dealer. Then Raven sees fit to inform that he's just laying the nutjob act on a little thick. THEN you find out he's been donating to an orphanage all this time and raising two of the orphans like his own daughters.
Oswald of Odin Sphere is another example. Only shows his nice side to people he trusts though.
Taking its cues from Indiana Jones, Nathan Drake of Uncharted Drakes Fortune fits this trope, and allegedly the forthcoming sequel will reinforce the "jerk" part a lot more than the original did.
Hakurei Reimu of the Touhou series is occasionally played as a Stoic Jerk with a Heart of Gold, when the fans aren't joking about how her approach to solving a problem is thuggish (or genocidal).
Francis in Left 4 Dead. He hates almost everything except vests and his background info shows that he is a rebel and enjoys the zombie outbreak since now he can kick some ass without the law standing in this way. During the game, he loves to bust Bill's chops, but shows him respect if Bill happens to die, saying something like "Rest in peace, old man" in a somber tone. He also shows a bit more emotion to Louis if he gets killed, saying "He didn't deserve this". When it comes to survivors being low on health, he shows the most concern to Zoey and if any survivor is incapacitated twice, Francis will express grave concern for the victim as he helps them up (A third knockdown without using a medkit equals instant death).
Mao in Disgaea3. Sapphire out right points this out near the end of the game.
Zero from Mega Man X and Zero. He acts cold towards anyone, even his own partners X and Axl. It was all just an act; he just had too many betrayals and tragedies going on with his life. However, he really is a nice guy, and is someone who is ready to fight for the people who he cares for the most.
Frog from Chrono Trigger, but only the Japanese version - his dialogue was changed in the English translation such that he was chivalrous and polite (and with pseudo-Shakespearean syntax) instead of abrasive and aloof.
Dias Flac from Star Ocean: The Second Story, except when speaking to Rena.
Atton Rand from Star Wars: KotOR II. See "Han Solo." Then give him a lightsaber.
- Jolee Bindo from Star Wars: KotOR.
Fire Emblem has got 'em all over the place
- FE 6 has both Hugh and his grandmother Niime (and their supports make it dead obvious). Chad and Rutger also count, as does Cath.
- Hector from FE 7 is loud, brash, and reckless, but he's willing to abandon his lordly title and run away from home just to help his friends. Other examples include Legault, Vaida, Matthew, and Rath (though he's more "standoffish" than jerk).
- Colm from FE 8 plays this trope so straight it's almost scary. Joshua, Innes, and Cormag also count, helped by the fact that they all have their own Morality Pet.
- Then there's both Shinon and Soren from FE 9, though both can be seen as pretty tragic examples. Lethe and Sothe are also examples, and Naesala in a Magnificent Bastard sort of way.
The Prince of Sands of Time (before the sequel, anyway) is arrogant, spoiled, sarcastic, reckless, stubborn, and obsessed with 'honour and glory' to the point where he accidentally unleashed hell for it, but he is also very brave, well-meaning, and totally, heartbreakingly desperate for his father's approval, even though his father obviously already adores him.
- His later counterpart is a scruffy, cynical, selfish, irreverent, hedonistic, blatantly lecherous, grave-robbing lout. He's also pretty friendly when he wants to be, especially to girls he likes, and quite soft-hearted. In the end, he proves that he'll do anything to save the people he loves, including saving the world... and personally bringing about its end.
Yuuichi in Kanon. Despite practically being a less cynical Kyon who doesn't keep his comments to himself, in reality he's very dependable.
Junichi in Da Capo.
Fate Stay Night's most troperriffic character and more meme than man, Archer. He clearly means well and in a lot of ways is more successful at this than Shirou himself. However, in UBW the "heart of gold" gets restored to the surface... and promptly hit with a reset button.
Ragna the Bloodedge in Blaz Blue. For someone who is feared as the Grim Reaper, curses and trash talks a lot, just as long as you're not after his head, he is usually a nice man and an example of Dark Is Not Evil. This is lampshaded by Litchi when he decided to spare Arakune after she pleaded him to (he is also against beating up women for no reason). This is very contrasting with his complete Jerkass of a brother, Jin.
Popka in Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil.
Protagonist example: Jak in the second and third Jak and Daxter games; he was just the heart of gold in the first game, before two years of genetic experiments in prison. We get to watch the heart of gold grow back, shrivel, and grow back again over the course of both games.
The new Prince in the 2008 Prince Of Persia game is a good example. He makes the 'jerk' part of him quite clear throughout the game, but in the Shoot The Shaggy Dog ending, he sheds his veneer of jerkiness to reveal the heart of gold.

Close Video Games

Ben from Loserz. See this strip for his jerk tendencies and this one for his golden heart.
Abel from Dan and Mabs Furry Adventures. Though sometimes it's hard to tell whether he's a Jerk With A Heart Of Gold or just a plain ol' jerk.
Krosp in Girl Genius. Of course, he's a cat and you have to make allowances.
- Another Phil Foglio example would be the Klegdixal ambassador from the Gallimaufry arc of Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire.
Davan from Something Positive, a sarcastic, cynical jerk but nonetheless is capable of great caring and fearsomely loyal to his close friends. In fact, most of the cast are like that.
Diane from El Goonish Shive is a lying, manipulative bitch... but she takes care of what friends she has, and helps Grace when she's in need.
Rumisiel from Misfile is sleazy, sexist, drunken, stupid, incompetent... (the list goes on) until someone needs some advice about the human heart or a vengeful spirit placated.
Dandy from Dandy and Company.
Netta from DDG usually spends her time thinking up fresh torments for Zip, but can be capable of the occasional sweet gesture.
Varsuuvius occasionally has a bit of this. V is pompous, arrogant, pedantic, looks down on non-elves and less intelligent people with equal scorn, genuinely hates at least one teammate, and generally doesn't seem to be very motivated to save the world. There have been moments of V genuinely caring for teammates, notably Haley.
- Much less of the heart of gold, but sometimes even the Heroic Sociopath Belkar has this — sometimes. While he's a Chaotic Evil, arrogant, psychotic and downright vicious little monster, that doesn't mean he lacks moments of kindness. He seems to actually like Elan, has risked his neck for his team members (fetching Roy's body, anyone?) seems to genuinely love and care for a cat named Mr. Scruffy, and, as of his most recent appearance, seems to be toning down some of his more psychotic behavior, even if it is currently an act.
The most of the main characters from Errant Story are a bit dickish on the surface but are, at heart, decent people. Jon, Sarine, Sara, and more recently Meji (though that was more the result of maturing as a person rather than revealing something that was already there) all more or less fall into this category. In fact, the only one who is nice on the surface turns out to be a genocidal maniac.
Rhea, main character of Slightly Damned.
- Cliff is implied to be one, but he rarely shows the "heart of gold" part, especially if Buwaro's around.
Brent Sienna from PvP.
Mora and Rachael from Las Lindas. The writer tries to portray Miles as one, but most consider him just a regular jerk.
Cpt. Dahl from Air Force Blues. At least, when he gets into serious "Danger Zone" mode.

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Strong Bad from Homestar Runner. He tries to cheat to win contests, bullies around his brother Strong Sad, and left Cloud Cuckoo Lander Homsar for dead, but he does get along well with his co-stars.
Sean "Lucky" O'Cann of Survival of the Fittest acts like a bit of a prick, but has been shown to be genuinely warm and affectionate at other times. It's how he deals with his insecurities, for the most part.
Simon Drake from Shadow of the Templar can be an insensitive bastard to say the least, especially when he's laid low by injury or lack of caffeine, but cares deeply for his teammates. And also for his sort-of boyfriend Jeremy, no matter how many times he insults him.
Steg, a popular YoutubePooper, says that although he seems to act quite angry on the Internet, he's pretty nice when you get to know him. And he has a sense of humour.
The Nostalgia Critic. He ridicules old movies and TV shows, shoots characters who get on his nerves, and though enjoyable to watch, definitely isn't a nice guy. When he goes to rip up "Follow That Bird", he spends most of the review squeeing like a Fan Girl over all of the characters, finally culminating in this loud declaration:
NC: I CAN'T DO IT! I CAN'T MAKE FUN OF SESAME STREET! IT'S THE FIRST SHOW THAT I EVER SAW! [...] I LOVE YOU ALL! YOU'RE SO BEAUTIFUL AND INNOCENT! YOU ARE CHILDHOOD!
- He then proceeds to cry, run away, and pay one of his alter-egos Chester A. Bum to finish the review for him.
- Actually, in reality, Doug Walker is nothing like his character. At least according to his brother [1].

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It's amazing how Grumpy Bear, the Care Bear who epitomises this trope, has evaded a mention for so long.
Moe from The Simpsons in the earlier seasons. Especially one instance when he was Homer's boxing coach, and he gave up a big money deal to save Homer from the heavy Weight champion.
- Having said that, Homer himself may qualify. While he has become the Trope Namer of Jerk Ass, he really does love and care for his family, as he gets really upset when they're mad at him. He also goes to unbeleivabley insane lenghs to help his friends out.
  - Remember that a lot of his Jerk Ass tendencies are the result of Flanderization and the writers need to compete with Peter Griffin.
- Also Bart Simpson, who is well-known for the mayhem he causes in Springfield, although this is mostly done to drive authority figures crazy, rather than cause any real harm. He gets a number of Pet the Dog moments in helping people he'd normally antagonize, like when he noticed how his teacher Mrs. Krabappel was lonely and depressed. He cheered her up by nominating her for a prestigious teaching award, stating that she deserved to win because she'd managed to survive teaching him. The judges are shocked to realize that Bart is real (being so infamous that many teachers think he's just an Urban Legend), and declaring that if Mrs. Krabappel's managed to "dance with the devil in the blue shorts and live", she's a shoe-in for the award.

Mrs. Krabappel is very happy.

Yet another example is Nelson the bully, who's beaten Bart up for arguably noble reasons, including "wasting Teacher's valuable time", "besmirching an innocent girl's name", and "taking credit for other people's work". Even if Bart was MisBlamed on all three occasions, it's the thought that counts.

Patty Smith, the Huge Schoolgirl Gonk of Hey Arnold!
Z, All Grown Up!, "Bad Kimi" and "It's Cupid, Stupid".
Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender (especially in the first two seasons, before his Heel Face Turn). Toph Bei Fong sometimes acts like one, too.
Coach McGuirk, Home Movies
Parodied on Family Guy with the one-shot character of "Kenneth, the badass mail clerk with the heart of gold", who we find out gives half his paycheck to "orphans with diseases", cue the touching music.
- Peter Griffin used to be this until he turned into a complete Jerk Ass
Rattrap of Transformers: Beast Wars. Little more jerk and a little less heart of gold than usual, maybe a borderline case, but he's made good enough to be noteworthy.
- Totally. Despite being a whingeing snarker who constantly questions authority and practically refuses to follow orders on the basis of excessive personal danger (his Catch Phrase is a long-suffering "We're all gonna die...", usually provoking anyone else in the vicinity to reply "Shut up, Rattrap!")... and yet frequently risks his life to save his friends and is visibly upset by cases of their real or apparent demise... AND is even an ultra-competent soldier, spy and saboteur to boot, revealing his "coward" image to be really that of a crusty refusal to play to heroic stereotypes.
- Dinobot in this series is one of these as well. Sure, he may be a backstabbing brutish Proud Warrior Race Guy, who regularly expresses his disapproval of Optimus not finishing off his opponents, but everyone knows where he stands (up wind of Rattrap, by preference) and his death defending Proto-man is generally considered the Crowning Moment Of Awesome for the entire Transformers Franchise.
  - Due to the nature of the characters, I wouldn't be surprised if they had a heart of literal gold. You know, if they didn't have those swirling blue glowy things.
Gordon The Big Engine in the early seasons of Thomas the Tank Engine. A pompous buffoon, full of his own importance and constanly reminds everyone what a "Large and splendid engine" he is and has a pretty nasty temper. He also cheerfully comes to the rescue when Thomas or Percy is in trouble and is prone to making up with the others after being humiliated. He also had a few good moments like in season 8. He didn't get any lines in Thomas & The Fireworks display but he was notely concerned when James was missing in action. The episdoe Squeak, Rattle and Roll gave probably his most over the top Pet The Dog moment. He developed a squeak and thought that if the Fat Controller found out, he'd be scrapped, so he had to go slow to avoid making too much noise. However if he went slow, the children would miss their boat. He was willing to sacrifice his life just so some kids wouldn't be late home, for goodness sake!
Sissi of Code Lyoko. She and Ulrich apparently got along somewhat better before she betrayed the secret of Lyoko... an event she has absolutely no memory of. To his credit, he's the one who initiates her into his group of friends in the series finale.
- Jim also qualifies, at first seeming to be just a Drill Sergeant Nasty gym teacher, he ultimately shows that he cares alot more for the school's students than he lets on, and even nearly pulls a Heroic Sacrifice for their sake.
Charlie from All Dogs Go to Heaven — despite his criminal nature and love of being a con artist, he is shown giving pizza to a family of hungry pups.
Ioz from Pirates of Dark Water. "Did I hear a compliment, Ioz?" "Eh, must have been the wind."
Brock Samson from the The Venture Brothers is a Heroic Sociopath with a heart of gold. After OSI wiped Billy's memories, Brock took him to Pete White, so White could help take care of Billy. He also deeply cares for the Venture Brothers.
Uncle Ruckus from The Boondocks is shown comforting Jasmine at the of the episode "A Huey Freeman Christmas", after she had been told multiple times that Santa didn't exist.
Eddy from Ed Edd N Eddy was this before being reduced to a selfish jerk who cared more for money than his friends.
- In an earlier Valentine's episode that took place at the school, Eddy picks a fight with the Kanker sisters (And even bites Marie's leg) because he thinks they've brainwashed Double D. Eddy is terrified of the Kanker sisters.
Iago from the Aladdin series retains his Jerkass personality from the first movie, but he always comes through for the heroes when needed.
Sparky from Beethoven the Animated Series often acts sarcastic and tough but deeply cares for his friends and goes as far as to set a bunch of strays free from the pound.
Sharky the shark dog from Eek! The Cat has shown his soft side before. He even hugged Eek in one episode.
Fanon tends to paint Mr. Grumpy of The Mr. Men Show in this light, although there is little, if any, canon evidence.
- He exchanges his eternal frown for a look of surprise/concern? when witnessing one of the Chew Toys get beaten.
Raphael and Casey Jones of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (at least in the 2003 series).
Slappy Squirrel from Animaniacs could count as this.
In Taz-Mania, the normally selfish Digeri Dingo has a "noble dog" side to him and Jerkass Bushwacker Bob once saved Taz's life from a haunted hotel.
Fred Flinstone
Lucky Piquel and Skunky Skunk from Bonkers.
Garfield. There are several examples of this, but the whole Here Comes Garfield story pretty much sums it up.
Cotton Hill of King of the Hill is a jerk and a sexist most of the time but he does show that he has a good side such as when he took the blame for Bobby burning down the church by accident, got a job to support his second wife and infant son, and even though he doesn't like her he helped Peggy to walk again after she broke her spine.
- Dale Gribble, from King of the Hill. Shallow, selfish, tactless, cowardly, unethical, and always quick to blame everybody and anybody else for whatever problem he caused. However, to say he "loves" his wife and son is a huge understatement. He dotes on his son Joseph, even though he isn't even Dale's biological son, putting him before everything else in the universe and defending him with his life despite his cowardly nature. He worships the ground his wife walks on and treats her like royalty, which she does not even deserve, having cheated on him for fourteen years. Also, on numerous occasions, he risks his life and/or sacrifices himself — unprovoked, guiltless, selfless, and unasked for — for Hank. For example, secretly switching Hank's low-running oxygen tank for his own full one before going to put out a fire.
- Also, Khan Souphanousinphone. He may be a nasty, sharp-tongued elitist whose main purpose in life is to mock and look down on his neighbors as a bunch of hillbillies, but he has a very, very fierce integrity to his values, a deep sense of duty, and doesn't take injustice from anybody. Ever.
Eric Duckman of Duckman comes off as an ass and a sexist most of the time, but he is shown to have a good side, as he will do anything to protect his children if something is bothering them, or if they're in danger, even if he doesn't always pay attention to them. And, as revealed in a flashback, he didn't always used to be a jerk.
In Justice League, Cute Bruiser Hawk Girl sometimes comes across this way.
Bender, from Futurama. He's an immoral, foul-mouthed, obnoxious, bad-mannered, rude, selfish, self-important, self-serving, self-obsessed, self-everything else, greedy, criminal, insensitive, incredibly arrogant, uncaring, politically incorrect, mean, cruel, nasty, sharp-tongued, vindictive, malicious, sadistic, hilarious son of a bitch. He would also kill, or die, for his friends (And Zoidberg); never, ever abandons them in the face of serious danger; (he once threw himself on a grenade to save his platoon) and has a barely contained, quietly desperate protectiveness of Fry that is almost uncomfortable to watch — like someone whose pet dog is the most important thing in the world to them.
Timmy Turner in The Fairly Oddparents may have become a jerkass in recent seasons, but he's still a nice guy. In fact, it's clear in the "Wishology" trilogy that he's the Chosen One not because he's strong, but because he's kind.
Numbuh Four on Codename Kids Next Door. He likes fighting, is insensitive, and has a history of bullying, but it's clear he's loyal to his team, especially Numbuh Three. He's agreed to sing a mushy song he despised, faced his fear of water, and ran into the heat of battle all for his friends. It's even stated he took Numbuh One joining the Galactic KND in the finale the hardest.
Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls. She may act like a jerk most of the time(teasing Bubbles, fighting with Blossom and what not) but at the end of the day she really does care about her sisters. Seriously, I'd like to see anyone else mess with them while she's around.
Kirby from The Brave Little Toaster. He acts like the only person he cares about is the Master, but when his friends fall down a waterfall, he jumps right in after them.

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