History SmallNameBigEgo / LiveActionTV

** Before his legitimization at the end of Season 4, [[Characters/GameOfThronesRamsayBolton Lord Ramsay Snow]] parades himself as being the heir to the Bolton line despite his bastard status. While in the long run his name ends up being less relevant to the overall plot than his actions, his father Roose is quick to correct him when he openly claims this lineage as the reason for his torture of Theon Grejoy (whom Roose wanted alive and unharmed to use as a bargaining chip with Theon's father).

** Theon Greyjoy definitely starts out as this, often for comic effect: An arrogant jerk who likes to boast about his skills on the battlefield and in the bedroom, as well as the greatness of his family (whose recent rebellion was easily crushed, which is why Theon is Eddard Stark's ward/prisoner in a GildedCage). The end result is that Theon is often [[ButtMonkey the target of mockery from people of all classes in the feudal system]]. After being betrayed by his men and captured by Ramsay Bolton (nee "Snow"), he is completely and thoroughly [[BreakTheHaughty broken]], to the point of being a total submissive. In the later seasons he gradually regains his sense of self and even takes on heroic qualities[[spoiler:, ultimately redeeming himself by dying in defense of the same family he turned traitor against.]]
** Cersei Lannister is the clearest example of the zig-zagged variety. Despite coming from the richest and most powerful family in Westeros, the Lannister name is all she really has. Petty and self-absorbed to the extreme, her belief that she can wield political power successfully is all in her head, and she doesn't possess the self-awareness to understand this. She's also so certain of her position in society and control over others that it's always a gut punch when things don't go her way, and she takes slights intensely personally (to the point of orchestrating the murders of everyone who's ever crossed her).

** Jon Snow - an apparent noble-born bastard - briefly displays this when he first arrives at the Wall. Despite his expert swordsmanship, he is made a steward - essentially a servant - rather than a ranger (a fighting man). When he bitterly complains about this treatment to his uncle Benjin, the veteran harshly reminds his nephew that his previous life doesn't matter at the Wall, and every man is given only what he earns.
** Stannis Baratheon, already known for being unyielding and having the "personality of a lobster", falls into this following the death of his brother, King Robert. While he is technically the rightful heir to the throne, Stannis makes no attempt to actually understand his subjects or earn their loyalty, believing that his name alone makes it an OpenAndShutCase. His rigid and uncompromising attitude doesn't win him many popularity points, and he sees anyone who disagrees with his claim as an enemy worthy of punishment.
** Joffrey somehow manages to be this despite being King. For all his preening and throwing his weight around, it's immediately obvious to everyone that he's completely inept and out of his depth, and if it wasn't for his grandfather and uncle acting as TheManBehindTheMan he'd have been overthrown and impaled on a pike long ago.

** Before his legitimization at the end of Season 4, Ramsay parades himself as being the heir to the Bolton line despite his bastard status. While in the long run his name ends up being less relevant to the overall plot than his actions, his father Roose is quick to correct him when he openly claims this lineage as the reason for his torture of Theon Grejoy (whom Roose wanted alive and unharmed to use as a bargaining chip with Theon's father).

** Daenerys Targaryen had this problem starting in Qarth during Season 2, threatening the destruction of the city if they denied her entry (which she had no ability to carry out at the time). As she continues to amass followers and resources over the course of the series and the Targaryen name actually starts to mean something again - a feat her brother Viserys was too petty and narrow-minded to accomplish - her ego fittingly becomes proportionate to her power. By the time she arrives in Westeros to reclaim the Iron Throne at the beginning of Season 7, her worldview has become more black-and-white than ever and she struggles to gain a foothold using anything other than brute force.

* ''Series/Girls5Eva'': Has each lady of a former girl group showing some traits but Wickie has to take the cake. As the show begins, it's revealed she's ''not'' running some grand empire but a job shooting geese at an airport and a MockMillionaire. The reason is that, while she has a great singing voice, she thinks she's far better than she actually is.
** It's revealed among the reasons she was booted out of the business was that she refused to have her backup dancers wear makeup or play arenas (like say the ''Staples Center'') just because they were also sports venues. A running theme in the series is Wickie nearly ruining a big break for the rest of the band because of her outrageous demands, thinking she's bigger than any current pop star when many in the business have long forgotten her.

** Tracy Jordan, is more successful and well-known than Jenna, but is still B-List at best and is far stupider than he thinks he is. He's spoiled beyond belief so he essentially thinks that he's always in the right no matter how poorly he does.
** Liz herself is downplayed but hinted to be the worst egotist on the show. She has a view of herself as an intelligent, hardworking, majorly competent, morally just, star writer and feminist icon. She considers her show TGS to be a great, important, and successful show. In reality, she's of average intelligence at best, lazy, prone to whining, incompetent and in need of Jack's constant handholding, childish, and a barely known writer whose brief moment in the limelight ended after about a month and who uses feminism as to excuse away her flaws as the work of society's "sexist standards". TGS is actually SoOkayItsAverage at best and relies on niche audiences to stave off cancellation.

* Tim Taylor on ''Series/HomeImprovement'' has both massive self-confidence and a massive tendency to screw up everything he puts his hands to. He proves to be genuinely quite good at what he does when he can [[LetsGetDangerous put away his ego]] and doesn't try to put on a show, but that usually happens after some spectacular failure.

%%* Tim Taylor, ''Series/HomeImprovement''. However, he ''is'' quite good at what he does -- when he can [[LetsGetDangerous put away his ego]].

* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': Jack Danger (pronounced "donger") works for...the US Postal Inspection Service that Jake is forced to work with because mailboxes are being used as drug drops. He's an incompetent boob who falls on his when he attempts to chase a suspect, and when Jake tries to give chase, grabs Jake's leg demanding he help him up first. He considers the USPIS superior to the NYPD because it's a federal agency, and dismisses Jake's extensive experience in drug cases to dictate how the investigation will be carried out, i.e. in a stupid way.

* Dennis Bukowski on ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'' is a Los Angeles prosecutor, not even a star one, but holds himself as the most handsome and desirable man around. He describes himself as "A New York 10 and an L.A. 11" and once refused to have an attractive female attorney on his side as he was concerned they might end up dating, ignoring her disdain for him. But nothing tops how he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on an Asgardian shapeshifter posing as Music/MeganTheeStallion. The shapeshifter argues that Dennis was doing a "rolepay" as [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough there's no way he could have believed he was dating the real star]]. Testifying on the stand, Jennifer relates to the court that, yes, Dennis is in fact delusional enough to believe this world-famous music star would want to date him. To top it off, the ''real'' Megan Thee Stallion is in the courtroom...and Dennis openly wonders if he has a shot with her.

* Ziggy Sobotka from ''Series/TheWire'' is the ButtMonkey on the docks and on the streets, but tries to preset himself as a savvy street player. He lets his coworkers talk him into trying to fight the much larger Maui, and constantly pisses off every underworld figure he interacts with by talking too much and flaunting stolen goods.