Sunset Boulevard Characters

Joe Gillis

Joe Gillis is introduced as a dead body floating in the pool of a grotesque mansion, so from the start, the audience is aware of his doomed fate before the main narrative—told in flashback—begins. Joe is an Ohio native who moved to Los Angeles to pursue a screenwriting career. He has had little actual success, and the film never explicitly makes clear if this failure is due to lack of talent or lack of luck. It is clear, however, that Joe maintains a cynical attitude about the movie business; when Betty compliments a section of his script for being “true and moving” Joe responds, “Who wants true? Who wants moving?” Because of his jaded cynicism, Joe’s motivations for accepting Norma’s offer of a ghostwriting screenwriting job are not particularly ambitious. Instead, he accepts the offer out of pure necessity—he’s broke, about to lose his car, and doesn’t want to go back to his job as a newspaperman in Ohio. His entire purpose devolves into simply reaffirming Norma’s enduring attractiveness and status, and for the most part he remains passive for the majority of the film. Joe prostitutes himself and though he says he doesn’t want Norma’s gifts he eventually comes to accept them anyway. When he finally attempts to reclaim his agency and abandon the toxic environment of the mansion and Los Angeles altogether, it is far too late—which is why we see his corpse at the film’s beginning.

Norma Desmond

One of the most complex femme fatales of all time, Norma was once "the greatest star of all"—and in her own mind, she still is. Her view of herself is maintained by fan-mail secretly forged by Max, and her recluse lifestyle prevents her from realizing she is no longer adored and no longer famous. Nonetheless, her ambition lives on, and she still sees herself as the leading lady, hence the ambitious Salome script penned as a comeback vehicle for herself. While it's easy to dismiss Norma, her theatricality and grandiose mannerisms are infectious, and her Mack Sennett bathing girl and Tramp impressions suggest she undoubtedly has a charming side to her. Unfortunately, her delusions are so intrinsic to her character that once Joe brutally tells she is no longer a star, she kills him in a fit of passion and leaves him floating in the pool.

Max Von Mayerling

As Norma’s butler and ex-husband, Max keeps Norma’s delusions alive. He willingly becomes Norma’s servant and regularly sends her fake fan-mail. His fierce devotion allows Joe and the audience to believe Norma—in spite of her crippling lack of self-awareness—is worthy of love. Along with D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, Max was once a great film director and directed all of Norma’s early pictures. He is by Norma’s side until the very end, even when the police come to arrest her for Joe's murder.

Betty Schaefer

As the young Paramount script reader and aspiring writer, Betty meets Joe early on in the film and criticizes his script. She’s engaged to Artie, but falls in love with Joe when they begin writing a script together. Despite Joe’s attraction to Betty, he refuses to pursue a relationship and provokes her to return to Artie. Betty comes from a “picture family” and admits to fixing her nose to conform to the more conventional actress look. When walking with Joe around the studio lot, she says, “Look at this street. All cardboard, all hollow, all phoney. All done with mirrors. I like it better than any street in the world.” Betty acknowledges the artifice of Hollywood and understands how the industry pressures aspiring stars to change themselves, but she nonetheless embraces it. Betty’s self-awareness and optimism allow her to remain one of the few uncorrupted and spared characters in the film.

Artie Green

Joe's closest friend in Hollywood, Artie is also coincidentally engaged to Betty, whom he deeply loves. Artie seems clueless and somewhat naive; he trusts Betty and has no awareness of her feelings for Joe. He is also trying to make his way in Hollywood and seems to be having considerably better luck than Joe.

Sheldrake

Joe comes to Paramount producer Sheldrake’s office to pitch Bases Loaded and request a job. Sheldrake is not interested in Joe’s script and claims that there is no work available for him. His rejection catalyzes Joe’s desperation and his relationship with Norma by extension.

Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil B. DeMille plays himself in a small role as the revered Hollywood filmmaker who once directed Norma in several of his films. DeMille sympathetically meets with Norma and respects what she has done in the past, but has no interest in helping her comeback, or taking on the Salome project.

The Waxworks

Norma regularly invites over a group of three silent film actors to play cards. These characters don’t have any speaking lines, but they notably were played by real silent-screen stars: H.B. Warner, Anna Q. Nilsson, and Buster Keaton.