--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I love when a protagonist and antagonist…" description: "\"I love when a protagonist and antagonist can find common ground.\" — Sam Esmail" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/sam-esmail-5206_antagonist_i-love-when-a-protagonist-and-antagonist_2745432.jpg" --- # I love when a protagonist and antagonist can find common… ![“I love when a protagonist and antagonist can find common ground.” quote by Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/sam-esmail-5206_antagonist_i-love-when-a-protagonist-and-antagonist_2745432.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/sam-esmail-5206_antagonist_i-love-when-a-protagonist-and-antagonist_2745432.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/sam-esmail-5206_antagonist_i-love-when-a-protagonist-and-antagonist_2745432.jpg) > “I love when a protagonist and antagonist can find common ground.” [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When enemies find common ground, stories become richer and more nuanced. **In simple terms:** Protagonist and antagonist can cooperate. Key Takeaway Seek collaboration over perpetual conflict. Themes conflict collaboration character development Mood intriguing thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - team projects - negotiations - creative writing Key Concepts narrative theory psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What benefits arise from cooperation? - How do you maintain trust? A Different Perspective Common ground may be temporary or fragile. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antagonist/) [Antagonist Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antagonist-common-3058811/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Common ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-ground/) [Find](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find/) [Ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ground/) [I love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Protagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-protagonist-3058810/) [Protagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonist/) [Protagonist Antagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonist-antagonist-3058809/) ## Related quotes > [I think in any movie really the two most interesting parts are the protagonist and the antagonist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cung-le/i-think-in-any-movie-really-the-two-most-interesting-parts-are-the/) [Cung Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cung-le/) > [“He may not have his love, but his protagonist did. And the novel needed to wax poetic about love. That had to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chessela-helm/he-may-not-have-his-love-but-his-protagonist-did-and-the-novel-needed/) [Chessela Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chessela-helm/) > [Even if you make a movie about a criminal locked up in prison, you may not support him as a criminal, but you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mano-khalil/even-if-you-make-a-movie-about-a-criminal-locked-up-in-prison-you-may/) [Mano Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mano-khalil/) > [Nobody is ever just a straight up protagonist or antagonist - everybody's morally ambiguous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheyenne-jackson/nobody-is-ever-just-a-straight-up-protagonist-or-antagonist-everybody/) [Cheyenne Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheyenne-jackson/) > [“In general, the best antagonists in fiction represent the protagonist’s Shadow. By confronting and ultimately defeating the antagonist, the hero reintegrates these disparate aspects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-raywood/in-general-the-best-antagonists-in-fiction-represent-the-protagonist/) [Will Raywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-raywood/) > [Every antagonist is a protagonist in his own right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/puneet-issar/every-antagonist-is-a-protagonist-in-his-own-right/) [Puneet Issar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/puneet-issar/) > [I don't judge in my books. I don't have to have the antagonist get shot or the protagonist win. It's just how it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/i-don-t-judge-in-my-books-i-don-t-have-to-have-the-antagonist-get/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Antagonist of others. Protagonist of their own. That's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pn2ppr-hrt2mnd/antagonist-of-others-protagonist-of-their-own-that-s-life/) [Pn2ppr\_hrt2mnd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pn2ppr-hrt2mnd/) > [I'm a filmmaker, and I was most influenced by Hitchcock's films. How he could plant such deep enriched characters and then make us care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-haggis/i-m-a-filmmaker-and-i-was-most-influenced-by-hitchcock-s-films-how-he/) [Paul Haggis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-haggis/) > [It almost seems as though this roiling world is conspiring to test our patience at every turn. In fact, it is. With this in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-almost-seems-as-though-this-roiling-world-is-conspiring-to-test/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We honor revelation too highly to make it the antagonist of reason, or to believe that it calls us to renounce our highest powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/we-honor-revelation-too-highly-to-make-it-the-antagonist-of-reason-or/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Remember that when you meet your antagonist, to do everything in a mild agreeable manner. Let your courage be keen, but, at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/remember-that-when-you-meet-your-antagonist-to-do-everything-in-a/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [Evil is relative - and what I mean by that is that our villains are as complex, as deep and as compelling as any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/evil-is-relative-and-what-i-mean-by-that-is-that-our-villains-are-as/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [Self-love . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/self-love-is-the-sole-antagonist-of-virtue-leading-us-constantly-by/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [For me, in any story that I take, the antagonist is more interesting and multi-dimensional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vetrimaaran/for-me-in-any-story-that-i-take-the-antagonist-is-more-interesting/) [Vetrimaaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vetrimaaran/) ## More by Sam Esmail > [The experience you're going to take the audience on is as important as the story you're trying to tell. And that experience needs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/the-experience-you-re-going-to-take-the-audience-on-is-as-important/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [With TV season structures - and I'm a huge TV watcher - you look at shows like 'Breaking Bad,' which is my favorite show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/with-tv-season-structures-and-i-m-a-huge-tv-watcher-you-look-at-shows/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [Even great actors who transform who they are still go to a really honest place; I think that's sort of that special skill that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/even-great-actors-who-transform-who-they-are-still-go-to-a-really/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [I'm not in the business of adapting things that are popular for the sake of just getting it on the screen. I think there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/i-m-not-in-the-business-of-adapting-things-that-are-popular-for-the/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [If your loved ones are far away, and they're uploading pictures, you feel like that's enough: these loose strands through email, through social media,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/if-your-loved-ones-are-far-away-and-they-re-uploading-pictures-you/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [I had a funny last name, and I didn't look like everybody else, and I got faced with a lot of racism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/i-had-a-funny-last-name-and-i-didn-t-look-like-everybody-else-and-i/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [Movies and television show build on top of each other, succeed one another. In a large way, in terms of filmmaking aesthetics, they evolve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/movies-and-television-show-build-on-top-of-each-other-succeed-one/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [The story of 'Mr. Robot' is really about this guy who's lonely - who's alone and feels so disconnected from the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/the-story-of-mr-robot-is-really-about-this-guy-who-s-lonely-who-s/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [Music is everything to me. It's the heart and soul of a movie or TV show to me because it can be such an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/music-is-everything-to-me-it-s-the-heart-and-soul-of-a-movie-or-tv/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [I use voiceover just like I use dialogue. There's a way to give out information or give out insight to the character or give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/i-use-voiceover-just-like-i-use-dialogue-there-s-a-way-to-give-out/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [“Oh, I don't know. Is it that we collectively thought Steve Jobs was a great man, even when we knew he made billions off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/oh-i-don-t-know-is-it-that-we-collectively-thought-steve-jobs-was-a/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [It's weird; my fascination with tech was kind of combined with the fact that my parents would never pay for anything. It got me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/it-s-weird-my-fascination-with-tech-was-kind-of-combined-with-the/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [Growing up, my parents were very much about the Egyptian culture. They never really wanted to assimilate in American culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/growing-up-my-parents-were-very-much-about-the-egyptian-culture-they/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [Girls rejected me a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/girls-rejected-me-a-lot/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [It's not necessarily bad that you have angst or you have anger - it's what you do with it, how you interpret it into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/it-s-not-necessarily-bad-that-you-have-angst-or-you-have-anger-it-s/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) [Explore all 102 Sam Esmail quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) ## More Antagonist quotes > [For me, in any story that I take, the antagonist is more interesting and multi-dimensional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vetrimaaran/for-me-in-any-story-that-i-take-the-antagonist-is-more-interesting/) [Vetrimaaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vetrimaaran/) > [Self-love . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/self-love-is-the-sole-antagonist-of-virtue-leading-us-constantly-by/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Evil is relative - and what I mean by that is that our villains are as complex, as deep and as compelling as any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/evil-is-relative-and-what-i-mean-by-that-is-that-our-villains-are-as/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [Remember that when you meet your antagonist, to do everything in a mild agreeable manner. Let your courage be keen, but, at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/remember-that-when-you-meet-your-antagonist-to-do-everything-in-a/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We honor revelation too highly to make it the antagonist of reason, or to believe that it calls us to renounce our highest powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/we-honor-revelation-too-highly-to-make-it-the-antagonist-of-reason-or/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [It almost seems as though this roiling world is conspiring to test our patience at every turn. In fact, it is. With this in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-almost-seems-as-though-this-roiling-world-is-conspiring-to-test/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Horror itself is a bit of a bullied genre, the antagonist being literary snobbery and public misconception. And I think good horror tackles our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kealan-patrick-burke/horror-itself-is-a-bit-of-a-bullied-genre-the-antagonist-being/) [Kealan Patrick Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kealan-patrick-burke/) > [I'm a filmmaker, and I was most influenced by Hitchcock's films. How he could plant such deep enriched characters and then make us care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-haggis/i-m-a-filmmaker-and-i-was-most-influenced-by-hitchcock-s-films-how-he/) [Paul Haggis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-haggis/) > [Because the character is a fiction, he's a composite of other contributors to the science that brought this enzyme therapy through the process. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/because-the-character-is-a-fiction-he-s-a-composite-of-other/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [If you have to be the antagonist, you often have a lot more creative powers. You have a lot more color to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-atherton/if-you-have-to-be-the-antagonist-you-often-have-a-lot-more-creative/) [William Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-atherton/) > [“I mean, without the antagonist, there would be no story! It’d be like: ‘Once upon a time there was a girl who wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/i-mean-without-the-antagonist-there-would-be-no-story-it-d-be-like/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [“Alice started to understand why people found her repulsive. In stories, anyone who didn't look quite right, who wasn't a perfect human being, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-byng/alice-started-to-understand-why-people-found-her-repulsive-in-stories/) [Georgia Byng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-byng/) > [Error indeed has often prevailed by the assistance of power or force. Truth is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/error-indeed-has-often-prevailed-by-the-assistance-of-power-or-force/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We are the 1000 children of death. We're in-between, on the fence. Non-descript antagonists. I'm in-between, on the fence. Non-descript antagonist!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otep/we-are-the-1000-children-of-death-we-re-in-between-on-the-fence-non/) [Otep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otep/) > [From a real antagonist one gains boundless courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/from-a-real-antagonist-one-gains-boundless-courage/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Browse all 123 Antagonist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antagonist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I love when a protagonist and antagonist can find common ground.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Esmail" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/i-love-when-a-protagonist-and-antagonist-can-find-common-ground/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Antagonist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/i-love-when-a-protagonist-and-antagonist-can-find-common-ground/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/sam-esmail-5206_antagonist_i-love-when-a-protagonist-and-antagonist_2745432.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/sam-esmail-5206_antagonist_i-love-when-a-protagonist-and-antagonist_2745432.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/sam-esmail-5206_antagonist_i-love-when-a-protagonist-and-antagonist_2745432.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I love when a protagonist and antagonist can find common ground.” — Sam Esmail", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sam Esmail", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I love when a protagonist and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/i-love-when-a-protagonist-and-antagonist-can-find-common-ground/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/i-love-when-a-protagonist-and-antagonist-can-find-common-ground/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```