Shaun of the Dead – Character profiles Pictures of the characters can be found on the official website. Hand out these profiles to students in class. They then mingle and introduce the characters to each other. In the end they should know about all the principle characters in the film. Shaun Shaun is the main character in the film. He is a nice guy, although he is a bit of a doormat. He lets people walk over him when he should be strong and stand up to people. He is 29 years old. He went to university with Ed and Pete. He wants to be a professional DJ, but because he is lazy and unmotivated he hasn’t worked hard enough and now he is an assistant manager in a high street electrical shop. He doesn’t really like this job, but he thinks it isn’t permanent, and that in the future he will do something more interesting with his life. But is it too late…?

a doormat – a weak & passive person. People ‘walk over them’ let someone walk over you – don’t defend yourself against someone and allow them to do anything even if it is bad for you stand up to someone – defend yourself against someone lazy – doesn’t want to work hard unmotivated – can’t make yourself work, get up, do something difficult

a high street – a main street with shops on it (e.g. Oxford Street, Chiswick High Rd) permanent – forever, not temporary Ed Ed has known Shaun since they were children at school together. He’s the same age as Shaun. He is Shaun’s best friend, and also one of his housemates. He is lazy, slobbish and thoughtless. He likes sitting on the sofa all day, drinking, smoking and playing games on Shaun’s Playstation 2. He doesn’t have a job at the moment, but he makes some money dealing a little bit of ‘weed’ to his mates. Although Ed is funny (he can impersonate an orang-utan called Clyde), he is irresponsible and is a bad example to Shaun. Will Ed spoil Shaun’s relationship with Liz? How can Shaun keep Ed as a best friend, but also become a new man for Liz?

lazy – doesn’t want to work hard slobbish – lazy, dirty, rude, disgusting thoughtless – doesn’t think about other people’s feelings dealing ‘weed’ – selling cannabis/marijuana impersonate – copy/act like someone an orang-utan – a large orange ape irresponsible – doesn’t care/think about the results of doing something spoil – make something bad

Liz Liz is Shaun’s girlfriend. She is a 29 year old English teacher. She lives with Dianne and David. She has been going out with Shaun for about 3 years. They met on holiday, and she often remembers the good times they had at the beginning of their relationship. These days Liz is not so happy. She loves Shaun, but wants him to become more hard-working, ambitious, grown up and responsible. She is worried that life is passing her by, and that if she doesn’t change something in her life, she will be unhappy in the future. What is the future of her relationship with Shaun?

go out with someone – have a romantic relationship, be girlfriend/boyfriend hard-working – works hard ambitious – wants to be successful in the future grown up – similar to an adult, mature responsible – thinks carefully about the results of doing something life is passing you by – life continues too quickly, and you can’t experience/enjoy it properly

Dianne Dianne is Liz’s best friend, and David’s girlfriend. She went to university with Liz and David. She’s 29 years old. She used to be an actress, but wasn’t very successful so now she is a drama teacher. She is very enthusiastic and positive, although she thinks that Shaun is not a good girlfriend for Liz and thinks that Liz should dump him. She likes going to the theatre, and seeing listed buildings with David. She loves David, but does she know about his little secret?

enthusiastic – interested & excited positive - optimistic dump someone – end a relationship with someone listed buildings – special, historic & interesting buildings

David David is Dianne’s boyfriend. His nickname is ‘Daffs’. He shares a flat with Dianne and Liz. He’s 30 years old, comes from Ireland and is a university lecturer. He is very intelligent and sensible, but also sarcastic and irritating. He has a little secret – he is in love with Liz, and has been in love with her since they were at university together. Because of this, he hates Shaun and secretly wishes that Liz would dump him. He is more intelligent than Shaun, but does he have the guts to survive an emergency?

sensible – not stupid, not crazy, makes good decisions sarcastic – makes ironic & critical jokes irritating – annoying, frustrating, makes people a bit angry be in love with someone – love someone have the guts to do something – have enough courage to do something

Barbara Barbara is Shaun’s Mum. She is a typical English Mum and loves Shaun very much. She just wants Shaun to be happy, and for everyone to get on with each other. She doesn’t like to cause problems, and just wants everyone to be happy and everything to be alright. Her husband (Shaun’s Dad) died when Shaun was young, and soon after she got married again, to Philip. Now her relationship with Shaun is difficult because he doesn’t like Philip. Can she fix her family relationships before it is too late?

get on with someone – have a good relationship with someone cause problems – make problems happen fix – mend, repair, make something better

Philip Philip is not Shaun’s real Dad, he’s his step-Dad. He married Barbara when Shaun was a child, and after Shaun’s real father had died. He doesn’t get on with Shaun, and he has always been very strict with him. He gets angry if Shaun forgets to call Barbara, and expects him to visit them twice a month. Shaun hates Philip because he is like a stranger who replaced his real Dad. Although Philip is strict, he loves Shaun like a son, and he just wants what’s best for him. Can Philip and Shaun become friends, or will Philip always be a monster to Shaun?

step-Dad – married to your mother, but not your real father get on with someone – have a good relationship be strict with someone – be hard, with lots of strong rules (e.g. a strict teacher or parent) a stranger – someone you don’t know replace – substitute, change something for something else want what’s best for someone – want the best situation for someone

Pete Pete is Shaun’s other housemate. He is the same age as Shaun and Ed, and went to university with them. He used to enjoy staying up late, drinking, smoking ‘weed’ and playing Playstation with Shaun and Ed at university, but these days he is a serious and ambitious business man. He doesn’t get on with Ed because they are completely different. He gets annoyed with Ed because Ed never does any housework and always leaves the front door open. Will Pete and Ed’s relationship survive until the end of the film?

stay up late – go to bed late smoking weed – smoking cannabis/marijuana ambitious – wants to be successful in the future get on with someone – have a good relationship with someone get annoyed with someone – become a bit angry with someone leave the front door open – not close the front door survive – continue living, not die

Yvonne Yvonne is one of Shaun’s best friends, although they haven’t seen each other for a long time. They used to live together but they were never girlfriend and boyfriend. They’ve always been ‘just good friends’. They used to be very close, but recently their lives have gone in different directions. Will Yvonne come back from Shaun’s past? And will she help him, or hurt him?

just good friends – you are good friends but everyone thinks that maybe you are having a romantic relationship (e.g. “is she your girlfriend?” “no, we’re just good friends” be close (to someone) – be emotionally close, be a very good friend and care about someone & understand their feelings hurt someone – give someone pain

The Winchester Tavern This is Shaun’s local pub. It’s a typical London ‘public house’, and Shaun has a few pints and a packet of pork scratchings here almost every night of the week. It is called the Winchester because there is a Winchester rifle behind the bar, which Ed says shoots real bullets. Ed loves the Winchester because it is warm, safe, familiar and he can smoke there. There are a few strange old local people who drink in the Winchester every night, and Liz is afraid that one day she will be like them if her and Shaun don’t change their lifestyles. Is the Winchester a safe place, or a dangerous place for Shaun?

a packet of pork scratchings – a snack made from pig skin a Winchester rifle – a kind of long gun from America – used by cowboys bullets – small pieces of metal that come out of a gun very quickly and kill people familiar – you know it (e.g. your home country

is familiar, but a new country is unfamiliar) strange – weird, bizarre, odd, different be like someone – be similar to someone lifestyle – way of living

Zombies In this film, the ‘Z’ word is not used but these characters are zombies. Zombies became famous after some horror movies in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, especially the films of George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead – 1968, Dawn of the Dead – 1978, Day of the Dead – 1985). Zombies are dead people who have come back to life often because of some kind of scientific mistake, or nuclear accident. These ‘undead’ people walk slowly and are very stupid but they are very dangerous. They are very hungry for human flesh and brains. Anyone bitten by a zombie becomes infected, and then becomes a zombie themselves. The result is that zombies slowly take over the world. The only way to stop a zombie is to ‘remove the head, or destroy the brain’. The title of this film Shaun of the Dead is a ‘play’ on the name of the classic zombie movie Dawn of the Dead, which was directed by George A. Romero in 1985.

take over the world – take control of the world flesh – the meat on someone’s body bitten – past participle of bite remove – take something off/away destroy – completely break something, so it can never be used again