I noticed this quite a while ago, and once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it. Many movies, dare I say most, are written with a hero and a mentor. We love to focus on the hero characters, but ever-present are the mentor characters. These are the ones who show up partway into the first act to help the hero get through their early challenges in the quest. Some mentor roles are short and static, others are dynamic and involved throughout the story.

As someone who mentors leaders, I take great inspiration from these movie characters. How they support their heroes gives us clues on how we can support our mentees. Another thing I noticed is that there is no “one size fits all” style for these fictional mentors. They are all over the place. Let’s study them and see what we learn.

Yoda

Luke Skywalker meets Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back. Yoda is best known for his line, “Do or do not. There is no try.” This was meant to instill confidence and commitment in Luke.

Part of mentoring is challenging our mentees to build new skills and stretch their comfort zones. They might say, “I’ll try,” which is a weak commitment. They are pre-deciding to fail if it’s too tough. Like Luke facing Darth Vader, the stakes are high. Trying isn’t enough. We need to push our mentees to fully commit to the challenges at hand.

Haymitch

In The Hunger Games, the hero, Katniss, is assigned a mentor, Haymitch, to assist her in her preparation for the games. Haymitch is the ultimate anti-mentor, if there ever was one. Early on in their mentor relationship, he told Katniss, “Embrace the probability of your imminent death and know that there’s nothing I can do to save you.”

That probably sounds like terrible mentorship advice, but let me salvage an applicable lesson here. If you’re mentoring someone, chances are good that you feel inadequate to the task. You feel the weight of your failures. You’ve been chewed up and spit out by the corporate machine more times than you’d care to remember. You’re capable of being more than a little jaded and cynical at times. What could you possibly have to offer a bright, young, energetic mentee?

The answer: reality.

While our corporate careers are not as violent as The Hunger Games, they are indeed fraught with harsh realities. We can sugarcoat it, or we can help our mentees navigate it as best as we can. They can do that only with the benefit of our years of hard-earned experience.

Mr. Miyagi

Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid is probably the most iconic mentor from my childhood movies. He’s best known for his phrases: “Wax on, wax off” and “Man who catch fly with chopstick, accomplish anything.” The whole plotline of the movie involves Mr. Miyagi teaching Daniel skills that seem to have nothing to do with Karate. In the end, those fundamentals build the base for him to ultimately succeed.

It’s quite possible that in our mentor-mentee relationships, we may think we need to teach high-level leadership skills like vision and strategy, but what our mentee needs now is the basics of time management or effective email communication. These fundamentals are easy to skip because we take them for granted. Be on the watch for these needs, and always be ready to be Mr. Miyagi to your mentee.

Morpheus

Morpheus is Neo’s mentor in The Matrix. He believes in Neo long before Neo believes in himself. That’s extremely encouraging and has a partial effect on Neo’s development. Despite many setbacks, Morpheus remains steadfast in his commitment to Neo. Toward the end of the film, during the final climax, Morpheus says this to Neo: “There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”

As mentors, we give advice, encouragement, and resources. We talk. Our mentees nod. They appreciate it. But what if nothing really changes? Like Morpheus, we need to hold our mentees accountable to walk the path. Knowledge is necessary, but it’s not enough. Ask your mentee what they are going to do differently this week. Ask them next week if they actually did it.

Tyler Durden

Tyler Durden is a unique kind of mentor in Fight Club. His character is so dynamic that he actually morphs into the villain role in the final act. For the purposes of this article, I’ll focus on his role in the early part of the film. The hero of Fight Club doesn’t actually have a name. He’s listed as “Narrator” in the credits.

The hero is just going through the motions of life, driven by consumer demands, and working a meaningless job. Tyler Durden shows up and provides such a stark and dramatic contrast. He demands focus, attention, and complete abandonment of his meaningless material attachments. “No fear! No distractions! The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide!”

In our discussions with our mentees, the subjects may meander quite a bit. You might find yourself talking about a lot, but accomplishing very little. If that’s the case, you may want to turn up the Tyler Durden in your mentorship style. Keep your mentee focused on what truly matters. Let everything else slide.

Tony Stark

Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Peter Parker (Spider-Man) each have their own movie franchises where they are the hero, but in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tony mentors Peter. Tony gives Peter a technologically advanced Spider-Man suit, but when Peter says he’s nothing without it, Tony replies, “If you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it.”

Often, I mentor people who want to get promoted. They really want that fancy title and want my help to get it. They seek that extrinsic validation that they are a legit, real leader.

Like Tony, I try to dig deeper. I help my mentee develop the leadership skills they need now, without a fancy title. I remind them of the incredible responsibility they have to make the most of the role they hold now, not just what’s next.

Self-worth doesn’t come from extrinsic factors. Like a high-tech Spider-Man suit, if you’re not enough without a promotion, then you shouldn’t be trusted to wield it.

I could go on, but that’s the end of my sample tour of movie mentors. This was far from exhaustive. Most movies have mentor characters. In all likelihood, I probably failed to mention one of your favorites. Please do us all a favor and continue citing great mentor examples from films in the comments below.

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