8 Fictional Characters You’ll Relate to as an ENTJ

ENTJs are charismatic, ambitious, visionary leaders who don’t mind putting in a little (okay, a lot of) elbow grease to achieve their goals. They’re eager to solve problems efficiently and sometimes pursue success like a bull in a china shop, steamrolling anyone that dares stand in their way.

Despite – or perhaps because of – their uncompromising nature, it’s easy to find ENTJ characters in fiction. They’re natural magnets for conflict. They champion the underdog while being ruthlessly strategic, and this gives authors plenty to get their teeth into. Because they’re so relentless and almost brutally driven, they’re often cast as deliciously complicated antiheroes who firmly believe they’re doing the right thing.

Here are 8 characters that fit the ENTJ mold a little too well for comfort.

1. Tommy Shelby (Peaky Blinders)

Gangster Tommy Shelby is the ENTJ antihero who draws the viewer in and scares them away at the same time. With his good looks and decisive nature, he’s so incredibly charismatic that we forget he’s also a ruthless killer with an unrelenting need for control. In those few moments of vulnerability that he shows when grieving, especially for his wife Grace and beloved Aunt Polly, we can’t help but ache with him despite his flaws.

Even in chaos, he’s a brilliant decision-maker who pulls his Peaky Blinders gang out of plenty of tight spots, like when he marries off his brother John to end his family’s war with the Lee family. The strategic way he fixes family problems, and horse races, would make Julius Caesar proud. 

Like many ENTJs, Shelby is not exactly in touch with his emotions. My favorite saying of his is that men stay weak because they “feel too much.” This man is intimidating in every possible way, inspiring equal parts fear and devotion. He shows his ENTJ arrogance when he says, “I don’t pay for suits. My suits are on the house or the house burns down”.

2. Light Yagami (Death Note)

ENTJ anime fans will find a kindred spirit in Light Yagami, whether they like it or not (and they probably won’t). Obsessed with power and control, Light literally plays God as he uses his Death Note to murder violent criminals. He plays a deadly cat-and-mouse game with genius detective L, and it’s hard not to root for someone with such incredible strategic skills. But Light grows increasingly power-hungry as the show goes on and can’t stand it when things don’t go his way.

What’s hard to like about Light is the way he fits each person he encounters into his grand scheme and couldn’t care less about their feelings. He callously uses Misa’s love for him, like she’s just some pawn in his game, and really thinks that with murder after murder, he’s fighting for justice and making the world a better place. ENTJs recognize that drive to bend the world into a more efficient shape, even if they don’t share his warped ethics; Light makes us wonder—if we could kill anyone with the flick of a pen, what would we do?

3. Paris Geller (Gilmore Girls)

ENTJ Paris Geller isn’t a serial killer (that we know of, at least) or even an antagonist—not exactly, anyway. She’s simply a complicated young woman and a frenemy to protagonist Rory Gilmore throughout the series. In their on-again-off-again friendship, Paris treats Rory pretty ruthlessly, including when she tells everyone in school about seeing Lorelai kissing their teacher. 

However, diabolical Paris is also capable of using her powers for good. She works hard to achieve stellar grades and helps others with her volunteer work (even if doing good isn’t her main motivation). She shows off her strategic skills as editor of both the Franklin and the Yale Daily News, and her refusal to take no for an answer in her quest to be voted president of the student council. When Rory’s boyfriend Logan gets injured, Paris badgers the doctor at the hospital into telling her his status. This lady is a mixed bag, to be sure, but no one can deny that she’s a force to be reckoned with.

4. Gale Hawthorne (The Hunger Games)

Brooding ENTJ Gale Hawthorne is Katniss Everdeen's best friend and hunting partner in the Hunger Games series. He’s a genius at setting traps in the woods to feed his and Katniss’s families, and orchestrates the evacuation of hundreds of people after the bombing of District 12. Gale has leadership skills by the truckload and doesn’t allow his emotions to affect his decision-making. He wants to create a stronger, fairer world, and he knows this new world would be hard-pressed to find a leader better than himself.

He shows how loyal he is after his father dies, taking 42 tesserae entries to keep the family afloat. He’s deeply devoted to Katniss as well. We know Gale isn’t a bad guy, and he’s willing to make extreme sacrifices for the people he loves. It’s just tough to watch his supportive, protective nature get twisted by violence and his desire for vengeance.

5. Miranda Priestly (The Devil Wears Prada)

Here me out—Miranda Priestly is not a villain. Yes, she runs Runway with slick precision and strikes fear into her underlings. Yes, her choices are often merciless, and she gives no thought to anyone’s survival but her own. Her speeches remain iconic 20 years after the film was released, and that low, commanding voice and pursed-lip delivery are as memorable as the lines themselves. This lady remains emotionally detached from literally everything so she can focus on her work, and holds everyone else to the same high standard. Andy quits her job when she realizes she can no longer work with someone so apparently cold and conniving. 

And yet there’s a supportive, loyal, “please love me” side to Miranda. When Andy applies for a new job, Miranda gives her a glowing recommendation. In her one moment of vulnerability over her impending divorce, Andy’s heart goes out to her (as do ours). We see then what a complicated woman Miranda Priestly is. She is willing to support those she believes in, even after they have let her down.

6. Edward Rochester (Jane Eyre)

Dark romantic hero Edward Rochester is an ENTJ through and through. He’s deeply intelligent, repressed emotionally, obsessed with control, and that intensity isn’t just a product of his time period. He’s a fairly terrible communicator, often leaving Jane to try to sort out his true feelings. If I had two words to summarize Edward, they’d be “commanding” and “cold.”

Edward makes an elaborate plan to make Jane jealous and hides huge secrets from her, which are horrible behaviors by any moral standard though, in Edward’s mind, he does it all in the name of love. He’s a complicated character, to be sure (hello, wife in the attic). But he strives to be with the woman he loves and to capture her heart, and that’s why this book endures as a love story.

7. Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl)

If you’re a fan of teen drama, Gossip Girl’s Blair Waldorf would be top of your list of fictional ENTJs. Far more intelligent than her best frenemy Serena, Blair is confident and willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. She can seem cold and emotionless, but does share her feelings with the people she loves and trusts. She worries about living in glamazon Serena’s shadow and works to remain queen bee.

Blair is laser-focused on achieving goals like getting into her dream school, Yale, and keeping her high social standing. She thrives off the energy of others, which is part of why popularity is so important to her. She’s definitely arrogant and, like many other ENTJs on this list, loves being in control. One of her most iconic—and most ENTJ—quotes is when she tells Vanessa, “I would never put my fate in somebody else’s hands, and that is why I always win, and you lose”.

8. Princess Leia (Star Wars)

There are a lot of, if not villains, then let’s say, morally complex characters on this list. But ENTJs also get to claim one of the most pure-hearted and coolest characters in any universe: Princess Leia. Leia Organa is strong-willed and a brilliant, strategic decisionmaker. As a senator, general and member of the Rebellion, she’s a natural leader who can rally others who will stand behind her. She’s a bit like Gale Hawthorne in this respect—both work tirelessly to fight big, bad oppressors who keep their people down.

Like other ENTJs, Leia knows how to take charge in a crisis, which we can see when she takes command during the Hoth evacuation. She’s blunt, stubborn and surprisingly witty, often delivering the best lines in the movies (like when she calls Chewbacca a “big, walking carpet”!). Leia shows that ENTJs can take many forms. Including a badass rebel who beats the Galactic Empire and bags Harrison Ford in the process.

To find out more about the ENTJ personality type, check out this type description. And if you’re not sure whether you’re an ENTJ, take our TypeFinder® test. It only takes 10 minutes and it’s completely free!