Greg Heffley

Gregory "Greg" Heffley is a fictional character in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise, serving as the antiheroic main protagonist and unreliable narrator of the books, online series, and multimedia franchise. He was created by Jeff Kinney, and portrayed by Zachary Gordon and Jason Drucker in the first three films and the fourth film, respectively. Characteristics and role Greg was originally conceptualized in early 1998, after creator Jeff Kinney struggled to become a newspaper cartoonist. In all of his appearances, Greg is portrayed as a self-righteous narcissist, who has little-to-no moral compass, is only looking out for himself, and has an obsession with becoming rich and famous. He steals, lies, cheats, and is a bully to the few less popular than him at Westmore Middle School. Greg is obsessed with his social status, but is bullied by the bigger students at his school and his older teenage brother, Rodrick. He often mistreats his best and only friend, Rowley, for being wimpy and socially inept, despite Rowley having a happy family and life. Greg receives bad grades in school, is addicted to video games, especially the fictional Twisted Wizard, and loves junk food. Despite these negative traits, he does show humanity, sensitivity, and care for those he loves. Because of these qualities, internet users began to question if Greg was a sociopath. Jeff Kinney stated: Kinney, on separate occasions, has also clarified that Greg is supposed to represent the average kid, and doesn't do anything a normal selfish middle schooler wouldn't. Kinney never intended to write books for children, which is why Greg is a complicated and flawed character.