Real people Politics and military •
Xenophon's (c. 430–355/356 BC)
Anabasis (ca. 370 BC) where the author puts the description of his own military campaign into
Asia Minor and back under the pen of an otherwise unknown "Themistogenes of Syracuse" — see above, and also Anabasis (Xenophon)#Authorship. •
Julius Caesar's (100– 44 BC)
Commentarii de Bello Gallico (58–49 BC) present the author's exploits in the
Gallic War in the third person. •
Henry Adams (1838–1918), historian, author and descendant of presidents
John Adams and
John Quincy Adams, throughout his autobiography
The Education of Henry Adams (1918) •
Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) was known to refer to himself as "MacArthur" in telling stories involving himself •
Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970),
President of France (1959–1969) •
Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–2022), Leader of the
USSR (1985–1991) •
Paulo Maluf (born 1931), Brazilian politician •
Donald Trump (born 1946), President of the United States (2017–2021, 2025–present) •
Silvio Berlusconi (1936–2023), Prime Minister of Italy (1994–1995; 2001–2006; 2008–2011) •
Herman Cain (1945–2020), during his
United States presidential campaign in 2012 •
Narendra Modi (born 1950), Prime Minister of India (2014–present) •
Anthony Garotinho (born 1960), Brazilian politician •
Chen Shui-bian (born 1950),
President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (2000–2008) •
Mark Robinson (born 1968),
Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina (2021–2025) •
Eric Adams (born 1960),
Mayor of New York City (2022–2025)
Sports •
Johnny Cueto (born 1986) gave a post-game interview in the third person, after pitching Game 5 of the
2015 ALDS. •
Zlatan Ibrahimović (born 1981), Swedish footballer •
Rickey Henderson (1958–2024), baseball left fielder, often referred to himself as “Rickey." •
Dwayne Johnson (born 1972), professional wrestler, referenced himself in the third person as The Rock during his career, particularly with his trash-talking promos. •
Karl Malone (born 1963), basketball player •
Diego Maradona (1960–2020), Argentinian footballer •
Lothar Matthäus (born 1961), German football manager and former player, is quoted with the phrase: "A Lothar Matthäus does not let himself be beaten by his body. A Lothar Matthäus decides on his fate himself." •
Cam Newton (born 1989), NFL quarterback, referred to himself in third person during his press conference at the
NFL Combine in 2011. •
Pelé (1940–2022), Brazilian footballer
Entertainment •
Alice Cooper (born 1948) •
Alain Delon (1935–2024) •
Alix Earle (born 2000) •
Flavor Flav (born 1959) •
Gina Lollobrigida (1927–2023) •
Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000) •
Sylva Koscina (1933–1994) •
Jamie Hyneman (born 1956) •
Jean Harlow (1911–1937) •
Jerry Lewis (1926–2017) •
Deanna Durbin (born 1940) •
Mister Lobo (born 1970) •
Mr. T (born 1952) •
Mae West (1893–1980) •
MF Doom (1971–2020), British-American rapper and record producer. His persona was partly inspired by
Doctor Doom, a fictional illeist. •
Noel Edmonds (born 1948), English television presenter, radio DJ, writer, producer and businessman
Religion and spirituality •
Anandamayi Ma (1896–1982) •
Swami Ramdas (1884–1963), Indian saint, philosopher, philanthropist and pilgrim •
Rama Tirtha (1873–1906), Indian teacher of
Vedanta • Ma Yoga Laxmi, the secretary of
Osho •
Jesus Christ is found referring to himself as "Jesus" (as well as the "Son of Man"), as in John 17:1–3.
Other •
Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) in his interview with
Mike Wallace, also known as
The Mike Wallace Interview, on April 19, 1958. •
Norman Mailer's (1923–2007) non-fiction work
The Fight (1975) refers to the author in the third person throughout, explaining why he has chosen to do so at the beginning of the book. •
George Remus (1876–1952), American lawyer and bootlegger.
Fictional characters Books • Major Bagstock, the apoplectic retired
Indian army officer in
Charles Dickens'
Dombey and Son (1848), refers to himself solely as Joseph, Old Joe, Joey B, Bagstock, Josh, J.B., Anthony Bagstock, and other variants of his own name. •
Captain Hook in
J. M. Barrie's
Peter Pan and Wendy (1911): "'Better for Hook,' he cried, 'if he had had less ambition!' It was in his darkest hours only that he referred to himself in the third person." •
Winnetou, a
Native American character in the eponymous novel by
Karl May. •
Hercule Poirot, a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer
Agatha Christie, usually refers to himself in the third person. •
Gollum in
The Lord of the Rings (1954–55) spoke in an idiosyncratic manner, often referring to himself in the third person, and frequently talked to himself—"through having no one else to speak to", as
Tolkien put it in
The Hobbit. • Charlie Gordon in the acclaimed novel
Flowers for Algernon (1959) speaks in third person in the "being outside one's body and watching things happen" manner in his flashbacks to his abusive and troubled childhood suffering from
phenylketonuria. • Boday, a quirky female artist in
Jack Chalker's
Changewinds trilogy (1987–88). • Y. T., a teenage girl in
Snow Crash (1992) by Neal Stephenson. • Bast the Wood Elf in
The Council Wars series by
John Ringo. • The healer and wisewoman Magda Digby in the
Owen Archer series (1993–2019) by
Candace Robb. •
Jaqen H'ghar, an assassin of the Faceless Men in the fantasy suite
A Song of Ice and Fire (1996–), consistently refers to himself ("a man") as well as frequently the person he is addressing (e.g. "a girl") in impersonal, third person form, and never by name. •
Dobby the House-Elf in the
Harry Potter series (1997–2007). • Ramona, the housekeeper and mentor in
Silver Ravenwolf's
Witches Chillers series (2000–01). • The old man Nakata in Haruki Murakami's
Kafka on the Shore (2002). •
Tigger in the
Winnie the Pooh books, films and television series frequently refers to himself in the third-person plural, e.g. "That's what Tiggers do best!" • At least in the book versions of
Rumpole of the Bailey, protagonist Horace Rumpole sometimes narrates Rumpole's fate in the third person. • Herbert Stencil, a major character within
Thomas Pynchon's novel
V. refers to himself as Stencil and speaks in the third person.
Comics •
Doctor Doom is known for more often than not referring to himself as "Doom" instead of "me" or "I". • The
Hulk •
Namor Television •
Elmo from
Sesame Street (1980–present), whose speech is intended to mimic the speech of preschoolers. Elmo's third-person speech is similarly adopted by younger Muppet characters in many of the show's international co-productions, including Lola from
Plaza Sésamo in Mexico & Hispanic America, Chaos from
Sesame Park in Canada, Avigail from
Rechov Sumsum in Israel, and Tonton from
Hikayat Simsim in Jordan. • Brian "Bomber" Busbridge, played by
Pat Roach, in
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983–2004) • Disco Stu and Duffman from
The Simpsons (1989–present). •
Bryan Strauchan (a character portrayed by
Peter Helliar) •
Yoshi in
Super Mario World (1991) • Waspinator in
Beast Wars: Transformers (1996–99) • Uncle Chan, from the animated series
Jackie Chan Adventures (2000–2005) • The Flea from
Mucha Lucha • Nick Mallory from
Grojband. • Jimmy from the episode "
The Jimmy" (1995) of
Seinfeld (1989–98), whose usage leads to confusion about his identity. The usage rubs off on
George Costanza, who exclaims "George is getting upset!" • Bob, played by Saverio Guerra, in
Becker (1998–2004) •
Zathras from
Babylon 5 • Ugh the caveman from Dino Boy. • Java the caveman from
Martin Mystery. • Ackbar from Disney's Aladdin the TV series. • Mossy from
Sofia the First • Rolf from
Cartoon Network animated series
Ed, Edd n Eddy (1999–2009) • Stick-up man
Omar Little from
The Wire (2002–08). Examples include "Omar don't scare" and "Omar listening". • Numbuh 5 from the Cartoon Network animated series
Codename: Kids Next Door (2002–08). • Frank Jeffries, played by
Matt Winston, in ''
Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–present) • Detective Eddie Alvarez from
The Unusuals (2009) •
Kenny Powers, from the television show
Eastbound & Down (2009–13) • George Remus, a recurring character played by Glenn Fleshler, in
Boardwalk Empire (2010–14) •
The Great and Powerful Trixie and Yona from the animated series
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010–19) • Hesh Hepplewhite from
Sealab 2021. • Lavon Hayes, the mayor from
Hart of Dixie (2011–15). • Lieutenant Terry Jeffords from
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–21) • Ice Bear from the animated series
We Bare Bears (2015–20) • Bobgoblin from the animated series
Wallykazam! (2014–17) •
Darkwing Duck from the titular animated series (1991–92) • Treelo from
Bear in the Big Blue House (1997–2006) • Foo from
The Save-Ums! (2003–05) • Mr. Cook and his nephew Poco from ''
Allegra's Window'' (1994–96) •
Remy LeBeau/Gambit in
X-Men: The Animated Series and
X-Men ’97 • Baby Pom in
Fimbles (2002-2004)
Film •
E.T., the eponymous character from
Stephen Spielberg's 1982 film. •
Mr. Miyagi from
The Karate Kid (1984) sometimes refers to himself as "Miyagi". •
Magua from
The Last of the Mohicans (1992) • Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski from
The Big Lebowski (1998) • Dwight, from
Fast & Furious (2009) • Francesco Bernoulli, from
Cars 2 (2011) • Sid from
Children of Men (2006) • Spike from
Little Giants (1994)
Manga and anime •
Sayuri Kurata from
Kanon (1999–2000) speaks this way in order to separate herself from her past treatment of her little brother, which she regrets. •
Megumi Noda, aka Nodame, the title character from
Nodame Cantabile (2001–09) •
Rika Shiguma from
Haganai (2010–15) •
Juvia Lockser from
Fairy Tail (2006–17) •
Majin Buu from
Dragon Ball Z (1989–1996) •
Dio Brando from ''
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' commonly refers to himself as "I, Dio", especially when boasting. • Tom from
Deltora Quest. •
Ed from
Cowboy Bebop (1998–1999), particularly in the anime's English dub. • Meme Bashame from
My Deer Friend Nokotan Video games •
Princess Peach from the
Super Mario series (notably, "Peachy's got it!") • Candice, the seventh Gym Leader in the Sinnoh region in
Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, often uses illeism in her speech, such as "Candice is on fire!" • Lyle in
Animal Crossing •
Wiggler in
Paper Mario: Sticker Star • Mormo in
Pirate101 • Bronya Zaychik in
Honkai Impact 3rd • Guzma, the leader of
Team Skull in
Pokémon Sun & Moon, speaks like this; notable examples are "It's ya boy Guzma!" and "Guzmaaaaaaaaaaaaa! What's wrong with you?!" • The Khajiit, a race of humanoid cats in
The Elder Scrolls, often refer to themselves in the third person, whether by name, or by saying 'this one' or 'Khajiit'. • The Hanar, a race of sentient jellyfish in
Mass Effect, refer to themselves as 'this one'. In their culture, it is narcissistic and rude to refer to oneself as 'I'. •
Rena Ryūgū in
Higurashi When They Cry •
Paimon and Razor in
Genshin Impact. •
M. Bison, the grand villain of
Street Fighter gaming franchise, often refers to himself in third person such as "Master Bison" in order to emphasize his own ego and sense of self-importance. • Sora Harukawa in
Ensemble Stars! • Count Bleck in
Super Paper Mario • Fernando Martinez from the
Grand Theft Auto series addresses himself in both first and third-person. • Slackjaw in
Dishonored • Renne Bright from the
Trails series refers to herself in the third person, most notably in her debut game
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC. • The Vortigaunts, a race of hive-minded aliens in the
Half-Life series, refer to themselves as "this one", "we", or "us". • The Fact Core, a defective core that Chell and GLADoS place on Wheatly in the
Portal series, talks in third person when bragging about himself. ==See also==