Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew Up… in wealth and privilege, Howard Hughes didn’t have to worry about money a day in his life. Free to pursue whatever struck his fancy, he spent his time tinkering – a hobby he proved himself to be shockingly adept at, building a radio transmitter at the tender age of 11. Both of his parents were dead by the time he was of 19, leaving Howard a very wealthy and talented orphan, poised to take the world by storm.
Living… as a Renaissance Man. When one of his main interests starts to bore him, he just moves on to something else. It’s not hard to cultivate a lot of passions when you’re excellent at everything you do. Howard Hughes builds the world’s fastest airplanes, flies them, makes Hollywood hits, and manages an airline.
Profession… businessman. Though this tag doesn’t do him justice. He not only produces blockbuster films, he also builds groundbreaking aircraft, and builds his airline company Trans World Airlines from the ground up.
Interests… movies, aviation, engineering, Hollywood actresses.
Relationship Status… playboy. But his most serious and committed relationship is with the legendary starlet Katharine Hepburn. While the two talented misfits complement each other well, Howard’s veritable legion of neuroses – as well as the constant attention he receives from the fairer sex – makes it difficult for him to hold any relationship together for long.
Challenge… living with his own brilliant, twisted mind. Howard Hughes is as troubled as he is talented. He’s terrified of germs and filth, causing him to increasingly withdraw from the outside world. He suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder and is driven by strange and undeniable compulsions.
Personality… dashing and confident. Then his deteriorating state of mind changed his personality as he grew older. The pressures of his life led to a rabid paranoia. Still, he remained a passionate and undeniably brilliant man. But he revealed different parts of himself to different people, never allowing anyone to know the full truth of who Howard Hughes really is.
Get to Know him in...
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Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning biopic about the life of film-maker and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes from 1927 to 1947, during which time he became a successful film producer and an aviation magnate while simultaneously growing more unstable due to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. After a scene from 1914, which may explain his later fear of dirt and disease, the film starts in 1927 during Hughes' filming of the World War I aviation film "Hell's Angels". He's 22 years old, has inherited the family's fortune and tool company, but wants to spend his time making film instead. However, he soon finds himself just as involved in the aviation industry, buying an airline and developing new planes.
