History LastNameBasis / Film

** Alfred calls Franchise/{{Superman}} "Master Kent" in a [[invoked]]{{deleted scene}} of ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'', signifying the profound respect he has developed for the Man of Steel ever since Bruce started having [[BewareTheSuperman murderous intends out of fear of what he could do]] in ''Batman v Superman''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'', everyone, including most of the supplementary materials and his friends, refers to Manchas by his last name, or as [[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs Mr. Manchas]], although he does ''have'' a first name (Renato).

* In ''Film/AmericanPie'', Steven "Steve" Stifler is called by his last name Stifler to everyone besides his family he's simply Steve an also Paul Finch or simply just Finch is also called by everyone also Christopher Ostreicher Or Chris Ostreicher is called Oz by everyone.

* ([[GenderBlenderName Wendy]]) Pleakley from ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'', though his given name wasn't revealed until ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries''.
* Sebastian from ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid''. Especially since he has an OverlyLongName.

* In ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', everyone, including most of the supplementary materials and his friends, refers to Manchas by his last name, or as [[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs Mr. Manchas]], although he does ''have'' a first name (Renato).

* Pretty nearly the entire ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'', except for Nemo (who doesn't ''have'' any other name) and Mina (most of the men address her by her first name, eventually).
** Skinner usually refers to Quatermain as Allan.

** Ross in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' exhibits this when he wants Tony to find Captain America, Bucky Barnes and the Falcon.

** In ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'', a 20-years-younger ComicBook/NickFury only answers to "Fury". [[spoiler:When his boss suddenly calls him "Nicholas", he's immediately tipped off that "Keller" is one of the {{shapeshifter}}s that Vers warned him about.]]

* In ''Film/WarCraft2016'', Anduin Lothar is always referred to as Lothar, with few situations where he's referred by his full name instead.

* Done hilariously in ''Film/GiveEmHellMalone'' where HardBoiledDetective Malone is referred to as such by everyone... Including his mom.

* ''Franchise/{{Alien}}''
** Almost all of the characters in ''Film/{{Alien}}'' and ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' go by last names only. Ripley's first name (Ellen) was never stated in the original theatrical cut of either film, appearing only in a deleted scene from ''Aliens.''
** In fact, the original draft of ''Film/{{Alien}}'' (included as a [[DVDBonusContent DVD extra]] in the [[BoxedSet Alien Quadrilogy box set]]) was written such that ''all'' the characters had no assigned gender.
** With the exceptions of Carter Burke, Ellen Ripley, Dwayne Hicks and (possibly) Gorman, all the marines in ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' have [[TheDanza their actor's first name for their real one]] (e.g. Al Apone (Matthews), Jeanette Vasquez (Goldstein), etc)
* In most movies about military squads, characters are referred to by either their last name or a nickname. The ''Film/{{Alien}}'' example above comes to mind, as well as ''Film/{{Predator}}'' (except Dutch, of course) and ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' (his full name is James Francis Ryan). Somewhat oddly, he's far from the only character in the story with the surname Ryan (and, in fact, [[ItMakesSenseInContext is being pulled out of the war zone for precisely that reason]]), but calling the movie ''Saving James Francis'' just wouldn't make the military context clear.

* Most ''Film/JamesBond'' villains call him "Mr. Bond" (his traditional SurnameFirstNameSurname introduction helps it).
** The ladies call him James. Including M at times. Normally M (and Q) refers to him by his number, 007
* In ''Film/RearWindow'', the protagonist, L. B. Jeffries is called "Jeff" by everyone.

* You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone calling [[Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick Richard B. Riddick]] by his first name in Vin Diesel's series of action thrillers. Also true for (William J.) Johns and (Carolyn) Fry.
* In ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' Commodore Norrington's first name isn't even never mentioned in the [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl first movie]]. [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest Second]] and [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd third]] movie reveal that it is James. Similarly, Barbossa's first name isn't mentioned until the third when Captain Jack Sparrow calls him "Hector," which is itself AscendedFanon taken from an earlier interview with Creator/JohnnyDepp and Creator/GeoffreyRush when the former speculated on what Barbossa's name might be.
* Almost everyone in ''Film/TheGreatEscape'' except for Roger (the leader), Colin (the forger), Danny, and Willy (the {{Tunnel King}}s).
* Pretty nearly the entire ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'', except for Nemo (who doesn't ''have'' any other name) and Mina (most of the men address her by her first name, eventually).
** Skinner usually refers to Quatermain as Allan.
* In ''Film/{{Inception}}'', the characters often refer to each other by their last names -- the main character, Cobb, is only called by his first name by his wife and father/father in law, another character only goes by 'Eames', implied to be his last name (there's even a [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6275157/1/pseudonymous fanfic]] about this), and the team usually refers to Robert Fischer as just 'Fischer'.
* ''Film/TheWayBack'' has Mister Smith, who refuses to give his first name and is simply called Smith by most of his companions. Some of the ones with a shakier grasp of English think 'Mister' is actually his first name, and the sole child in the group uses it like it is.
* In the movie ''Film/{{Waitress}}'' Jenna [[InsistentTerminology won't]] call the man she's having an affair with by his first name, even though Dr. Pomatter (Jim) uses hers.
* Taylor in ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968''. His first name doesn't even pop up in the film, it was revealed later. Brent is this as well in the ''[[Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes Beneath]]'' sequel, which also has Mendez. It might not have been a last name but more of a title among the mutants by the time of the film, but it appears to have begun as a last name (see Battle). ''[[Film/ConquestOfThePlanetOfTheApes Conquest]]'' has [=MacDonald=] and Governor Breck. 'Battle' has another [=MacDonald=] and Kolp.
* ''Film/{{Highlander}}'' had Ramirez, and sometimes Connor would just be called Macleod.
** Only his kinsmen and his first wife Heather ever called MacLeod by his first name. The other immortals and other characters would call him MacLeod. (Or Nash, depending.)
* In the ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' movie, Oliver Pike refers to himself and is referred to by others simply as "Pike." His first name [[AllThereInTheManual (which was revealed in the comics adaptation)]] is never spoken in the film.
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:'' Most characters use LastNameBasis and FirstNameBasis interchangeably when among friends and colleagues:
** Agent Phil Coulson often goes only by his last name.
--> '''Pepper Potts:''' Phil! Come in.
--> '''[[Film/TheAvengers2012 Tony Stark]]:''' Phil? His first name is Agent.
** Ross in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' exhibits this when he wants Tony to find Captain America, Bucky Barnes and The Falcon.
--> '''Ross''': "36 hours. Barnes. Rogers. Wilson."
** In ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'', a 20-years-younger ComicBook/NickFury only answers to "Fury". [[spoiler:When his boss suddenly calls him "Nicholas", he's immediately tipped off that "Keller" is one of the {{Shape Shifter}}s that Vers warned him about.]]
** In ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' Maria subverts this by referring to Fury as "Nick", to which Fury responds without hesitation. [[spoiler:This is because both "Maria" and "Nick" are actually disguised Skrulls standing in for the originals]].
** Thanos also tends to refer to the heroes by any last names they may have, with a specific penchant for it with Tony Stark.
* In ''Film/TheShopAroundTheCorner'', the shop workers all address each other as "Mr. _____" or "Miss _____". Kralik does start privately calling Miss Novak "Klara" once he begins to care for her, though.
* In the original ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'' movie, Ray Stantz almost exclusively refers to his colleagues by their last names, while everyone else uses given names. This seems more like personal preference rather than any indication of his relationship with them, however. In the sequel he seems to have moved on from using only surnames and has instead started nicknaming everybody (though he does use Winston Zeddemore's last name while [[spoiler:he and Winston are under the effects of the negatively-charged mood slime and on the verge of killing each other]] and uses Egon Spengler's surname to refer to him in a much less emotionally charged moment).
* In ''Film/TheSoloist'', Steve and Nathaniel end up calling each other as Mr. Lopez and Mr. Ayers by the end of the film, a sign that Nathaniel has begun to move from personal dependency on Steve to greater independence and that Steve rediscovered respect and integrity in his journalistic work.
* You can always spot Margaret Dumont's character in the cast list of a Creator/MarxBrothers movie, since she inevitably played a feisty, wealthy GrandDame known only by her surname ([[Film/ANightAtTheOpera "Mrs. Claypool"]], [[Film/DuckSoup "Mrs. Teasdale"]], [[Film/ADayAtTheRaces "Mrs. Upjohn"]], [[Film/AnimalCrackers "Mrs. Rittenhouse"]], etc.). By the same token, Groucho almost always played a character with two names and a middle initial ([[Film/ANightAtTheOpera "Otis B. Driftwood"]], [[Film/DuckSoup "Rufus T. Firefly"]], [[Film/ADayAtTheRaces "Hugo Z. Hackenbush"]], etc.), and Chico and Harpo inevitably played ThoseTwoGuys with OnlyOneName each ([[Film/ANightAtTheOpera "Tomaso" and "Fiorello"]], [[Film/DuckSoup "Chicolini" and "Pinky"]], [[Film/ADayAtTheRaces "Tony" and "Stuffy"]], etc.). The convention was a handy way to reinforce the idea that each actor played a variation of the same comedic character in every movie.
* ([[GenderBlenderName Wendy]]) Pleakley from ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'', though his given name wasn't revealed until ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries''.
* (Felonious) Gru from ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe''. This became rather awkward in the third film when the filmmakers forgot this and named his twin brother ''Dru Gru''.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', Mater's first name is actually "Tow." Lightning [=McQueen=], though viewers usually call him by his first name, is almost always called by his last name by most characters.
* James P. "Sulley" Sullivan from ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc''.
* Sebastian from ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid''. Especially since he has an OverlyLongName.
* In ''Film/WarCraft2016'', Anduin Lothar is always referred to as Lothar, with few situations where he's referred by his full name instead.
* In Film/AmericanPie", Steven "Steve" Stifler is called by his last name Stifler to everyone besides his family he's simply Steve an also Paul Finch or simply just Finch is also called by everyone also Christopher Ostreicher Or Chris Ostreicher is called Oz by everyone.
* In the film version of ''Film/TheManFromUncle'' Alexander Waverly is only referred to by his last name Waverly, likely because he happens to share his first name with one of the villains, and, well, OneSteveLimit and all.
* In ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', everyone, including most of the supplementary materials and his friends, refers to Manchas by his last name, or as [[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs Mr. Manchas]], although he does ''have'' a first name (Renato).
* In ''Film/TheApartment'', Bud and Fran always refer to each other as "Miss Kubelik" and "Mr. Baxter", in and out of the workplace; [[spoiler: even when he tells her that he loves her, he uses her last name.]]
* In ''Film/BloodDiamond'', Danny Archer is referred to only as "Archer" except one from his former superior in South Africa.

* ''Film/ThePostman'': General Bethlehem and Colonel Getty aren't ever referred to except with their last names.

* In ''Film/TheShopAroundTheCorner'', the shop workers all address each other as "Mr. _____" or "Miss _____". Kralik does start privately calling Miss Novak "Klara" once he begins to care for her, though.

* ''Film/ZForZachariah'': Caleb always calls John "Mr. Loomis", seemingly in keeping with his Southern civility.

* In ''Film/BloodDiamond'', Danny Archer is referred to only as "Archer".

* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse denizen Agent Phil Coulson often goes only by his last name.

** Most people throughout the MCU use LastNameBasis and FirstNameBasis interchangeably when among friends and colleagues, with last names being more common.
** Tony Stark in particular is referred to by his surname "Stark" by pretty much ''everybody'' with only Pepper, Happy Hogan, Rhodey, Obadiah Stane, Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Aldrich Killian and Steve Rogers (sometimes) being the few [[FirstNameBasis exceptions]]. It was a big moment in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' when Thanos calls Tony by his surname Stark as Thanos never addresses anyone else by name simple calling them "My child", "Little one" (Gamora) or "INSECT" (Spider-Man). This was symbolic in that Thanos sees Iron Man as kinda of [[NotSoDifferent kindred spirit]] in when it comes to their goals and he respects Stark for being the last man able to stand against him.
** Ross in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' exhibits this wants Tony to find Captain America, Bucky Barnes and The Falcon.

* A running theme in ''Film/BladeRunner''. Human characters in the film are referred to by their last names, while the Replicants are all referred to by their first names.
** ''Blade Runner'' is an interesting case. The human characters are usually called by their last names and replicants by first names, which serves to reinforce the point of how humans in the film tend to act distant and impersonal, and the replicants are more emotional. This also foreshadows Rachael's status.

* In Film/American Pie", Steven "Steve" Stifler is called by his last name Stifler to everyone besides his family he's simply Steve an also Paul Finch or simply just Finch is also called by everyone also Christopher Ostreicher Or Chris Ostreicher is called Oz by everyone.

** ''Blade Runner'' is an interesting case. The human characters are usually called by their last names and replicants by first names, which serves to reinforce the point of how humans in the film tend to act cdistant and impersonal, and the replicants are more emotional. This also foreshadows Rachael's status.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', Mater's first name is actually "Tow."

* In American Pie Steven "Steve"Stifler is called by his last name Stifler to everyone besides his family he's simply Steve an also Paul Finch or simply just Finch is also called by everyone also Christopher Ostreicher Or Chris Ostreicher is called Oz by everyone.

* Blood Diamond Daniel "Danny" Archer is refered By His last name Archer

* In ''Film/TheApartment'', Bud and Fran always refer to each other as "Miss Kubelik" and "Mr. Baxter", in and out of the workplace; [[spoiler: even when he tells her that he loves her, he uses her last name.]]

* In ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', everyone, including most of the supplementary materials and his friends, refers to Manchas by his last name, or as [[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs Mr. Manchas]], although he does ''have'' a first name (Renato).

* In American Pie Steven "Steve"Stifler is called by his last name to everyone besides his mother also Paul Finch or simply just Finch is also called by everyone also Christopher Ostreicher Or Chris Ostreicher is called Oz by everyone.
* In the film version of ''Film/TheManFromUncle'' Alexander Waverly is only referred to by his last name, likely because he happens to share his first name with one of the villains, and, well, OneSteveLimit and all.

* In American Pie Steven "Steve"Stifler is called by his last name to everyone besides his mother also Paul Finch or Finch is also called by everyone also Christopher Ostreicher Or Chris Ostreicher is called Oz by everyone.

* In ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' Commodore Norrington's first name isn't even never mentioned in the first movie. Second and third movie reveal that it is James. Similarly, Barbossa's first name isn't mentioned until the third when Captain Jack Sparrow calls him "Hector," which is itself AscendedFanon taken from an earlier interview with Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush when the former speculated on what Barbossa's name might be.