Fictional Characters With the ISFP Personality Type

29 Nov 2022

Time to read:

7 min

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Fictional Characters With the ISFP Personality Type

Meredith Grey (Grey’s Anatomy)

Bob Belcher (Bob’s Burgers)

Arya Stark (Game of Thrones)

Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy)

Mulan (Mulan)

Remy (Ratatouille)

More fictional ISFPs

Nicknamed The Artist or The Adventurer, ISFPs make for profoundly heartfelt fictional characters. Here we’ve broken down six of our favorites in detail, with a list of other characters included at the end.

Meredith Grey at first seemed like an odd character to lead a series; the roles of extroverts shown on-screen typically far outweigh the quieter introverts. But we grew to love her for everything that makes ISFPs special.

Meredith is a deeply feeling introvert, she makes her own quiet assessments of situations based on her emotions, and she can rarely be swayed from her point of view. This provided plenty of drama in the show because it’s an unusual set of traits for a surgeon, who tend to be ESTJ types or similar.

Classic ISFP Moment: In “Some Kind of Miracle,” while undergoing surgery, Meredith goes into a dream world where she encounters people from her past. This demonstrates both her “sensing” side, effectively hallucinating her way through her pain, and her “feelings forward” experience, dealing with difficult emotions as she does so.

An artist? Check. Just look at those daily burger specials! Introverted? Check! Friendly? SO, friendly! Down to earth? More so than anyone else in town! Bob is an ISFP through and through; however, he teaches us two important things about the ISFP personality.

First, just because someone is an artist type doesn’t mean they’re overly bohemian. Bob is truly working-class and, despite his obvious talents, very unassuming. Second, despite their quietness, ISFPs do have a breaking point. Bob seems to reach his in every episode with his trademark shrieks and wails! Just because someone is introverted doesn’t mean their breakdowns will be had in silence.

Classic ISFP Moment: Bob talking to his burger creations and giving them personas demonstrates his high levels of empathy and imagination.

Oh, did you think ISFPs were too introverted and sensitive to have a brutal side? You were wrong and Arya Stark demonstrates why and how that’s the case! Arya is driven by her feelings throughout the whole Game of Thrones saga, both before and after her change into a revenge-driven killer.

Some might be surprised that Arya is categorized as perceiving not judging, particularly with her “revenge list.” This only shows the complexity of personality assessments. Arya’s judgments come after much assessment—multiple seasons’ worth, in fact. Before she commits to her plan, she’s just watching the world turn in its strange ways, demonstrating both her sensing and perceiving sides.

Classic ISFP Moment: Arya fights Prince Joffrey in season 1 episode 2. Being cautious to judge, she only turns to combat after seeing Joffrey cruelly slice open the face of her friend Mycah.

Groot is a pure representation of the ISFP. His character is simply but effectively communicated through physicality and the repeated utterance of his own name, yet he's soft-hearted, caretaker nature shines through at all times. Undeniably, Groot is the beating heart of the Guardians team, a role often taken by strong and considerate feelers like ISFPs.

Classic ISFP Moment: Groot sacrifices himself to save his friends. ISFPs will often put those they love ahead of themselves in times of crisis, as demonstrated by Groot’s decision here. Groot’s later rebirth as baby Groot also shows us something typical of ISFPs; their tenacity. It can seem like they’re down and out, especially when they’ve hit a major catastrophe. But they also know how to quietly grow and recuperate, trying out new ways of being to suit their changing circumstances.

Similar to the previously mentioned Arya Stark, Mulan changes from a more mild-mannered young woman to an assertive warrior over the course of the narrative. Nevertheless, she is an undeniably sensitive soul throughout, originally going to war to save her aging father from conscription.

Mulan demonstrates that many ISFPs have a hidden capacity for leadership, it just sometimes takes a journey of significant change to unlock that gift and bring it to light.

Classic ISFP Moment: Both her training montage and the crafty use of a firework to trigger an avalanche over her enemies are excellent examples of how a more creatively-minded person can tackle challenges effectively.

For this entry, we’re skipping straight to the Classic ISFP Moment since Ratatouille contains a scene that beautifully encapsulates all of the ISFP’s traits. If you haven’t seen the film, check out the sequence in which Remy tries different foods and has a synesthesia-like experience, the different flavors being depicted with visuals and audio while Remy relishes them.

While ISFPs aren’t necessarily synesthesiac, the traits of introversion, sensing, feeling, and perceiving all come together perfectly in this delightful depiction of artistic appreciation. Looking further than this moment, here we have a character who desires nothing more than to make his life about his art; this is highly typical of the creative ISFP.