Growing up, I often related to characters who were portrayed as different. Perhaps they found their emotions hard to understand, were perceived as aloof or dreamy, or just didn’t fit in.
Now I see that a lot of my favorite characters are actually autistic coded. What does this mean? Autistic coding is the intentional or unintentional projection of traits onto a character that align somehow with cultural understandings of autism.
Read on for some of my favorite autistic coded characters from movies and film; and check back for my favorites from literature!
Disclaimer: None of the following characters are officially stated to be autistic by their creators. This list is purely based on characters I personally relate to, and not everyone else who relates to these characters or has similar traits is autistic.
Chidi Anagonye, The Good Place: Detail-Oriented Thinking
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The Good Place features a cast of characters who meet up in the afterlife. No spoilers here; suffice it to say that each character must grapple with where they ended up in the hereafter.
Chidi is an ethics professor whose death came about partly because of his decision paralysis. I related immediately to Chidi’s detail-oriented processing style. He has intense anxiety about doing the right thing, like choosing the best plant-based milk option for his coffee in the mornings. He gets so caught in these details that it often interferes with his life.
Wednesday Addams, Addams Family Values: Masking
There’s a reason I chose the modern Addams Family sequel. And that reason is Christina Ricci’s character Wednesday at summer camp. She is not a “joiner.” The counselors don’t know what to make of her. The other campers bully her.
In my absolute favorite scene, she has decided to play along in order to further her own agenda of ruining the end of summer play. Standing in front of the whole camp, she begins to curl her mouth upwards. She shows her teeth and opens her eyes wide. “Isn’t she pretty?” one of the counselors says. The campers are visibly frightened.
I didn’t know it yet, but this was such a great parallel for masking. Wednesday’s overall refusal to perform emotions as others wanted her to resonated with me. She may well be the very first autistic-coded character I discovered, and I was Wednesday for Halloween one year in elementary school. But I didn’t restrict it to the day of–I regularly put on my “Wednesday dress” and braided my hair year round after seeing that movie because I felt such a kinship to her.
Amy, Rosa, and Holt, Brooklyn 99: Accomplishment and Routine
Santiago, Diaz, Holt all stood out to me as very relatable. Amy for her organization schemes. Rosa for her deadpan delivery. And Holt for his commitment to routine and rules. It was a joy to watch these characters interact, and to see the relationship develop between Amy and Jake.
I see Amy as masking her inner struggles with perfectionism. This is clarified somewhat when Jake meets her parents and brother, who is the golden child of the family. He stands up for her beautifully here.
I relate to Rosa, on the other hand, because she might not seem emotional to other characters. But her devotion to her new puppy and the stress of coming out to her parents as bisexual show her depths.
Finally, Raymond Holt is a precise and deliberate man of routine. Other characters struggle to read him. One of my favorite dynamics in the show, in fact, involves Amy or Jake trying to figure out what makes Holt tick, and occasionally finding out something unexpected.
Amelie Poulain, Amélie: Autistic Joy
I was enchanted by the world of Amélie. She’s a dreamer and a romantic, but she often prefers to be a watcher, rather than to engage more directly with the world around her. She is a keen observer, and she seems sensory seeking to me, as when we see the list of simple things she loves: dipping her hand into a bag of grain or cracking the surface of a creme brulee. These moments resonate with me as autistic joy.
She loves deeply, and finds creative ways to express it, like famously sending her father’s garden gnome on a trip around the world and sending postcards from him. Much of her emotion is expressed anonymously and/or through elaborate planning, which I can relate to. It stands out to me as someone who communicates uniquely and sometimes prefers to do things differently from others.
Tracey Gordon, Chewing Gum: Social Interactions
If you have not seen this show, please watch it. It’s both poignant and hilarious. I’ll point you to one clip in particular in which Tracey interacts with a flirtatious man. At first, she does not realize that he’s trying to get her number, because he is not direct with her. By contrast, she is extremely direct, asking him several important “weed-out” questions before accepting his advances. As someone who does not always see subtext, and communicates in a straightforward way, I loved this scene. And I related so hard to Tracey’s journey of finding herself and developing healthy relationships.
Daria Morgendorffer, Daria: Sensory Overwhelm and Pattern Recognition
I didn’t watch Daria until my twenties, and I so wish I had found it earlier. Ironically, my name is Quinn, but it was clear that Daria and I were kindred spirits. My favorite episodes are “Boxing Daria,” and “Quinn the Brain.”
The former episode shows Daria as a young child. While Daria seems happy reading and keeping to herself, her parents worry about her social skills. As her parents argue about what to do, she climbs into a cardboard box, an image repeated in the present day portion of the plotline. It seems to be a sensory refuge for her away from her parent’s loud voices and emotions.
I, too, have found calm and quiet in small spaces, and I felt seen when Daria relieved her overwhelm by crawling into the box and picking up a book. I need to lower the sensory input sometimes, too, to feel calm.
As for “Quinn the Brain,” we see Daria’s excellent pattern recognition at play. When Quinn changes her image, Daria ultimately swaps styles with her and shows she can play the popularity game if she wants to. The adults around her often fret as if she can’t fit in socially, but it’s clear she’s just not interested in doing so. Instead she connects on an authentic level with Jane, finding someone who appreciates her for her true self.
Spock and Data, Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation: Emotion, Reason, and Curiosity
I include both characters here as they’re from the same franchise, but I relate to each in a different way. Spock was inspiring to me because he had both Vulcan and human heritage. He clearly has emotions, and often questions how best to balance them with his logic. He’s loyal to his crew and feels a strong bond, ultimately sacrificing himself (much as Data does) for the “good of the many.” While other characters might sometimes question his devotion to reason or tease him, he’s a valued part of the crew.
So is Data, and not just for his computing power and superhuman strength. His fascination with humanity highlights TNG’s broader themes of exploration and discovery. As an autistic person, I relate most of all to his curiosity. He doesn’t always immediately understand the traditions, humor, or emotions of other crew members. So he studies endlessly, observing and trying things out in order to grow as a person and connect with Geordi and his friends. Not to mention, he is an orange cat owner!
The Importance of Autistic Coded Characters
Until Quinni from Heartbreak High, I didn’t see characters I related to who outwardly identified as autistic. In the absence of that, I found representation in autistic coded characters like the above. Whether helping me feel seen for social difficulties, showcasing sensory sensitivity, or acknowledging the effort of masking, these characters made me feel a little less alone over the years.
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Who are your favorite autistic coded characters? Let me know in the comments below!
