Art is said to imitate life, and why shouldn’t it? Can we just be look at things objectively; generally, life will in general be much more bizarre than fiction. Consequently, some of the most well-known and infamous characters from movies, books, television shows, and even cartoons have their origins in real-life history.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that artists get their ideas from people who once lived and breathed. It makes the story or film significantly more intriguing. When confronted with an imaginary person roused by a genuine person, who knows ourselves that this would never truly occur… it as of now has! It would appear that every living character has a muse, from voodoo priestesses and clowns who kill people to Disney princesses and superheroes in comic books!

The real-life counterparts of 10 fictional characters are listed here. We’ll let you chose if fiction beats truth.

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• Hannibal Lecter / Dr. Alfredo Ballí Treviño

I apologize for causing you to wince in dread yet that’s right; In fact, there was a real person who inspired Hannibal Lecter! One infamous Dr. Salazar can be found in the works of Thomas Harris, the author of the novels that would serve as the basis for the powerful films. Salazar was a nom de plume a specialist, Dr. Alfredo Ballí Treviño, that Harris met who was anticipating his capital punishment in Monterrey, Mexico in the wake of being detained for the frightful homicide of his sweetheart Jesus Castillo Rangel.

Harris thought he was talking with the jail specialist who treated Dykes Awry Simmons, who was likewise waiting for capital punishment for killing three individuals. Simmons was the person Harris had come to interview for his book; Trevio was only there to treat Simmons’ gunshot wound from his attempt to flee. The movie’s interview with Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling is strikingly similar to the one Harris had with Trevio in the prison, as is Hannibal’s entire character.

• Ursula The Sea Witch/Divine The Cross dresser

Believe it or not, you’re drawn to Ursula’s personality on purpose! The infamous Ursula was designed to be that way. She is without a doubt one of the most popular, vivacious, and savage Disney villains in the long line of feature-length animated films.

In view of the entertainer and undeniably popular cross dresser star, Heavenly, the ocean witch character was initially adjusted from Hans Christian Andersen’s book The Little Mermaid. Nonetheless, in the book, the ocean witch isn’t the main bad guy Ursula depicts in the film and, to foster her loveably wretched person for Disney fans, drew on the inspiringly ostentatious and arrogant nature of Harris Glenn Milstead’s adjust self image, Divine.

• Iron Man/Howard Hughes

The fact that their favorite arrogant comic book superhero was based on the mysterious Howard Hughes shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to many people. Tony Unmistakable’s all’s annoyingly charming attributes; all of Howard Hughes’s traits, including his brutally seductive womanizing ways, his potentially devastating technology, and his boatloads of billions, have their roots in his actual history.

Stan Lee said Hughes was the perfect inspiration for fleshing out Stark’s character when he spoke about it: One of our era’s most colorful men was Howard Hughes. He was an entrepreneur, an adventurer, a multi-billionaire, a gentleman, and, in the end, a nutcase. He was Howard Hughes without being crazy, and he was Iron Man.”

• Sydney Greenstreet/Jabba the Hutt

Sometimes, a film villain is so despicable that they inspire the creation of even more infamous villains.

Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars exemplifies this perfectly. In case you are unaware, Sydney Greenstreet was a well-known superstar movie villain during his time (more than 60 years ago). Most of his fame came from the classic films Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon. Greenstreet played a seedy underground criminal wanted for a variety of offenses, including slavery, in both films. He wore a fez. He also went by the name Mr. Gutman in the Maltese Falcon, which was later changed to the nickname “Fat Man.” Given that, was there ever any doubt about Jabba The Hutt’s origins?

• Eric Cartman/Matt Karpman

Eric Cartman depends on a genuine youngster. On Matt Karpman, who has been friends with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone since they were kids. Sadly for Karpman, his personality advanced out of being the fat, unpalatable youngster that irritated everybody, except basically he’s the universally adored character now!

• Norman Bates from Psycho/Ed Gein

Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film adaptation of Psycho is one of the most well-known horror films of the 20th century. It was inspired by a novel of the same name written by Robert Bloch the year before. Everybody understands what an unnerving maniac Norman Bates, however individuals aren’t as acquainted with is the way that threatening mental case depended on a genuine individual.

In the 1950s, Edward Theodore Gein was a murderer and body thief in Plainfield, Wisconsin. In an effort to make a “woman suit,” he would tan the skins of the two women he killed and the skins of the women he dug up, stitching pieces of them together, and pretend to be his mother when he missed her. When the police went through his house, they found everything from chair covers and lampshades to bowls and tools made from the bodies of people who had died.

• Alice in Wonderland/Alice Liddell.

Okay, so maybe all of her insane “adventures” didn’t really happen (at least not in this dimension), but Alice Liddell, a real child from the early 1860s, was the inspiration for the character. Lewis Carroll, also known as Charles Dodgson, was a mathematician who also wrote the classic tale of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Carroll was entrusted with engaging a dear companion’s three kids on a short boat ride to a riverbank for tea. He told them a fantastical tale full of mishaps and creatures, not one to shy away from young children. The kids became hopelessly enamored, especially 10-year-old Alice. When she asked him to write the story down for her, he did, and the rough draft became the iconic tale we all know and love today!

• Taxi Driver, starring Arthur Bremer and Travis Bickle

It is an iconic 1976 American film. The disturbed Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro, gives up his day job to pursue his obsession with becoming an assassin. Unfortunately, this character lacks imagination. Instead, Bickle’s character is based on Arthur Bremer, a political assassin who shot Democratic presidential candidate George Wallace in 1972, paralyzing him and injuring three others.

Bremer was found guilty of attempted murder. This was only a training round; He had a strong desire to kill Nixon. John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981 after being inspired by Bickle’s character in the movie and his diary’s publication.

• Popeye the Sailor/Frank “Rocky” Fiegel

Very few people are aware that the cartoon character Popeye the Sailorman first appeared in a strip called Thimble Theater. The brash, obnoxious sailor with superhuman strength, written by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1929, quickly became one of America’s favorite cartoon characters. It turns out that the real Popeye was every bit as likable! Frank Fiegal, also known as “Rocky,” was a local in Segar’s hometown of Chester, Illinois.

Additionally, he was a massively armed pip smoker who was regarded as a local legend for his uncanny strength during numerous fights. But we don’t know if he really did it because of spinach.

• Alyssa Milano/Ariel from The Little Mermaid

One of America’s most beloved Disney Princesses, Ariel from The Little Mermaid is a sea-dwelling character whose ancestry can be traced back to a real-life actress who lived on land. The American actress Alyssa Milano is actually the inspiration for the mermaid’s bubbly, vivacious, and adventurous nature.

In a meeting with The Wendy Williams Show, the then 40-year-old admitted to realizing that she was Ariel’s human partner, however she didn’t know it until after the film was being made. After they asked her to host The Making of The Little Mermaid, she said, they told her that the drawings, likeness, and personality of Ariel were based on pictures of Alyssa as a child. We’re envious.