List of Diary of a Wimpy Kid characters
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise features a wide range of characters, primarily focusing on protagonist Greg Heffley, a middle school student navigating the challenges of adolescence. The series also highlights his best friend Rowley Jefferson, and Greg's family, which includes his mother Susan, father Frank, and brothers Rodrick and Manny.
Main characters
Greg Heffley
Gregory "Greg" Heffley serves as the central character of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and is depicted as the middle son of Frank and Susan Heffley. He has an intense desire for popularity and aspires to obtain it above everything as he navigates the trials of middle school, despite nothing leaning in his favor. This ambition often leads him to go to great lengths to achieve popularity, even if it includes displaying antagonistic behavior or abusing and manipulating his best friend, Rowley. In Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid, for instance, Greg persuades Rowley to do his homework, only to annoy him and impede Rowley's concentration, underscoring Greg's tendency to exploit his friend for nothing more than labor. Despite these tendencies, Greg is occasionally able to put this goal aside and show moments of kindness, suggesting a more complex personality beneath his relentless quest for social status.In the film adaptations, Greg is portrayed by Zachary Gordon in the first three films, Jason Drucker in The Long Haul, and Brady Noon in the animated films until Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever, where Wesley Kimmel provides his voice.
Rowley Jefferson
Rowley Jefferson is characterized to be Greg's best friend. Rowley is characterized as a friendly, good-natured, and somewhat naive boy, remaining loyal to Greg despite frequently getting caught up in his troublesome schemes. In Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel, Rowley begins dating Abigail Brown, initially Greg's intended date for the Valentine's Day dance. This relationship continues into Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck, where Rowley drifts away from Greg to spend more time with Abigail. However, by the end of the book, Rowley and Abigail break up, allowing Rowley and Greg to rekindle their friendship.Rowley's interests are often portrayed as "immature" and "strange" for his age and gender by Greg, such as his enthusiasm for the pop singer Joshie, who is marketed toward young children, and his enjoyment of action figures Greg considers childish. Greg's furious jealousy also becomes apparent when Rowley receives a diary for his birthday and suggests they could be "Diary Twins", prompting Greg to dismissively respond with a light punch, showing his unimpressed annoyance. Rowley is also the original creator of the comic strip Zoo Wee Mama! Although Greg claims to have contributed, Rowley maintains in the first book that Greg had little involvement in and made fun of the comic, a rare instance where Rowley asserts himself. In Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid, Rowley is the protagonist and has been shown to have his own diary, with Greg taking on a more antagonistic role, showcasing Rowley's perspective on their friendship.
In the film series, Rowley is portrayed by Robert Capron in the first three films, Owen Asztalos in The Long Haul, and Ethan William Childress in the animated films until Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever, where he was voiced by Spencer Howell instead.
Frank Heffley
Franklin "Frank" Heffley is depicted to be Greg's overreactive but well-meaning father. He is interested in U.S. history, with his replica of a Civil War battlefield serving as a recurring plot point in the series. In the books, Frank despises Rowley, whom he deeply distrusts, and does not appreciate Greg's skill at video games. He is also shown to loathe heavy metal and adolescents. Frank tries to toughen Greg up and threatens to send him to a military academy in The Last Straw, although ultimately this does not come to fruition, much to Greg's relief. However, Greg and Frank grow together in Dog Days, despite a brief period when Frank does not speak to Greg after almost getting arrested and going to jail. He was Greg's Aunt Cakey's boyfriend for a short time, but then he revealed to like her sister Susan more, whom he went on to marry.He seems to have displayed similar mischievous, possessive and selfish tendencies to Greg in his childhood, as in Old School, it is revealed that as a child he invented the mythical cryptid Silas Scratch to keep others away from the maintenance shed with a working bathroom at Hardscrabble Farms which he snuck into and used for his convenience. The rumors are later spread even further by Greg himself so no one would use the bathroom but him.
Frank is depicted to be addicted to junk food; in The Last Straw, the character makes a New Year's resolution to go on a strict diet, but Greg later catches him in the garage eating brownies. After Greg is forced to go for several days without any snacks due to a thief taking them, he eventually decides to catch the thief and discovers that it is Frank.
In the film series, Frank is portrayed by Steve Zahn in the first three films, Tom Everett Scott in The Long Haul, and Chris Diamantopoulos in the animated films.
Susan Heffley
Susan Heffley is the mother of Manny, Greg, and Rodrick, the wife of Frank and a homemaker. She is about the same age as Frank as they've been together since middle school. She is a loving, caring, and good-natured mother but can be embarrassing, bossy, hypocritical, dimwitted, overprotective, and naive. Susan seems to have very limited knowledge of kids Rodrick and Greg's ages and constantly humiliates and ignores them. She constantly tries to get the family together, which never works out. She and her husband Frank also show immense favoritism towards their youngest son, Manny. When Susan was young, she “stole” Frank from her sister Cakey when Cakey and him were dating because Frank revealed to like Susan more. In the 2011 film adaptation of Rodrick Rules, Susan has a column in the local newspaper known as Susan's Musings.In the film series, Susan is portrayed by Rachael Harris in the first three films, Alicia Silverstone in The Long Haul, and Erica Cerra in the animated films.
Rodrick Heffley
Rodrick Heffley is a male teenager who is Greg and Manny's older brother. He is also a member of the heavy metal/punk band Löded Diper. He was introduced hating Greg and Rowley. Most of the time in earlier books, Greg and Rodrick do not get along, and often one of them gets the other in trouble. However, he shows affection to him in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days film when Rodrick is allowed to bring his band, "Löded Diper", to celebrate his crush's 16th birthday. In addition, their relationship slowly improves over the course of the books. Frank Heffley has trouble trusting him, as he dislikes heavy metal and teenagers in general. Rodrick is seemingly not very intelligent, as he makes foolish assumptions and decisions, and cannot spell very well. Rodrick doesn't know how to type. Frank becomes frustrated by Rodrick's factual errors in his school assignments.In the film series, Rodrick is portrayed by Devon Bostick in the first three films, Charlie Wright in The Long Haul, and voiced by Hunter Dillon in the animated films. For the first three live-action films, the character's room is relocated to the attic, as the house used in the films has no basement.
Manny Heffley
Man "Manny" Heffley is Greg and Rodrick's 3-year-old brother, who is constantly spoiled and pampered by his parents, who even allow him to get away with the capital crime of drawing on Greg's door in permanent marker. As the youngest child of the Heffley family, he plays a major role in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, having appeared in all the main series books to date. He has shown cases of unusually high intelligence; for example, switching all his family's power to his room in Cabin Fever during a blizzard, resulting in Greg, Rodrick, and Susan almost freezing to death in the ensuing chaos, and speaking fluent Spanish to two repairmen in "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul". In The Long Haul, Manny is given a piglet at a country fair.Manny often calls Greg "Bubby" because he was unable to say the word "brother" at a younger age. This trait from Manny annoys Greg a lot and he sees this as the most irritating thing about Manny.
In the film series, Manny is portrayed by Connor and Owen Fielding in the first three films, Wyatt and Dylan Walters in The Long Haul, and Gracen Newton in the animated films.
Greg's extended family
Gramma
"Gramma" is Susan's mother and Greg's maternal grandmother. Gramma is known to drive a car like the Heffleys'. Greg often calls her to his home as a way to avoid his dad's scoldings, since his father will not do this when she is around. Her favorite grandchild is Manny, although she denies and lies about this despite overwhelming evidence in the form of pictures on her refrigerator and many of Manny's drawings around her house while she only has one thing from Greg which is a note that writes, "I hate you Gramma".She also seems to have a passion for bingo and knitting. Gramma has a dog named Sweetie, who she overfeeds. She has a large role in Hot Mess, in which she wants her family to take a beach trip to relive her favorite memories for her 75th birthday. Later, the Heffley family returns home to realize that she has thrown a party without them.Grandpa
"Grandpa" 'Heffley' is Greg's unpredictable paternal grandfather, who is asked to babysit Greg and Rodrick in Rodrick Rules. Until Old School, he lived in a retirement community called Leisure Towers and enjoys playing games such as "Gutbusters" and Rummy, which the two boys find boring. Greg always wins at Gutbusters against Grandpa and Rodrick, due to not understanding the jokes, although he believes that Rodrick loses deliberately – Rodrick often takes a gulp of milk before Greg reads a card, and subsequently bursts out laughing, spitting the milk out all over Greg. Grandpa never watches any real shows on the television; instead, he constantly has his television tuned to CCTV footage of the retirement home lobby, which he spends his time watching. Greg is his favorite grandson which, unlike Gramma, he does not deny. Grandpa is known for preparing what he calls "watercress salad", a disgusting dish consisting of cold green beans and cucumbers floating in vinegar. Greg dislikes "watercress salad" to the point that he resorts to stuffing it inside his trouser pocket to conceal from Grandpa that he has not eaten it. One time, Rodrick, knowing that Greg dislikes "watercress salad", once gave Greg a very large helping, claiming that Greg loved it. Greg, not wanting to hurt Grandpa's feelings, reluctantly ate it, only to be given even more as a reward for cleaning his plate. It is stated that Grandpa never spent much time with Frank when he was a boy, and they seem to have a poor relationship. Grandpa once accidentally ran over Frank's dog with his car and lied to him about it, claiming that the dog ran away. Grandpa tells his son the truth many years later in Dog Days, expecting him to find it funny, but instead infuriating Frank. In Old School, Grandpa moves out after a rent hike and moves in with the Heffleys. Grandpa dates online, and eventually accumulates a large number of girlfriends, culminating in him accidentally inviting all of them over and throwing a party with them. He has a girlfriend named Darlene in Hard Luck, but is dumped by her in Old School. Grandpa constantly criticizes Frank during his stay at their home.In the live-action films, Grandpa Heffley is portrayed by Terrence Kelly while in the 2022 animated film adaptation of Rodrick Rules, he is voiced by Ed Asner. The latter film was dedicated to Asner's memory who died a year before its release.