Greg Heffley

Character

Greg is often naughty, selfish, lazy, arrogant, or even mean and dishonest. He dislikes taking blame and likes to take advantage of any situation that might boost him up the popularity ladder. Nevertheless, Greg could be kind at times. Throughout the series, Greg's schemes to gain popularity in his middle school, attract girls, and acquire money always backfire, landing him in several dilemmas. He becomes his own worst enemy.

His best friend is Rowley Jefferson, who takes part in Greg's schemes, and is sometimes a victim of Greg's manipulation and deception. The two have a very complicated relationship, as Greg sometimes takes advantage of Rowley's good nature, and his own schemes fail due to Rowley's foolishness, such as Rowley's "confession" to the vandalized wall. Rowley's parents, mostly the father, view Greg as a bad influence on their son. This is because Greg has a tendency for getting himself and Rowley into trouble.

At school, Greg receives bad grades, gets bullied, deals with the hardships of middle school and is always trying to earn popularity points in order to gain attention and respect (though his plans to do so often result in either his own popularity dropping, or unintentionally boosting Rowley's popularity). At home, Greg has a mixed relationship with his family, especially with his younger brother Manny, who is overly pampered and protected by his parents (particularly his mother Susan). His mother tries to devise ways for Greg and Rodrick to get along but which never work out. Greg's father, Frank, is annoyed by Greg's antics and laziness, and tries to make him more active. Greg has a love/hate relationship with his older brother, Rodrick. Greg is often tormented and bullied by Rodrick and is also the victim of his pranks. In addition, he has inherited many of Rodrick's traits (such as laziness, large ego, disdain for sports, being a trickster, etc.). In fact, many of Greg's teachers dislike him because they originally had Rodrick as a student even though Greg's classroom behavior does not mirror Rodrick's.

Greg is a fan of video games and comic books and he sees them as talents, which annoys his father Frank. His greatest gift is for cartooning and dry humor, evidenced by the many comic strips he has drawn.

Another character trait of Greg is his paranoia, which sometimes seems to get the better of him. A notable example of this is in Cabin Fever, in which he is worried that his old doll, Alfrendo, will come back to haunt him, and the Santa's Scout doll that he fears is actually following him around before finally realizing it's Rodrick who is doing it.

Greg rarely learns from his ill-fated mistakes and continues to scheme and plot for his various goals. Because of this and his impulsive nature, he usually puts himself and others in trouble, and will often try to find a scapegoat to take the blame.

Neighboring Greg is his awkward, unpopular and eccentric schoolmate named Fregley, whose vast variety of oddities disgust and befuddle those around him, including Greg, who tries to distance himself from Fregley as much as possible. Though Greg detests the fact that he is next-door-neighbors with Fregley, the only time he has ever showed interest in acquiring friendship with Fregley is in the eighth book Hard Luck, where he becomes friends with Fregley (though this was really to Greg's advantage to become popular).

Greg is also noted for having many attractions to girls throughout the series, most notably a girl named Holly Hills. His schemes usually fails in the hope of attracting a girl. One very notable example is The Third Wheel, where Greg attempts to use Rowley as a wingman to get himself a date for the upcoming Valentine's Day dance. He succeeds in obtaining the chance to take a girl named Abigail Brown to the dance, but Rowley, who tags along as a third wheel,hence the name,proves to be a better date than Greg at the dance. This ultimately leads to Rowley and Abigail becoming a couple, setting the stage for Hard Luck.

Despite his many flaws and the situations they have landed him in, Greg can be caring, intelligent, courageous, compassionate and thoughtful, and has done a number of good deeds to prove this, such as deceiving his classmates that he put the Cheese in the rubbish bin (to save Rowley's reputation), helping Rodrick complete his science project, etc. Greg also showed unusual maturity when he chose to conceal his late Meemaw's diamond ring that he found in an Easter egg, not wanting to see his family fight over it because it hadn't been willed to anyone.

Rowley

He's Greg's best friend. He and Rowley get into a lot of trouble due to Greg's mishaps and/or Rowley's stupidity. They sometimes have falling outs and they get back together eventually. There also times that Rowley is ashamed that lied to Greg and was too ashamed to look at him even when Greg is asking for help.

Rodrick Heffley

The relationship between Greg and Rodrick is one of the most important relationships in the series. He is Greg's brother and a member of the band, "Loded Diper", and loves heavy metal music. They tend to fight and argue with each other. In Rodrick Rules, Greg had an embarrassing secret: he accidentally entered the ladies' restroom of Leisure Towers. Throughout the book, Rodrick constantly threatens Greg that he will reveal this secret to the world if he provokes or annoys him. Rodrick seemed to know that Greg had a crush on Holly Hills in The Last Straw because when they were staying in a hotel room, Rodrick deceived Greg by saying that the Hills family were staying in a room next to theirs. Greg believed this and Rodrick pushed him out of the door and locked it. Greg was also in his underwear, which made it worse for him. Rodrick tricks Greg into thinking that their father was going to sell Greg causing Greg to call the police and almost got Frank arrested and thus ruined Frank's surprise to the baseball game and ruined the father and son bonding that their mother attempted for them to set up.

This bond is the main focus of the movie adaption of Rodrick Rules. Unlike the book, in which Greg only works willingly with Rodrick once, Greg and Rodrick work together several times, including cleaning up after the party (After Rodrick points out that Greg will get busted along with him should their parents find out, whereas in the book, where Rodrick simply blackmails Greg), attempting to keep the party a secret (In the book, the party doesn't come up until the photo was printed out), Going to a convenience store and going crazy (did not happen in the book), putting fake vomit on people's cars (In the book, he does this with Ward), and running from an angry coach (did not happen in the book). Greg even sticks up for Rodrick during the Talent Show, when he convinces his mom to lift Rodrick's ban from performing.

In the movie adaption for Dog Days, Greg helps sneak Rodrick into the country club via a Dumpster. He expresses worry when he believes Rodrick is crushed by the truck and is extremely relieved that Rodrick is revealed to be unharmed. He also manages to get Löded Diper to perform in a "Sweet Sixteen" for Heather Hills, who Rodrick has a crush on.

Manny Heffley

Manny is Greg's ridiculously pampered younger brother who always gets away with anything he wants; he is a toddler and the object of his parents' favoritism, to Greg's jealousy and chagrin. A spoiled child with privileges left undistributed to his elder siblings during their own early childhoods, Manny is easily perceived as innocent and adorable by adults, whereas in reality some of his actions in the past appear to implicate a far more manipulative, spiteful, and selfish nature as opposed to childlike innocence, the most prominent being in Cabin Fever, where he shuts off the entire house's electricity (save for his own room), stores all the food in his room, and lets the family suffer the backlash all because no one told him how to tie his shoes. Through his journal entries, Greg regularly complains of the adults' obliviousness to Manny's true destructive tendencies, many of which have ended in suffering, embarrassment, or punishment for Greg.

Manny's relationship with his older brother is a strained one, as any moments of sincere playfulness or brotherly affection between the pair have unfairly ended in unintentional or undeserved consequences for Greg, which has been exemplified several times throughout the course of the series. It's for this reason that Greg seems to prefer to avoid spending time with his younger brother, and they seldom seem to hang around together alone voluntarily. Their relationship is strained further by the unfairness of the constant overindulgence with which Manny is privileged, such as the quality and quantity of Christmas presents that he receives, and how he is continuously spared from parental discipline. However, Manny has also displayed particular affection for Greg by calling him by the pet name "Bubby", making him a "gift" out of tin foil and toothpicks that Rowley accidentally sat on, etc.

Susan Heffley

Susan is Greg's mother who, throughout the series, often embarrasses her two elder sons. She is clueless, loving, and is very fond of her children, especially her youngest son, Manny, who she severely spoils. She loves her middle son Greg, though she unintentionally humiliates him at nearly every turn. She fails to see that her plans are always failing. She is always encouraging her children and tries to bring the family closer together. In The Long Haul, she takes over Greg's summer vacation by doing activities to get him more active, ruining his plan to play video games all summer. She does, however, fiercely defend Greg at school, even sometimes when he really shouldn't be, and shields him from his father's anger. She also wants to find good role models for Greg. Her idea of role models are those who has the same interest that she likes: reading books, don't play video games and doesn't watch TV. However, Greg is unable to bond with them because Greg can't relate to them and doesn't share the same ideas like his mother much to Susan's dismay.

Frank Heffley

Frank is Greg's father. Frank is annoyed by Greg (and also Rodrick) for his ridiculous antics and unimportant interests. The two have nothing in common, and this has been displayed in the series numerous times. Frank gets upset that he has nothing in common with his 3 sons. Frank has a poor relationship with his kids. One major example is in The Last Straw, where Frank attempted to send Greg to a military academy named Spag Union, in the hope that it would reform Greg of his "wimpy" habits. But, being after "saved" by Greg from embarrassing himself at a party, Frank reconsidered the thought. By almost sending him to Spag Union and Frank's unpredictably, Greg develops a fear that Frank might get rid of him and having is trouble trusting his father. In Dog Days, Frank was going to take Greg out for a surprise; however, Greg believed that Frank was going to sell him and Greg called the police on him. Which later revealed that Frank was going to take him to a baseball game and ruined the father and son trip. Frank didn't speak to him for a while. Despite the fact that Frank is almost always strict on Greg, he still loves him, no matter how much his antics annoy him.

Holly Hills

Holly Hills is Greg's crush, who was introduced in The Last Straw. Greg stated that Holly was the "fourth prettiest" girl in his grade and is very attractive.

In The Last Straw, Greg tried to get Holly's attention by making jokes and random humor, however, it didn't seem to attract her at all. Greg's attempts to talk to Holly and make his move always end up in failure. Greg heard that Holly and her friends were going to the Roller Rink. At the Roller Rink, Greg had to wear his backup glasses because he lost his contact lenses, and when talking to Holly, she mistakenly called him Fregley, which upsets Greg and causes him to lose interest in her.

In the same book, when signing yearbooks in the end, Holly signed Greg's yearbook stating that he was "Okay" and to "K.I.T." (Keep in Touch) which makes Greg have a slight interest in Holly again, but this goes away completely once Greg sees what Holly wrote in Rowley's yearbook—stating that Rowley is "cute". Greg writes back, pretending to be Rowley, stating that he wants to be "just friends".

In the movies, things play out differently. In Rodrick Rules, Holly Hills moved to Greg's school and Greg did things to get her to notice him, making a fool of himself half the time. When Holly called him Fregley, Greg didn't lose interest and instead was simply upset. At Leisure Towers, Holly talked with Greg outside, saying that she was at her Grandfather's place at the retirement community building. Holly apologized to Greg about calling him Fregley, and Greg pretended that he didn't know anything about that. Greg and Holly become friends in the end.

In the Dog Days film adaption, Holly's role from the previous books had been expanded. Greg yearns to become more than just friends with Holly during the summer. Greg gets Holly to sign his yearbook and was able to get her to write her number, but misses the last two numbers before leaving due to interference from Patti, Heather Hills and Rodrick. At the country club, Greg meets up with Holly as she is volunteering to teach tennis to little kids. Greg accepts an invite to play tennis with her the next dayin order to impress her, but Holly soon figures out that neither he nor Rowley know how to play tennis and teaches Greg personally while Patty teaches Rowley personally.

Later in the movie, Holly didn't seem to have a problem when Greg sneaked into the Country Club. When Greg says he wanted to hang out with her, and almost reveals his feelings for her, Heather Hills comes by and interrupts. Rodrick has a big crush on Heather, and Greg manages to get Loded Diper in for live music at Heather's Sweet 16. After Rodrick's band fails and ruins Heather's Sweet 16, Greg apologizes to Holly, but Holly didn't care due to her sister being mean. She felt her sister deserved what she got. Holly holds Greg's hand, showing that she has affection for him, and they get together, swimming at the Country Club pool with each other and Rowley.

Abigail Brown

In the Third Wheel book, while Greg tries to get a date the school dance, Rowley tells him that a girl from student council, Abigail Brown, has been "dumped" by her former date, Michael, because he needed to go to his family reunion, which was later revealed as an excuse to go out with another girl. Greg immediately jumps in, telling Rowley to tell Abigail that they could all go together as a "group of friends", and Greg hopes that after that night, Abigail will see how much of a "great guy he is", and get her to be his girlfriend. Greg does what he can to get Abigail to be his girlfriend, but is later rejected by her, so that she can go out with Rowley, Greg's best friend.

She has a more prominent role in the sequel, Hard Luck. Following the events of the previous book, Abigail begins to subtly dismantle the relationship between Rowley and Greg, including but not limited to moving Rowley to a different table, feeding him, and convincing Rowley to give up activities that he and Greg enjoy, like blowing bubbles in chocolate milk cartons. She also displays a manipulative side, as she takes advantage of Rowley's innocence and childlike behavior and subtly forces Rowley to think the same way SHE thinks, as well as being responsible for his change of appearance. Greg describes this as if Rowley doesn't own opinions anymore. This is an irritant for Greg throughout the book. She is also shallow, as she harshly dumps Rowley in favor of her former boyfriend, Michael. It is later revealed that she only went out with Rowley in order to make Michael jealous.

Fregley

Fregley is a child who lives in Greg's neighborhood. Greg is not particularly fond of him because he acts strangely. In Dog Days, Greg's mom tries to get him and Fregley together for a "playdate". Greg neglects to do anything with Fregley, but that does not bother Fregley. He thinks that Greg is cool and wants to hang out with him. Greg is unaware of this and remains so throughout the books, although in Hard Luck, it is shown that Greg tries to make Fregley his best friend. However, this attempt fails, and somehow Fregley becomes the most famous student at Westmore Middle School and making Greg jealous.

Maddox Selsam

Maddox comes from out of town after he got Greg's balloon. He reveals that hasn't played video games or watched TV, and goes crazy when he sees them. Maddox likes reading books, playing legos, and practicing his violin. Because of this, Susan sees this as an opportunity for Greg to have a role model and want Greg to be like him; however, Greg only came to see him to get the balloon. Things went bad when Maddox accused Greg of stealing a lego piece that was stuck to his arm and thus ending the play date. Susan was very disappointed and angry that Greg couldn't bond with Maddox like she was hoping for.

Angie Steadman

Angie Steadman only appears as an additional character in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film. Angie meets Greg and Rowley under the bleachers during P.E. Angie gives Greg and Rowley advices about middle school and being yourselves. She gets along with Rowley, but starts a rocky relationship with Greg after he egotistically declines her offer to join the school newspaper and refusing to listen to her. Greg didn't want Rowley to be around her. However, Rowley hangs out with her anyway and listens Angie's advices and causing Rowley to be successful much to Greg's dismay. Angie didn't hesitate to humiliate Greg by taking pictures of his humiliations much to Greg's dismay. Later, after Greg hit rock bottom due to his own arrogance, Greg later tells the whole school he ate the cheese instead of Rowley. Angie compliments him and see that Greg is slowly learning the error of his ways.

Patty Farrel

She is Greg arch nemesis and enemy. Introduced in the first book, she has bullied Greg in kindergarten and fourth grade

Allusions from other works

Greg Heffley appears on Poptropica's 18th island, Wimpy Wonderland, revolving around the Wimpy Kid series. Greg has also appeared as a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2010. Greg returns in Wimpy Boardwalk on Poptropica.

In the films

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Thor Freudenthal and based on Jeff Kinney's book of the same name. The film was released on March 19, 2010. It was released on DVD, iTunes, and Blu-ray on August 3, 2010. The movie stars Zachary Gordon as Greg, Robert Capron as Rowley, Steve Zahn as Greg's father, Rachael Harris as Greg's mother, Devon Bostick as Rodrick, Chloë Grace Moretz as a new character named Angie, and Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny.

Reception

Although the character was acclaimed by critics in the books, the reception was not the same for the film; Rotten Tomatoes has said that Greg is an "unlikable protagonist". Pomeranz disliked the character of Greg Heffley, saying "I really thought he was unpleasant. I did not want to spend time with him. I couldn't wait for the end of this film." However, these were reviews for the first film and in her review of the Dog Days film, Abby West of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Greg is a likable kid.