Fact Check: Is Charlie Croker in Netflix's A Man in Full based on a real person?

All six episodes of the highly anticipated series A Man in Full were released on Netflix's streaming platform on May 2, 2024. The limited series was created by David E. Kelley and directed by Regina King and Thomas Schlamme. The plot is based on a popular Tom Wolfe novel of the same name.

A Man in Full chronicles the rise and fall of a business tycoon, Charlie Crocker, portrayed by Jeff Daniels. This is not a story the audiences have not heard before, in real life and in reel. Therefore, when the show was released, they naturally made assumptions about who the title character was based on.

However, they were disappointed to find out that Charlie Crocker was not based on any real person; it was fictional. It can be said that his character was an amalgamation of several real-life people.

Disclaimer: The following article comprises spoilers. Readers' discretion is advised.

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Charlie Crocker in A Man in Full does not bear resemblance to a specific real-life person

As mentioned, Charlie Crocker in A Man in Full is entirely fictional and does not bear any resemblance to a specific real-life person. However, when the book the show is based on was first released in 1988, it created quite a stir among the social circles of big shots. Prominent among these circles was the Buckhead Society. In an article published on March 18, 2015, Amy Bonesteel from the Atlanta wrote:

"In response to Wolfe’s theme of racial tension (one plot twist: a KKK rally staged to lower property values), former mayor Sam Massell “disinvited” Wolfe from a Buckhead Coalition luncheon and then-mayor Bill Campbell released a statement touting Atlanta’s “history of racial harmony.

"Wolfe’s protagonist Charlie Croker, the 60-year-old builder of high-rises and Old-Meets-New South blowhard, was fictional, but the “King of the Crackers” bore a likeness to several Atlanta businessmen, blistering Buckhead society like a shotgun blast to defenseless quail. Everyone claimed to know who “Charlie” really was—the problem was, nobody could agree."

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What is the thought behind the name of the series?

First pointed out by ComingSoon.Net, the thought behind the series's title and the character name came from the book the show is based on. On the other hand, the book and the title character's name were based on a popular song that existed during the time. Wolfe's book also mentions this in its Prologue section. The song goes as such:

"Charlie Croker was a man in full. He had a back like a Jersey bull. Didn’t like okra, didn’t like pears. He liked a gal that had no hairs. Charlie Croker! Charlie Croker! Charlie Croker!”

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What is the audience's reception towards A Man in Full?

The audience's reception of Netflix's A Man in Full is mostly unfavorable, with opinions slightly differing across multiple review platforms. While on IMDb, the series earned 6.6 stars out of 10, an average rating per the platform standards, on Rotten Tomatoes, it received a poor rating of 43 percent from the critics and 58 percent from the audiences.

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A Man in Full is currently streaming on Netflix.