Fictional anthropologists appear in novels, short stories, comics, movies, and radio and television series. The following list excludes characters designated as exclusively archaeologists.
TV
In the television series, Bones: Finn Abernathy, intern under Bones, played by Luke Kleintank (seasons 7–9) Zack Addy, forensic anthropologist portrayed by Eric Millegan. Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (born Joy Keenan), played by Emily Deschanel; a protagonist of the television series, loosely based on author and forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs. Wendell Bray, intern in forensic anthropology in Bones Clark Edison, forensic anthropologist in Bones Colin Fisher, forensic physical anthropologist in Bones Katherine Reichs, fictional anthropologist created by the fictional anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan in the television program. Constance Wright, played by the real forensic scientist Kathy Reichs; forensic anthropologist on the board conducting Zack Addy's dissertation defense. Clark Thomas Edison, forensic physical anthropologist played by Eugene Byrd (season 3–12) Dr. Douglas Filmore is a Canadian Forensic Podiatrist, a subfield of forensic anthropology in which his is the leading authority Rodolfo Fuentes, forensic anthropologist from Cuba, interning under Dr. Brennan (seasons 9–12). Played by Ignacio Serricchio. Arastoo Vaziri, cultural anthropologist, played by Pej Vahdat (seasons 4–12) Oliver Wells, polymath Daisy Wick, interning as a forensic anthropologist in Bones In the Star Trek universe: Chakotay, played by Robert Beltran in the television series Star Trek: Voyager Michael Burnham, a xenoanthropologist played by Sonequa Martin-Green in the television series Star Trek: Discovery Mary Albright, played by Jane Curtin in the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun Dr. Alex Blake, forensic linguist (not specified as an anthropologist) in the television series Criminal Minds Alfred Hofstadter, father of Leonard Hofstadter an experimental physicist in the television series The Big Bang Theory Daniel Jackson, linguist and archaeologist in the 1994 science-fiction movie Stargate and the spin-off television series Stargate SG-1, played respectively by James Spader and Michael Shanks. Charlotte Lewis, played by Rebecca Mader; cultural anthropologist on the ABC television series Lost Uncle Martin in the television sitcom My Favorite Martian, Martian anthropologist interested in Earth culture Noah is a cultural anthropologist abducted by pirates in two episodes of the TV show Archer. In the escape from mutinying pirates, Noah must leave the only copy of his unfinished dissertation, and all his notes, behind. Blair Sandburg, an anthropologist in The Sentinel TV series, played by Garett Maggart. June Bauer, the anthropology professor played by Betty White in the second season of Community Enoch, the Chronicom anthropologist played by Joel Stoffer in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Professor Zei (voiced by Raphael Sbarge), an anthropologist who appears in the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender. He is the lead anthropologist at Ba Sing Se University, and has spent much of his life searching for the lost library of Wan Shi Tong.
Film
Christian Hughes (played by Jack Reynor), a cultural anthropology graduate student who, along with another doctoral student Josh (played by William Jackson Harper) and their friends, are studying the Hårga, in Hälsingland, Sweden, for their dissertations, in the film Midsommsar. Louise Banks is a linguist in the science-fiction movie Arrival. Dennis Alan, played by Bill Pullman, in the film The Serpent and the Rainbow, which is based on the non-fiction novel with the same name written by Wade Davis, a real-life Harvard anthropologist who investigates zombification in Haiti, and who Pullman plays a fictionalized version of in the film. Professor James Krippendorf (Richard Dreyfuss) is an ethnographer in Krippendorf's Tribe John Markway is an anthropologist who studies ghosts in The Haunting, based on Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House Jean-Charles Pommier (played by Pierce Brosnan) is a cultural anthropologist who studies nomads in Nomads Stanley X (played by Richard Pryor), anthropologist and drummer in the movie Wild in the Streets Dr. Andrew Cunningham (played by Victor French), a cultural anthropologist in the film The House on Skull Mountain Professor Robert Sutwell (played by Bob Cummings), an anthropologist in the film Beach Party Sadira Adani, anthropologist and expert witness in The Exorcism of Emily Rose