The Development of Core and Seconday Characters

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Ever try to imagine "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" without Lisbeth? "Tommy Boy" without Tommy? "Portal" without GLaDOS? All right, my inner nerd may have intruded on that last one, but the idea is all the same. There have been many beautifully-woven stories strewn about the world that fell short of being classics simply because the characters couldn't strike the right chords. There are numerous TV shows dedicated to little more than their arrangement of lovable characters (eg. The Office, Seinfeld, New Girl, ect.), but inventing a unique, memorable cast is a chore all on its own. Often times, we writers treat our characters like our own children. We love and adore them, regardless of how cringe-worthy they may actually be. I look back on my Mary and Gary-Sue characters of my childhood with a sort of strained and awkward fondness. They were ideals of who I wanted to be- not living and breathing creatures of their own. In a recent discussion with a friend of mine, we were amused to find that as we become more experienced writers, characters seem to pop out of nowhere and introduce themselves without prompt. Instead of sitting there and trying to come up with scenarios, creating a character's back-story has become something more akin to a game of twenty questions with a new friend. We have to be able feel what they feel, understand why they feel that way, and walk through their memories, regardless of whether or not each memory will have a direct part to play in the story. Creating a new piece of their past feels like learning a tidbit of information that they may have been withholding on their own. While all of this might sound a bit schizophrenic to someone that doesn't share our creative processes ("Ah, I see.. we're talking about your 'invisible friends' here."), handling our characters more like human beings beyond the typical "protagonist/antagonist" mold has done WONDERS for our writing over the years. Friends have begun commenting that my characters feel "real" to them, and it's become easier for them to grow attached. Not only are the characters themselves important, but so is the chemistry that they share with one another. A number of times, you might find that a male and female character are attached to one another simply for the fact that they're attractive and have compatible genitalia. One of the greatest mistakes a writer can make is INTRODUCING A CHARACTER SOLELY AS A LOVE INTEREST. I can't stress that enough! Have you ever watched a show, and (oh-so suddenly) a new character appears that you could care less about? He/she's attractive, nice, and one of the regulars seems to have a crush on him/her, but no matter what you do, you're just utterly bored every time you see this new character on screen? Even the side characters need to be as developed as the main character in order to stay interesting. Characters, just like real people, have chemistry and play off of each other in different ways. But just because I have my own methods doesn't mean that all others are invalid! So, tell me: what processes do you go through when developing characters? Which character-types do you seem the most drawn to? What sort of frustrations do you come across with your own and other characters? Discuss!