Thurman Merman

Thurman Merman is the tritagonist of the 2003 dark comedy Bad Santa and its 2016 sequel, Bad Santa 2.

Role in the film
In the first film, Thurman is an overweight, austistic 8-year old who lives with his senile grandmother in suburban Phoenix. His mother is dead and his father is in prison, but Thurman has been told that his dad is "climbing mountains". After Willie Soke is forced to move in with him, the two form an unlikely friendship. At the end, Willie risks his life to give Thurman a stuffed pink elephant for Christmas, and teaches him to stand up to the local bullies.

Role in the sequel
13 years later, Thurman is 21 and follows his passion by working at a sandwich shop. After Willie tries unsuccessfully to get him laid, Thurman follows him to Chicago over the holidays, where Willie and Marcus are planning to rob a charity with the help of Willie's estranged mother. Willie is betrayed yet again by both of them and in the end, he fully accepts Thurman as his real family.