Why he's so miserable: He was laid off a number of years ago - only no one has told him. His desk's been moved - again and again, each time to a worse position and despite a promise that he wouldn't be moved further. His red stapler has become a symbol of his dwindling sphere of influence, his career as a whole - and when that is taken away, he really goes nuclear. Oh, and he's fat, schlubby, thickly bespecled and cursed with an awful dreary, monotonous voice. We suspect his home life is less than scintillating too.

Why he's inspiring: Despite the odds stacked against him, and his own anti-social - not to say violent - tendencies, Milton remains steadfast in his determination a) not to move desks and b) to keep his red stapler. And come the end of the movie, he's the one drinking cocktails on the beach, so take that, world!