Rowley Jefferson

Rowley Jefferson  is Greg's best friend and is usually the deuteragonist of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. He has had a major role in nearly every book (with the exception of the 9th, 10th, and 12th books). He has overprotective parents who aren't fond of Greg's behavior (specifically Mr. Jefferson, but his mother can also seemingly get annoyed by Greg too), assuming that he is a bad influence (which for several reasons he is).

He is often seen as an anti-hero in the series, despite being the main character's best friend, as he often does idiotic, nonsensical things, which results in getting Greg in trouble while he gets off scot-free. Despite this idiotic behavior, though, Rowley always wishes the best for everyone, and is a very nice and innocent kid.

Rowley is an immature boy in several ways. For example, he sleeps with his stuffed toys, he likes his Dinoblazer Action Figures and he even quit writing his popular comic, Zoo-Wee-Mama, because he needed time to play with his Dinoblazer Action Figures. He also likes a singer called Joshie, whose audience is young children, mainly girls. On Christmas, he gets many childish things, even giving Greg childish toys like a Big Wheel. In the second film, he got very scared after watching a horror movie called "The Foot," and had to get his parents to take him home.

In the fourth book, he kept his eyes covered the entire time while Greg tried to watch the horror movie, Hello, You're Dead. Also, when he was sleeping in a beach lodge, he got a nightmare that there was a chicken under the bed, which made him scream out loud. His parents calmed him down and Rowley went and slept in their room. In the movie, he goes with his parents to nearby places. If not, then he'd have to follow Greg. In the book, he went in kiddie rides for little kids while Greg was in the Cranium Shaker, a ride that was meant to terrify and disorientate its riders. In Dog Days, his dad scolded and Greg for not showing up from 10 minutes.

When it's his birthday, he goes to childish places and invites kids in his karate class who are about 8–11 years old and is happy even when he gets childish toys. He is also a fun, loving boy, that many like more than Greg Heffley usually. He is a good friend of Greg and despite the fact Greg often uses him (carry his stuff, give him piggy-rides, write English work for him and scout for dog droppings) he still doesn't question or go against Greg and is willing to be much like Greg.

Personality
Rowley is best known for being a good best friend to Greg. Rowley is quite immature and seems a bit naive, but his charming, cheerful and innocent nature made him more popular with other students (particularly the girls) than Greg had. His friendship with Greg is arguably more legitimate in the films than in the books: in the novels, Greg primarily uses Rowley for personal gain, though they are legitimate friends nonetheless. In Dog Days, he smashes "The Muddy Hand", which is really Gregory's hand.

Physical Appearance
In the movie series, Rowley is a boy with a thick build and long bowl shaped hair that is orange and is wider than Greg's, but his hair is golden brown in Rodrick Rules and Dog Days. In the book series, he has 7 strands of hair that is flat on his head and is wider than Greg's. He has two large teeth and his mouth never appears to be closed, except for a few occasions. In Hard Luck, since he started dating Abigail Brown, he combed his hair differently, and had 9 strands rather than 7. After the break-up, he goes back to his original look.

Trivia

 * He appears in all of the books and movies, and the online version as well, to date, but he only made a small appearance in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway.
 * He is Jeff Kinney’s favourite character.
 * It is never revealed what country Rowley went to on his trip to South America in the book series, but the online book states that he went to Brazil. It is said in the first film that Rowley went to Guatemala.
 * Rowley is older than Greg, as his birthday is in October while Greg’s is in June.
 * The year of Rowley's birth is presumed to be around 1998.
 * Rowley has never had detention, but he almost had one in Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid.
 * In the online book, Rowley is said to own a PlayStation with 42 games. However, in the movie, Rowley is shown to have a Wii, meaning that he possibly upgraded his console.
 * Rowley goes on frequent vacations to other countries.
 * Rowley has closed his mouth five times, twice in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Online, once in Cabin Fever, once in The Third Wheel, and once in Hard Luck.
 * Rowley is shown to be more naive than Greg, as he was allowed in student council.
 * According to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Online, Rowley came from Ohio
 * In Rodrick Rules, Rowley owns a diary just like Greg does.
 * However, Rowley may have gotten rid of it, especially in Dog Days and The Ugly Truth when he and Greg were ex-best friends, and the only reason he gotten that diary was to be like him.
 * On the Page 33 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Online book, Rowley's age is revealed as 12.
 * Jeff Kinney said that he named Rowley after a city in Massachusetts because he thought it would fit the character as being "slow and innocent and pure".
 * His journal in Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid is most likely a different one from the second book.
 * It is shown he has lived on Greg's street since the fourth grade.