Passive vs Active Protagonist

One of the things I come across when I do coverage is the passive protagonist.  I think that most of the time, we want so much for our main characters to be likeable that we give all the challenging work and decisions to the supporting characters.  Soon, we'll care more about the supporting characters than the central figure.  Think Han Solo vs Luke Skywalker.  There's more to why we like Han so much -- he shoots first and maybe he asks questions later.  Maybe.

Does your protagonist ask a lot of questions?  Take Sherlock Holmes.  He's a detective who investigates gruesome crime scenes.  Yet take a moment to notice something... It's not Sherlock who's asking all the questions.  More often than not, it's Watson.  Through answering the questions, Sherlock's genius is revealed.  When we're talking about Robert Downey, Jr.'s Sherlock, when in doubt - he dons a disguise and chases down the info he seeks.  That's an active protagonist.

Go back and look at your script and find the places where your hero is asking questions.  What is it you want your audience to know about that question and that answer?  Maybe you'll decide the best choice is to go with the interrogation -- we wouldn't have "You can't handle the truth!" scene without questions but I challenge you to count how many questions Kaffee actually asks.  It's far fewer than you might imagine.  He makes statements and challenges his witnesses.  He's not necessarily in control, but he's trying and than makes him an active protagonist.

See for yourself.  Count how many questions Kaffee asks Jessup from the point where the Judge tells Jessup to "And the witness will address this Court as Judge or Your Honor. I'm quite certain I've earned it. Take your seat, Colonel." through to "You're goddamned right I did!" [I'm looking for the # of question marks used in Kaffee's dialogue only.]