My vote goes to Max Payne 3. That beard was grieving about as hard as it could. The fact he had avoided a grief beard up until the third game made it all the better. It was all pent up in his chin and eventually burst forth in a sullen, unkempt wave of despair. My own beard is scared of that beard, and believe me, my beard understands his beard isn't even real so that's really saying something.

I can't come up with a name on the spot, but that's only because I want a game dedicated to the grief beard. The main character's name is Geoffrey Baird, and your job as the player is to help him deal with his clinical depression.

Max Payne 3 gets it for me too. That thing is like the Sauron of grief beards.

Kenshiro from Hokuto no Ken/ Fist of the North Star had the most tragic beard. While its existence was brief, it bore the despair and grief of multiple losses akin to the seven scars across his chest. The beard was so sullen it blackened the white of his eyes.

@mannymar said:

Kenshiro from Hokuto no Ken/ Fist of the North Star had the most tragic beard. While its existence was brief, it bore the despair and grief of multiple losses akin to the seven scars across his chest. The beard was so sullen it blackened the white of his eyes.

I'm in awe.

Does Heavy Rain guy sport one (that's him in the topic image, right?)? Does Solid Snake? I feel like I've seen some beard action there, and there's no doubt some grief to go around.

Max Payne is the master of the grief beard. The mangy facial hair is perfectly accentuated by the drinking problem, addiction to painkillers, and short temper.

Does Joel's beard from The Last of Us count? That beard is awesome. He already had a beard before the world went to shit, but it's way more awesome all those years later.

This topic lead me down a rabbit hole of sad characters and got me thinking of Robo Cop. Since one of the only parts of him that was human was the face did he have to shave himself every so often? Was it someone's job to shave him? Like part of his weekly check ups did the guy changing his oil and tightening all the bolts have to shave him too?

My vote is for Captain Ahab. He is always draw with a really thick beard. A man dedicated to that kind of vengeance after tragedy has no time to shave.

Hell yeah Max Payne nailed the look of grief, loved that beard.

I think Walter White deserves a mention as well

For the Burn Notice fans out here