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[[File: Kingdom_of_Heaven 2.jpg|350px|thumb|left| Balian of Ibelin surrendering Jerusalem to Saladin from a 15th-century manuscript]]The main character of the Balian who is played by the English actor Orlando Bloom. The screenwriter loosely based this character on a real-life character. In the movie, Balian is a young blacksmith who decides to go on Crusade when he meets his natural father, who is a knight and who is played by Liam Neeson. Balian is shown as both as both an illegitimate and a humble young man who goes on Crusade to help to secure his wife’s salvation after her suicide. The character played by Bloom was based on Balian of Ibelin's. Unlike the movie version, he was a member of the nobility and the legitimate son of his father Barisan of Ibelin. He also was definitely not a blacksmith.<ref> William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea. E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey, trans (Columbia, Columbia University Press, 1943), p 114</ref>

Instead of using Bailin's real father, the movie creates created a character, Godfrey of Ibelin, played by Liam Neeson. Neeson has played this type of role (the father-like mentor who dies in the movie) several times. In the movie, Neeson's character knights his son right before his death. By recognizing Bailian as his son, Bloom's character inherits his father's holding in the Holy Land. In reality, the knighting of an illegitimate son would not have been legally possible in the Middle Ages without some dispensation from a monarch or the Catholic Church. Ridley Scott introduces Balian as living in France, but his origins are unknown, and his family may actually have been Italian.

The character is also shown as making his way to the Holy Land , and he did make this journey at some time. His father in the motion picture is shown to be a crusader , and this was indeed the case. The motion picture shows Godfrey of Ibelin as a noble knight who went on Crusade for religious reasons. In fact, Balians Balian's father was one of the most powerful lords in the Crusader States and he . He ruled the County of Jaffa (modern Israel) and was a vassal of the King of Jerusalem .<ref> William of Tyre, p 201</ref>. In the movie we see Balian going on crusade with his father who died before arriving in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In fact, it seems It is likely that Balian had been living in the Crusader kingdom since he was a young man. He was not the only son of Barsian of Ibelin and was , in reality , his youngest son. His father gave Balian was given a large area of land and a castle by his father and he too became a vassal of the King of Jerusalem . <ref>William of Tyre, p 212</ref>. This meant that he He would have been very familiar with the culture and politics of the region.  Scott's depiction makes sense from a storytelling perspective. Most viewers would have been unfamiliar with the Crusader Nation. Balian provides a window into this world for the audience. While it is inaccurate from a historical perspective, it allows Scott to introduce this bizarre world to a modern audience.  In the movie the main character is portrayed as a young man however at the time of the events shown, he was a mature man. The movie does correctly show that in the 1180s that Balian was a major figure in the politics of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He was very involved in the power struggles that greatly weakened the realm. In the movie the hero is shown as struggling to save the Kingdom from various factions who were only interested in power. In reality Balian was quite Machiavellian and sought to increase his own power and influence at the expense of his rivals. However, the movie does accurately shown that the character played by Bloom was a great and a brave knight. In the movie he is portrayed as a great swordsman and a brave leader. The commander of the Christian garrison of Jerusalem during the Ayyubid army, was indeed Balain and he provided to be a brilliant commander, as portrayed by the British Director. He was able to beat off countless attacks by the Muslims as in the 2005 motion picture. In the movie we seen Balian and Saladin reaching a negotiated settlement that ended the bloody siege. This was actually the case and the Christian did agree to surrender the city on terms in 1187. In one of the most memorable scenes we see the main character as leading the Christians safely out of Jerusalem as he hands it over to Saladin. This actually happened and the Muslims did allow the garrison and the Christian population to leave the city unmolested. In the movie after the surrender of Jerusalem to the Muslim Sultan that he returns to Europe with Sybilla. In one scene he is shown as living happily as a blacksmith in his native village and refusing the entreaties of English knights to go on the Third Crusade. In fact, after the fall of Jerusalem Balian stayed in the region and he became one of the leaders of the Crusader states. He actually participated in the Third Crusades and was a key advisor to the legendary Richard the Lionheart. Scott shows the main character as having good relations with Muslim and indeed in real-life Balian of Ibelin had a good relationship with Saladin.[[File: Kingdom_of_Heaven 2.jpg|200px|thumb|left| Balian of Ibelin surrendering Jerusalem to Saladin from a 15th century manuscripts]]