Columbus is the main protagonist and narrator of Zombieland. He is portrayed as nerdy and cautious, although he also shows enough skill to survive in Zombieland. He shows the most emotion of the four main characters and is often the peacekeeper of the group. Like all of the main characters, he gets his alias from a city in the US he seeks to visit (Columbus, Wichita, Little Rock, and Tallahassee).
He is played by later Academy Award-nominee Jesse Eisenberg, who was cast for the role likely due to the actor's familiarity with the comedy genre, having participated in the film Adventureland and the horror genre in general early in his film career, e.g. his roles in The Village and Cursed
