A Hero Protagonist is when The Hero and The Protagonist are the same person. This combination of roles is extremely common, to the point where it's considered true unless otherwise noted within any work, and the terms are often (falsely) assumed to be synonymous and used interchangeably. Simply put, the central character is one who overcomes adversity and challenges or accomplishes some great feat in such a way that demonstrates their strength (physical and/or mental), ingenuity, and valor. In more modern works, these challenges often have an underlying morality to them, with the Hero Protagonist aligning with or being the Big Good and the challenges related to the Big Bad. Thus, the Hero Protagonist tends to be a source of Escapism; the audience sympathizes with the character because they're who the audience wants to be, rather than who they actually are. It's common to see these characters tackle villains who either cause or are personifications of real-life issues, in order to fulfill the desire of the audience to see these problems dealt with.

On the other hand, the Hero Protagonist need to be treated carefully. Since the Hero Protagonist is the central character, the issues common in The Hero become noticeable very quickly. Since it's inevitable that the character will win (usually), a lot of the drama in the story is removed. Good writing will therefore focus on how they win rather than if they win, or offer up an interesting character dilemma. Bad writing can turn the Hero Protagonist into an Invincible Hero that never loses, meaning that any dramatic tension is removed from the story and thus causes the audience to become disinterested. Several works avoid the problem altogether by averting the Hero Protagonist by having the two traits in different characters or dropping one or both from the narrative completely. If The Hero is made into a supporting role, this allows them to be awesome and heroic without dragging down the narrative. If The Protagonist is a villain, a bystander, or otherwise not a figure of great power and prestige, it becomes a lot less clear that the central character will achieve whatever they set out to do — villains exist in fiction to be defeated, and bystanders are usually people who can't make any significant changes to the world overall. This can be helpful in keeping dramatic tension consistent throughout the narrative.

A Hero Protagonist is most often found in works with Black-and-White Morality, where they will be opposed to the Villain Antagonist. But this character can be found in other stories with a different morality. This trope is easily one of The Oldest Ones in the Book, to the point where most of its aversions are likewise The Oldest Ones in the Book. For when The Hero is not The Protagonist, see Supporting Leader, Hero of Another Story, and Hero Antagonist. For when The Protagonist is not The Hero, see Anti-Hero, Villain Protagonist and Supporting Protagonist. Not to be confused with Hiroaki "Hiro" Protagonist.

As this is an (almost) Omnipresent Trope, no examples please.