Oskar Schindler also comes to mind when I think of this. He was definitely flawed in many ways, known as a womanizer, but he saved over 1200 people from the Nazis at great personal risk to himself. I guess that speaks to his character, willing to literally risk his own life to save a group of people who, at the time, were considered "vermin" by the powers that be. He could have easily been brandished a traitor to the Nazi regime had they figured out the depth of his manipulations to save "his" people, and they would have killed him. But he risked it to do what he knew was the right thing. I think standing up for the least of us, the least powerful, even those who are openly despised, shows immense character.