How real do your novel's characters need to be?

I'm not sure it's possible for a book character to be "too real." If the reader feels like they know them and can get a decent picture in their mind of a written character then I should think it's all good. It beats a cookie cutter character who's as bland as a rice cake, lol. By the time I've finished a character's story, I know their background, whether they have siblings, their birthday, if they have any distinguishing marks (birthmarks, scars, tattoos, etc), not to mention why they behave the way they do, how they'll react to specific situations and scenarios, whatever.

Having an always-on sense of humor is real--in my life and in my stories. People and characters reacting to my always-on are real too. (Sometimes they play along and sometimes they get annoyed.) That's real. No humor is too angsty for my taste in reading.

Here's something to consider--the novel I've been working on for 2.5 years has all the grim of dystopia, all the angst and grit of urban fantasy, and yet, the characters are mostly stuffed animals. How's that for both real with a sense of humor? ;)

The characters must be real for the reader or else if they are superficial the reader will have no great interest in them or their story. The reader experiences the story through the characters. And the characters can never be too real.

They need to be someone they can actually imagine being in their life. I can imagine a Neville Longbottom in my life but I can't imagine an Edward Cullen. They need to be realistic with a tiny, tiny twist of unrealism.