from typing import List


def get_characters_from_file(file_path: str) -> List[str]:
    """
    Opens the specified file and retrieves a list of characters.
    Assuming each character is in one line.
    Characters can have special characters including a space character.

    Args:
        file_path (str): path to the file

    Returns:
        List[str]: List of character names
    """

    characters = []
    with open(file_path, 'r') as characters_file:
        characters = [
            # Remove leading/trailing spaces
            character_name.strip()
            for character_name in characters_file.readlines()
            # It may contain empty lines or comments
            if character_name.strip() and character_name[0] != '#'
        ]
    return characters