History Characters / TheGodfather

* FauxAffablyEvil: In the first two movies, he's polite, icy and ruthless. He sweet-talks Kay to make her believe he's not going to be a criminal while his revenge plans are already in motion. He invokes a false veneer of amicability by keeping his friends close and his enemies closer.

** [[spoiler: He later marries Kay but their marriage becomes a total disaster in Part II.]]

The characters of ''Film/TheGodfather'' trilogy and any associated works.

* ParentalSubstitute: Unofficially adopts Tom Hagen after he was found by Sonny as a homeless orphan. He doesn't fully adopt him because he doesn't want to disrespect Tom's birth parents, but Tom considers Vito to be his true father. It's implied that this was him paying it forward: In Part II, he says that Genco took him in and gave him a job at his grocery store when he was himself an orphan immigrant with absolutely nothing, giving him a livelihood, and even after Fanucci forces Genco to fire him he says he won't forget what Genco did for him.
* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: He lives a honest life in America for years. Petty crime only ensues after he's fired, and he only becomes a killer when Fanucci threatens his livelihood once again. After that it gets downplayed almost to subversion levels, in that Vito is not that [[BlackAndGreyMorality evil by the standards of the story]]. He's a FriendlyNeighborhoodGangster who for the most part is pitted against people who are more evil. All things considered, his worst in-universe deeds during his donship boil down to having a horse killed just to intimidate its owner, and making AnOfferYouCantRefuse to a band leader after a failed negotiation, and that loses some effect by being OffstageVillainy.
* SpeechImpediment: His raspy voice is the result of a characterization decision by Brando, who ''felt'' Vito the gangster was shot in the throat. Part II {{RetCon}}s this with a straight young Vito having already had that voice, hinting it comes from his feeble health as a child. WordOfGod not addressed in the movies.

* BenevolentBoss: Compared to Michael and Vinnie, Vito is extremely forgiving. He even publicly admits to other Dons that he will not seek revenge for Sonny's death. Although this can be interpreted as more of a case of [[spoiler:ExactWords]].
* TheChessmaster: Especially in the book where it is more obvious that Michael's purge of the five families was orchestrated by Vito years before, at his negotiations to bring Michael home from Sicily.

* ParentalFavoritism: Towards Michael, meant for a higher purpose. The original novel tries to explain why Sonny is the heir exempt from EvilParentsWantGoodKids because Sonny chose a criminal life after witnessing Vito killing Fanucci. (Part II disregards this)
%%* ThePatriarch
* PetTheDog: Considering how insular, xenophobic and racist the Sicilian Mafia is, Vito's acceptance of Tom (who is German-Irish) as a son, even if it's not in name, is an exceptionally magnaminous gesture of kindness.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: In the first movie, despite his reputation and intimidating nature, we never see him personally kill or intimidate, save for a NoodleIncident mentioned by Michael. Whilst in Part II we see how he rose to the ranks by killing Don Fanucci and Don Ciccio.

* DontYouDarePityMe: Politely implied when he refuses to accept the basket of food that a heartbroken Abbandando gives to Vito as severance and genuine gift after Don Fanucci's nephew gets Vito's job. Vito is [[LikeASonToMe like family]], but the handout does not sit well with his pride or his self-governing nature. Subsequently Vito finds his own ways to provide for his family and petty crime ensues. Alternatively, Vito knew that Genco couldn't really afford to give him the severance package, and cared about Genco too much to take advantage of his generosity, despite his need.
* TheExile: He makes America his new home out of of necessity when he has to flee from Corleone after Don Ciccio refuses to spare his life.

* TheGhost: Marlon Brando was supposed to reprise his role as "old" Vito for the 1941 flashback at the end of ''Part II'', but when he [[AbsenteeActor failed to turn up for the shoot]], the scene was rewritten to keep him offscreen.[[note]] Accounts vary as to why, but the most widely accepted reason is that Marlon Brando hadn't been paid fully for acting in Part I. Paramount offered him the same exact salary he had made on Part I for doing, basically, a walk-in cameo with no lines. The actor came very close to accepting until he asked for the pending Part I salary and Paramount refused to pay it. Brando eventually sued. [[/note]]
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Ran away from a crime lord, only to become one himself.

* ParentalAbandonment: Both of them were killed in Sicily by the local mafia. His older brother Paolo got himself killed trying to avenge their father.

* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: ''Part II'' details his journey from Italian immigrant to mob boss.
* TheQuietOne: As a child he hardly ever talked, which made his family think he was dull-witted. This is later shown to not be the case. The book elaborates, saying that in actuality Vito was an observer and not a talker; it also says that what cemented his friendship with Clemenza was that Clemenza was a storyteller and Vito was a listener to storytellers.
* {{Revenge}}: Against Francesco Ciccio for killing his parents and brother Paolo. And in the recut, against the capos that were looking for him before he escaped too. It Should be noted that this is the only time Vito killed someone out of pure and simple revenge rather than for business reasons.

* YouKilledMyFather: The beginning of Part II tells or shows that [[FamilyExtermination Vito's father, mother (and brother) are murdered by a Sicilian mafia boss]], Don Ciccio, when Vito is a child. He escapes to the U.S., becomes an influential crime boss there, and eventually returns to Sicily to take revenge on Don Ciccio.

The youngest child of the family. He doesn't want to join the family business. When Sollozzo and [=McCluskey=] make another attempt on his father's life, he is forced to join the family business and kills them. He becomes the new Don at the end of the movie. By the second movie, Michael becomes a full-fledged ruthless Don. In the third movie, he strives to stay legitimate, but his past finally catches up. [[spoiler:He ultimately fails, with tragic consequences]].

* TheDon: After Vito died in 1955 Michael officially became Don.

* FauxAffablyEvil: In the first two movies, he's polite, icy and ruthless. He sweet-talks Kay to make her believe he's not going to be a criminal while his revenge plans are already in motion. He invokes a false veneer of amicability by keeping his friends close but his enemies closer.

* IAmNotMyFather: "That's my family Kay, it's not me." Subverted; NotSoDifferent.

* MeaningfulName: Michael is an angel and its supposed to symbolize that the youngest Corleone son will turn out different than his brothers. [[SubvertedTrope But]] [[NonIndicativeName he didn't.]]

* TookALevelInJerkass: In ''Part II'', Michael ''grows'' a heart of stone (and [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope far worse]] he has a completely innocent prostitute killed for the sake of the business) yet personality-wise he is not unprovokedly abrupt until the final part, when he offends Tom Hagen for no reason. This is somehow inverted during the two decades gap and by Part III Michael [[TookALevelInKindness has mellowed out]] and is now TheAtoner. Kay is the one who is abrasive towards him and on a high horse, despite that he voluntarily gave up child custody and she is not [[GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion squeaky-clean]] either.

** [[spoiler: He later marries Kay but their marriage is a total disaster.]]

-->'''Michael''': "That's my family, Kaye. That's not me."

* AmicablyDivorced: With Kay.

* CoolUncle: He acts this way toward Vincent, and becomes his Consigliere like his father was to him, and practically to ''all'' his nephews, even Tom Hagen's children, who love him unconditionally, and he has become a ParentalSubstitute to all them.

* HeelFaceDoorSlam: It becomes the focal point for the final movie in the trilogy. Michael Corleone tries to repair the relationship with his wife and children now that he's legit in the eyes of the public (which was his ultimate goal for the family). [[spoiler:He goes to a Catholic Priest and confesses his ultimate sin of having his older brother Fredo killed. He finds a worthy successor to take over the business when he's gone. And just when things are looking up, his daughter gets killed by his enemies, breaking him for good.]]

* TheBrute: Despite doing his best to fill the roles of caporegime (read: general), and later acting Don, the only thing Sonny is ever really good at is violence (well, outside the bedroom that is...). It's during these times that Tom's importance as Sonny's advisor really becomes significant

[[folder:Fredo Corleone]]

The middle child of the family. He is the stupid one, but has a warm heart. "Fredo" has now become shorthand for "weak link".

[[caption-width-right:243:"You blamed [Carlo] for Sonny, you always did, everybody did." ]]

* AscendedExtra: Connie is the least important of the Corleone siblings InUniverse (what with being a woman and all that), however, by part III with Fredo, Tom and Sonny out of the way she temporarily replaces Michael as family boss when he falls ill in the middle of a gang war.

* CorruptTheCutie: In Part I Connie is (an informed) civilian who marries well before her husband treats her like crap and is murdered; in Part II she turns to leeching off Michael (while spiting him) but staying out of the business; in Part III she is an active player in family affairs

* DomesticAbuse: Experiences this at the hands of Carlo
* MafiaPrincess: The archetypal example of this. By the end of the first film however, when her abusive husband is murdered by her brother Michael for his role in setting up the murder of the oldest sibling Sonny, Connie finds herself quite jaded and goes into a downward spiral of debauchery and drinking to punish her brother Michael. It takes the death of her mother Carmela to get her to clean her act up, at which point she convinces Michael to reconcile with turncoat brother Fredo. By the third film, she's been upgraded to full-blown Godmother and has taken the role of adviser/Corleone Family mentor to Sonny's illegitimate son Vinnie, who has followed his father's footsteps into organized crime.
* OlderAndWiser: She is practically a load in her younger years since the business is not female-friendly, but she evolves and by Part III she is LadyMacbeth.

* HappilyAdopted: Although the Don never formally adopted him, he treated him just like his birth children and Hagen thought of Vito Corleone as his true father. The Corleone children think of him as another sibling and not just Sonny's friend who came to live with them.

Michael's long-time girlfriend that he met at college. She is somewhat of an outsider from the beginning and symbolizes Michael's initial desire to live a more Americanized life - viewing her as a way of breaking away from the family business. He eventually falls out of love with her but proposes to her years later in order to start a family. She becomes his second wife and they have two children but their relationship is not a happy one. [[spoiler: Michael continuously mistreats Kay and it ends bitterly with a divorce in Part II after Kay tells Michael that she has aborted their third child to spite him. In Part III, Michael has mellowed out and they attempt to reconcile their relationship but then their daughter, Mary dies.]]

* AmicablyDivorced: With Michael in ''Part III''.

* ConvenientMiscarriage: Subverted. Kay Corleone apparently suffers this trope, only to be revealed later that she aborted the child out of hatred towards her Catholic husband and because she can't stand the idea of another child being raised into his criminal family.
* FirstLove: To Michael. He ends up marrying her after his first relationship didn't pan out.
* NaiveNewcomer: In the first movie. Zigzagged as she is aware of some of the nasty things but Michael plays with it trying to downplay the criminal side of his family.

* AmicablyDivorced: More so on her part than Fredo's in the book.
* DumbBlonde: So much its actually painful, completely ignorant of wedding traditions and etiquete.

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Book only. While she's heavily promiscous (so far as to having being caught by Fredo having sex with a film co-star), she did show Fredo some affection. She gave him bit parts in her films and bought a large headstone for him when he died.

Shortly after Michael arrives in Sicily following his escape from New York, he meets a local woman named Apollonia. Michael falls deeply and passionately in love with her (which is described as being "struck by the thunderbolt"). After a brief period of courtship, Michael marries her and she becomes his first wife. His relationship with her is what helps him re-connect with his Sicilian roots and find out where he truly belongs. [[spoiler: The pregnant Apollonia dies in a car bomb set by Fabrizio (one of Michael's bodyguards) that was intended to kill him. Her death makes Michael a man with an uncontrollable thirst for revenge, which would eventually lead him to betray his family.]]

* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:Subverted. Michael and Apollonia wanted this to happen since they had sex ''every'' night. Apollonia finds out she is expecting and Michael is overjoyed, but she is murdered during her pregnancy thus their baby dies too.]]
* {{Foil}}: To Kay. Apollonia represents traditions and Italian life whereas Kay represents modernity and American life.

* WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler:She does not appear much and we know little about her but her death is what leads to his FaceHeelTurn.]]

* CanonForeigner: He wasn't in the book at all. In fact Sonny's mistress was explicitly stated to have not gotten pregnant by him.

* HeroicBastard: [[NomDeMom Goes by his mother's name]] since he was born out of wedlock.

The youngest of Michael's children.

* MafiaPrincess: She is legitimately oblivious to her father's corrupt ways, also striking a romance with [[KissingCousins her cousin]] Vinnie. [[spoiler: The poor kid ends up shot to death as a result of her father's crimes coming back to bite him on the ass, since an assassin sent to snipe Michael after her brother's opera debut shoots her instead by mistake; she dies in Michael's arms, and he's pushed to the DespairEventHorizon.]]

* PleaseWakeUp: A mild example, but the baby Anthony is the only other person present during [[spoiler:Vito's death]].

Connie's husband. An inept and short-tempered man, he takes out his frustrations on her, leading quickly to tension with Sonny.

* DirtyCoward: Beats Connie (who loves him so much that she tries to rationalize that it's her fault that he beats her[[note]]Which is a common thing seen in abuse victims[[/note]], and even cries when she confronts Michael after his death EVEN KNOWING he's responsible for his brother's death) but RUNS away when Sonny confronts and whimpers like a puppy after being cornered as he gets beaten up by Sonny. He is so cowardly he didn't even participate in the ambush that killed Sonny, instead staying far away as safe as possible. This is not even counting how he actually LIES about having nothing to do with Sonny's death and denying being involved with the other Mafia family's operations when Michael confronts him at the end of the first movie and then begs for his life to Michael to spare him after being busted as a lying bullshitter..

* YourCheatingHeart: Implied by a suspect phone call Connie receives asking about Carlo though it's just as likely to be a way to provoke Connie into getting upset so that [[spoiler:Carlo would beat her to provoke Sonny as part of his deal with Barzini, to cause the tollbooth ambush.]]

[[folder: Capo Peter Clemenza]]

** The movie additionally emphasizes how Tessio is the "smarter" of the two Corleone Capos, but Clemenza demonstrates a fairly calculating demeanor when walking Michael through the best way to [[spoiler:assassinate Sollozzo and McCluskey.]]

[[folder: Capo Salvatore Tessio]]

Another associate of Vito's from the old days, considered more cautious and intelligent than Clemenza.

* InformedAbility: None of the brutality that he is supposedly capable of is seen onscreen, but everyone talks about it. The only story told about Brasi is fairly meek compared to the on-screen action: Michael tells Kay that [[spoiler:Brasi once pointed a gun to a music director to extort him to sign Johnny Fontane away.]] When Don Vito gives Brasi the task of [[spoiler:pretending to go work for Sollozzo, Brasi fails and gets killed before doing anything.]] The book is more explicit about Brasi's savagery although always as OffstageVillainy in the distant past.

[[folder: Al Neri]]

A former NYPD cop expelled for police brutality, he was taken in by the Corleones as a hitman. Eventually became Michael's right-hand man and most trusted advisor.

* KickTheDog: To blackmail Senator Geary in Part II the Mob kills an innocent hooker and positions it near him as he sleeps to make him think he did it. It's implied that Al was the one who killed her.

* AscendedExtra: Like Neri, has much more screentime and importance in ''Part II'' than the original.

* BusCrash: He was reportedly supposed to have a major part in Part III but after Coppola learned of the death of actor Joe Spinell, the character was changed to Joey Zaza. Interestingly enough, Cicci was one of the [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse untied ends from Part II]] as his final fate was left unclear. Most assume that he would have been dead by then (probably killed in prison), given his violation of omerta.

[[folder: Capo Frankie Pentangeli]]

* BathSuicide: In ''Part II'', Hagen visits him in prison and talks about this practice in the Roman Empire, hinting that if he does this his family will be spared. [[spoiler:He does, and they are. The camera shot depicting the outcome is a ShoutOut to the painting ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Marat The Death of Marat]]'']].

* KnightOfCerebus: His arrival marks the steady erosion of the unassailable position held by the Corleone Family at the beginning of the beginning. [[ImpaledPalm He stabs Luca Brasi's right hand]], pinning it to the bar while one of Bruno's men garrotes Luca.

[[folder: Francesco Ciccio]]

* DisproportionateRetribution: He killed Vito's dad Antonio Andolini just for insulting him. To think that if it weren't for Ciccio having such a fragile ego, the whole ''Godfather'' saga wouldn't even have happened.

* EvilOldFolks: Despite his age, he's still the antagonist of Part III for a reason.

Swiss banker who helps negotiate the Immobiliare deal. Fearing exposure, he skips town with a BriefcaseFullOfMoney and incriminating documents, which doesn't save him.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He uses his power to get his nephew a job (at the cost of Vito's) and when intimidating Vito Fanucci takes a dress from Vito's store to give to one of how own daughters.

* WouldHitAGirl: A DomesticAbuser who is physically abusive to Connie.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler:For Barzini.]]

* YouKilledMyFather: The beginning of Part II tells or shows that Vito's father, mother (and brother) are murdered by a Sicilian mafia boss, Don Ciccio, when Vito is a child. He escapes to the U.S., becomes an influential crime boss there, and eventually returns to Sicily to take revenge on Don Ciccio.

->'''Portrayed By''': Andy Garcia

[[folder: Constanza "Connie" Corleone]]

* {{Revenge}}: Against Francesco Ciccio for killing his parents and brother Paolo. And in the recut, against the capos that were looking for him before he escaped too.

Born Vito Andolini in Sicily, he is the founder of the Corleone crime family.

Born Vito Andolini, he is the founder of the Corleone crime family.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler: For Barzini.]]
* DisposableSexWorker: [[spoiler: Is riddled with bullets while in bed with a prostitute.]]

->'''Portrayed By''': Richard Castellano (''The Godfather''), Bruno Kirby (''Part II'')

* KickTheDog: To blackmail Senator Geary in Part II the Mob kills an innocent hooker and positions it near him as he sleeps to blackmail him. It's implied that Al was the one who killed her.

* OhCrap: He has this reaction shortly after beating Connie when he sees a ''very'' pissed-off [[BigBrotherInstinct Sonny]] running towards him.
** Has another one when [[spoiler: Michael reveals he knows about Carlo's involvement in Sonny's murder.]]

* FormerlyFit: In Part II, when played by Bruno Kirby in his youth, Clemenza was a lot skinnier than when played by Richard Castellano. Though the younger Clemenza is a bit thicker than the younger Vito and Tessio and can be seen eating a lot.

* TheDragon: For Michael.

* MommasBoy: Described in the first novel as the son every Italian mther longs for.