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Chev Chelios
The main character. He's an assassin who has been poisoned by Ricky Verona. In order to stay alive, he has to keep his adrenaline up. He's not a very nice person but he loves his girlfriend Eve. Played by Jason Statham.
- Action Hero: Being a criminal hitman in a very bad day, there are few problems that Chelios can solve without punching, shooting or killing people.
- Alliterative Name: Chev Chelios.
- Anti-Hero: He is a mob hitman and an unapologetic Jerkass who does some really awful acts through out both movies such as picking fights, threatening to kill innocents, stealing stuff all the time, driving recklessly and having public sex with his reluctant girlfriend. However, he was trying to retire and go straight before Rick Verona poisoned him and all the things he does are to prolong his survival, since he needs to keep his adrenaline constantly up. And it helps that his enemies are much worse than he is.
- Combat Pragmatist: Prefers to simply beat everyone to death if he isn't in direct possession of a gun.
- Deadpan Snarker: Being at death's doorstep hasn't stopped him from laying off the snark.
- Determinator: He is the living embodiment of determination. Regardless of whether he's been poisoned or had his heart replaced with a synthetic one, he will stop at nothing to get his revenge/heart, and he's willing to do literally anything to keep himself alive until he does.
- Doomed Protagonist: He is a dead man walking no matter what he does. He only needs to stay alive long enough so he can get revenge on the assholes responsible. Ultimately subverted, as he managed to survive the first movie, and the second one gets a little better about this since there is a chance he might survive at the end.
- Enfante Terrible: A flashback in the second movie reveals Chelios has been a bonafide juvenile delinquent when he was young.
- Everyone Has Standards: He's a hitman and an asshole in general, but even he was disgusted by whatever he found in Johnny Vang's cooler.
- Flipping the Bird: At the end of the second movie, which serves as the trope page image.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Chelios is extremely irritable. Justified, he needs to get pissed off constantly so he can linger a little longer on adrenaline to survive.
- Hitman with a Heart: Really, really, really deep down. He wanted out of the game so he could settle down with his girlfriend...
- Hot-Blooded: Enforced, because if he calms down, he dies.
- Jerkass: Chev Chelios, in both movies - although occasional, fairly feeble attempts are made at portraying him as a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, he seems by turns either genuinely uncaring or vaguely amused by much of the havoc he causes.
- To make up for it, pretty much everyone he's up against also embodies this trope.
- It's also thoroughly lampshaded in the second movie with a huge segment of "Fuck you, Chelios!" flashbacks going all the way back to his childhood, in which he's on a Maury-like show getting yelled at for being a little shit.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: With emphasis on the "Jerk" part more than "the heart of gold", since he is an easily riled up asshole that causes some intense havoc in the story with general indifference and amusement, while being extremely hostile towards most people... Except with his loved ones such as his girlfriend Eve. Even then his "nice" moments are really few compared to his other acts.
- In his defense, he was actually planning to go straight and settle down with his girlfriend before the events of the film. Plus, with the sheer amount of shit he ends up going through in both movies, it's not that surprising he's such a prick, though he was revealed as one when he was younger.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Ria mistakes Chev as hers, says as much, and immediately develops a full-blown Bodyguard Crush on him."You need me like Whitney Houston!"
- Living on Borrowed Time: He keeps death at bay a little time by letting the adrenaline out.
- Made of Iron: The man survived falling from a helicopter, hitting a car and bouncing it off the road. This sort of thing would have shattered the bodies of anyone else, but he shakes it off as nothing happened. As soon as his body is recovered in the second movie, he is in such perfect condition his organs are ideal to be donated and he is capable of walking and fighting just fine, when he should have shattered every single part of his body with that fall.]] Of course, reality was out for lunch. At the end of the second movie, he suffers extreme burns and seemingly dies on the operation table... Only for his eyes to open at the very end. And that is not counting the amount of punishment he endures to keep his adrenaline up, which would have exhausted the heart of anyone by now. Just roll with it.
- In the second movie, it is explicitly stated that his nigh-indestructibility is the reason why various people are interested in his organs. More specifically, one very special one...
- Lampshaded by the second film's promotional tagline: "Anyone else would be so dead by now..."
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Played with. What kicked off the plot of the movie was him executing the Chinese mobster Dom Kim - not exactly a good thing, but he was just doing his job, yet his boss arranges him to get him killed just to appease the Triads. But it turns out Chev spared said Kim and told him to go under the radar so he can get retired. Kim returns the mercy by providing back up to Chelios during the first movie's climax. Then comes the second movie, and when it looks like Kim is going to help Chelios again, he declares he intends to harvest his other body parts for Poon Dong. Chelios isn't so merciful this time and kills Kim.
- Nominal Hero: He is a ruthless hitman who fights other people who happens to be worse than him.
- One-Man Army: He may be a dead man walking, but that ain’t stopping Chev from taking down any goons along with himself.
- Phrase Catcher: "Fuck you, Chelios"... Not without reason.
- Professional Killer: His job.
- The Scapegoat: Its what kicked off the movie's events in the first place. After being ordering Chev to kill a Chinese mob boss, his superior turns on him and has Verona poison him on his orders to prevent retaliation from the Triads.
- Villain Protagonist: Played with, Chelios is a hitman, but his villainy is downplayed in the context of the movies.
Eve Lydon
Chev's girlfriend who has no idea that he is a hitman. She sleeps in all day, smokes pot, and apparently enjoys public sex. By Crank 2, she takes up the job of being a stripper nicknamed "Lemon". Played by Amy Smart
- Action Girl: Briefly in the second film where she lifts up her abusive ex and throws him over a car.
- Brainless Beauty: Partially justified by her being a stoner, she's completely oblivious to everything going on around in the first movie.
- Clothing Damage: Before her sex scene, her dress gets ripped which has the effect of making her outfit much more stripperiffic for the rest of the film.
- Combat Stilettos: Downplayed in Crank, where they're wedges. Played fully straight in the sequel, which has in stripper heels the entire movie.
- The Ditz: Due to a combination of being stoned and her natural blase attitude.
- Extreme Omnisexual: Develops a sexual fetish after her public sex scene with Chev, and is shown to be wanting it at any time. Even with a horse.
- Lazy Bum: Portrayed this way in Crank. She sleeps all day and smokes pot, and her only role seems to be to have sex with Chelios.
- Meaningful Name: "Eve" is a strain of marijuana. Can you guess what she does all day in her apartment?
- Ms. Fanservice: Virtually every female character in the movies are there for fanservice. Her only difference is that she's more than an extra.
- Reluctant Fanservice Girl: In the first movie, where the circumstances force her into tearing her dress and having public sex...
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: ...though, by the time High Voltage rolls around, Eve realises - and fully embraces - a fetish for what she and Chev got up to and doesn't care what others think.
- The Stoner: Not seen engaging on screen, but a bong is shown in her apartment and she offers Chev pot to reduce stress. It's also implied that her pot smoking is why she's a Lazy Bum who sleeps in all day and is so oblivious to what's going on. She's also shown to be excited upon the sight of pills on her table, implying that does more than just weed.
- Took a Level in Badass: A Brainless Beauty in the first movie who is totally oblivious about everything around her, to kicking her Domestic Abuser in the nuts, lifting him up in the air and throwing him over a car roof.
- Vapor Wear: She doesn't wear a bra under her dress, which becomes apparent once it gets torn.
Doc Miles
Chev's doctor and only friend. Played by Dwight Yoakam.
- Back-Alley Doctor: A rather competent example. Justified as he implies that he used to be a licensed doctor in the past.
- Cool Old Guy: He's clearly older than Chelios, and he's a rather eccentric and affable fellow.
- Dr. Feelgood: Downplayed, but he does give Chelios meth as part of his treatment to boost his endorphins, and also offhandedly suggests smoking pot to take the edge off his Epinephrine overdose.
- Kavorka Man: Miles is an old man hooked up with Chocolate, a Ms. Fanservice.
- Jerkass: He's only like this to Chocolate. Well, maybe she likes him treating her this way.
- The Smart Guy: He is a doctor, so he knows what he is doing.
Chocolate/Dark Chocolate
Doc Miles' bitch/personal assistant. Technically two different characters in each movie, but the role is the same. Played by Valarie Rae Miller and Julanne Chidi Hill respectively.
- Butt-Monkey: Dark Chocolate is this to Doc.
- The Lancer: As Doc's assistant.
- Legacy Character: Two characters named "Chocolate" who serve the role of being Doc's bitch, neither characters' real name is known.
- Ms. Fanservice: Dark Chocolate especially. Her first appearance is in a thong with repeated ass shots. Later, she poses as a prostitute.
Kaylo
Chev's gay friend who is really thick. Played by Efren Ramirez.
- Camp Gay: Kaylo is very flamboyant.
- Gay Best Friend: To Chelios. He is one of the few people besides Doc that are really close to him.
- The Ditz: Lets say he is not the brightest bulb.
Ricky Verona
The main villain in the first film who has poisoned Chev. Played by Jose Pablo Cantillo.
- And I Must Scream: Being reduced to a head inside an glass box, being kept barely awake must not be a pleasant fate.
- Bald of Evil: Has a clean shaven head and is very much the psycho.
- Brain in a Jar: His head was recovered by his brother El Huron, who placed it inside a glass box with his brain still kept alive.
- Defiant to the End: It's particularly impressive that he does this as a decapitated head whose final words are "fuck you, Chelios".
- The Dragon: He aims to become this for Carlito, which means taking Chev out of the picture.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Ricky becomes enraged when he discovers Chelios killed his brother Alex.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: It doesn't take much to set him off, especially after Chev kills his brother.
- The Heavy: Carlito is technically the Big Bad, however it's Verona who actually drives most of the plot, as Chelios is spending the whole first movie looking for him. At the end, he turns on Carlito and becomes the final opponent of the movie.
- Neck Snap: Chelios breaks his neck while in mid-air falling from a great height.
- No One Could Survive That!: Somehow he lived through having his neck twisted by Chelios and falling from a massive height, at least long enough for his head to be recovered by his brother's men who stuffed inside a machine to keep his brain alive.
- Say Your Prayers: When Chev (seemingly) kills one of Carlito's bodyguards with his Finger Gun, he promptly drops the tough guy act and starts reciting the Lord's Prayer in a clearly terrified voice.
- The Starscream: He ends up gunning down Carlito at the end of the movie.
Carlito
Chelios' employer and Ricky's boss. Played by Carlos Sanz.
- Bad Boss: Ordering a hit on one of his best enforcers after they fulfilled their job.
- Big Bad: For the first movie, since Verona is under his payroll.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: This attitude towards Chelios after he iced Don Kim is essentially what kicked off the first movie's plot.
Don Kim
A Triad mobster that was seemingly executed by Chelios prior to the first movie's start. Played by Keone Young.
- Big Damn Heroes: Appears in the first movie's climax to provide support to Chev during the shootout against Carlito and Verona.
- Fat Bastard: Turns into this role in the second movie, where he attempts to sell out Chev to the Triads.
- Plot-Triggering Death: His death caused the movie's events, with Chelios' death being ordered to prevent any retribution from the Chinese. Except Chelios decided to spare him and told him to go underground and disappear.
- Ungrateful Bastard: He turns on Chev Chelios in the second movie, deciding to hand him back to the Chinese so they could harvest the rest of his body parts. Kim pays with his life instead.
Ria
A rather annoying Chinese hooker who wants to follow Chev. Played by Bai Ling.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Gets infatuated with Chelios, much to his chagrin.
- Disposable Sex Worker: She is (unintentionally) saved from being turned into one by Chev.
- Large Ham: Its rare to find a scene where she is not speaking loudly.
- Stalker with a Crush: More pestering and obstructive than the usual example.
- Woman on Fire: Set ablaze by a burning Chev who in his delirium mistakes her for Eve and kisses her.
- You No Take Candle: Her manner of speech is this."This dude my Kevin Costner!""You want me sticky you?""Cock-suck hit and run!"
El Huron
The main villain in the second one. Played by Clifton Collins Jr..
- Avenging the Villain: His motivation for killing Chev: he killed his little brother Rick Verona in the first movie.
- Big Bad: Of High Voltage. Although he is not the cause of Chelios' condition in the second movie like Rick Verona was in the second movie, he wants Chelios for killing his brothers.
- Contemplative Boss: He is introduced this way, with his face turned to the window from his henchmen, demanding they bring him Chelios.
- Large Ham: In his introductory scene, he is chewing the scenery and acting over-the-top, possibly to show his unhinged nature and to intimidate his goons.
Venus
Kaylo's twin brother who has "Full Body Tourette's". Also played by Efren Ramirez.
- Backup Twin: Functions the same role his brother did before his death.
- Handicapped Badass: His condition is akin to epilepsy and sometimes strikes when it's least convenient. It still doesn't stop him from accidentally taking out some enemies when it happens.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: "You killed my brother, motherfucker. Prepare to Die."
- You Killed My Father: He wants to avenge his brother's murder, but is disappointed that Chelios has already taken care of the men responsible. He tries to take it out on Ricky Verona's brother El Huron.
Johnny Vang
One of the villains in the sequel. He has stolen Chev's heart. Played by Art Hsu.
- Asshole Victim: Given how much of a Jerkass criminal he was it's hard to say he didn't have it coming.
- Boom, Headshot!: Chico blows his brains out.
- The Heavy: In the second movie, since Vang is carrying Chelios' heart in his case, he drives his search to retrieve his pumper back. Except he isn't.
- Jerkass: What else do you call a guy that smokes during an ongoing heart operation and blows steam and cinder inside the patient's chest? All while he is awake? And just to drive the point home, he hocks a loogy into the hole just for laughs.
- Red Herring: Chev spends the sequel chasing Vang who is carrying his heart on his case.Turns out he doesn't even have it, as he was carrying... something else. And the heart was already donated to its intended receiver.
- Smug Snake: He's very loud, obnoxious and all too happy to taunt Chelios, but he quickly breaks down as soon as he's in danger.
- The Unreveal: spoiler: We never find out what exactly he was carrying in inside his brief case, but judging from Chev's reaction, it's really messed up.Chelios: "What kind of sick freak carries something like that around in a box?"
Chico
A latino thug sent by El Huron to bring Chev back to him. Played by Joseph Julian Soria.
- The Dragon: To El Huron. He is the lead thug chasing Chev throughout the second movie.
- Excrement Statement: He pisses on Chelios while dragging him across the water with his boat.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Chelios kills him this way. With an electric baton.
- Tattooed Crook: Chico is absolutely covered in tats.
- You Have Failed Me: On the receiving end of the non-fatal variation. Because he returned to El Huron emptyhanded, he is ordered to
slice off both of his own nipples.
Poon Dong
The boss of the Triads, who stole Chev's heart. Played by David Carradine.
- Dirty Old Man: It ends up being used against him when Doc uses Dark Chocolate to lure him into his apartment so he can retrieve Chelios' heart.
- Karmic Death: Doc removes the heart that he stole from Chelios. Lampshaded by him who says "karma's a bitch".
- Oh, Crap!: When he realizes that Doc is going to take his heart.
- Punny Name: His name contains the slang words for vagina and penis respectively.
- Yellowface: David Carradine, who is an white actor, plays a Chinese character. Possibly either a Shout-Out, or Take That! (depending on your political opinion) to his role on Kung Fu (1972).
