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Adam Bell
Adam Bell
Played By: Jake Gyllenhaal
"Control, it's all about control. Every dictatorship has one obsession, and that's it."
A seemingly ordinary, mild-mannered albeit neurotic history professor. Much like the rehearsed and passionless lectures he recites to his students, Adam's life is repetitious and mundane until he comes across an extra in a movie who bears an uncanny resemblance to himself. Unsure if his mind is unraveling or if he has a doppelganger, Adam goes about trying to track down the actor, which threatens his own life and sanity.- Backstory Horror: Judging by the torn picture Adam possesses in the beginning of the film while Anthony has the intact version which is revealed to include Helen. Anthony is implied to be Adam's past self with all of his destructive tendencies repressed such as his aggression and adultery. The ending implies that Adam has not learned from his past cheating and will end up estranged from Helen anyways.
- Nice Guy: Compared to Anthony, Adam is leagues more polite and introverted than his counterpart. When Anthony confronts Adam later in the film, he is easily scared of Anthony's violent threats.
Anthony Claire
Anthony Claire
Played By Jake Gyllenhaal
"I'm fucking crazy? I'M FUCKING CRAZY!"
A small time actor, Anthony is an assertive, impulsive, and promiscuous man. Married to his wife, Helen, with a child soon to be born, Anthony struggles to deal with his commitment issues due to his history of adultery. When he learns of Adam's existence, Anthony discovers an opportunity to momentarily reclaim his freedom from his familial responsibilities by impersonating his doppelganger.- Bed Trick: Anthony violently threatens Adam after falsely accusing him of sleeping with his wife so that he can impersonate him and have a sexual escapade with Adam's girlfriend, Mary. Anthony affair is cut short when Mary rejects him discovers a mark on his finger left by his wedding ring.
- Berserk Button: Explodes with rage after Mary questions his masculinity after discovering he is not Adam and is married. He attempts to throw Mary from Adam's car and ends up crashing and flipping the vehicle, likely killing both of them.
- Has a Type: Both Helen and Mary, both of them being blonde, petite, and very pale women.
- Hell-Bent for Leather: Anthony's most discernable feature from Adam is his black leather, motorcycle jacket he is often seen wearing, which contrasts with Adam's disheveled, brown suit. Paired with his black gloves and motorcycle helmet, his jacket gives Anthony a sinister look as he stalks Adam and his girlfriend, Mary, later in the film and plots to find a way to sleep with her.
- Smug Snake: Anthony's insidiousness and manipulative tendencies are seen when he shown gleefully practicing lines in the mirror so he can find the most convincing and threatening way to falsely accuse Adam of sleeping with Helen in order to force Adam to take his place while he has sex with Mary.
- Suddenly Shouting: Anthony utilizes this to scare Adam in their last confrontation before Anthony forces Adam to temporarily switch places so he can have an affair with Adam's girlfriend.
