The character sheet for the miniseries Klondike.
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Bill
Bill Haskell
You're looking at a rich man.
Portrayed By: Richard Madden
A recent college graduate from Vermont."Nature can't take what you don't want it to."
- Bittersweet Ending: He returns home with the gold he was looking for, but loses Byron and Joe during his journey, and is unable to get Belinda to join him.
- Also veers into Downer Ending territory considering that only a few years after becoming rich, he goes missing and is never seen again.
- Call-Back: While climbing up a mountain at the start of his journey, he encounters a well-worn man coming down the mountain. On the way back from Dawson City, he's now a well-worn man coming down the mountain encountering new adventurers coming up.
- Failed a Spot Check: Bill is threatened by Goodman early on and learns that he's a military veteran, but doesn't put the two together and realize Goodman has both the motivation and ability to kill Byron until they spend more time together.
- Gold Fever: What brings him to the Yukon.
- Nature Is Not Nice: Before he can even start mining for gold, Bill is nearly killed by an avalanche, almost drowns after falling off his boat, and is chased by a wolf. Then he almost freezes to death in the wilderness while pursuing Goodman.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Upon learning that Goodman killed Byron, Bill pursues him through the wilderness without any regard for his own safety.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The former to Byron's latter, taking a more cautious approach in contrast to the reckless behavior of Byron. He becomes more a Red Oni after Byron's death.
- Sanity Slippage: The murder of Byron and the attempts on his life cause Bill to grow more paranoid, temperamental, and impulsive.
- Stunned Silence: His reaction when he learns that the nude girl in the tub is Sabine.
Belinda
Belinda Mulrooney
Gold's a fool's errand, honey.
Portrayed By: Abbie Cornish
A powerful entrepreneur."Everything in Dawson comes through me."
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: How she carries herself in public.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: The real Belinda Mulrooney certainly didn't look like Abbie Cornish.
- Bathtub Scene: Her main moment of Fanservice.
- Death by Irony: Belinda is bankrupted by her hotel venture and dies as a penniless housekeeper, a fate she was trying to avoid.
- Downer Ending: Her story ends with her powerless and in poverty.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Belinda goes from a potential culprit in Byron's murder, to a potential love interest of Bill, then selling him out to Soapy, and finally becoming probably Bill's most important ally in the series.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While she presents herself as a cold and detached businesswoman, she also helps protect Father Judge from the Count, gets Sabine to change her life, rescues Bill several times, and is genuinely concerned by Bill's naivety.
- Lady in a Power Suit: In conjunction with her entrepreneur status.
- Self-Made Woman: Something she doesn't take lightly, especially in the 19th century. Unfortunately, it doesn't save her from dying penniless.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: All of her hard work only leads to her losing her fortune and being reduced to a housekeeper.
- Statuesque Stunner: Played by the 5'8" Abbie Cornish.
Judge
Father Judge
I'm already saved.
Portrayed By: Sam Shepard
A humanitarian priest."Every man's got to have a dream, right? Otherwise, what in God's name are we all doing up here?"
- Age Lift: He's played by 70-year-old Sam Shepard, but the real Father Judge died at 48.
- Bittersweet Ending: He dies only a year after establishing his church, but he ensures that Dawson City becomes a better place.
- Confessional: The Count threatens him during a confessional, then he's visited by Byron's killer. The latter leaves him with the ethical dilemma of what to do with the information, which he ultimately discloses to Bill.
- Cool Old Guy: Despite appearing to be in his late 60s/early 70s, he still saves Bill from a wolf attack and stands up to the Count on multiple occasions.
- Good Shepherd: The real-life Father Judge is known as "The Saint of Dawson" for a reason. Among his many other selfless deeds, he uses his church to house and care for the sick.
- Ironic Name: He doesn't judge. He'll help save anyone.
- Just Between You and Me: How the Count lets Father Judge know about his plans to kill him and burn his church down.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Caring for the sick causes Father Judge to become ill and he eventually dies within a year of establishing his church, although the citizens of Dawson City show their appreciation for him and his good deeds.
- The Power of Love: What he teaches to Sabine in helping her improve her life.
- Saintly Church: How he utilizes his church in Dawson City.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Father Judge's contributions to Dawson City may never be forgotten, but the church he establishes burns down after his death.
Count
The Count
You're scared to kill me.
Portrayed By: Tim Roth
Belinda's chief business rival."Are you gonna give me penance for my future sins?"
- Adaptational Nationality: The Count is depicted as English in the series. The real Count, Charles Eugene Carbonneau, was French Canadian.
- Adaptational Villainy: While Charles Eugene Carbonneau, his real life counterpart, was also a self-proclaimed aristocrat calling himself "Count", he wasn't a murderous businessman willing to burn down a church just to gain more revenue.
- Asshole Victim: No tears are shed when his body is brought into town.
- Authority in Name Only: As his title of "Count" would indicate, he claims to be an aristocrat, but Jack remarks that nobody has been able to prove it.
- Confessional: The Count uses the confessional to warn Father Judge of his plan to kill him and burn down his church if he doesn't vacate.
- The Dog Bites Back: When he's unable to continue paying them, the Count is betrayed by his men and left to die in the wilderness.
- Evil Brit: He's evil and British.
- Evil Wears Black: He's evil and wears black.
- Fan Disservice: Having Sabine disrobe may seem like Fanservice, except he orders her to do it in public to make it as humiliating and degrading as possible.
- Jerkass Has a Point: There's no denying how cruel his treatment of Sabine is, but she can't protest it when her job is to do what men ask of her.
- Just Between You and Me: He gives Father Judge a warning about what he intends to do to him and his church during a Confessional before actually killing him and burning the church down.
- Karmic Death: The Count's scheme to go into the wilderness to steal from Bill results in him being abandoned by his men and freezing to death.
- Kick the Dog: The Count gains nothing by making Sabine strip in public, but he does it anyways.
- Nature Is Not Nice: He freezes to death in the wilderness.
- No Name Given: His real name is never revealed in the series, although he's loosely based on Charles Eugene Carbonneau.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
- His Kick the Dog moment with Sabine leads to her working for Father Judge and turning her life around.
- Deciding to rob Bill leads to his own death.
Joe
Joe Meeker
Ain't no law around here.
Portrayed By: Tim Blake Nelson
A bartender who works for Belinda."I don't put nothing on nobody. I just talk."
- Danger — Thin Ice: What causes his death.
- Deadpan Snarker: He's quick to retort with one-liners.
- Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe: A rare corn cob pipe smoker example. While he's not exactly distinguished, he's well-spoken, loyal, and smarter than he may seem, especially considering his idea to hide his and Bill's gold in the latrine ensures that it remains hidden.
- Fan Disservice: He's shown relieving himself on more than a few occasions and while the camera doesn't go below his torso during these scenes, the latrine he uses is shown in full detail to demonstrate that's where he's been hiding his and Bill's gold.
- Nature Is Not Nice: Dies when the ice on the frozen waterway he's walking on breaks.
- Good Smoker: As his pipe would indicate.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: He faces an illness, an attempt on his life that leaves his arm broken, and the Count's men threatening him, and survives it all with gold in his pockets, only to fall through ice and drown while leaving Dawson City.
- The Stoic: Almost nothing seems to phase or intimate Joe.
Superintendent
The Superintendent
We're cleaning up Dawson.
Portrayed By: Marton Csokas
Dawson City's top lawman."I will not be a party to murder."
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He gets to demonstrates his combat skills when the Tlingit attack Dawson City.
- A Father to His Men: Discovering the dead bodies of his men sends him on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against their killers.
- Insignia Rip-Off Ritual: He becomes so disgusted working under Obstructive Bureaucrat Cavendesh that when he's offered a promotion, he responds by removing his badge and destroying it.
- Large and in Charge: The superintendent leads the police force in Dawson City and he's played by the 6'2" Marton Csokas.
- No Name Given: He's never referred to by his real name in the series, although he's based on real-life lawman Sam Steele.
- Police Are Useless: Not because of him, but because his efforts at maintaining justice are constantly blocked by Cavendesh. He's prevented from further investigating Byron's murder after the wrong suspects are arrested, forcing Bill to find the real killer on his own. In the end, the superintendent quits law enforcement because of the constant obstruction.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The superintendent wants to make certain justice is serviced and is the only Mountie to doubt the Tlingit's guilt in Byron's murder, but has the misfortune of working under an Obstructive Bureaucrat.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: His response when his men are killed.
- Sole Survivor: He and Sabine are technically the only main characters to survive the series. In his case, it's because his real life death is omitted from epilogue.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: The superintendent threatens to kill the young Tlingit prisoner if his father does not shoot a can at the distance that killed Byron, but the superintendent never intends to actually harm the boy. It's a ruse to demonstrate that the older Tlingit cannot make the shot and is therefore not the killer.
Sabine
Sabine
You wouldn't know a gentleman if you saw one.
Portrayed By: Conor Leslie
A young courtesan."I'm stuck up here, and I swear sometimes it's hell on Earth."
- Bathtub Scene: Her big Fanservice moment.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: She resists Belinda's efforts at making her understand what she's doing to herself, prompting a slap.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: She becomes a loyal assistant to Father Judge, helping him care for the sick, attempting to have the Tlingit freed, and looking after him when he becomes ill.
- Kick the Dog: Gets publicly humiliated by the Count because he feels like humiliating her.
- Ms. Fanservice: Most prominently during her Bathtub Scene in front of the miners.
- Later becomes Fan Disservice with her Shameful Strip in public, leading to her dressing more modestly.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Seeing herself in Belinda's pocket mirror and being slapped causes Sabine to realize what she's becoming.
- The Power of Love: After Father Judge teaches Sabine about love, Jack attributes her lifestyle change to being in love with spiritual powers.
- Shameful Strip: The Count has her disrobe down to her undergarments until Belinda intervenes.
- Shoulders-Up Nudity: During Sabine's Bathtub Scene, her Toplessness from the Back is shown as she rises out of the tub, but the camera cuts to a shot of her from the shoulders up when she turns around.
- Sole Survivor: She and the superintendent are technically the only main characters to survive the series. In her case, it's because she's a fictional character whose story ended with the closing credits.
- Statuesque Stunner: Played by the 5'9" Conor Leslie.
- Stunned Silence: She gets this reaction from Bill when he witnesses how she's making her money.
Byron
Byron
You never give away all your money.
Portrayed By: Augustus Prew
Bill's best friend and traveling companion."Son of a bitch! You made it!"
- Decoy Protagonist: He and Bill are established as the leads until he's killed off halfway through the first part.
- Gold Fever: Like many others, his motivation for traveling to the Yukon.
- The Lancer: He's an energetic thrill-seeker in contrast to the more cautious and thoughtful Bill. And with his death, Bill becomes more reckless.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Bill's Blue. While Bill is graduating from college, he's gambling with gangsters.
- His murder sees Bill shift from Blue to Red.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He may only make it halfway through the first part, but his presence is felt throughout the remainder of the series, with his murder serving as one of the primary storylines and motivation for Bill to remain in Dawson City until the culprit is found.
- Robbing the Dead: His boots are stolen from his corpse. When Bill sees the boots in a shop window, he steals them back.
- Walking Spoiler: Due to his Decoy Protagonist status and early death.
Soapy
Soapy Smith
It ain't nothing personal.
Portrayed By: Ian Hart
A con artist."Fortune's a bitch."
- Affably Evil: He's generally polite and charming, even when his cons are exposed and people like Bill and Byron know who he really is. Only being arrested by the superintendent momentarily causes him to lose his composure, but he soon regains it when he's released.
- Asshole Victim: While he might not exactly be an asshole, it's still hard to feel bad for Soapy when he ends up being one of the individuals killed during the Tlingit attack.
- Con Man: Just like his real-life counterpart.
- Death by Irony: He purchases a claim who says it has brought nothing but bad things for him and is stabbed to death moments later.
Jack
Jack London
I'm the closest thing to civilization for 10,000 miles.
Portrayed By: Johnny Simmons
An aspiring storyteller."I've collected a lot of stories. Don't have much meaning unless people hear 'em."
- Adaptational Attractiveness: His teeth may look unpleasant, but he has it better than the real Jack London, who lost his four front teeth.
- Bittersweet Ending: He achieves the fame he was looking for, but dies at a young age.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Literally - his dog is named "Dog."
- Opt Out: He chooses to take the last ferry out of Dawson City before winter arrives to tell his stories and becomes famous because of it.
- The Watcher: Jack takes little part in the events of the series, preferring to instead observe and comment on them. His biggest active contribution is helping Bill find the Tlingit and even then, he only serves as a witness to the meeting between the Tlingit and Bill.
Goodman
Goodman
I'm just an ape.
Portrayed By: Greg Lawson
A former soldier."We know it's coming our whole lives, but it's always a surprise."
- Asshole Victim: His death ensures that Byron receives justice.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He presents himself as a friend to Bill trying to help him solve Byron's murder when Goodman is actually the murderer and behind the attempts on Bill's life.
- Confessional: He uses Father Judge's confessional to admit that he killed Byron.
- Defiant to the End: Cornered by Bill and Belinda, he refuses to surrender and raises his gun towards Bill, forcing Belinda to shoot him.
- Gold Fever: What leads him to commit murder.
- Ironic Name: He's not a good man.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: By using the Confessional to admit his crime, Father Judge is able to confirm to Bill that Goodman killed Byron.
- Walking Spoiler: Due to being Byron's killer.
