Characters / National Treasure

Benjamin Franklin Gates

Benjamin Franklin Gates

Played by: Nicolas Cage

• Always Save the Girl: Subverted. When the wooden stairs in the mineshaft begin to fall apart, Ben has the choice to save the Declaration of Independence or Abigail from falling to their doom. It seems he's chosen the Declaration over Abigail, but he actually Takes a Third Option.
• Badass Bookworm: Ben is very well versed in history and historical facts in general. He also goes toe to toe with Ian and his thugs and dives from very high up into the Hudson.

• Chekhov's Hobby: When the FBI rattle off Ben's history they mention he was in the Navy ROTC and a certified Navy Diver. Later when getting a change of clothes and looking up the clue to the Liberty Bell, Ben mentions his watch was a rather expensive diving watch. It is all suggested so quickly it doesn't come across as "In Your Face" but only adds validity to the moment when Ben escapes the FBI. Truth in Television, as a large number of treasure hunters are certified divers because a great deal of treasure hunting involves shipwrecks.
• Couldn't Find a Pen: Due to the absence of ink, Ben stabs his thumb with a knife to make a substance to read the stem engravings on the pipe in the first film. Riley is noticeably squicked out.
• Determinator: Spent as much as three decades searching for the Templar Treasure.
• Elite School Means Elite Brain: While the FBI is investigating Ben Gates for stealing the Declaration of Independence, it's revealed that Ben holds a masters from MIT and a doctorate from Georgetown University. Notably, the variety of his majors (archeology, cryptology, mechanical engineering, and history) look confusing to the FBI, but show the audience just how devoted Ben is to treasure hunting.
• Gentleman and a Scholar: Ben is both one of the most intelligent and most noble characters in the series. Not to mention, he looks darn good in a tuxedo.
• Guile Hero: Ben uses his brains to solve problems, and rarely gets into a situation where he has to use his fists or a gun.

• Hey, Catch!: In the first film with a lit flare in a room filled with gunpowder to escape being shot by Shaw.
• Humble Hero: He's working towards finding treasure for the sake of his whole family, not just himself, and he always puts his friends' safety and well-being first. When he gets the treasure at the end of the first film, he turns down a %10 finder's fee, but the resulting 1% still results in quite the sizable amount.
• Indy Ploy: While Ben usually plans things out, he's not above making it up as he goes if things go off the rails.
• Large Ham: Downplayed compared to most of Nicolas Cage's other roles, but he still has his moments, particularly during the "Fake Argument" scene in the sequel.
  Patrick: You know where it is? Why didn't you tell me?
  Ben: Because, obviously, you have a tendency to OVERREACT!!
  [Beat]
  Patrick: I'm sorry...
  Ben: So am I.

• Will Not Tell a Lie: Ben is incredibly honest throughout 95% of both films, and the remaining 5% consists of fairly harmless subterfuge with an ultimate goal that leaves anyone that isn't himself out of the line of fire. Both Sadusky and the President call him a terrible negotiator as a result. He also reminds Ian that they played poker together and that he can't bluff.

Riley Poole

Riley Poole

Played by: Justin Bartha

• Ambiguously Jewish: Very slightly. During the infiltration of the National Archives, Riley wishes Ben a "Mazel tov" over radio, Yiddish for "Good luck".
• Butt-Monkey: If someone's getting the short end of the stick in a plan, chances are it's gonna be Riley. Especially in the second film.
• Conspiracy Theorist: He has a few theories. It probably doesn't help that a couple of them were proven right.
• Deadpan Snarker: Nearly everything he says has some snark in it.

• The Lancer: Riley is a more pragmatic, cynical individual than Ben; he protests against stealing the Declaration not merely on moral grounds, but on practical grounds because of the various security measures. He still helps him out.
  "It can't be done. Not shouldn't be done, it can't be done. Let me prove it to you" [cut to Library of Congress]
• Meta Guy: A result of being a Deadpan Snarker.
• Mission Control: Riley is often the one at the computer, hacking security cameras and providing tech info to Ben.
• Playful Hacker/The Cracker: He's somewhere in the middle. While his general demeanor and overall intentions fit the Playful Hacker, he is still definitely using his Hollywood Hacking skills for personal gain (even if said personal gain is finding clues to a treasure).
• Plucky Comic Relief: If there's a snarky one-liner in these films, there's a 90% chance Riley said it.

• Undying Loyalty: Despite his seemingly cowardly nature compared to Ben, Riley has gone to great lengths for Ben's sake through both films. In the first film, he was willing to risk going to jail for a very long time to help Ben steal the Declaration, not to mention risking death by being shot by Ian's thugs just because Ben asked him to. In the second film, when Ben is about to stick his hand in a hole in an attempt to find the city of gold, Riley immediately offers to do it instead as soon as he hears that it could be a horrible trap.
• The Watson: He's not as ridiculously well-versed in history as Ben and Abigail are, and is well aware of it. The one time he knows something that they don't, he takes a moment to savor the feeling.
• Yiddish as a Second Language: He tells Ben "mazel tov" ("good luck") as he sneaks into the gala on his way to stealing the Declaration.
  • This could also be an allusion to the fact that Justin Bartha is Jewish.

Patrick Henry Gates

Patrick Henry Gates

Played by: Jon Voight

• Adventurer Archaeologist: He used to be one, but has since retired; he mentions that he wasted 20 years of his life chasing the treasure.
• Agent Scully: Patrick is the family skeptic; he believes the treasure is a myth and that Ben is wasting his life looking for it, unlike his father or Ben himself.

• Distressed Dude: In the first film, he is captured by Ian at some point after Ben goes to Philadelphia to be used as leverage against Ben.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: While his father John Gates was a true believer in the legend of the treasure and shared this with his grandson Ben, Patrick had become skeptical of the tale by the time Ben was around, and actively discourages Ben from seeking the treasure. This applies again with Ben, who, like his grandfather, believed in the treasure and sought it without giving up.
• My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours: To sneak Ben onto Mount Vernon Patrick fishes in the Virginian waters. When approached by Secret Service on a boat, they tell him to leave. Patrick tells them that the state constitution gives him the right to fish in any public water area. The agent tells him he has the right to detain Patrick for 48 hours without cause. Patrick nervously chuckles and leaves.
• Named After Somebody Famous: He shares his name with American revolutionary figure Patrick Henry.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In a Deleted Scene, Patrick accidentally caused the flooding in the caverns beneath Mount Rushmore when he opens a door and water starts flowing past him and Emily, leading to Cibola almost getting flooded and Mitch drowning.
• Unwitting Pawn: In the second film, he is stunned by Mitch's brothers and they clone his phone, meaning that whatever Ben tells him, they'll know.

Abigail Chase

Abigail Chase

Played by: Diane Kruger

• Foreign Cuss Word: She drops a verdammt when arguing with Ben about the Declaration after escaping Ian after the Archives heist.
• Immigrant Patriotism: She's originally from Germany, but she's still a proud American. (Although her Anglo name suggests one or both of her parents may have been Americans living abroad.)
• Meaningful Name: It is not a coincidence that she shares her given name with the most famous of the "Founding Mothers", Abigail Adams.

• Smurfette Principle: In the first film, she is the only female character on the team.
• Thrill Seeker: In both films, no matter how much Abigail resists the pull of adventure, she gives in every time. It's also implied to be the main thing that draws her to Ben.

Dr Emily Appleton Gates

Dr. Emily Appleton Gates

Played by: Helen Mirren

• Cunning Linguist: Emily is one of the few experts in Ancient Native American languages, making her the perfect resource to find Cibolla (much to Patrick's frustration).
• The One That Got Away: With Patrick - by the time of the second film, their relationship and marriage has long since dissolved. The events of the film subvert this.
• Sadist Teacher: Implied by the way her students talk about her.
• Thrill Seeker: Like Abigail below, she gets a thrill out of adventure - it's how she fell in love with Ben's father.

Agent Peter Sadusky

Agent Peter Sadusky

Played by: Harvey Keitel

• FBI Agent: In charge of the Declaration theft investigation.

• Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: He's a genuinely good guy, but he's also a good FBI Agent. That is, he wants to retrieve the Declaration and catch a few criminals. He ultimately agrees to let Ben go at the end of the first film in exchange for the return of the Declaration and Ben leading him to Ian's crew.

Ian Howe

Ian Howe

Played by: Sean Bean

• Affably Evil: Pleasant to anyone until they get in his way. He offers the boy who was writing down letters for Riley a hundred dollar bill for his notes. He could have just taken the note by force. He's also polite when the kid accidentally bumps into him in an earlier scene, smiling at him rather than getting upset.
• Anti-Villain: Noble Demon type. Despite his unscrupulousness and willingness to use force to get what he wants, Ian is a relatively friendly man if you aren't in his way (such as bribing a young boy for notes instead of beating him) and prioritizes his men's safety over his own.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Ian Howe is arrested on the charges of "kidnapping, attempted murder, and trespassing on government property."
• Autobots, Rock Out!: In the first film, rock music seems to be the theme for Ian and his minions.
• Big Bad: Of the first movie. His suggestion that they steal the Declaration leads Ben to take action to stop him.
• Evil Brit: Ian speaks in Sean Bean's Oop North accent and is the Big Bad.
• Evil Former Friend: He was quite pleasant with Ben until Ben went against what he wanted. Then he has no problem threatening to shoot Riley and taking Ben's father hostage.
• Graceful Loser: His reaction to realizing that Ben tricked him and sold him out to the FBI is to scoff, half incredulous and half impressed.
• Known Only by Their Nickname: It's easy to miss, but when Ben is chained up with the FBI (just before Ian calls them up), an agent can be heard saying, "Looks like Ian Howe is a false identity". Ian's true name never gets mentioned at any point in the film.
• The Team Benefactor: Ian was Ben's main financier before they turned on each other. Ben mentions later in the film that Ian has "nearly unlimited resources."
• Villainous Friendship: A mutual one with his Dragon, Shaw. He's quite visibly upset when Shaw falls to his death.

Mitch Wilkinson

Mitch Wilkinson

Played by: Ed Harris

• Batman Gambit: He eventually admits to making the whole allegation against Thomas Gates up; it was just a means to get Ben looking for treasure, with Mitch knowing Ben would never rest until he found Cibola. Since Ben spent the better part of three decades searching for the Templar treasure in the first film, this isn't too far off.
• Big Bad: Of Book Of Secrets. His accusation of Thomas Gates being in league with the Confederacy kicks off the plot and he attempts to capitalize on Ben's efforts to find Cibola.
• Evil Counterpart: To Ben. Both are driven by Family Honor on behalf of their Civil War ancestors and are willing to use illegal methods to obtain (or restore) honor; Ben by kidnapping the President, Mitch by beating up Patrick and kidnapping Emily to force Ben to comply. The motivations are different however; Ben wishes to clear his ancestor's name, Mitch is a Glory Seeker who wants his family to have a moment in the sun so to speak.
• Face Death with Dignity: Actually gives his life to save Ben so that the latter can escape the flooding city and tell the world Mitch found Cibola.
• Glory Seeker: He wants to gain glory for his family and is perfectly willing to use the whole Gates family as pawns.

• Siblings in Crime: In the novelization, Mitch's two henchmen (one of whom is named Danny) are mentioned to be his brothers.

---