Warning! This page contains huge spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.
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The Four Horsemen
General
A crack-team of illusionists, mentalists and stage-magicians who use their particular set of skills to pull off elaborate heists in a Robin Hood-esque means of exposing corruption.
- Caper Crew: While Dylan Shrike is the Mastermind, having anonymously recruited the other members and planned out every step of their original grift, the Horsemen don't follow the typical ensemble and are instead a team of Thieving-Skill Roles, each of them switching between roles depending on the moment.
- Caper Rationalization: As is fitting for members of The Eye, all of their victims were guilty of some great injustice, their act both meant to redistribute their stolen wealth or humiliate them in some way.
- Karmic Thief: The Horsemen may be a bunch of thieves and conmen who stage elaborate heists, but their victims are extremely wealthy and just as corrupt as is the mission statement of The Eye.
- Tarot Motifs: Each of the Horsemen (sans Lula) are associated with a specific card:
- Atlas is The Lovers; he discovers the card when he is about to have a one-night stand with an audience girl and he is the most emotional of the group, having a rocky relationship with Henley and is the most conflicted in the sequel as his role as a member of The Eye.
- Henley is The High Priestess; representing common sense, sound judgement, and a strong feminine influence.
- Merritt is The Hermit; associated with introspection and philosophical searches. Fitting for a man whose specialization is reading people.
- Jack is Death; he fakes his death midway through the first film, and as the card represents drastic, transitional change in life, he goes from being the least-experienced of the Horsemen to their equal.
- In the sequel, Dylan is routinely equated with The Fool; a card representing unlimited potential.
J. Daniel Atlas
The Lover
"Always be the smartest guy in the room."
- Portrayed by: Jesse Eisenberg
One-fourth of the Four Horsemen, previously a street magician. He has previous ties with fellow Horseman Henley Reeves, and seems to be the somewhat leader of the group. At first glance, Atlas seems to be a Smug Snake who enjoys pissing other people off (...and that's it).
- Anti-Hero: Along with the rest of the Four Horsemen. They're on the run from the police, they rob banks - but they never keep a single cent for themselves. This is emphasised a lot more in the sequel wherein the Horsemen are presented as Just Like Robin Hood, stealing from low life scum and exposing people who take advantage of the less fortunate (it helps that the people the Horseman target in the sequel are much more deserving of their fates).
- Anti-Villain: Also along with the rest of the Four Horsemen. They're still criminals who steal money and ruin a man's life, for crimes the owners of that money and the man whose life they ruined had nothing to do with.
- Badass Boast
- "First rule of magic: Always be the smartest guy in the room."
- "No matter what you think you might know, we will always be one step, three steps, seven steps ahead of you and just when you think you're catching up, that's when we'll be right behind you. And at no time will you be anywhere other than exactly where I want you to be, so come close. Get all over me because the closer you think you are, the less you'll actually see."
- Batman Gambit: After boasting that he could read people as well as Merritt, he totally botches a read of Tressler, failing to get anything even remotely right- place of birth, mother's maiden name, first pet's name, anything. Tressler smirkingly corrects him. And therefore gives him the answers to the most commonly asked 'security questions' on his bank account. Indeed, the gambit goes even deeper, as he was loudly offering to demonstrate his skills on the other Horsemen, betting that Tressler would pipe up and offer to be read- thus setting himself up to be conned.
- Be as Unhelpful as Possible: Is full of snark and cockiness when Dylan tries to interrogate him.
- Brick Joke: Henley's weight. It's implied that she broke up with him/resigned from being his assistant because he called her fat for not being able to fit through a trapdoor, while another girl, Rebecca, could.
- Later on, when he catches her after she falls from her bubble:
Danny: Oh, so you have lost some weight. - Card Sharp: He pulls off some mean card tricks, sometimes works alone, and used his sleight-of-hand to secretly and quickly switch Dylan's phone with a replacement hacked phone.
- However, Dylan knew the whole time.
- Catchphrase: "The closer you think you are, the less you'll actually see."
- Character Development: In the original movie Danny is constantly smug and assured of himself due to the Horseman's plans all going the way they intended and never fully learns how to work together with the team (to the point that, it's implied, that Henley left the team due to his controlling attitude). However in the sequel, after eating some Humble Pie (specifically The Reveal that he was being used unintentionally as The Mole for the Big Bad all along), Danny learns to be more of a team player and wiling to follow Dylan's lead.
- Chick Magnet: Henley is attracted to him, along with that random girl that he almost had sex with. Plus, the slow but sure
Estrogen Brigade fanbase that's building up. - Con Man: Along with the other Horsemen.
- Control Freak: Reportedly the reason Henley left the Horsemen.
- Deadpan Snarker: As expected from Ol' Eisenberg.
- Decoy Protagonist: He's the main attraction in most of the movie posters, and Jesse Eisenberg also gets top billing, but the true main character is Dylan Rhodes, though it isn't surprising that many mistake Daniel Atlas for it.
- Deuteragonist: Alongside the chief investigator for the Horsemen's crimes, he's the closest to a main character, being the de facto leader of the Four Horsemen.
- Disappearing Box: One of his magic tricks with Henley in which they both make a rabbit disappear inside the box. It turned out to be a mirror placed inside the box. Comes back as a huge plot twist in the climax.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: In the sequel Danny becomes resentful of The Eye due to living underground for a year after the events of the original movie to the point that he openly complains to a representative of The Eye that he should be the leader of the Horseman and not Dylan. This entitlement comes back to bite him on the ass since The Eye representative was actually the movie's Big Bad using Danny to get information on Dylan and the rest of the Horseman. This experience ends up humbling Danny real quick.
- Establishing Character Moment: He seems to pull off a single, simple card trick. And then a whole building lights up.
- Falling into His Arms: He caught Henley in the nick of time after the giant bubble she was floating in was burst by a chandelier.
- Insufferable Genius:
- It Has Been an Honor: With the other Horsemen near the end of the movie.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his condescending attitude to nearly everyone he encounters, during their video in the aftermath Jack's death, he chokes up slightly and Merrit has to continue for him. It's all part of the act, of course, since Jack's death was faked- but during the conversation in the elevator to the roof, he seems to express a genuine fondness for the other Horsemen.
- Just Like Robin Hood/Karmic Thief: They steal from the rich and give to the poor. Classic Robin Hood.
- Magic Wand: Subverted when he performs the Disappearing Box trick with Henley. He pulls out his magic wand and promptly tosses it away, claiming it has no use in the trick.
- Not Me This Time: When Henley asks him whether he was the one who set up the meeting of the Four Horsemen.
- Pick a Card: His Establishing Character Moment has him pull a expertly-planned card trick to impress a girl.
- Relationship Upgrade: He and Henley hold hands before jumping onto the carousel that will take them to the Eye. Furthermore, they somewhat admit their feelings for each other before their last show, while Merritt says that everything was getting too sentimental for him.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Earlier on in the movie, both he and Henley deny that they were in a relationship when Merritt points out the obvious tension between them.
- Even though he denies it, he sees to still have some feelings for her, depicted when he immediately gets jealous on seeing Henley laugh with Merritt.
- He and Henley hold hands before hopping onto the carousel at the end of the movie.
- Ship Tease: With Henley. They seem to have been involved sometime in the past, until Danny called her fat for not being able to fit through a trapdoor while Rebecca fit for a year.
- They always seem to be paired together, like during their show in New Orleans, and during their heist to steal the transported money, in which they would have been alone lying in an enclosed space for an indefinite amount of time. Ship Tease for the fans? I think so.
- During the show in New Orleans, one part of their act involves Henley floating above the audience in a soap bubble, until the bubble pops — and she promptly falls into whose arms? Yes, Danny's.
- Though Fridge Logic does make it obvious that Danny and Henley would do the more complicated two person work - due to having worked together in the past, their teamwork would need a lot less practice than the others.
- Though
- Smug Snake: Just look at that smile.
- Stage Magician: They're all masters of performance magic in some form or another.
- Tarot Motifs: His card is The Lovers. Henley promptly coughs out "three minutes" when he presents it.
- Will They or Won't They?: With Henley.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Henley, as every.
Henley Reeves
The High Priestess
"So, which one of you gentlemen is going to help us with our bags?"
- Portrayed by: Isla Fisher
The second Horseman, and the group's female member. Was previously J. Daniel Atlas' assistant, until she quit to become a solo act. (Also because he called her fat. Once.) Other than Atlas, Henley is closest to Merritt in the group.
- Affably Evil: She is a thief, but a sweet and charming one at that. See the image caption to the right which is during their arrest.
- Brick Joke: Her weight, or at least Daniel's perception of it.
- Conspicuous Gloves: Other than her opening scene (where she has to pick locks while underwater), she's always wearing a pair.
- *Cough* Snark *Cough*: At the reveal of Danny's card, she promptly coughs out "three minutes".
- Escape Artist: Her opening stunt where she is locked up in a water tank filled with piranhas and is eaten alive by them. She appears moments later outside the tank.
- Establishing Character Moment: In the beginning, Henley is chained in a tank of water with a cage of piranhas above her, timed to open if she doesn't make it out of the tank within a minute. She gets stuck, and then manages to disentangle herself — just in time for the cage to open and for flesh-eating piranhas to crash down on her. The water turns red, and then Henley herself emerges, miraculously unhurt, from the booing crowd.
- Fiery Redhead: Is notably feisty and blunt with her words.
- It Has Been an Honor: With the other Horsemen near the end.
- Just Like Robin Hood: They steal from the rich and give to the poor. Classic Robin Hood.
- Ms. Fanservice: Mostly averted.
- Played straight in her introduction shot, which features her stripping into a glittery swimsuit for an escape act. Subverted as the act would be more effective if she was showing more skin.
- Put on a Bus: She left the group between the films due to not being able to deal with Atlas anymore.
- Relationship Upgrade: She and Danny hold hands before jumping onto the carousel that will take them to the Eye.
- Ship Tease: With Danny. They seem to have been involved sometime in the past, until Danny called her fat for not being able to fit through a trapdoor while Rebecca fit for a year.
- They always seem to be paired together, like during their show in New Orleans, and during their heist to steal the transported money, in which they would have been alone lying in an enclosed space for an indefinite amount of time.
- During the show in New Orleans, one part of their act involved Henley floating above the audience in a soap bubble, until the bubble pops — and she promptly falls into Danny's arm.
- Smug Snake: Not as much as Danny but definitely there - she is very smug while robbing Tressler.
- The Smurfette Principle: She is the only member of the Horsemen who is a woman, and the only main female character in the movie asides from Alma.
- Stage Magician: Like the others.
- Tarot Motifs: Her card is The High Priestess, representing common sense, sound judgement, and a strong feminine influence.
- Token Good Teammate: Sort of: She's the only Horseman who doesn't have a career in hustling or crime. She's pretty catty, though.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Danny.
- Will They or Won't They?: With Danny.
- Written-In Absence: Due to Isla Fisher's pregnancy, Henley is said to have left the Horsemen in the sequel, having "growing tired of waiting," and The Eye just gives her the leave. Taking her place is Lula May.
Merritt McKinney
The Hermit
- Portrayed by: Woody Harrelson
The third Horseman; his specialty is hypnotism, and he's even called a mentalist. Enjoys making fun of Danny to no end and seems close to Henley as well.
- Alliterative Name: Merritt McKinney.
- Batman Gambit: His "magic" relies to an extent on people's reactions and their behaviour; his hypnotism trick in New Orleans relies wholly on the fact that Rhodes would shout "FREEZE!", despite being part of the audience and being aware of the trick he had set up.
- Of course, Rhodes, being the Fifth Horseman, knew all about the trick and triggered it on purpose.
- Be as Unhelpful as Possible: Loves to play with everyone's minds while he is being interrogated. Including those who aren't currently in the room."The FBI has a long history of men in dresses! No shame!" [snaps fingers sassily]
- Brick Joke: His victims thinking they're part of a symphony orchestra on hearing the word "bullshit".
- "FREEZE!" "QUARTERBACK!"
- Con Man: He hypnotizes people into revealing secrets in front of their spouses and then blackmails them in exchange for said spouse not remembering.
- Deadpan Snarker: Almost every line he has is a dry, witty remark.
- Establishing Character Moment: Right at the start of the movie, he exposes a man's extramarital affair with his wife's sister, and accepts two hundred dollars to hypnotize her to forget having known."You weren't away on business, you were away on Janet!"
- He also hypnotizes the man into thinking of him (Merritt) naked instead whenever the man thinks of his mistress.
- Just Like Robin Hood: They steal from the rich and give to the poor. Classic Robin Hood.
- Living Lie Detector: Not only is he able to detect lies, he also reads people, right down to the slightest of body language, in order to "read their minds".
- Matchmaker Crush: Downplayed, but despite being something of a Shipper on Deck for Danny and Henley (see below), he's not above hitting on Henley himself when she's getting nowhere with Danny.
- Out of Focus: Out of all the four Horsemen, he is definitely the one out of focus. He gets better in the sequel considering that his twin brother happens to be the movie's Dragon.
- Self-Deprecation: The first to kick his ego to the curb, and jokingly considers himself a "never-was" when referred to as a "has-been". Also see under the Understatement tag.
- Shipper on Deck: Seems to be one for Danny and Henley; he's always bringing up their relationship whenever they're around.
- Southern-Fried Genius: He's a trained and very skilled hypnotist and con artists with Woody Harrelson's famous Texas drawl.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Tall, yes. Snarky, definitely. Dark — hard to tell, since he doesn't even have any hair, but an old promotion picture seems too imply that he was a dark blonde once.
- Tarot Motifs: His card is The Hermit, associated with introspection and philosophical searches. Fitting for a man whose specialization is reading people.
- Third Wheel: After Jack "dies", he seems to be this for Henley and Daniel.
- Trigger Phrase: The victims of his hypnotism seem to think they're members of the Philharmonic Orchestra whenever the word "bullshit" is mentioned, which happens more often than you'd think.
- Understatement:Merritt: Every time you see or even think of Janet, you're gonna picture me naked. And that's not a pretty sight.Man: Yeah.
Jack Wilder
Death
"Nothing's ever locked."
- Portrayed by: Dave Franco
The fourth and youngest Horseman, as well as the one with the least experience at the time of their recruitment. Treated like a Tagalong Kid by the other Horsemen, his forte is throwing cards, picking pockets, and imitating the voices of others.
- Chase Scene: While on the run from the FBI.
- Con Man: He's a pickpocket and uses his magic tricks to distract them.
- Disney Death: His car exploding is played like a real death, and we see the other Horsemen's "reactions" to it.
- Establishing Character Moment: In the beginning, he promises a hundred dollars to anybody who can tell him how his trick works. Someone uncovers his secret, and he promptly pickpockets that guy, proceeding to pay the guy in his own money. Then, he makes a break for it.
- Faking the Dead: While being pursued by the FBI, the Horsemen switch the car he was in with an identical model containing a cadaver. The replacement car blows up, leading everyone else to believe that Jack was dead while he went to retrieve the safe.
- Five-Finger Discount: He pickpockets a guy at the very beginning in his Establishing Character Moment.
- Improbable Weapon User: Lampshaded by Rhodes, when Jack pulls out handfuls of playing cards during their fight.Jack: [holds out playing cards like a weapon]
Rhodes: Really?
Jack: Yep. - Improvised Weapon: In that same fight, he also utilizes a wet wash rag, a garbage disposal, a belt (stolen off the other agent), flash paper, and a set of curtains.
- Just Like Robin Hood: They steal from the rich and give to the poor. Classic Robin Hood.
- Keeping Secrets Sucks: Jack feels this way when he realizes that their actions could get them thrown in jail. Also, when trying to protect the secret documents led to his Disney Death, it doesn't sound like fun anymore.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": He's at the very least a good street magician/ thief before receiving his card. He fanboyed pretty hard over Danny on their first meeting.
- Master of Unlocking"Nothing's ever locked."
- Mauve Shirt: Zigzagged. He's given a bit less development than the other Horsemen, is clearly viewed as the junior member of the act, and his apparent death is treated like an example of this trope. However, not only does his death turn out to have been faked, but his contribution to the final performance- while unseen by the audience- is the only individual contribution that's totally vital to pulling off the last act.
- New Meat: Seems to be the youngest and least experienced of the Horsemen.
- Nice Guy: He may be a thief and a liar, but he's reasonably nicer than the rest of the male leads.
- Tarot Motifs: His card is, well... Death. Which represents change, not literal death.
Lula May
- Portrayed by: Lizzy CaplanDubbed by: Céline Ronté (European French)
A young magician who joins the Horsemen following Henley's departure. She assists the other Horsemen with her tricks, including her amazing ability to fake deaths, and is Jack's love interest.
- All Women Are Lustful: From the first time she meets him, Lula is trying to get into Wilder's pants. She succeeds by the end of the film.
- Establishing Character Moment: When Daniel returns from grabbing some fast food, she does a cheap trick to fake her death, which Atlas recognizes as fake. However, he falls for the indications she left as to her actual location, which allows her to sneak up on him and steal his soda.
- Faking the Dead: She's really good at this with her tricks, and it really comes in handy during the climax.
- Genius Ditz: She comes across as a bit loopy when we first meet her, but Lula fairly quickly proves herself to be a capable member of the team.
- Official Couple: With Jack by the end.
- The Smurfette Principle: Now that Henley is gone.
- The Team Wannabe: And Daniel would not let her forget it.
The Fifth Horseman (Unmarked Spoilers)
Dylan Shrike, The Fool
The person responsible for gathering the other Four Horsemen together at the beginning.- Big Bad: Of the movie, as he turns out to be the Fifth Horseman.
- The Chessmaster: Manipulated the FBI and the Horsemen into chasing each other, while letting the Horsemen (and Bradley) think that he is nothing more than an overzealous Agent Scully.
- Detective Mole: He's a detective that's trying to pin down the Horsemen and also the guy directing their actions.
- Diabolical Mastermind: He was the mysterious benefactor of the protagonists, and used his access in the FBI to cover for their escape and their magic tricks.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Rhodes ruined Bradley's life and stole millions of dollars from Tressler in revenge for his father's death which they had nothing to do with.
- The Dog Was the Mastermind: The bumbling detective who is always one step behind from the Horsemen is actually the one directing them as part of his own revenge plot.
- Karma Houdini: He gets away with stealing from Tressler Insurance, framing Bradley, endangering countless lives and wasting police resources. The only person who would tell is his love interest.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Dylan's fight with Jack comes across as this, since they were on the same team the whole time.
- The Man Behind the Man: The Four Horsemen were the Big Bads at first, but in the end, after The Reveal, we learn that Dylan was actually the true Big Bad who was controlling the Four Horsemen the entire time.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Is a member of The Eye, though this depends on your interpretation of 'real magic'.
- The Mole: The secret '5th horseman'.
- Mole in Charge: The Fifth Horseman, and the one leading the investigation against them.
- Never My Fault: By proxy. His father put his own life in danger and got himself killed for his own mistakes, but Rhodes blames Bradley for revealing his secrets and the makers of the safe he locked himself in for making a safe that warped when submerged in water (because it's not like safes are designed to be hard to open or anything) and the insurance company for not paying out on a borderline suicide.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Pretended to not know what was going on when in actuality he was controlling whole thing from the start.
- Playing Both Sides: He leads the Four Horsemen in their heists, while also infiltrating the FBI as a detective to sabotage their pursuit.
- Revenge: Frames Bradley for exposing his father's tricks.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The entire movie is him performing one of these, taking revenge on the ones he believes are responsible for his father's death and cheating his family out of his life insurance.
- Stealth Mentor: To the Horsemen. He was the one who came up with the entire plot; they merely executed it.
- Underscored with his line towards the end of the film.Dylan: The real magic is taking 4 strong solo acts and making them work together.
- Underscored with his line towards the end of the film.
- Tarot Motifs: The Fool. King of Spades/Swords.
- Visionary Villain: He definitely thought of his plans way ahead of time!
- You Killed My Father: His main motivation for setting the Four Horsemen to help him take revenge on those whom he believed wronged his father.
Law Enforcement
Dylan Rhodes
"I can maintain my resolve much longer than you can maintain that phony arrogance."
- Portrayed by: Mark Ruffalo
A FBI agent focused on capturing the Horsemen.
- Agent Scully: To Alma's Mulder.
- Arch-Enemy: The Horsemen.
- Butt-Monkey: The smartest guy in the room, he is not.
- By-the-Book Cop: To crippling levels. He continuously approaches the Horsemen with standard procedural actions, despite their being ineffectual against stage magicians.
- Daddy Issues: According to Merritt, he has these. He's right.
- The Determinator: Say whatever you want about him, but his dedication to capturing the Horsemen is admirable.
- Good Is Dumb: The "good" part is debatable, but he is part of the law enforcement.
- Hero Antagonist: Though a very nominal one.
- Lawful Stupid: Emphasis on the "stupid".
- I was tracking myself!
- Police Are Useless: He is from FBI, actually, but he fits.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Was willing to safeguard Jack if he surrendered to them.
- Ship Tease: With Alma.
- Straw Misogynist: At first towards Alma, but he grows out of it.
- Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: To the Horsemen. He's a law enforcer who tries his best to capture despite them being one step ahead of him all the time.
- Unwitting Pawn: He is manipulated by the Horseman into unintentionally aiding them in several tricks.
Alma Dray
- Portrayed by: Mélanie Laurent
An Interpol agent sent to work with the FBI after The Four Horsemen rob from a French bank.
- Agent Mulder: To Dylan's Scully. Downplayed, as she has a more open mind about magic but still wants to find out the real explanations to the tricks.
- Badass Bookworm: She does research on magic in order to catch the Horsemen. She is also the only remotely effective agent involved in the investigation.
- Clap Your Hands If You Believe: Interested in magic, if only to think like the Horsemen to catch them. Looks into magic's history and finds and later explains the signed card in a tree trick.
- Ms. Exposition: On a few occasions.
- Naïve Newcomer: Before this case she was behind a desk.
- Red Herring: Dylan suspects her of working with the Horsemen. She isn't.
- Secret-Keeper: At the end of the film, she learns that Dylan is the Fifth Horseman.
- Ship Tease: With Dylan.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's the only female agent in the case.
Agent Fuller
- Portrayed by: Michael Kelly
A bald FBI agent that serves as Rhodes' sidekick.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Does not appear at all in The Second Act.
- Inspector Javert: Relentlessly pursues the Horsemen, believing them to be criminals. He's right, of course.
- Cross Dresser: Is stated to be one by Merritt, though we never see it in the film.
- Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: Arguably more so than Dylan. While he doesn't suffer nearly as much abuse, he also doesn't have the latter's attitude problem.
Agent Evans
- Portrayed by: Common
Rhodes' supervisor in the FBI.
- Hypno Fool: Merritt uses his hypnosis skills on Evans to get access to a safe.
- Inspector Javert: Relentlessly pursues the Horsemen, believing them to be criminals. He's right, of course.
Agent Cowan
- Portrayed by: David Warshofsky
An upper-level agent in the FBI who serves as a sort of rival to Rhodes. When Rhodes and Fuller fail to capture the Horsemen, Cowan takes over the operation.
- Jerkass: He berates Rhodes at every chances he gets, and when the Horsemen manage to get away again and again, he blames it on the FBI's incompetence.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Turns out, he was entirely right, since Rhodes was deliberately misleading the FBI the entire time.
- Only Sane Man: Even more so than Dylan, he refuses to buy into the Horsemen's tricks and focuses solely on trying to get them at the next opportunity.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: His reaction to Dylan using magic to handcuff him and a few officers together in the sequel.
The Eye
General
The Eye is a secret society made up of the most skilled magicians from around the world; illusionists, mentalists, escapists, psychics, hypnotists, card-trickers and mediums.
- Benevolent Conspiracy: The Eye has existed since Ancient Egypt and their one goal has stayed the same since then: use their mastery of deception to expose corrupt ruling class and distribute their wealth to those in need Just Like Robin Hood.
Lionel Shrike
Played By: Elias Koteas
A magician mentioned occasionally during the film, who vanished after a comeback attempt went horribly wrong.
- Posthumous Character: He died by drowning after the safe he was in wouldn't open long before the film starts.
- Too Dumb to Live: Locking yourself in a safe and having that safe thrown into a river is a pretty dumb thing to do on its own, even more so when the only reason you're doing it is because you want to prove you can to a guy that doesn't even care. Small wonder the insurance company refused to pay out on his policy.
Thaddeus Bradley
- Portrayed by: Morgan Freeman
A former magician that came to the conclusion that it is more profitable to reveal the secrets behind magic to a curious audience. He works together with the FBI in order to explain how the Four Horsemen committed their capers.
- Big "WHY?!": Yells this when he found out Dylan is the Fifth Horseman, and that he's in jail because of him. Though he figured out the reason Dylan did what he had to do in the sequel.
- Break the Haughty: He's a magician-buster, so he makes a living out of doing this. He's exceedingly arrogant about it and it comes back to bite him.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Thaddeus admits that if he had just talked to Dylan after his fathers death the latter wouldn't have spend 30 years trying to complete his revenge plot. Thaddeus admits that part of the problem was his guilt and shame as well as his grief over his friends death.
- The Dog Was the Mastermind: The former magician who is the main pursuer and enemy of the Four Horsemen, and by extension The Eye, is the Grandmaster of The Eye himself, who is merely testing the Horsemen to see if they are worthy of joining.
- Doing In the Wizard: His shtick is spoiling magicians' secrets on television. In actuality, it was all a guise and his real purpose was functionally that of a hype man who brought attention to his friend Shrike.
- Good All Along: By the end of the sequel, it was revealed that not only was he secretly the leader of The Eye, but he was also Lionel Shrike's best friend and partner.
- Only in It for the Money: Part of the reason for doing what he does; he gets a big paycheck for it and a bigger paycheck is enough to buy him off.
- Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: While in prison, he gets access to the Internet, which he uses to warn the Horsemen that they will get what's coming to them, among other things. He turns out to be a good guy, but still.
- Stealth Mentor: The second film reveals that not only is he actually a member of The Eye, but he's been secretly guiding Dylan and the Horsemen into reaching their true potential as magicians.
Antagonists
Arthur Tressler
- Portrayed by: Michael Caine
The financial backer of the Four Horsemen by the time they perform at Las Vegas.
- Asshole Victim: It's hard to feel sorry for him, seeing as he's a corrupt and stingy asshole with a big ego. He also doesn't get hit hard; yes, the Horsemen drained one of his bank accounts and publicly humiliated him, but he still has money left over, seeing as he was prepared to pay Bradley 10 million to expose the Horsemen.
- Big Bad: Of the sequel, as he masterminds the plot to steal the personal information of millions and get revenge on the Horsemen for stealing his money and humiliating him by trying to kill them.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Is quite happy to bribe and intimidate to get his way; as the head of an insurance firm he's also allowed them to refuse handouts to Katrina victims, and Dylan Rhodes' family on the death of his father.
- Hijacked by Ganon: The sequel positions Walter as the villain, but it turns out Arthur is his father who is using him to accomplish his revenge plot.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: After being tricked by the Horsemen, swindled out of a large sum of money and made an object of ridicule in the first film, he returns in the second film with the help of his Evil Genius bastard son to enact his revenge, exposing their operation to the public and nearly killing Dylan with the same safe that killed his dad in an act of cruel irony.
Walter Mabry
- Portrayed by: Daniel Radcliffe
The main antagonist of the sequel. He controls a large amount of companies and wants a microchip than can spy on people, and kidnaps the Horsemen so they can steal it for him. He turns out to be Arthur Tressler's illegitimate son.
- Bastard Bastard: Not only is he a monster, he's also the bastard son to Tressler.
- Cycle of Revenge: He wanted revenge on the people who wronged his father, just like Dylan.
- Faking the Dead: He faked his death a year ago, allowing him to anonymously control corporations and governments, a trick inspired by Jack.
- Faux Affably Evil: He first appears to be soft-spoken, but when the Horsemen keep guessing on how they got to Macau, he snaps."I SAID STOP! You may not be having fun, but I am."
- Jerkass Has a Point: He wasn't too far off when he cruelly tells Dylan that his "personal vendetta", which is really just plain Disproportionate Retribution since the people he went after had nothing to do with his father's death, would come back to bite him in the ass eventually.
- Overlord Jr.: Arthur Tressler praises him for being a lot like him. Okay, he's really an illegitimate overlord jr., but he still fits the bill.
- Parental Favoritism: According to Tressler, he stands out from the other seven legitimate children, who were "sniveling, snobbish, stupid runts".
- Psychopathic Manchild: Merritt refers to him as a "narcissistic man-boy".
- Spoiled Brat: It's implied that Tressler spoils him.Tressler: He wants something, and like any good parent, I will stop at nothing to get it for him.
Chase McKinney
- Portrayed by: Woody Harrelson
Merritt's twin brother, who is jealous of his success and is working with Mabry as a technical advisor.
- Beard of Evil: One of the ways that you can tell Chase from Merritt is the scraggly soul patch that Chase wears.
- Cain and Abel: His relationship with Merritt in a nutshell. He even bluntly tells Merritt that there is no chance for an actual relationship.
- Chekhov's Gunman: He was very briefly mentioned in the first movie during Rhodes and Alma's interrogation of Merritt, when they mentioned Merritt had a brother/manager who picked his pockets clean and left Merritt having to build himself back up.
- Dodgy Toupee: Merritt seems to think (or maybe know) it's a hair weave instead of a toupee, but whatever Chase has on his head, it's clearly fake and a source of derision from others. It's also a mark that Chase isn't nearly as competent as he thinks he is.
- Evil Twin: He's exactly like his brother Merrit in terms of looks and mentalism skills.
- Faux Affably Evil: Despite his anger toward his brother for everything, he has no problem getting a drink with Merritt, since "if it's free, it's me". Of course, this is more likely just an excuse to mock him for his ploy to stall him.
- Hypno Fool: Jack tries this on him, but he fails. Of course, Chase really shouldn't have taught him that it all relies on the element of surprise...
- Sinister Shades: He sometimes wears a pair of shades.
- Villainous Breakdown: He freaks out when he gets incarcerated.
Other Characters
Étienne Forcier
- Portrayed by: José Garcia
The audience member from the first caper that is "teleported" to his bank, the "Crédit Républicain de Paris".
- Hypno Fool: He was hypnotized in order to help the Four Horsemen steal money from his bank.
