Characters appearing in The Royal Tenenbaums.
Note: All spoilers for the film are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.
The Tenenbaums
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Royal Tenenbaum
- Played By: Gene Hackman
The estranged father of the Tenenbaum family, a lazy and self-absorbed ne'er-do-well and former lawyer.
- Abusive Parents: Emotionally to all three, and financially to Chas. He openly stole from Chas' enterprises, constantly reminded Margot that she was adopted, and constantly made statements that undercut the kids' confidence and fed into the issues they'd later have. He was very close and friendly to Richie... but cut off ties with him when he had his public meltdown (losing a game Royal had bet a large sum he'd win) which only contributed to his depression. He gets better.
- Actually Pretty Funny: As part of his Character Development, he attends a play where Margot absolutely skewers how horrible a father he was. He finds it hilarious.
- Amicable Exes: With Ethel, despite him initially bristling at her relationship with Henry.
- Cool Old Guy: How Ari and Uzi see him; he pulls them out of their over-protected world and teaches them how to have fun again. Subverted with everyone else, who views him as a selfish slimeball.
- Death by Irony: It isn't stomach cancer that does Royal in at the end of the film, but an apparent heart attack that seems to come out of left field, seemingly weeks after he's helped all of his children get past their problems.
- Go Out with a Smile: Despite suffering a fatal heart attack, he passes away at peace with Chas holding his hand in the ambulance, clearly content after having helped the family come to terms with their personal troubles.
- Heel Realization: Has one after his ruse is exposed; the Narrator says that, when he tells his family that the past few weeks had been the best of his life, he only realizes after he says it that it was true and he spends the rest of the film making legitimate amends.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: In the third act of the film, he openly and honestly admits to his faults.
- Innocently Insensitive: His remarks to his children while they grew up were undeniably cruel and tactless, but he seems more matter-of-fact than intentionally mean. He's technically correct that Margot is his adopted daughter and that her play is "just a bunch of kids", but extremely uncouth to say so all the time.
- Insistent Terminology: He repeatedly and incessantly introduces Margot as his adopted daughter. As part of his Character Development, he later refers to her simply as his "daughter".
- Jerkass: He treats his family terribly despite acting like he really is a good dad. He is very self-centered, neglectful, and even childish. He does not accept Margot, the only girl in the family, as his actual daughter but rather his adopted daughter as if it happened to be family by force rather than actual love or care.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite consistently treating his family terribly, he is attempting to reconcile with them, and is ultimately as successful as somebody like him could hope to be.
- Manchild: Acts like an unruly teenager into his old age. His children grew more mature than him in their pre-teens, if that tells you anything. The worst example is probably when he plays beebee guns with Chas, Richie, and Eli; and purposefully shoots Chas despite being on his team.
- Manipulative Bastard: Fakes being terminally ill to weasel his way back into his family.
- Must Make Amends: The plot is motivated by him finally deciding to help his children after realizing how often he's failed them through the years, and works to earn their trust (and that of Ethel's) again.
- Parental Favoritism: Clearly likes Richie the best, inviting him and only him out to watch dogfights as a child. Meanwhile, he stole from Chas and once shot him with a BB gun, and barely acknowledges Margot as part of his family.
- Pet the Dog: He asks Ethel to forgive and hire Pagoda back, obviously caring about his long-time friend's employment.
- Politically Incorrect Hero:
- Hero is stretching it, but he's the protagonist and makes more than one racist remark about Henry. Though this is more motivated by envy than actual prejudice; had Ethel fallen in love with a white man, he would probably have found something else to harp on; and he doesn't seem to have an issue with interracial relationships in general, regarding his and Ethel's as having been one (see the example below).
- Toward the end, even after his Character Development, he makes the strange remark to a preist that "I'm a Hebrew but the kids are three-quarters McCatholic"; possibly taking a jab at his ex-wife Scottish/Irish heritage.
- Redemption Equals Death: He ultimately reconciles with his family and helps all of them overcome their personal problems, but doesn't live much longer before a sudden heart attack claims him. Despite that, he does Go Out with a Smile.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: He pretends to have terminal stomach cancer when he reunites with Ethel — though this is quickly discovered as a lie by Henry.
- Took a Level in Kindness: As part of his Character Development, he admits he never treated the children fairly, and makes amends through various acts of good, including finally referring to Margot as his daughter, supporting Ethel's new relationship and helping Chas be less protective of his children.
Ethel Tenenbaum
- Played By: Anjelica Huston
Royal's wife, an archaeologist.
- Guess Who I'm Marrying?: Played with — both Chas and Royal don't trust her completely because she intends to marry Henry, but this has more to do with the pair's inability to move on with their lives. It isn't until the end of the film that both men come to terms with her decision, and Royal attends her marriage ceremony in court.
- Karma Houdini: She is the one to blame for motivating the Genius Burnout nature of her children — they all carry significant emotional baggage from their celebrity status as child prodigies, and she is never taken to task by any of the children for her actions throughout the film.
- Parent with New Paramour: When Royal reunites with the family, he discovers that she's been seriously dating Henry behind his back. By the end of the film, Royal approves of their relationship, and is present at their marriage ceremony. Margot warms up to the idea early on, while Chas is more hesitant. Not because he particularly dislikes Henry, but because he only knew him as his mom's accountant and finds it difficult to trust a man courting his mom after his parents' falling out.
Chas Tenenbaum
- Played By: Ben Stiller (adult), Aram Aslanian-Persico (child)
One of the Tenenbaum children, an expert in finance whom Royal robbed (resulting in Royal's disbarment). He is coping with the tragic death of his wife while attempting to raise his own two children.
- Affectionate Nickname: Royal is fond of calling him "Chassie".
- Control Freak: Became obsessively overprotective towards his sons after losing his wife and almost losing the former two in a plane crash, and runs fire drills with them at 4 a.m. every morning. It's nearly losing them when Eli crashes his car into the side of the house that sends Chas into a murderous rampage after the former. Eventually he realizes his mistake and loosens up a little.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Stemming from his upbringing and grief over losing his wife, he's abrasive, slow to trust, dismissive of his mother and Henry's relationship, and treats "the help" with a certain level of disrespect; but he's also a caring father and after making peace with Royal, comes to accept Henry and allow his kids to have more fun.
- Iconic Outfit: Almost always seen in his red Adidas tracksuit, which he also makes his sons wear.
- Manchild: Ironically, he's more childish as an adult than he was as a kid, due to trauma over his wife's death causing him to regress. He's so scared for his, his boys, and their dog's life that he essentially pulls an adult version of crawling into your parents' bed after a bad dream and moves in with his mom. He also acts like a moody teenager over his mom's remarriage and toward his dad in general (though the latter is justified).
- Not So Stoic: After Eli crashes the car, nearly hitting his sons (and killing their dog), Chas finally snaps and beats him, before he finally opens up to his father about what a "rough year" it was.
- Struggling Single Father: Chas is paranoid and overprotective of his children after he lost his wife and all of them nearly died in a plane crash, necessitating that he keep tabs on them at all times out of fear.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Comes to discover (as a child, no less) that his father was embezzling his funds (that is, 10 year-old Chas' personal funds) from a safety deposit box, leading the latter to get his father disbarred from law as a result.
Richie Tenenbaum
Click here to see him post-suicide attempt
- Played By: Luke Wilson (adult), Amedeo Turturro (child)
One of the Tenenbaum children. Once a tennis prodigy who was lovingly nicknamed "The Baumer" by fans and press alike, Richie retired following a mental breakdown that may be connected to his unrequited love for his adopted sister Margot.
- Beard of Sorrow: The film starts with him having grown one during his travels, after he suffered a nervous breakdown when Margot shows up with Raleigh at his tennis match. He later shaves it off just before attempting suicide, but after this, he becomes more optimistic.
- Brother–Sister Incest: The main thing that troubles him is the fact that he is in love with his (adopted) sister, Margot.
- Driven to Suicide: When he learns that the love of his life (who is also his adopted sister) has been having an adulterous affair with his best friend and their next-door-neighbour, since childhood. Luckily, he is found by Dudley and saved in time.
- Parental Favoritism: He is heavily implied to be Royal's favorite amongst his children (as he takes him out with him to events, while leaving the rest of his children behind) and he is the one he gets along with Royal the most and the first to defend him. Though even he can't defend him when he learns that Royal was faking his cancer.
- Genius Burnout: He more-or-less gives up on his tennis career after seeing that Margot has married Raleigh, and abandons the sport to go Walking the Earth.
- The Heart: He's the only member of the family who gets along with everyone, and had it not been for him they probably wouldn't have reconciled. He's the one who wants to give Royal another chance, treats Eli as part of the family, and respects Margot's marriage and husband despite being in love with her. Even Chas, who has the most beef with him over having been The Unfavorite, relents when Richie tells him he loves him. When he tries to kill himself, the whole family and all their friends stop everything to rush to the hospital.
- Important Haircut: Richie cuts his hair and shaves in a detailed scene, and we're treated to one flash cut to his pre-shave appearance just before a suicide attempt.
- Nice Guy: The sweetest of the Tenenbaum siblings, both as kids and adults. Even when he's suicidally depressed, he never takes it out on anyone else and assures Margot that while he attempted because of her, she wasn't in the wrong.
- Nice Jewish Boy: Despite being "three-quarters McCatholic", he has a Jewish father and exhibits a lot of these traits, including having been a child prodigy, the sweetest member of his family, somewhat socially awkward, and carrying on a lot of deep-seated depression.
- Not Blood Siblings: Deconstructed; Richie recognizes that his romantic feelings for Margot are unacceptable by society's standards, and his inability to deal with them or tell her how he feels contributes to his failing mental health. After his suicide attempt, she comes to realize how much she cares for him too, and they manage to become happy together.
- Punny Name: Nickname variation. His professional tennis nickname given by the press and fans was "The Baumer". While it's basically his last name shortened, everybody pronounces very close to "The Bummer", which is very appropiate.
- Running Gag: Despite the fact that he abandoned tennis, he still gets approached and recognized by multiple fans, who either cheer for him or ask for his photo.
- Walking the Earth: After suffering a nervous breakdown at a tennis game, after seeing Margot in the stands with Raleigh, he spends the next year sailing on a freighter to get his mind off her. It doesn't help.
Margot Tenenbaum
- Played By: Gwyneth Paltrow (adult), Irene Gorovaia (child)
The Tenenbaums' adopted daughter, a moody and secretive playwright. She is married to the neurologist Raleigh St. Clair.
- Bathing Beauty: Margot spends a good portion of the film in her bathtub, too depressed to leave.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Richie is in love with her, and she seems to reciprocate this after his suicide attempt, though they aren't related by blood.
- Dull Surprise: She has no visible reaction at all to seeing Eli smash his car into the front of the Tenenbaum house, delivering the news to her mother with the most deadpan delivery of the film.
- Emotionless Girl: For most of the film, she acts completely deadpan and unresponsive around almost everyone, including her husband. But then...
- First Girl Wins: Her childhood connection with Richie (despite being his step-sister) ultimately leads to both of them more-or-less getting together by the end of the film.
- Four-Fingered Hands: Accidentally got a finger chopped off when she was a young woman. She was helping a guy (implied to be her own biological brother or father) chop wood (when she reconnected in her time with her birth family, who are shown to be either Amish or Mennonite), and neither was really paying attention to how she was placing her hand.
- Love Dodecahedron: She's on the outs with her husband at the beginning of the film, Eli tries to get back with her, and she realizes she has feelings for Richie while all of this is happening.
- Noodle Incident: How she ended up in the middle of a forest in Papua New Guinea, kissing a tribesman while in a pink bikini, is never addressed by the investigator, other than in the context of a string of affairs she had.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The only time Margot's Emotionless Girl facade drops is when she's in the tent with Richie, who tells her he's not sure if he'll try to commit suicide again.
- Pretty in Mink: On of her quirks is she is almost always wearing a mink coat.
- Really Gets Around: Implied, as she is said to have had numerous affairs while still with her husband.
- Teen Genius: And a genius before that.
- The Unfavorite: By her adopted father, Royal, who repeatedly and incessantly refers to her as such. It isn't the third act that he actually identifies her as "(my) daughter".
- What the Hell, Hero?: She gets called out by Raleigh for making him into an Emasculated Cuckold (and keeping her smoking habit from him) late in the film.
- Where da White Women At?: As part of the Montage of her failed relationships, her first marriage is to a Jamaican man (while his friends[?] stand by and watch on admiringly), while a later shot shows her romancing a tribesman in Papua New Guinea.
Friends and family of the Tenenbaums
Ari and Uzi Tenenbaum
Ari on the left, Uzi on the right
- Played By: Grant Rosenmeyer (Ari), Jonah Meyerson (Uzi)
Chas' two young sons.
- Always Identical Twins: Outside of Uzi being slightly taller, they look almost identical to each other.
- The Baby of the Bunch: They're the youngest members of the Tenenbaum family and are the most innocent.
- Innocent Means Naïve: Being young children, they are not entirely aware of how most of the stuff they're doing with Royal is wrong and they still think Buckley is alive after Owen runs him over.
Eli Cash
- Played By: Owen Wilson (adult), James Fitzgerald (child)
The Tenenbaum's next-door neighbor and Richie's best friend, now a popular writer of Western novels.
- Accidental Murder: In a drug high, he paints his face like an Indian (influenced by his own novel, about Custer's Last Stand), jumps behind the wheel of his car and plows it into the front of the Tenenbaum house, nearly killing Chas' sons and killing their beloved dog, Buckley.
- Addled Addict: He's off the wagon for most of the movie, and it shows.
- Collector of the Strange: Eli has some bizarre artwork hanging on his walls in his living room of strange masked men attacking each other and posing on motorcycles.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Growing up, he was Richie's best friend; but Royal is annoyed at him staying over and Margot is dismissive to him. It carries on into their adulthood; while he's one of Margot's many paramours, she doesn't seem to actually like him much, his relationship with with Richie is strained due to his addiction and their Love Triangle with Margot, and toward the end Chas tries to kill him. Ethel is fond of him, however.
- Heel Realization: After killing Buckley and almost killing two children while driving under the influence, and almost being beaten to death by Chas; he realizes he needs help.
- I Just Want to Be You: "I always wanted to be a Tenenbaum."
- Insufferable Genius: Seems to have a highly-inflated opinion of himself, to such an extent that he's surprised when reviewers of his newest novel don't refer to him as "a genius", and he walks off a televised interview rather than admit his previous novel, Wildcat, was a critical failure.
- Spanner in the Works: His blabbing to Margot about the letter Richie wrote to him rekindles her feelings for Richie, in turn.
Henry Sherman
- Played By: Danny Glover
Ethel's accountant, who is in love with her.
- Brick Joke: Royal mockingly refers to him as "Coltrane", after John Coltrane (the legendary jazz singer), prompting Henry to react in anger at the remark. In a deleted scene later in the film, Henry is listening to the exact same music by Coltrane while having dinner with Ethel.
- Bullying the Dragon: Royal attempts to bully him out of the Tenenbaum household by attempting to insult and harass him multiple times... then Henry reveals that he's been on to him from the get-go, having spotted the threat that Royal doesn't have stomach cancer and is attempting to lead Ethel on.
- Commonality Connection: He and Chas both lost their wives, and eventually bond over this.
- Good Parents: To contrast Royal, he's shown to have a good relationship with his son from his first marriage, and bonds with his new adult stepchildren as though they were his own.
- The Lost Lenore: Lost his first wife to stomach cancer many years prior to the events of the film, which has influenced his decision to begin a relationship with Ethel.
- Nice Guy: In a film full of deeply dysfunctional people, Henry still manages to be sweet and patient.
- Spotting the Thread: He figures out fairly quickly that Royal's claim of having terminal stomach cancer is a bald-faced lie — because his deceased wife went through the exact same thing, so he recognizes what symptoms Royal should have.
- Where da White Women At?: Subverted; he and Ethel fall in love after years of working together, and race seems incidental to them and to her children. Royal's reaction to them, however, assumes this trope.
Raleigh St. Clair
- Played By: Bill Murray
Margot's neurologist husband, studying an unusual patient named Dudley Heinsbergen.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: After being given a report that details Margot's history, including her escape from boarding school, failed relationships and her long-running affair with Eli, Raleigh only responds with two words.Raleigh: She smokes?
Investigator: Yes. - Do You Think I Can't Feel: Raleigh seems to be as emotionless as Margo, focused on his scientific experiments with a young adult who lives with them. Then he finds out via a private investigator that she's kept so many secrets, including her smoking habits, previous marriage, and numerous affairs. Cue Raleigh curling up on the couch in a Heroic BSoD. Later, he tells off Margot for making him a cuckold and being unwilling to open up to him.
- Emasculated Cuckold: He invokes this term when confronting Margot for her affairs, after he spends the day on the couch. He says if there were problems with their relationship, she didn't need to cheat on him for that.
- May–December Romance: He's significantly older than his wife Margot.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: In the script of the film
, Raleigh is described as having "an English accent with a lisp". Bill Murray uses his natural, un-lisped American accent in the film. - O.O.C. Is Serious Business: After discovering her affairs (though her smoking habit stuns him the most), Raleigh pointedly asks her for a smoke, even after she notes he's never bothered with the habit. This comes just before he leaves her for good.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He goes off on Margot, with all the Tranquil Fury he can muster, by revealing her infidelities to her mother, accusing her of "making a cuckold" out of him, then pointedly asks for a smoke, revealing that he is aware of her cigarette habit, just before he leaves her for good.
- Those Two Guys: Still hangs out with Dudley even after his research is published.
Pagoda
- Played By: Kumar Pallana
Royal's faithful servant.
- Defeat Means Friendship: He met Royal by first attempting to murder him in Calcutta, then carrying him to the hospital.
- Double Agent: Officially, he's been working a a butler for Ethel since the divorce. However, he's really there to report back to Royal on her relationship status and on the kids.
- Number Two: To Royal.
- Undying Loyalty: To Royal, ultimately; although he's liable to stab him in the gut whenever Royal screws him over, he'll always get him to the hospital afterwards.
- With Friends Like These...: He's loyal to Royal until the end, but they first met when Pagoda was trying to assassinate him in Calcutta and carried him to the hospital when he stabbed Royal. He stabs him again when Royal's ruse falls apart, leaving them homeless, prompting Royal to shout, "That's the last time you put a knife in me!" He still sticks with Royal, and the latter asks Ethel to take Pagoda back.
Dudley Heinsbergen
- Played by: Stephen Lea Sheppard
Raleigh St. Claire's research subject; a teenage boy with a rare neurological disorder.
- Big Damn Heroes: Stumbles in on Richie lying bloody on the bathroom floor just in time to get him to the hospital.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: In a "waffle-brain" sort of way; he seems to see each individual event or question as its own puzzle piece separate from surrounding context. After he finds a bloodied Richie on the bathroom floor and helps rush him to the hospital, Margot worriedly asks "Where is he?" And Dudley needs who "he" is to be clarified. St. Claire says that one of his symptoms is amnesia, so that could be a possible cause, but he also points out random details that are irrelevant in the moment:"That car has a dent in it."
- Colorblind Confusion: Briefly shown when he's doing block tests, though he wasn't aware until St. Claire told him.
- Disability Superpower: His "acute sense of hearing" is part of his diagnosis.
- Dull Surprise: Somehow beats out every other Wes Andersen character in this; justified, due to being canonically neurodivergent.
- "L" Is for "Dyslexia": Mentioned as one of his symptoms.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He's mostly there to be Raleigh's research subject, but ends up saving Richie's life.
- The Stoic: Because of his neurodivergence, he's not very emotive.
- Super-Senses: Has superhuman hearing ability, knowing what Raleigh is saying from across the room.
- Those Two Guys: With the researcher studying him, Raleigh St. Claire. They even attend his ex-wife's father's funeral together at the end, despite the research already having been published.
Dusty
- Played by: Seymour Cassel
An elevator operator at the hotel, who impersonates "Dr. McClur" for Royal's ruse.
- Only Friend: He and Pagoda to Royal.
- Undying Loyalty: For some unknown reason, he's willing to bend the rules to let Royal stay at the hotel as long as possible and fake being a doctor to help him pull off his scheme.
Walter Sherman
- Played by: Al Thompson
Henry's son, who serves in the U.S. Navy.
- Foil: Like his father is to Royal, he's this to the Tenenbaum children. All are gifted and accomplished individuals, but while the Tenenbaums had an Abusive Dad and a well-meaning mother and turned into burnouts, Walter has a good relationship with his dad, his mother has passed away, and he's seemingly well-adjusted as an adult.
- Out of Focus: Probably the least developed member of the family. He only appears at his father's wedding and Royal's funeral, so we don't learn much about him besides him being in the Navy and having a good relationship with his dad.
- Missing Mom: His mother died of stomach cancer before the events of the film.
Animals
Buckley
Chas's family dog, who miraculously survived the plane crash that killed his wife.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Throws himself in front of Eli's car to save the boys.
- Morality Chain: Chas loses his absolute shit when Eli runs over and kills Buckley (though this is mostly because he almost did the same to Chas's kids).
- Taking the Bullet: For Ari and Uzi.
Mordecai
A hawk owned by Richie Tenenbaum, who released him as a child — and who reappears to him in a key moment.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Richie releases him early on in the film (as a child), seemingly as part of his quest to escape his domestic home life. Towards the end of the film, when speaking Royal about his love for Margot, Mordecai returns (after a 22-year absence), older and with new feathers to match.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: The first hawk that was used for the character was caught by a resident of New Jersey, who demanded money from Anderson and the production team for its return. In response, they utilized a different hawk that was more white in color, and wrote it into the script via Rule of Symbolism (see below).
- Rule of Symbolism: When Mordecai returns, Richie tells Margot that he's not sure if it's the same bird, having grown more white feathers in the 22-year interim. He then tells her it might symbolize a change due to a traumatic event, suggesting it appeared after he tried to take his own life. As noted above, this was a case of Real Life Writes the Plot.
Dalmatian Mice
As a child, Chas Tenenbaum bred and sold white mice with black spots. Their descendants still roam the Tenenbaum house and are ever-present in the background.
Sparkplug
- Replacement Goldfish: Royal buys him from some firemen and gives him to Chas right after Buckley dies.
- Rule of Symbolism: In his youth, Chas bred and sold spotted white mice, and his father stole from the money he made. Now that Royal is making amends, he gives a white, spotted dog to Chas, to make up for a problem that (for once) wasn't his fault. (Eli hitting Buckley)
