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Protagonists
John Cale
John Cale
Played By: Channing Tatum
A U.S. Capitol policeman and the bodyguard to Speaker of the House Eli Raphaelson, Cale hopes to become a member of the Secret Service.
- Action Dad: Cale is one as he tries to save Emily and the tour group.
- Badass Driver: Used to be a limo driver. This comes in handy when he and President Sawyer try to escape the White House using the Presidential Limo.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Carol turns down for the Secret Service because she initially sees him as this, with one of his SO's from his army days having noted in an evaluation that he has raw potential, but seems determined not to act on it. He manages to prove himself though throughout the White House crisis, with Carol admitting she was wrong about him.
- Deadpan Snarker: Cale has a pretty sharp mouth. For example President Sawyer mentions using knives in the kitchen, Cale mutters that someone can make him a sandwich.
- Papa Wolf: Whatever you do, never even try to harm his daughter.
- Spanner in the Works: Starts early on when Cale manages to grab President Sawyer, making the terrorists lose their Borrowed Biometric Bypass.
President Sawyer
President James William Sawyer
Played By: Jamie Foxx
The President of the United States, Sawyer has introduced a bill removing US military forces from the Middle East.
- Action Dad: Sawyer is a father of two and decent in a fight. He doesn't have to go Papa Wolf because his family is out of harm's way.
- Batman Grabs a Gun: It's a big deal when the President, a man known for choosing a pen over the sword, pulls out a rocket launcher to shoot out the gate.Reporter 1: The President has a rocket launcher!Reporter 2: That's not something you see everyday.
- Captain Ersatz: For Barack Obama.
- Hero-Worshipper: Of Abraham Lincoln. Sawyer quotes Lincoln and what he suggested, carries around one of his pocketwatches, and is introduced having his pilot do a low fly-by around the Lincoln Memorial.
- Precision F-Strike: "I say this with the full weight and power of the office... Fuck you".
US Government
Special Agent Carol Finnerty
Special Agent Carol Finnerty
Played By: Maggie Gyllenhaal
A top agent in the Secret Service and an old acquaintance of Cale's.
- Mission Control: Serves as this for Cale and Sawyer as they try to rescue the hostages and escape the White House.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Finnerty and General Caulfield are working towards the same goal, but they spend much of the film butting heads over which action to take.
Speaker Eli Raphelson
Eli Raphelson, Speaker of the House
Played By: Richard Jenkins
The Speaker of the House, Cale is his usual bodyguard.
- Big Bad: He is the true mastermind behind the White House attack.
- Corrupt Politician: He aided and abetted a terrorist attack on the White House. 'Nuff said.
- Deadpan Snarker: Cale's sarcasm seems to have rubbed off on him. When Caulfield tells the command group that the information on Stenz is classified, Raphaelson responds with this:Raphelson: "Well, then, I hereby declassify it. Now you wanna share it with the group?"
- Embarrassing Ringtone: "Spanish Flea" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.
- Foreshadowing: His decision to order an air strike on the White House in spite of the potential for killing who-knows-how-many bystanders is the biggest clue to his true nature.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: A Corrupt Politician who wears a pair of glasses.
- Greed: Sawyer heavily implies that Raphelson was partially motivated by this.Sawyer: "Eli, Eli. Quite the politician, huh? You did all of this just to keep your buddies in the defense industry happy. How far did you fall into their pockets?"
- Hidden Villain: Not too long after Walker's permanently out of the picture, Raphelson is unmasked as the film's real Big Bad.
- The Man Behind the Man: He helped Walker find and recruit the various mercenaries who took over the White House.
- Manipulative Bastard: Raphelson had pretty much everyone fooled up until after Walker's death.
- Mole in Charge: In the third act of the film, he becomes this after Sawyer's Vice President Hammond is killed and the presidency passes to him. This allows him to text Walker the updated nuclear codes to activate the nuclear football.
- Near-Villain Victory: Raphelson would have gotten away with everything if Cale, Sawyer, and Finnerty didn't figure out that he was the mastermind. He was steps short of the air strike if not for Emily waving off the bombers.
- Pet the Dog: Got Cale a job with the Capitol Police on his protection detail after his discharge from the military, supposedly out of gratitude for saving his nephew Corporal Dawson from a burning Humvee. When confronted on being the mastermind of the White House takeover, he admits he only hired him "out of pity."
- Smug Snake: During his final confrontation with Cale, Raphelson is beyond certain that he's pulled off a scenario where The Bad Guy Wins.Raphelson: "You dim little shit. I hired you out of pity, and this is how you repay me? But you know tomorrow, when people find out that your precious president helped a maniac open... a nuclear football, who do you think they're going to believe—you or me? Well, let's see; now you? You would be a nobody. But me? I'm the president of the United States."
- True Final Boss: He's the final threat Cale and Sawyer have to take care of.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Raphelson doesn't care about any of the people he employs, not even Cale or Walker.
- Walking Spoiler: It's pretty hard to talk about him with all the white spaces.
General Caulfield
General Caulfield
Played By: Lance Reddick
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, temporary Chief.
- Bald of Authority: A leading member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with a shiny domed head.
- Deadpan Snarker: Primarily towards Finnerty. When she talks with Hammond saying that the Secret Service should handle the situation because it was their building that was taken, Caulfield responds with "Yes, and now you're standing in our building."
- Good Is Not Nice: Caulfield has a no-nonsense attitude and is least willing to go along with a plan to bomb the White House and prevent nuclear war.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Butts heads repeatedly with Finnerty throughout the film.
Antagonists
Martin Walker
USSS Agent Martin James Walker
Played By: James Woods
The head of the US Secret Service, Walker is serving his last week.
- Big Bad: The film's first act reveals him as its main antagonist, as he's in charge of the terrorists who take over the White House. However, someone else contacted said terrorists.
- Didn't Think This Through: Doesn't consider that nuking Iran will lead to other countries retaliating against the US.
- Disc-One Final Boss: He proves to be this once the presence of The Man Behind the Man is exposed.
- Disproportionate Retribution: How does he intend to avenge his son's death? Send American nukes to major Iranian cities.
- The Heavy: The most active antagonist as the leader of the terrorists.
- Mole in Charge: Walker is the head of the Secret Service and the leader of the terrorists... or so it seems.
- Old Soldier: Walker may be retirement age and dying from cancer, but that doesn't mean he can't hold his own in a gunfight or outfight a man 15 to 20 years younger than him.
- Outliving One's Offspring: His son Kevin was KIA a year before the film's events. It plays right into why he decides to be the ground commander for the terrorists.
- Technologically Blind Elders: Finnerty says that he was a dinosaur who would still write things out on paper than use a computer. It's one of the hints that it wouldn't make sense he would be the one to set the attack up.
- Unwitting Pawn: He's actually this for Eli Raphelson.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Walker has a brain tumor and has three months to live, which is why he's willing to go so far to accomplish his goals.
Stenz
Emil Stenz
Played By: Jason Clarke
A ruthless mercenary leader who takes over the White House.
- Ax-Crazy: He's batshit insane.
- Badass Driver: Keeps up with Cale in the limo chase on the White House grounds.
- Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Tortured by the Taliban for two years caused him to have a psychotic break and turn traitor.
- Big "NO!": He lets one off when Cale ties his holster vest around his neck and pulls the pins out of every grenade.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Having six grenades go off in his face certainly qualifies.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Stenz and his men clear most of the White House of Secret Service agents in about two minutes, with the exception of the agents guarding Sawyer and the tour group.
- The Dragon: To Martin Walker.
- Evil Sounds Deep: He's portrayed with a low, resonant voice.
- Fallen Hero: A highly decorated Special Forces officer, now a vengeful and psychopathic mercenary.
- For the Evulz: During the initial takeover of the White House, Stenz shoots a portrait of George Washington for kicks.
- It's Personal: Stenz already has a grudge against the US for what happened in Pakistan. He also develops a grudge against Cale when Cale kills one of his best friends early on. After learning about his past, Finnerty's response is "No wonder he's pissed."
- Psycho for Hire: An Ax-Crazy nut job working for Martin Walker.
- Real Men Hate Sugar: Albeit for good reason. When Walker offers him a piece of cake, Stenz declines, saying he's a diabetic.
- Revenge: Stenz was a former US Special Forces operative working for the CIA in Pakistan. Sawyer's Secretary of Defense shut down the operation and disavowed its assets. As a result, Stenz was found, captured, and imprisoned by the Taliban for two years. When he finds himself face-to-face with the Secretary of Defense, Stenz doesn't hesitate to put a bullet in his head aside from uttering a Pre-Mortem One-Liner.
- A Sinister Clue: Stenz is left-handed and one of the film's biggest threats.
Tyler
Skip Tyler
Played By: Jimmi Simpson
A former NSA hacker working for Stenz.
- Beard of Evil: He's an unshaven cyberterrorist.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Tried to bomb Apple HQ because he didn't like their music-sharing policies.
- Evil Genius: Very good with computers.
- Evil Is Petty: If his desire to blow up Apple HQ with an ICBM because he didn't like their music-sharing policies is any indication.
- Faileda Spot Check: Forgot he set up the bomb in the catacombs which warranted a Thisis Gonna Suck reaction.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Wears a pair of glasses and is one of the main villains.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Killed with his own bomb.
- Oral Fixation: Frequently seen with Tootsie Pops.
- Unperson: Before attempting his escape, Tyler wipes himself from a database.
- Wicked Cultured: Very fond of his Beethoven and owns a small statue of Shiva.
Killick
Carl Killick
Played By: Kevin Rankin
A white supremacist and a leader of his own faction among the mercenaries.
- The Brute: A big, bullying man with a big mouth.
- Fan Boy: He's a fan of right-wing talk show host Roger Skinner, and actually tries to get chummy with him when Skinner is taken hostage despite being The Sociopath.
- Firing One-Handed: Killick likes to fire his Brügger & Thomet APC9 submachine gun one-handed, most notably when he takes out the agents guarding the tour group.
- Karmic Death: Halfway through the film, Killick smashes a Ming vase just to antagonize the tour guide Donnie. Donnie beats Killick to death with another artifact: a German mantle clock.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: He blew up a post office because they had too many African-Americans working there.
- The Sociopath: Outright described as a "right-wing sociopath".
- Teens Are Monsters: See that note about the post office explosion? He did that when he was 12.
Motts
Motts
Played By: Falk Hentschel
Stenz's right-hand man.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He balks at Walker's plan to nuke the Middle East.Motts: I didn't sign up for this nuclear bullshit.
- Gatling Good: For the Car Chase on the White House lawn, Motts wields a minigun mounted atop a Suburban driven by Stenz.
- Perma-Stubble: Has a day's worth of stubble to emphasize his gruff appearance.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Towards the end of the film, Motts, balking at the plan to nuke the Middle East, tries to leave and claim the money the government has left for them as a ransom. He doesn't get far as Walker kills him.
Cern
Conrad Cern
Played By: Kyle Gatehouse
An associate of Killick's who runs a hate blog against President Sawyer.
- Alliterative Name: Conrad Cern.
- Evil Redhead: A redhaired terrorist with a matching beard.
- Karma Houdini: Due to bombing the Capitol Building, Cern likely has the highest killcount of all the terrorists. Judging by the fact that he was able to get well away from the blast (primarily isolated to the Capitol Dome since plenty of others are shown unharmed) and isn't seen at any point afterwards, he got away scot-free. Granted, his status as a known associate of Killick's leads to Agent Kellerman identifying him as having been at the Capitol prior to the explosion, so it's possible a manhunt was launched for him following the film's end.
- Mad Bomber: Starts off the attack with a bomb planted under the dome of the US Capitol.
- Self-Made Orphan: His Threat Matrix dossier mentions he is suspected of setting the fire that killed his parents when he was 15.
- We Need a Distraction: Provides one for the terrorists by bombing the Capitol Building, ensuring that the D.C. police would be distracted enough to be led away from the White House, allowing the terrorists to enter.
Hostages
Emily Cale
Emily Cale
Played By: Joey King
John Cale's YouTube channel-obsessed daughter.
- Big Damn Heroes: Waves the presidential flag to signal the threat has been neutralized and to call off the bombing run. Seeing the flag being flown by Emily, the bomber pilots decide to terminate their bombing mission just in the nick of time.
- Camera Fiend: Has her own YouTube channel.
- Intelligence Equals Isolation: Discussed when John asks her whether or not she's been bullied.
