History Characters / HailCaesar

* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: She married twice in studio-arranged marriages (including once to a not-so-small member of the Mafia) and just wants to settle down with a nice guy. [[spoiler:By the end of the movie, she's married to Joseph Silverman]].

* UndyingLoyalty: He once served six months in prison because Capitol Pictures needed a fall guy, and he's ''still'' working for them without question.

* TheBeard: She was supposed to be this to Doyle (though neither appears to be anything but straight) in order to distract the Thacker twins. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]], as the two hit it off surprisingly well.

* BadassBaritone: As is standard for Josh Brolin.

Eddie Mannix is a fixer for the 1950's Hollywood studio Capitol Pictures. His daily routine keeps big-budgeted films as well as actors' reputations from crumbling, so having a moment to spare is out of the question.

* BlatantLies: Tells Hobie that Laurentz dropped by to tell him that he was doing great in ''Merrily We Dance'' while in reality Laurentz stormed into Eddie's office and demanded Hobie be taken off the project. A large part of his career revolves around saying this kind of stuff.
* ConsummateProfessional: He is, for the most part, a neutral character who tries to keep everything and everyone in order, like a grand engineer in a huge machine where every cog can malfunction at any time, as a representative of his firm's interests. Which includes covering up dirt of any sort (most of that which appears in the movie isn't too severe) in order to maintain the lie that is the stars living their lives according to the values of the society of the time.
* {{Determinator}}: Despite all the dirty dealing he does to keep the studio afloat, taking a toll on his conscience and his family, Mannix still manages to get through the day and get everyone in the studio back on track, even if it means resorting to slapping them in the most extreme cases. Still, he's so worn out from his work that he considers leaving the business entirely to get a job in aviation. [[spoiler:However, his desire to help and maintain the people he's been working with for years and the value he sees in his work convince him to stay once he's talked it over in the Confessional.]]

* HistoricalBeautyUpdate: The real Eddie Mannix was balding, short and a bit paunchy, having previously been played by Creator/BobHoskins who had a strong resemblance to him. Here he's played by Josh Brolin who is...well, [[TallDarkAndHandsome Josh Brolin]].
* HistoricalDomainCharacter

* OnlySaneMan: Hence why he is the fixer of problems that he would recognize and knows how to find a solution to them. He is what inhabitants of Hollywood (specifically Capitol Pictures) look up to to make sure the movies' and actors' reputations, and by extension their sponsors', do not shatter.
* PetTheDog: Very forward and blunt, but he has to be to manage his time appropriately and keep Hollywood from destroying itself. He genuinely cares for his family, and believes his films hold value.

* BigDamnHeroes: Is responsible for tracking down Baird's location after seeing [[spoiler:Gurney]] with the ransom suitcase. [[spoiler:Of course, the subsequent rescue of Whitlock is underwhelming in that all he does is show up and tell him to get in the car]].

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Proves himself to be surprisingly capable at tracking down the Communist cell that formed within the studio.

* HiddenDepths: He can actually sing and points out to Eddie that the extras are more than likely the culprits behind Baird's kidnapping, as the cast on a film set are on first-name terms with almost the entire crew, but extras come and go and no-one notices.
* NiceGuy: Friendly and humble to almost everyone. Compared to his mostly vapid and jaded colleagues, he really stands out.

* OnlySaneMan: The only acquaintance of Mannix who does not have any insecurities, ignorance or shadiness of sort unlike the other celebrities for Capitol Pictures.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: His thick southern drawl cannot be masked when he's required to put on an English accent for ''Merrily We Dance''.

* SmarterThanYouLook: Comes off as an idiot and a hick in most of his early scenes, but the later parts of the film reveal him to be surprisingly sharp. It's not that he's talentless, he's just not at all the right actor for the lead role in a high-class drama.

* AmbiguouslyGay: [[spoiler: It's not clear if he would sleep with a man if it wasn't for the below-mentioned couch which would guarantee him a lot of women.]]
* CastingCouch: Slept with [[spoiler:Laurence Laurentz in the past to land a role in one of his films]].

* StockholmSyndrome: Begins to very easily sympathize with the communists after his kidnapping. Played with, since they do treat him very well and the only threat against his person is his little secret that they would only release if he named them to the authorities or if he left before they received the ransom money. Which makes it entirely impersonal and makes him come across as merely a fool who can be easily converted into any ideology if he spends enough time being talked into it, all while serenely eating finger-sandwiches and drinking tea, rather than relating with it on a completely psychological and personal level. Eddie beats his socialist beliefs out of him with ease after he's rescued.

* AmbiguouslyGay: His homoerotic dance routine would qualify him as this or a ''very'' flamboyant CampStraight. Ed also mentions in the ending of the film that Burt was [[spoiler:sexually involved with Laurentz.]]
* BourgeoisBohemian: Owns an impressive Malibu mansion where [[spoiler:his fellow communists hold their meetings, sip martinis, eat tea sandwiches, and smoke expensive tobacco]].

* CanineCompanion: His faithful dog, Engels (named for Communist philosopher Friedrich Engels). Used as a plot point when [[spoiler:while he's boarding a Soviet submarine, Engels jumps from the boat after him, prompting him to drop the briefcase full of money]].

* HarmlessVillain: [[spoiler: Well he is a leading member of a communist kidnapper's party who seriously believe that they will make a better world by demanding ransom from the Capitol Studio. And all that without using or even threatening to use any violence against their hostage, probably out of a lack of a desire to hurt.]]

* WalkingSpoiler: He has one scene before [[spoiler: it's revealed he's a communist]].

* FourthDateMarriage: [[spoiler:Meets Joseph Silverman, goes on one date with him, and marries him by the end of the night]].

* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Married twice in studio-arranged marriages (including once to a not-so-small member of the Mafia) and just wants to settle down with a nice guy. [[spoiler:By the end of the movie, she's married to Joseph Silverman]].

* TheBeard: She was supposed to be this to Doyle in order to distract the Thacker twins. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] as the two hit it off surprisingly well.

* NiceGirl: Much less jaded and seedy than fellow genre star [=DeeAnna=] Moran -- in this respect, she's something of a DistaffCounterpart to Hobie Doyle. Like Doyle, however, she seems out of her depth in Hollywood.

* OnlySaneWoman: Sharing this with Hobie, in comparison to the more seedy and insecure celebs in the movies.

* SpicyLatina: Part of her studio gimmick; in real life her actual personality is bubbly and outgoing, but not remotely hot-tempered or any of the other stereotypical traits linked with this trope.
* TokenMinority: Carlotta is a Latina and the only significant non-white character in the film.

* CampGay: Lists [[spoiler:Baird, and possibly also Gurney]] among his former sexual partners.
* CastingCouch: [[spoiler:He is classic case of a homosexual director who runs part of the studio as his personal fiefdom and expects some special favors to help any aspiring actors to move up in the showbiz ladder.]]
* FirstNameBasis: He repeatedly corrects Hobie Doyle as he keeps calling him "Mr. Laurence". When Hobie finally gets it right, Laurence changes his mind and says to just call him "Laurence", which only confuses Hobie further.

* FourthDateMarriage: [[spoiler:Goes out on one date with [=DeeAnna=] Moran the night after he meets her, and the two are married before morning]].
* UglyGuyHotWife: [[spoiler:Joseph is a heavier-set guy who managed to land a character played by Creator/ScarlettJohansson by the film's end]].
* UndyingLoyalty: Once served six months in prison because Capitol Pictures needed a fall guy, and he's ''still'' working under them without question.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Clearly an {{Expy}} of Creator/GeneKelly, as Wiki/TheOtherWiki even calls him a Gene Kelly-type actor.

* HistoricalBeautyUpdate: The real Eddie Mannix was balding, short and a bit paunchy. Here he's played by Josh Brolin who is...well, [[TallDarkAndHandsome Josh Brolin]].

* AmbiguouslyGay: His homoerotic dance routine would qualify him as this or a ''very'' flamboyant CampStraight. Ed also mentions in the ending of the film the Burt was sexually involved with Laurentz as well.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Parodies both Creator/KirkDouglas and Creator/CharltonHeston. While ''Hail, Caesar!'' is a clear parody of ''Film/BenHur'' (which Heston starred in), his "prima donna leading man" image takes just as many cues from Douglas, the star of ''Film/{{Spartacus}}''.

* CastingCouch: Slept with [[spoiler: Laurence Laurentz in the past to land a role in one of his films]].

* StockholmSyndrome: Begins to very easily sympathize with the communists after his kidnapping. Played with, since they do treat him very well and the only threat against his person is his little secret that they would only release if he named them to the authorities or if he left before they received the ransom money. Which makes it entirely impersonal and makes him come across as merely a fool who can be easily converted into any ideology if he spends enough time being talked into it, all while serenely eating finger-sandwiches and drinking tea, rather than relating with it on a completely psychological and personal level.

* CastingCouch: [[spoiler: He is classic case of a homosexual director who runs part of the studio as his personal fiefdom and expects some special favors to help any aspiring actors to move up in the showbiz ladder.]]

* {{Adorkable}}: Off the horse's back, Hobie acts primarily reserved, especially on the set of ''Merrily We Dance'', in which he's horribly miscast.

* NotSoSmallRole: Channing Tatum pops up an hour in as a character who has no connection to the rest of the cast, performing a random musical number for RuleOfCool. [[spoiler:His character Burt Gurney turns out to be a Soviet mole, and it's his house Baird Whitlock is locked up in]]. Played with when it comes to Jonah Hill's role as it is really just a cameo. But he still ends up [[spoiler:marrying [=DeAnna=], meaning she won't have to put her baby up for adoption]].

* ConsummateProfessional: He is for the most part a neutral character who tries to keep everything and everyone in order, like a grand engineer in a huge machine where every cog can malfunction at any time, as a representative of his firm's interests. Which includes covering up dirt of any sort (most of which appears in the movie isn't too severe) in order to maintain the lie that is that the stars life. that they according to the values of the society of the time.
* {{Determinator}}: Despite all the dirty dealing he does to keep the studio afloat, taking a toll on his conscience and his family, Mannix still manages to get through the day and get everyone in the studio back on track, even if it means resorting to slapping them in the most extreme cases. Still, he's so worn out from his work that he considers leaving the business entirely to get a job in aviation. [[spoiler:Still, his desire to help and maintain the people he's been working with for years and the value he sees in his work convince him to stay once he's talked it over in the Confessional.]]

* GreyAndGrayMorality: Eddie loves his family despite being a usually absentee husband and father, and is very controlling over his actors, often resorting to brief physical abuse to keep them in line and keep his enterprises from falling apart. That being said, he owns up to his sins during frequent [[{{Confessional}} confession]] and seems to believe that his films have genuine artistic merit. Not to mention that some of the stars he has to rangle are often engaging in behavior that ranges from morally dubious, to outright criminal, often out of their own stupidity or obliviousness.
* HistoricalBeautyUpdate: The real Eddie Mannix was balding, short and a bit paunchy. Here's played by Josh Brolin who is...well, [[TallDarkAndHandsome Josh Brolin]].

* OnlySaneMan: Hence why he is the fixer of problems that he would recognize and knows how to find a solution to them. He is what inhabitants of Hollywood (specifically Capitol Pictures) look up to to make sure the movies' and actors' reputations do not shatter and by extension their sponsors.

* GoodIsNotDumb: While he may come off a little simple, he's far smarter than he appears, and is one of the more intelligent characters in the entire film.

* HiddenDepths: He can actually sing, and points out to Eddie that the extras are more than likely the culprits behind Baird's kidnapping, as the cast on a film set are on first-name terms with almost the entire crew, but extras come and go and no-one notices.

* SmarterThanYouLook: Comes off as an idiot and a hick in most of his early scenes, but the later parts of the film reveal him to be surprisingly sharp. It's not that he's talentless, he's just not at all the right actor for the lead role in a high class drama.

* AmbiguouslyGay: [[spoiler: Its not clear if he would sleep with a man if it wasn't for the below mentioned couch which would guarantee him a lot of women.]]

* TheDitz: He is easily buys that he's been kidnapped by a "study group", converts easily to Communism by equating it to that time he was tricked into shaving Creator/DannyKaye's back, and cheerfully regurgitates their views on the studio system without realizing he's imperiling his own career (and driving Eddie Mannix into a rage).

* StockholmSyndrome: Begins very easily to sympathize with the communists after his kidnapping. Played with, since they do treat him very well and the only threat against his person is his little secret that they would only release if he named them to the authorities or if left before they received the ransom money. Which makes it entirely impersonal and makes him come across as merely a fool who can be easily converted into any ideology if he spends enough time being talked into it, all while serenely eating finger-sandwiches and drinking tea, rather than relating with on a completely psychological and personal level.

[=DeeAnna=] Moran is another Capitol Pictures actress who's slated to star in an upcoming acquatic film, ''Neptune's Daughter''. During filming, she gets pregnant out of wedlock and Eddie has to deal with spinning the affair.

* NiceGirl: Much less jaded and seedy than fellow genre star [=DeeAnna=] Moran -- in this respect she's something of a DistaffCounterpart to Hobie Doyle. Like Doyle, however, she seems out of her depth in Hollywood.

* CastingCouch: [[spoiler: He is classic case of a homosexual director who runs part of the studio as his personal fiefdom and expects some special favors to help any aspiring actors to move up in the show biz ladder.]]

* AdvertisedExtra: Jonah Hill gets prominent billing and is featured in a majority of posters and trailers, but is only ever featured in one scene. Joseph does, however, get an important role off screen [[spoiler:when he marries [=DeeAnna=] Moran and ties up her arc]].

* {{Deuteragonist}}: He initially seems to be a mere comic-relief character, but he ends up playing a pivotal role in foiling the kidnapping plot (he gives Eddie Mannix a tip which helps him track down the kidnappers, and he himself [[spoiler:follows Burt Gurney to the kidnapper's hideout and "rescues" Baird -- it's pure luck that he sees the ransom briefcase, but he has enough initiative to seize the opportunity in front of him]]).

* StockholmSyndrome: Begins very easily to sympathize with the communists after his kidnapping. Played with, since they do treat him very well and the only threat against his person is a little secret that they would only release if he names them to the authorities or if leaves before they receive the ransom money. So it is entirely impersonal and he merely comes across as a fool who can be easily converted into any ideology if he spends enough time being talked about it while serenely eating finger-sandwiches and drinking tea, rather than relating on a completely psychological level.

* Determinator: Despite all the dirty dealing he does to keep the studio afloat, taking a toll on his conscience and his family, Mannix still manages to get through the day and get everyone in the studio back on track, even if it means resorting to slapping them in the most extreme cases. Still, he's so worn out from his work that he considers leaving the business entirely to get a job in aviation. [[spoiler:Still, his desire to help and maintain the people he's been working with for years and the value he sees in his work convince him to stay once he's talked it over in the Confessional.]]

* GreyAndGrayMorality: Eddie loves his family despite being a usually absentee husband and father, and is very controlling over his actors, often resorting to brief physical abuse to keep them in line and keep his enterprises from falling apart. That being said, he owns up to his sins during frequent [[{{Confessional}} confession]]and seems to believe that his films have genuine artistic merit. Not to mention that some of the stars he has to rangle are often engaging in behavior that ranges from morally dubious, to outright criminal, often out of their own stupidity or obliviousness.

* OnlySaneMan: Hence why he is the fixer of problems that he would recognize and knows how to find a solution to them. He is what inhabitants of Hollywood (specifically Capitol Pictures) look up to to make sure the movies' and actors' reputations do not shatter.

* BigGood: He is what inhabitants of Hollywood (specifically Capitol Pictures) look up to to make sure the movies' and actors' reputations do not shatter.

* ConsummateProfessional: He is for the most part a morally neutral character who tries to keep everything and everyone in order, like a grand engineer in a huge machine where every cog can malfunction at any time, as representative of his firm's interests.

* GoodIsNotDumb: While he is one of the more moral characters in the film, he's also one of the smartest.
* GreyAndGrayMorality: Eddie loves his family despite being a usually absentee husband and father, and is very controlling over his actors, often resorting to brief physical abuse to keep them in line and keep his enterprises from falling apart. That being said, he owns up to his sins during frequent [[{{Confessional}} confession]], believes his films have genuine artistic merit. Not to mention that some of the stars he has to rangle are often engaging in behavior that ranges from morally dubious, to outright criminal, to borderline treason, often out of their own stupidity or obliviousness.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Very forward and blunt, but he has to be to manage his time appropriately and keep Hollywood from destroying itself. He genuinely cares for his family, his actors, and believes his films hold value.
* KnightInSourArmor: Despite all the dirty dealing he does to keep the studio afloat, taking a toll on his conscience and his family, Mannix still manages to get through the day and get everyone in the studio back on track, even if it means resorting to slapping them in the most extreme cases. Still, he's so worn out from his work that he considers leaving the business entirely to get a job in aviation. [[spoiler:Still, his desire to help and maintain the people he's been working with for years and the value he sees in his work convince him to stay once he's talked it over in the Confessional.]]

* OnlySaneMan: Hence why he is the fixer of problems that he would recognize and knows how to find a solution to them.

* BlatantLies: Tells Hobie that Laurentz dropped by to tell him that he was doing great in ''Merrily We Dance'' while in reality Laurentz stormed into Eddie's office and demanded Hobie be taken off the project.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: Eddie loves his family despite being a usually absentee husband and father, and is very controlling over his actors, often resorting to brief physical abuse to keep them in line. That being said, he owns up to his sins during frequent [[{{Confessional}} confession]], believes his films have genuine artistic merit, and keeps his enterprises from falling apart.
** Not to mention that some of the stars he has to rangle are often engaging in behavior that ranges from morally dubious, to outright criminal, to borderline treason, often out of their own stupidity or obliviousness.

Baird Whitlock is a big name actor playing the lead in the upcoming Capitol Pictures epic, ''Hail, Caesar!'' When he's kidnapped before production of the movie has been completed, however, he finds himself in the hands of AffablyEvil communists.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Slept with [[spoiler:Laurence Laurentz in the past to land a role in one of his films]].

* StockholmSyndrome: Begins very easily to sympathize with the communists after his kidnapping.

* AmbiguouslyGay: His homoerotic dance routine would qualify him as this or a ''very'' flamboyant CampStraight. Ed also mentions in the ending of the film the Burt was sexually involved with Laurentz.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: [[spoiler: He and the rest of the communists are hypocritical kidnappers and blackmailers, but raise good points about the exploitative nature of Hollywood and treat Baird as almost an equal while he's "captive"]].