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3%% Zero Context Example entries are NOT allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them. See Administrivia/ZeroContextExample for further details.
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5%%
6%% There is no correct reason to put the name of a trope in spoiler tags. If the name of the trope constitutes a spoiler, either don't add it to begin with or pothole it from a related trope entry. The point of this page is to convey information; an entry that is completely spoilered out does not achieve this. See Administrivia/HandlingSpoilers for further details.
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8%%
9
10[[foldercontrol]]
11
12[[folder:Irving Rosenfeld]]
13[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rosenfeld_irving_5084.jpg]]
14[[caption-width-right:350:''"Did you ever have to find a way to survive and you knew your choices were bad, *but* you had to survive?"'']]
15->'''Played By:''' Creator/ChristianBale
16
17A con artist and the main protagonist.
18----
19* TheChessmaster: Excels at this throughout the movie due to the plans he can come up with, [[spoiler:even with his life under threat]].
20* ConMan: A professional con artist who makes his illegal money through fraudulent bank loans.
21%%* ConsummateLiar: As a con man, he has to be, and he's good at it.
22* ConsummateProfessional: Believe it or not. Irving's approach to conning is much more subdued and logical than everyone else's in the film, preferring his cons to be as meticulously planned and free of possible glitches as possible. Without fail, every time the scheme goes against his suggestions, it spirals out of control.
23* CoolShades: A set of aviator specs that he rarely removes.
24* DeathGlare: Shoots one at Richie after he messes with his comb-over.
25* DodgyToupee: The film opens with Irv assembling his combover with a mixture of hairspray, glue, and voodoo. He even slaps on some of his own sheddings and adhesives them to his scalp.
26* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:He goes through quite a struggle throughout the movie but everything works out in his favor at the end.]]
27* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:His guilt regarding Carmine's arrest and loss of his friendship, combined with all the stressful events of the film, result in Irving opening a legitimate art gallery.]]
28* HeroicBSOD: After confessing to [[spoiler:Carmine]], he goes through one due to his guilt.
29* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Irving might be an adulterous con man who takes advantage of desperate people, but he's also a loving father. He's also big on honesty and genuine friendship, so it ''really'' gets to him when he's forced to take down Carmine Polito.
30* KavorkaMan: By her own admission, the very attractive Sydney is drawn to Irving despite him being a fat schlub with bad comb-over because in public he exudes confidence and just doesn't seem to care.
31* ManipulativeBastard: He is a conman, so this is to be expected. [[spoiler:Though, he does get better.]]
32* NobleDemon: A career criminal who makes a living off scamming others, but is ultimately a fairly sympathetic character and ultimately [[spoiler: he attempts to do the right thing and becomes a legitimate businessman.]]
33* NobodyTouchesTheHair: Especially since it's a fragile comb-over.
34* OhCrap: [[spoiler:Upon hearing that [[TheDreaded Tellegio]] is involved, and realizing that he's now officially in over his head.]]
35* OnlySaneMan: Irving is the only one in the operation who wants to just get things done and go home - no grabbing bigger catches, no running away to Europe, he just wants to do things the right way and be done with it.
36* PapaWolf: One of Irving's most endearing traits is his truly selfless dedication to his son. [[HappilyAdopted ADOPTED]] son, at that. He is ''magnitudes'' a better parent than Rosalyn is.
37* SirSwearsALot: Particularly towards Richie, and during his big argument with Rosalyn. [[spoiler:To be fair, she ''had'' nearly gotten him killed.]]
38%%* VillainProtagonist
39[[/folder]]
40
41[[folder:FBI Agent Richard 'Richie' [=DiMaso=]]]
42[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dimaso_8138.jpg]]
43[[caption-width-right:350:''"Am I crazy? I don't think so."'']]
44->'''Played By:''' Creator/BradleyCooper
45
46A FBI agent who makes Irving and Sydney work for him.
47----
48* AmbitionIsEvil: His eagerness and out-of-control ambition to score bigger and bigger catches are what creates most of the film's conflict.
49%%* AntiHero
50* BadLiar: When speaking to Sydney, he can't lie convincingly, stumbling over his words like a lust-addled schoolboy.
51* BigBad: Technically. He's antagonistic and provides most of the film's conflict; he doesn't even care about what's right, he just wants to polish his reputation and feed his ego.
52* TheBully: His desperate insecurity leads him to torment and bully others, like his mild-mannered boss and people he has under his thumb.
53* BunnyEarsLawyer: He's clearly a very effective and skilled agent, good at organizing complex operations, but he's very unstable and unpredictable, [[spoiler: as well as apparently addicted to cocaine. These flaws are what allows Irving and Sydney to con him in the end.]]
54* CloudCuckoolander: His eccentricities reach this level at times.
55%%* DistractedByTheSexy: He has this reaction to Sydney many times throughout the film.
56* DrugsAreBad: [[spoiler:His coke habit slips out of control as the film progresses, turning him into a ranting, unstable megalomaniac.]]
57* GloryHound: Gets called out on this by Irving at the end of the movie. [[spoiler: Irving mentions that for all of his grandstanding and claims of moral superiority, Richie only ever targeted people such as Carmine who was not harming anyone because it was easy.]]
58* HeroAntagonist: He more or less functions as this to Irving and Sydney.
59* HotBlooded: Richie becomes increasingly unstable and impulsive as his ego inflates.
60* {{Jerkass}}: He's smarmy in his attempts to be charming toward Sydney, but he treats everyone else like shit including his own fiance.
61* KickTheDog: Anytime he threatens or hurts poor Stoddard Thorsen.
62%%* OutGambitted: [[spoiler:And ''how'', by the end of the movie.]]
63* PsychopathicManchild: Richie is prone to throwing tantrums that sometimes include violence when things don't go his way.
64%%* SmugSnake
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Sydney Prosser / Lady Edith Greensly]]
68[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sydney_2451.jpg]]
69[[caption-width-right:350:''"You're nothing to me until you're everything."'']]
70->'''Played By:''' Creator/AmyAdams
71
72Irving's con artist partner and girlfriend.
73----
74* BreakTheCutie: She has a very sunny and optimistic attitude when she and Irving are living the life. Over the course of the film, though, she's put through the emotional ringer.
75* ByronicHeroine: Has a rather Romanticized view towards the life of a con artist, and goes through ''intense'' internal conflicts throughout her arc--which she dramatizes in her "From the feet up, ''baby''" speech to Irving.
76* ClingyJealousGirl: A mild case. Upon hearing that Irving is taking Rosalyn to dinner with Carmine instead of her, she calls Richie to make him jealous.
77%%* ConMan: With Irving.
78%%* ConsummateLiar: Comes with the territory of being a con-artist.
79* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: Poor girl starts off as a pole dancer, becomes a con artist with Irving...and is severely tempted to go for Richie when she feels betrayed at once by Irving and the life he represents.
80--> "I want to ''live''.... All right?--for ''real''."
81* EarnYourHappyEnding: Despite being subjected to BreakTheCutie a lot over the course of the film, she ends up with Irving and opens a legitimate gallery with him.
82* EvilRedhead: [[AntiVillain Not exactly evil,]] but she is a manipulative con artist of course.
83* {{Fauxreigner}}: Pretends to be called "Lady Edith Greensly" in her cons with Irving. Richie learns that she isn't an aristocrat but still believes her to be British until near the end.
84* FemmeFatale: And a highly sympathetic one, who at one point seems to ''hate'' having to [[spoiler: seduce Richie]].
85* FriendToAllChildren: [[spoiler: In the end, she's seen happily hanging out with Rosalyn's son.]]
86* HeroicSeductress: Arguably, as [[spoiler: all she really wants in the end is to ensure she and Irving can live comfortably and free from the mob's notice and the FBI's radar.]] And unlike most Femmes, [[spoiler: she truly does love Irving and wants him to succeed with her.]]
87* ManipulativeBitch: [[spoiler:She [[HeelFaceTurn gets better]], of course.]]
88* MsFanservice: Without a doubt. She invokes it, too, since it helps with conning.
89* NavelDeepNeckline: She frequently dons ridiculously sexy outfits split down the middle, often going all the way down to her navel.
90* TheVamp: She clearly uses her looks to her advantage many times, particularly in dealing with Richie.
91* VaporWear: There's a constant implication that Sydney doesn't wear ''anything'' under her dresses. Particularly in the stall sequence.
92%%* VillainProtagonist
93[[/folder]]
94
95[[folder:Mayor Carmine Polito]]
96[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carmine_818.jpg]]
97->'''Played By:''' Creator/JeremyRenner
98
99The Mayor of Camden, New Jersey.
100----
101* TheAce: A effective mayor with a loving family, and a 100% approval rating amongst his constituents. Irving, who otherwise acts callous to all of his marks, becomes completely enamored with the guy.
102* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Poor Carmine does do something illegal that's not even for his own benefit, but still gets targeted by the likes of [=DiMaso=].
103* CorruptPolitician: Subverted, he's a good guy UNTIL the hustlers get to him and turn him unwittingly into this. Even then, he only does underhanded things to improve the lives of his constituency and never for personal gain.
104* HappilyMarried: To his beloved wife, and the only constantly HappilyMarried character in the film.
105* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: [[DoubleSubversion Double Subverted]], [[spoiler: tragically. When Carmine is first approached to get conned, he picks up on it and leaves the scene. His befriending Irving is what ultimately screws him over.]]
106* NiceGuy: A genuinely good-hearted man who loves his community and wants to improve it.
107* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: [[spoiler:Arguably the nicest most ''moral'' character in the story. Naturally he's the one who gets his political career ruined and faced with jail time.]]
108* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: He's such a good friend who's ready with the compliments that he ends up adding to Irving's feelings of guilt.
109* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Carmine may be 'corrupt' but not in the self-serving sense. He's just doing everything he can to help the community he's sworn to serve.
110%%* WideEyedIdealist: In stark contrast to everyone else in the movie.
111[[/folder]]
112
113[[folder:Rosalyn Rosenfeld]]
114[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rosalyn_5895.jpg]]
115[[caption-width-right:350:''"Thank God for me."'']]
116->'''Played By:''' Creator/JenniferLawrence
117
118Irving's wife.
119----
120* AgeLift: The actual character was much older.
121* AlliterativeName: '''R'''osalyn '''R'''osenfeld.
122* BitchInSheepsClothing: Rosalyn may be dumb, but she actually has a natural talent for manipulating people and a VERY mean streak.
123* TheDitz: Rosalyn never thinks before doing. She thinks afterward, to rationalize her actions.
124* DumbassHasAPoint: Throughout the film, Irving wants Rosalyn to be with somebody else, but he is always away doing cons, so she's stuck at home caring for Danny. When she finally falls for someone other than Irving, it's Pete Musane, a mob enforcer (albeit a sensible, level-headed mob enforcer who genuinely cares for her). When Irving points out that Pete is "the most dangerous guy ever", Rosalyn replies "Well, what do you expect, Irving? I know everyone through you."
125* DumbBlonde: Bright blonde hair on her head, and not a functioning brain cell concerned with self-preservation inside.
126* TheFool: Blunders through what soon becomes an apocalyptically dangerous situation without a scratch, in what can only be described as divine (or diabolic) providence.
127%%* {{Hypocrite}}: She contradicts herself frequently.
128* HypocriticalHumor: "Irving, you need to grow up."
129%%* LargeHam
130%% * ManipulativeBitch: A completely unrepentant one, unlike [[spoiler:Sydney]].
131* MsFanservice: Oh yes. Especially when she dresses up.
132* NeverMyFault: Never. She will either refuse to accept blame, twist things around to make it look like someone else's fault or claim that there was a beneficial outcome that she intended.
133* PassiveAggressiveCombat: Described as a master by Irving himself.
134%% * PrettyInMink: One of her outfits.
135* SpannerInTheWorks: Whenever she shows up, things are about to get incrementally more complicated for someone. Probably several someones.
136* TakeThatKiss: Gives one to Sydney [[GirlOnGirlIsHot for whatever reason]].
137* TooDumbToLive: Whether it is causing housefires from defying common sense or blabbing to a man, whom she knows is a mobster, that her husband is involved with the Feds, it's a miracle she still lives.
138* UglyGuyHotWife: And Pete noticed.
139* WildCard: It's never clear what she's going to do next. Rosalyn is basically a grenade thrown into a soup factory.
140[[/folder]]
141
142[[folder:Stoddard Thorsen]]
143!!Stoddard Thorsen
144->'''Played By:''' Creator/LouisCK
145
146Richie's boss.
147----
148* AnAesop: {{Subverted}}. He has an ice-fishing story with a moral lesson for [=DiMaso=] but ultimately withholds it.
149* ButtMonkey: He has a horrible time, trying to handle a crazed [=DiMaso=] who gradually moves from insults to physical violence before worming his way out of any consequences.
150* ByTheBookCop: Always tries to reign back Richie from his VERY dangerous stings. He ends up [[spoiler:getting a telephone repeatedly rammed against his face]]. He gets back to him, though, epically.
151* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler:When he informs [=DiMaso=] that he's off the case, following Richie's most epic fuck-up.]]
152* PointyHairedBoss: As Richie's boss he's not very competent at controlling or handling most situations.
153[[/folder]]
154
155[[folder:Victor Tellegio]]
156->'''Played By:''' Creator/RobertDeNiro
157
158A Mafia Overlord.
159----
160* TheCameo: Only physically appears in one scene.
161* TheDreaded: He has a reputation for shooting people and leaving their dead bodies in the middle of the street, just to prove a point. You know this guy is bad news when [[spoiler:Irving has an OhCrap reaction just by hearing his name]].
162* FourEyesZeroSoul: Wears a pair of glasses during the meeting with Irving and company.
163* GeniusBruiser: He's an enforcer, but also a savvy businessman who [[spoiler:became fluent in Arabic.]]
164* HiddenDepths: The characters are ''very'' surprised when [[spoiler: it turns out he can speak Arabic.]]
165* KarmaHoudini: He never [[spoiler:touched any of the money that was going to be used in the sting operation, so therefore, legally, he couldn't be touched. However, he knew Irving eventually turned the tables on Richie, and made it a point to have Pete tell Irving that he was aware that Irving helped him out, and 'appreciates it.']]
166%%* TheMafia
167* NumberTwo: To [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Meyer]] [[GreaterScopeVillain Lansky]], who never appears on screen but trusts Tellegio to carry out his business for him. Tellegio's scene shows he takes his role in protecting Lanksy's interests with care and precision and displays a great deal of autonomy.

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