Follow TV Tropes

Following

Characters / The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Go To

Character page for the 2015 film The Man from U.N.C.L.E..

For the original series, see here here.


    open/close all folders 

U.N.C.L.E.

     Napoleon Solo 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/henry_cavill_as_napoleon_solo_in_movie19.jpg
The Cowboy
Played By: Henry Cavill
Voiced by: Adrien Antoine (European French), José Gilberto Vilchis (Latin-American Spanish dub), Takanori Hoshino (Japanese dub)

Napoleon Solo is a CIA agent, as well as a former soldier and thief.


  • The Ace: Deconstructed with his status as the CIA's top agent. Solo's a Boxed Crook who really doesn't want to work for the CIA and would rather go back to living life as a carefree Gentleman Thief. He also is shown to be a bit of a narcissist, having trouble adapting for other cultures and styles (like when dressing Gaby), and getting petty with others. Then reconstructed as because he hates his CIA bosses blackmailing him into working for him, he worked hard to be The Ace as a way to spite them.
  • Adaptational Villainy: He's an (almost) amoral Boxed Crook, con artist, liar and thief who can be very self-absorbed and more than a bit of a Jerkass. In the original show, Solo was much more heroic and morally upstanding from the start.
  • Badass in a Nice Suit: Napoleon is rarely seen outside a three piece suit.
  • Big Brother Instinct: Despite Solo being The Casanova and Gaby being played by Alicia Vikander, Solo never shows any romantic interest in Gaby, and his feelings towards her only ever come across as this.
  • Boxed Crook: The reason he works for the CIA is that he was caught and convicted for stealing art. He works for the CIA in exchange for not spending his sentence in prison.
  • Gentleman Thief: Napoleon's backstory in the film is that he was a prolific art thief before he was finally caught. Also his cover in Italy. And, by all implications, the life he'd like to lead after his forced employment at the CIA is over. Actually, Napoleon never stopped being a thief; Sanders makes it very clear he's aware of the fact that Napoleon has continued his criminal career while working for the CIA.
    Sanders: I know you've been taking care of yourself on the side, wetting your beak so to speak. We don't pay you enough to be able to put truffles in your risotto, Solo. But don't ever make the calamitous error of mistaking my deliberate short-sightedness for blindness.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's smarmy, he can come off as quite the Insufferable Genius, and has enough snark to cover whole city blocks—but when the chips are down, he shows his real colors. Exemplified at the end when he shows that for all his talk, he recognized what Illya's watch meant to him—when he happens to gun down the mook who has it, he takes it and returns it to Illya, instead of picking up his gun, despite having it readied.
  • Last-Name Basis: Only his mother calls him Napoleon.
  • Pride: His defining motivation. After being forced to become a CIA agent, he decides to be the best agent, simply to prove he's better than his new bosses.
  • Real Men Cook: Right after he and Gaby escape East Berlin, he cooks a truffle risotto.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Shows his fashion sense when he and Illya are picking out clothes for Gaby.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The cool, calm blue to Illya's hotheaded red.
  • Sharp-Dressed Man: All the time. Illya isn't exactly hobo-ish in his choices and knows how to clean up; but Napoleon is never seen looking anything less than dapper.
  • Shipper on Deck: Once he notices that Illya and Gaby seem to be getting close, he tends to leave them alone with each other; not without getting in a good natured jab at it all whenever the opportunity arises.
  • Smug Snake: He's got moments of smugness, once others (like Illya) get past his charmer exterior.
  • Waistcoat of Style: If he's not in full dress - he'll almost always have a waistcoast at least.
  • What You Are in the Dark: Finds and retrieves Kuryakin's watch and in the end when given the option to kill him, decides to disobey orders in favor of returning the watch and burning the disk which cements their friendship instead. He also goes back to rescue Kuryakin when he's at risk of drowning.

     Illya Kuryakin 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_man_from_uncle_03.jpg
The Red Peril
Played By: Armie Hammer
Voiced by: Arturo Mercado, Jr. (Latin-American Spanish dub), Atsushi Miyauchi (Japanese dub)

Illya Kuryakin is the KGB's best agent. He is reluctantly partnered with Napoleon Solo to help save the world.


  • The Ace: The youngest man to join the KGB, and their best after three years.
  • Adaptational Badass: Though the original Kuryakin was far from a wimp, he was a small man (5 foot 7) of slight build, and was no stranger to occasionally being bested in a fight, particularly if he was up against multiple opponents. This Kuryakin is 6 foot 5, built like a wrestler, and can take out several armed police officers without breaking a sweat. He is also capable of running down a car and throwing motorcycles.
  • Amazon Chaser: Says the man himself;
    Illya: I like my women strong.
  • Ambiguous Disorder: Solo mentions that Kuryakin began having psychotic episodes around the time his father was arrested. We get to witness one near the end of the film, after he is ordered to kill Solo. In reality what Illya experiences is not psychosis, seeing as psychosis don't work that way, though this could be a case of Deliberate Values Dissonance. The movie is set firmly in the 1960s, and diagnosis and understanding of psychological disorders was shaky at best. The ambiguity, and the 'psychotic' label, likely comes from a reluctance of the KGB to label their star agent as a problem case, as well of a lack of understanding about IED and PTSD.
  • Badass Biker: Uses a bike to chase down Alexander's all terrain vehicle in the final car chase.
  • Becoming the Mask: He pretends to be engaged to Gaby as part of their cover. But eventually, he starts to take his role as her fiance a bit too seriously.
  • Berserk Button: Several, but in particular insults against either of his parents, and questioning his abilities.
  • Bruiser with a Soft Center: He's big, he's strong, and he's built like a superhero and isn't exactly the nicest guy on first impressions; get past that and he can be incredibly sweet and dorky. His clear sincerity separates him from Napoleon's cool charm.
  • Character Tic: His hands start trembling and twitching once his buttons have been set off, he also starts sporting an incredibly sharp Death Glare to boot.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: Kuryakin tears the back off Solo's getaway car with his bare hands.
  • Darker and Edgier: Much angrier than his TV counterpart.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: His dad was once one of Stalin's top subordinates but got arrested on charges of embezzlement of state funds and was shipped off to a Gulag. As a result, his mother was forced to do some rather unpleasant things to survive as Solo implies in their first conversation.
  • Establishing Character Moment: The opening chase frames Illya as an unstoppable terminator like Russian spy- until he sees an old woman hiding behind her door in the apartment building. Suddenly he's calling her dear, using his please and thank yous, as gentle as can be. It's Illya in a nutshell- unbeatable spy on the job, but painfully awkward when it comes to actual human interaction.
  • Freudian Excuse: Definitely has some issues when it comes to his parents. According to his U.N.C.L.E. dossier shown during the end credits, he has been diagnosed with an Oedipus complex.
  • Genius Bruiser: He's big, and he's strong, but he's definitely not dumb, being just as skilled as Solo is when it comes to the subtler aspects of their spywork.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Clearly does not appreciate Alexander hitting on a rather charmed Gaby during the racetrack party.
    He's still a Nazi!
  • Hidden Depths: Seems to just be a Soviet Terminator, until he helps Gaby pick her clothes for the trip to Italy. He's also a chess master, photographer, powerboater and wrestling champion.
  • Hot-Blooded: He is very quick to anger. After Napoleon insults his parents during their first conversation, he flips the table.
  • Improvised Weapon: At one point, he picks up a motorcycle and throws it at someone.
  • Mother Russia Makes You Strong: Often a point in his arguments, noting the difference in how things would get done in Russia, by Russians.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Along with Solo, he shows his own fashion sense when picking out clothes for Gaby to wear.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The more emotional, straightforward, red to Napoleon's cool, calm, blue.
  • Russian Guy Suffers Most: Classic example. Not only is he the one with the saddest past (dad ended up in a gulag, and then mum became popular with husband's friends) but he's also the one who watches the woman he fell in love with betray him and his companion. Well, actually she was pretending to do that one.
  • Smart People Play Chess: One of his hobbies is playing chess, and he is very intelligent.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Being the consummate KGB agent, he is brusque, surly and disturbingly prone to fits of violence. But there are moments when he is unexpectedly charming and chivalrous, such as when he apologizes to an old German for breaking into her home during his chase of Solo and Gaby or during any of his scenes with Gaby.
  • Vodka Drunkenski: Averted; Illya keeps a tight control on his drinking.
  • When He Smiles: When he's not scowling, he actually has a rather nice smile which can usually be seen in his scenes with Gaby.

     Gaby Teller 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alicia_orange.jpeg
The Self-Appointed Mom
Played By: Alicia Vikander
Voiced by: Marisol Romero (Latin-American Spanish dub), Mayumi Sako (Japanese dub)

Gaby Teller is an East Berlin mechanic pulled into a spy scheme to find her nuclear scientist father.


  • Action Girl: Though not seen doing any actual fighting per se, she is in on the operation and appears to be quite the skillful agent on her own.
  • Beneath the Mask: There is more to Gaby than meets the eye and one of the first hints of that is after she makes a call informing whoever is on the other end of her meeting with her Uncle Rudi. After she hangs up, she stares blankly at nothing almost as if she is having a mini-Heroic BSoD moment.
  • Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: For about five minutes before we learn she was on the good side all along.
  • Fake Defector: Pretends to ally herself with the Vinciguerras in order to find her father.
  • Femme Fatale: The darkly triumphant look on her face after she betrays Kuryakin and Solo to her Uncle Rudi and Alexander implies that she was this all along. Victoria even tells Solo that this isn't the first time Gaby used her charms to insinuate herself into someone's good graces. But then it turns out that she's actually another agent working under Waverley's orders.
  • Guile Hero: She pretty much fools everyone as to who she was truly working for.
  • Hidden Depths: Keeps remarkably calm throughout the whole mission. Makes sense she's a spy.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: Despite wanting to tell Kuryakin what her true agenda was, she kept silent for the sake of the mission. Same goes for for when she is forced to betray Solo and Kuryakin.
  • Love-Interest Traitor: Appears to be one after she exposes Solo and Kuryakin, and the latter had been falling for her throughout the entire movie. But it's later revealed she was under orders by Waverly.
  • Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: A nuclear scientist no less. Except her father's not mad, just blackmailed, first by the Nazis, then by the film's villains.
  • Morality Pet: By the end of the movie, one of the ways Solo and Kuryakin bond is that, when Gaby is threatened, both will go to any lengths to rescue her and kill the one doing the threatening.
  • Nerves of Steel: Keeps her cool and calm throughout the whole mission.
  • One of the Boys: Or at least she seems to be in her East Berlin garage.
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She tackles Kuryakin to the ground despite the fact that he's a foot taller and probably twice as heavy. Though, he possibly let her considering her state of mind. And considering she's blackout drunk at the time, she might be even stronger than what's shown, though it is still debatable.
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: Once they get her out of her mechanic's jumpsuit and into chic dresses.
  • Smurfette Principle: The only female of the main characters.
  • Team Mom: Referenced almost by the word, especially early on when Napoleon and Illya are only moments from throwing down at any given second.
  • This Ain't Rocket Surgery: Being the daughter of a (literal) rocket scientist, it's no surprise that she's smart with plenty of Hidden Depths.
  • Wrench Wench: Her time spent at a garage and willingness to get dirty qualify her. Her mechanical skills are what first draw Alexander Vinciguerra to her.

     Alexander Waverly 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/uncle_trailer_still_12.jpg
The Chief
Played By: Hugh Grant
Voiced by: Salvador Delgado (Latin-American Spanish dub), Junpei Morita (Japanese dub)

Alexander Waverly is part of the British Secret Service. He ultimately recruits Napoleon, Illya, and Gaby to work for him as part of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.


  • Adaptational Attractiveness: Leo G. Carroll (Waverly's actor in the TV series) wasn't exactly ugly although he was definitely a much older man, but here Waverly is Hugh Grant.
  • Always Someone Better: Sees through all of Napoleon's slight of hand tricks.
  • Commanding Coolness: Saunders identifies him as a Commander in Royal Navy Intelligence.
  • Deadpan Snarker: "For a Special Agent, you're not having a very special day."
  • Hidden Depths: His dossier, shown in the end credits, reveals he is a recovering alcoholic and opium addict.
  • Last-Name Basis: His first name isn't mentioned, likely due to a One Alexander Limit.
  • The Leader: He is the man pulling the strings behind Gaby and eventually he takes charge of the newly-formed U.N.C.L.E after convincing the CIA and KGB to allow Solo and Kuryakin to continue their work with him.
  • Manipulative Bastard: See the spoilers for The Leader entry above. He recruits Gaby two years before the CIA or KGB are sent after her, when things go wrong he manages to manipulate the two organizations to do the legwork for him, and then comes out on top with a new organization to run and two elite agents under his command.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: The end credit dossier lists him as the second son of the Earl of Brinscote, though it also says he has relinquished the title. Possibly due to either his current line of work or his former addictions.
  • The Spymaster: Shows himself to be well ahead of the game, managing to combine the forces of the CIA, KGB and the BSS.
  • Waistcoat of Style: Stays just as well dressed as Napoleon.

Villains

     Victoria Vinciguerra 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/298db22800000578_0_image_m_50_1434077949405.jpg
The Mastermind
Voiced by: Erica Edwards (Latin-American Spanish dub), Yuka Komatsu (Japanese dub)


  • Alliterative Name: Victoria Vinciguerra
  • Aristocrats Are Evil: The main villain of a film, a high society lady belonging to a family of Mussolini supporters.
  • Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Despite being far more involved and evil than her husband, she never got so much as a speck of dust on her until she's blown up in a boat from a distance. Compared to her husband, who got drenched in mud, rammed off the road in a car, rolled down a slope, then got a motorcycle thrown at him, and finally got stabbed to death.
  • Best Friends-in-Law: Victoria seems to have been close with her late father-in-law, based on a couple of photos and the fact that he left the leadership of their organization to her instead of his son.
  • Big Bad: She is the primary antagonist of the film and the leader of the terrorists.
  • Bond Villain Stupidity: After a whole film of being a borderline No-Nonsense Nemesis, she finally screws up big time in the final act when she reacts very harshly to the fact Napoleon Solo killed her husband and she spends way too much time on the radio gloating about how she is going to make her getaway and she will make it her mission in life to find and kill all of Solo's loved ones before coming for him last, enough time for the aircraft carrier Solo and the rest of the team are on to get a fix on her location and blow her up with a cruise missile.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Victoria doesn't like to leave much to chance. For example, when Napoleon came to visit her, she laced all the drinks with sedatives.
  • Evil Brit: Victoria is briefly referred to as a British society woman and is a neo-fascist terrorist trying to build a nuclear bomb. 
  • Family Extermination: Victoria threatens to torture every living relative Napoleon has to death out of vengeance for the death of Alexander. She doesn't live long enough to get the chance.
  • Femme Fatale: A picture perfect portrayal. It's even lampshaded during the briefing on her.
  • Foe Romance Subtext: She and Solo have no problem acting on it either.
  • Meaningful Name: Vinciguerra, from 'vincere' = 'to win', and 'guerra' = 'war', a portentous name for a family of Fascists wielding a nuclear bomb.
  • More Deadly Than the Male: She is already pictured as the brain of the operation and is really cunning. Even if Alexander is shown to handle the spies himself in pure action (car chase and brawling) she is still more dangerous thanks to her cunning.
  • Oh, Crap!: Victoria gets a look of shocked realization on her face when she looks up into the sky and realizes that by answering Napoleon's radio call, she's directed a missile right onto her boat.
  • Statuesque Stunner: Elizabeth Debicki is 6'3", slightly taller than Henry Cavill and slightly shorter than the 6'5" Armie Hammer.
  • Western Terrorists: Of the Italian Fascist variety.

     Alexander Vinciguerra 

Alexander Vinciguerra

Played By: Luca Calvani
Voiced by: Dafnis Fernández (Latin-American Spanish dub)


  • Badass Driver: He's at least a semi-professional race car driver, and gets to put his skills to use in the climax.
  • Bad Boss: Yells at his mechanics for not doing a dangerous alteration to his race car.
  • Battle in the Rain: The final battle with Alexander has Solo and Illya fighting him in the rain.
  • Blood from the Mouth: after Illya stabs him.
  • The Dragon: He is Victoria's husband and right-hand man.
  • Millionaire Playboy: Saunders and Oleg identify him from the start as a playboy more than anything. He's the Vinciguerra heir, but all of the real power in business and in the scheme lies with Victoria.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Inflicts one on Solo with a tire iron during the Battle in the Rain.
  • Not-So-Harmless Villain: He's a playboy who seems to do nothing but pursue hobbies and Gaby (much to Illya's chagrin), with his wife as the real villain, but in the climax he manages to take on both Solo and Kuryakin at the same time.

     Rudi von Trüsch 
Played By: Sylvester Groth
Voiced by: Pedro D’Aguillón, Jr. (Latin-American Spanish dub)


  • Anything but That!: When Rudi gets put in his own electric chair, he immediately offers to flip on his employers (or indeed anyone, whether he knows them or not).
  • Asshole Victim: He got his comeuppance in one of the most gloriously ironic ways possible and absolutely no one gave a damn.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: Rudi even explains to Napoleon that torture can be done for information or simply for the sake of pain. He is providing the latter.
  • Dirty Coward: Once the tables are turned and he's in the chair, he handles it with a lot less grace than Solo, rapidly offering to sell out anyone and everyone, including his own niece, Gaby.
  • Electric Torture: Rudi's tool du jour. When there is a short in the system, he decides to go back to his trusty pliers.
  • Freudian Excuse: Which Rudi even spells out in a photo montage. He was bullied as a child, so discovered an affinity with inflicting pain and terror on others.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Not only is he strapped into his own torture device and accidentally killed by it, the torture room being soundproofed keeps Solo and Illya from noticing until it is too late.
  • Karma Houdini: Played with when Solo and Kuryakin gripe that Rudi's willingness to provide information will mean that he'll get off lightly, and worse, his skills as a torturer are likely to prove useful to their own side as well. When they discover Rudi has just died horribly, they're not too bothered.
  • Kick The Son Of A Bitch: Gets a Cruel and Unusual Death of being accidentally electrocuted, then set on fire. Neither of our heroes give a damn.
  • Let Me Tell You a Story: He seems to like opening his tortures with a very elaborate photoslide of his life and career.
  • Mythology Gag: Rudi's last name, von Trüsch, might be a nod to T.H.R.U.S.H., the villainous organisation which served as U.N.C.L.E.'s main opponent in the original TV series.
  • Racist Grandfather: When he finds out his German niece is engaged to the Russian Illya, his very first conversation with the man involves insulting his Russian heritage, comparing it to a purebred horse crossing bloodlines with a 'carthorse'. It's as distasteful as it sounds and has Illya clearly itching to reach out and crush his head.
  • Red Baron: So dreaded by the Allies that he got three separate nicknames; the Dark Angel of Ravensburg, the Butcher of Belsen, and the Fifth Horseman, Doctor of the Apocalypse.
  • Soft-Spoken Sadist: Talks in an extremely calm, smooth manner as he tortures people.
  • Torture Technician: Rudi has made torture his life's study and passion.

Others

     Adrian Saunders 
Played By: Jared Harris
Voiced by: José Luis Orozco (Latin-American Spanish dub)


  • Friendly Enemy: He's evidently friends with Oleg, his opposite number in KGB, to the extent of sending his regards to the man's wife.
  • Good Is Not Nice: He's a CIA agent out to stop the Vinciguerra nuclear plot. He can still be abrupt and has no problem bringing up Solo's status as a Boxed Crook.
  • The Handler: Is Solo's.
  • Unusually Uninteresting Sight: He barely reacts to Kuryakin and Solo's brawl in the bathroom.

     Oleg 
Played By: Misha Kuznetsov
Voiced by: Blas García (Latin-American Spanish dub)


  • Bait the Dog: Until his Kick the Dog moment in the last ten minutes of the movie, Oleg seems more reasonable and pleasant than his American counterpart Saunders.
  • Friendly Enemy: He's evidently friends with Saunders, his opposite number in CIA, and is on First-Name Basis with the man.
  • The Handler: Is Illya's.
  • Jerkass: Was there really a need to tell Illya he would be sent to the Gulags unless he kills Solo?
  • Kick the Dog: He didn't quite need to be pushing Illya's Berserk Button to get him to get the disk.

Top