Characters / The Rock

The Rock

Protagonists

Captain John Patrick Mason

Portrayed by: Sean Connery

A 60-year-old British covert operative and former SAS Captain who is the only person to escape Alcatraz. Mason is recruited to get the SEAL team into Alcatraz.

• Baritone of Strength: He has Sean Connery's legendary deep voice and is a brutal fighter even in his sixties.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Out of gratitude for Goodspeed faking his death and letting him finally be free, as well as appreciating his first real friend in a long time, gladly tells him where the reel he was sent to prison is hidden.
  Mason: It's been a long time since I've said thank you to anyone, so...Thank you.
• Boxed Crook: Mason has been in prison for 30 years and is taken out of prison for the Alcatraz job.
• Brave Scot: He's as tough as they come and played by Sean Connery.
• Combat Pragmatist: Several of his kills on the Marines can establish him as this. For example, against one of them, the "son of an Irish dad", Mason timely dodges a punch and when the bad guy reels in pain from punching a metal pipe, Mason simply grabs a chain nearby, wraps it around the Marine's neck, and strangles him to death with it. In another example, he sneaks up from behind on a Marine trying to snipe Goodspeed from a rooftop, and before the would-be sniper notices Mason's presence he throws the guy over the ledge to his death a few stories below. Evidently, Mason often resorts to such simple, pragmatic yet brutal methods for killing because being an old man he tends to have trouble at keeping up with the younger Marine enemies in hand-to-hand combat.
• Conscience Makes You Go Back: He was ready to leave Alcatraz and save himself but couldn't abandon Goodspeed
• Cool Old Guy: He's in his sixties, much older even than Hummel, and is still a very tough and capable fighter as well as very witty and a kind person once you get past his cynicism.
• Deadpan Snarker: He's both a Cultured Badass and fed up with everything, so his usual response to anyone is snark. Being played by the original James Bond certainly helps.
  Goodspeed: "I'd take pleasure in guttin' you, boy. I'd take pleasure in guttin' you... boy." What is wrong with these people, huh? Mason? Don't you think there's a lot of, uh, a lot of anger flowing around this island? Kind of a pubescent volatility? Don't you think? A lotta angst, a lot of "I'm sixteen, I'm angry at my father" syndrome? I mean grow up! We're stuck on an island with a bunch of violence-for-pleasure-seeking psycophatic marines, SHAME-ON-THEM! Anyway, I only got one chem round, and there's two left... Mason?
  Mason: Yes, I'm here. I was just thinking how wonderful it was when the inmates weren't allowed to talk in here.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Mason is a pretty cool James Bond Expy, isn't he? He's got everything! Played by Sean Connery? Check. Badass Deadpan Snarker? Check. Prone to one-night stands? Check. Skilled at escaping death through creative means? Check. Left embittered and cynical after being secretly held as a political prisoner for years because the consequences of international espionage finally caught up with him? Ch—wait, what? Winds up with an illegitimate adult daughter who hates his guts? Uh...
• Disappeared Dad: His daughter was conceived during one of his escapes from prison and consequently he was never able to be there for her.
• Elites Are More Glamorous: Served in the Special Air Service (SAS).
• Escape Artist: Stated to be one of these by Womack. Considering he broke out of The Alcatraz, as well as some other unspecified maximum security prison, Mason has earned this status. It's the reason why he was recruited.
• Excellent Judge of Character: Claims that he can tell that neither Goodspeed nor Hummel are willing to kill innocents. He's right on both counts.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He is a grumpy and cynical man, but at heart he is a good person, defrosting to Goodspeed over the course of the mission and saving his life on multiple occasions and his only goal in life is to make amends and reconcile with Jade, his daughter.
• Mirror Character: He and Hummel are both veteran soldiers who were betrayed by the governments that they loyally served—albeit in very different ways. The contrast between how they choose to respond reveals the differences between them.
• Old Soldier: In his late 60's, still easily capable of killing Force Recon Marines half his age in hand-to-hand combat.
• Pet the Dog: During a car chase where he is trying to cause more damage to slow down his pursuers, he still tries to avoid directly killing anybody. Best shown when he swerves to avoid hitting an old lady.
• Retired Badass:
  Mason: Captain John Patrick Mason of her Majesty's SAS. Retired of course.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Manly Man to Goodspeed's Sensitive Guy.
• Supporting Protagonist: Despite top billing, Goodspeed is the hero of the movie and Mason is the one supporting him. Goodspeed is also the one who kills Darrow and Frye at the end.
• Unperson: He doesn't show up on the US prison database.
• "Well Done, Dad!" Guy: He wants nothing more in life than to reconcile with his estranged daughter.
• What You Are in the Dark: He has a chance to escape but can't bring himself to abandon Goodspeed and later saves his life twice.

Dr. Stanley Goodspeed

Portrayed by: Nicolas Cage

Dubbed by: Dominique Collignon-Maurin (European French)

The foremost chemical weapons specialist, Goodspeed is recruited for the task of disabling the stolen VX gas rockets.

• Badass Bookworm: The foremost chemical weapons expert for the FBI and proves himself in a firefight.
  Goodspeed: Got my first chemistry set when I was seven, blew my eyebrows off, we never saw the cat again, been into it ever since.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's as eccentric as you'd expect from a Nic Cage character but he shows exactly why he's considered the best chemical weapons specialist in the bureau and proves himself surprisingly capable in combat too.
• Combat Pragmatist: Given his lack of combat experience and the fact that he's fighting highly trained and experienced Marines, he has to rely on fighting dirty more than once, relying on sneak attacks and even using a rocket and VX gas itself to get out of a jam.
• Cowardly Lion: He's absolutely terrified at the prospect of going into a combat situation and clearly struggles to keep himself together at various points but proves himself brave when the time comes.
• Deadpan Snarker: Has a very dry sense of humor when he isn't panicking and he and Mason share a lot of back and forth jabs.
• FBI Agent: He's a chemical weapons specialist for the FBI.
• Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Almost never curses. As the film progresses, Goodspeed starts cursing more.
• Large Ham: Wouldn't be a Nicolas Cage role without at least one moment.
  Goodspeed: You broke out, let me see if I can get this straight. You went down the incinerator chute, on the mine car, through the tunnels to the power plant, under the steam engine — that was really cool by the way — and into the cistern through the intake pipe. But—ahem-hem!—how, in the name of Zeus's butthole, did you get out of your cell?! I only ask because in our current situation, well, it could prove to be useful information. 'Maybe!
• Non-Action Guy: Downplayed. He's a chemical weapons specialist with no combat experience and is clearly out of his depth against battle hardened marines but he is still a trained FBI agent so he has at least some knowledge of how to handle himself and is very skilled at sneak attacks and using whatever he can as weapon to come out on top.
• Pet the Dog: Goodspeed and Mason's partnership doesn't exactly start in the friendliest of terms, but Stanley has enough tact to act nice in front of Jade by pretending that Mason is willingly helping out the FBI, right after he has wrecked half a city during a chaotic car chase through San Francisco. Mason goes along with the charade, as he doesn't want to disappoint her daughter more than he already has.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: Mason wants to leave the island after seeing Hummel, arguing Hummel wouldn't dare fire the rockets off. Stanley doesn't want to take the chance. His fears turn out to be right, but only because Hummel is betrayed by Frye and Darrow.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Sensitive Guy (chemist, lightly armed) to the tough, ex-SAS agent Mason (Manly Man).
• Took a Level in Badass: Starts off panicking at the mere description of the situation he is going into. By the end of the movie, he kills a number of marines, men actually trained for combat.
• The Worm Guy: As he points out himself, he's a "chemical super-freak" and the only reason he's coming along for the mission is because of his expertise with chemical weapons. He actually has to ask to be given a weapon and he spends the whole film trying his damnedest not to die.

Antagonists

Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel

Portrayed by: Ed Harris

A rogue USMC Force Recon general who, displeased with the U.S. military's poor regard for its fallen Marines, seizes 15 V.X. gas rockets to hold the city of San Francisco hostage unless the payment for the Marines' families is given.

• The Ace: He's highly respected and decorated, boasting an extremely impressive military record that includes three Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars and the Medal of Honor and is revered as a legend by other soldiers.
• A Father to His Men: Hummel cares deeply about the men who serve under him. His central motive for going rogue is to ensure that benefits are duly paid to the families of the various Marines that died under his command, and a brief snippet at the beginning of the film shows him doing all he can to save men behind enemy lines.
  Hummel: The men of Marine Force Recon are selected to carry out illegal operations throughout the world. When they don't come home, their families are told fairy tales about what happened to them... and denied compensation. Well, I have choked on these lies my entire career. Here and now the lies stop!
• Affably Evil: He is a Noble Demon who just wants money for a good cause and is capable of being polite and respectful to old friends like Al Kramer or fellow soldiers like John Mason as well as apologizing to those he has taken hostage. He also has no intention of making good on his threat, and tries to keep the losses in the film to a minimum.
• All for Nothing: Thanks to him failing to realize just how insane Frye and Darrow were, his plan to get reparations for the families of his fallen men fails, and he'll likely go down in history as an insane terrorist despite his noble intentions.
• Anti-Villain: A textbook example. He was never going to kill anybody with the rockets, it was just a bluff. He is also doing it all to get reparations for his fallen soldiers' families, not out of greed or malice.
• Apologetic Attacker: Apologizes to the Alcatraz tourists taken as hostages against their will.
• Bald of Authority: General Hummel, the leader of the terrorists holding tourists hostage at Alcatraz and threatening to launch deadly nerve gas into San Francisco, is bald. He also subverts Bald of Evil, as Hummel is at worst an Anti-Villain, who is firmly unwilling to kill innocent people and is bluffing about using the gas.
• Big Bad: The main antagonist of the film, as it's his threat of unleashing V.X. gas rockets on San Francisco that form the main conflict. He's supplanted by Frye after Frye finds out he was bluffing about releasing the rockets.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Frye betrays him and takes over as the villain later on.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He had a wife whom he dearly loved and whose grave he visits in the opening scene.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • He makes sure that there are no children among his hostages on Alcatraz.
  • He was never actually going to launch the nerve gas even if the government didn't agree to his demands.
• The Fettered: Despite going rogue, Hummel still has lines he doesn't want to cross. When stealing the V.X. gas rockets, he and his men use non lethal weapons, and before taking any hostages, he tries to make sure any kids touring the island won't be around when he does. To top it all off, it turns out his plan was a bluff.
  Hummel: Ladies and gentlemen, you're being detained against your will, and for that, I apologize. It is not our intention in any way to harm you, you will not be detained one minute longer than is necessary for us to complete our mission.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Downplayed, as even though he was able to earn loyalty from most of his troops while carrying out the plot, he realizes too late that Frye and Darrow are more than willing to betray him and dies regretting it.
• Icy Blue Eyes: The film puts Ed Harris' striking blue eyes to very good use in several of his close-up shots.
• Inopportune Voice Cracking: His voice begins to crack as he repeatedly tells Captain Frye to stand down as he insists on using the weapons after he reveals they were a mere bluff, realizing he has lost control of the situation.
• Knight of Cerebus: The movie is mostly a lighthearted action flick with Stanley and Mason. But the comedy fades whenever Hummel shows up.
• Living Legend: Referred to as a legend in-universe, being perhaps the most decorated Brigade commanders of the Vietnam War.
• Mirror Character: He and Mason are both veteran soldiers who were betrayed by the governments that they loyally served—albeit in very different ways. The contrast between how they choose to respond reveals the differences between them.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Quotes this word for word as he's dying from Frye and Darrow's betrayal.
• The Paragon Always Rebels: A highly decorated War Hero and widely respected by other generals, even as he has apparently gone terrorist.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He's fairly reasonable as the primary antagonist for most of the film, even admitting his threats to kill the hostages and most of the city was merely a bluff. Too bad the crew he chose are full of Ax-Crazy soldiers who are more than willing to kill thousands for a quick payday.
• Villain Has a Point: His central motive of disgust at how the Government has treated many veterans and his desire to see their families taken care of is hard to argue with. Anderson even outright says he agrees with him during their confrontation.
• War Hero: He's a high decorated Marine officer trying to get justice and recognition for men killed in blacks ops under his command.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wanted the soldiers that previously served under his command rightfully compensated.
• Would Not Hurt A Child: Hummel detests needless killing, but took hostages for his plan, who he was hoping to avoid hurting. Before launching it, we saw he drew the line at children, and made sure a class of kids on tour of the island would be off before he launched his plan.
• "X" Makes Anything Cool: Justified in his case. "Xavier" is a pretty common middle name for people with the first name "Francis."

Major Tom Baxter

Portrayed by: David Morse

General Hummel's second-in-command.

• Apologetic Attacker: Like his boss and friend Hummel. Baxter apologizes to a Marine he has locked to death by VX gas, during the armory heist when the Marine in question unwillingly dropped one of the rockets, breaking one of the deadly blisters contained within.
• Berserk Button: He gets a little prickly with people when they disrespect Hummel. Understandable, since they are more than boss and subordinate, they're actually war buddies at this point.
• The Dragon: Hummel's right-hand man, who was his Number Two in Vietnam.
• Face Death with Dignity: He knows that siding with Hummel will result in his death but does so anyway and without any fear or hesitation.
• First-Name Basis: Given their long friendship, he's the only one of the Marines who calls Hummel "Frank". His switching to a more formal tone is a sign of things getting serious.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Hummel. They've been friends since Vietnam and have served alongside one another in various other wars.
• It Has Been an Honor: "It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve with you, General..."
• Large and in Charge: Second only to Hummel in rank and stands at an imposing 6'4.
• Majorly Awesome: Villainous (or rather, anti-villainous) version, but he still holds the rank of Major and is completely no-nonsense, a professional soldier and staunchingly loyal to his superior and close friend, even as he realizes that said loyalty will be his death.
• The Needs of the Many: Subscribes to this philosophy to some extent, as shown when he locks one of the marines in the freezer where the VX is kept to stop it from spreading and poisoning the rest of the Marines participating in the heist.
• Redemption Equals Death: He follows along with Hummel's Heel–Face Turn and is killed alongside him.
• This Is Gonna Suck: "...But, like he said, it's over."
• Undying Loyalty: To Hummel. Even after Hummel threatened to shoot him to keep him to get his point across that the plan was a bluff, Baxter still sided with him against Frye.
  Baxter: It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve with you, General. But like he said, it's over.
• The Vietnam Vet: He and Hummel first met when serving in Vietnam.

Captain Frye

Portrayed by: Gregory Sporleder

Dubbed by: Patrick Borg (European French)

• '90s Hair: He has the haircut of a nineties boyband member, which is hilariously contrasted by his psychotic bulging eyes.
• Asshole Victim: His death is absolutely horrific and thoroughly deserved.
• Ax-Crazy: When Hummel tries to defuse the situation with the SEAL team, Frye eagerly wants to kill them instead. To that end, he subtly but intentionally causes the shootout that ends with the entire SEAL team dead.
  Frye: Let's waste these fuckers!
• Big Bad: After he and his men kill Hummel, he becomes the final antagonist of the film.
• Body Horror: His death from biting down on a VS Gas pearl is a truly horrifying sight.
• The Brute: Shares this role with Captain Darrow as the most vicious and bloodthirsty of Hummel's men.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: He dies from involuntarily ingesting VX gas, a substance that causes horrific death to anyone just in the same room. Last we see him, his skin is melting off. It's easily the most painful death in the film.
• Faux Affably Evil: He's very chatty and overly friendly and a vile piece of work underneath.
• Hate Sink: Shares this role with Darrow. You can't hate Hummel or Baxter because of their noble intentions but you can absolutely hate Frye for being a repulsive, treacherous sadist who only cares about getting paid and doesn't care who gets hurt in the process.
• Karmic Death: He was the most eager to launch the rockets alongside Darrow, even after learning he won't be getting paid. He fittingly ends up ingesting VX Gas, suffering the same horrifying fate he was all too happy to inflict upon a city of innocent people.
• Lack of Empathy: He has no issue whatsoever in condemning a city full of people to a horrific death if it gets him paid and then partially just to prove his willingness to do so. Not to mention it was him who also provoked the shootout that ended with an entire SEAL squad dead, when Hummel was trying to get them to surrender peacefully.
• More Despicable Minion: General Hummel is an Affably Evil Noble Demon and A Father to His Men at that. Frye is a Hate Sink who's Only in It for the Money. Subverted later when Hummel reveals he was bluffing the entire time and had no intention to hurt anyone, causing Frye to become The Starscream and take Hummel's place as main antagonist.
• Only in It for the Money: His only reason for joining the mission was the promise of a million dollar pay day.
• Psycho for Hire: He is a madman who is willing to support a plan to extort San Francisco with the threat of bloody mass death and execute it himself when Hummel refuses to do it, admitting it was just a bluff because he wants money.
  Frye: I'm gonna choke my million bucks out you!
• Redemption Rejection: After Hummel revealed that he's been bluffing the whole time, Hummel offered his subordinates to escape via helicopter, while he himself takes all the blame, therefore the remaining marines would escape prosecution. However, Frye still wants to prove to the U.S. Government that they mean business in contrast to Hummel's bluff.
• Sadist: Is eager to kill the SEAL team and is very willing to launch the rockets, even after finding out he won't be getting paid.
• The Starscream: Betrays Hummel and takes over.
• Villainous Valor: A thoroughly unsympathetic case. Ultimately his motives are impure unlike Hummel's, but while he's Right for the Wrong Reasons, he expresses that he objects to becoming a Dirty Coward and taking the Karma Houdini way out when Hummel offers and insists on pushing forward with their threats after Hummel's bluff. Rather than making him a badass however, the intention is more to show him and Darrow as bloodthirsty rabid dogs well beyond any possibility of redemption.

Captain Darrow

Portrayed by: Tony Todd

• Asshole Victim: Much like Frye, his death at the hands of Goodspeed is a well-deserved one.
• Ax-Crazy: Sports a Slasher Smile whenever a violent situation comes up, and is especially gleeful about killing Goodspeed with a knife.
• The Brute: Shares this role with Frye as the most vicious and bloodthirsty of Hummel's men.
• The Dragon: Frye's second-in-command and personal henchman. However, Frye has him take the lead for the mutiny, making them closer to a Big Bad Duumvirate.
• Evil Sounds Deep: As is standard for a villain played by Tony Todd.
• Faux Affably Evil: He never drops his polite tone, even after showing what a sadistic monster he is.
• Hate Sink: Shares this role with Frye. While Hummel is a sympathetic villain who wants to do right by men who served under him, even if he has to to go extreme lengths, Darrow is a loathsome sadist who cares only about getting paid and doesn't care who gets hurt and outright enjoys the carnage he inflicts.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Meets his end when Goodspeed launches a rocket at him that knocks him out of the window and falling onto a fence post.
• Karmic Death: He's the most eager to launch the rockets alongside Fry, even after finding out he won't be getting paid. He finally does get one launched...with him on the wrong end of it.
• Large and in Charge: He's not the main villain but he is a USMC Captain and played by the 6'5 Tony Todd.
• Only in It for the Money: Like Frye in that regard. He sums it up best: "I want! My! Fucking! Money!"
• Psycho for Hire: As he admits, the moment he accepted to become part of Hummel's mutiny, he officially became a mercenary, and he refuses to get away from this mess empty-handed even if that means taking over and killing San Francisco himself.
• Redemption Rejection: After Hummel revealed that he's been bluffing the whole time, Hummel offered his subordinates to escape via helicopter, while he himself takes all the blame, therefore the remaining marines would escape prosecution. However, Darrow still wants to prove to the U.S. Government that they mean business in contrast to Hummel's bluff.
• Sadist: He clearly enjoys the massacre of the SEAL team and relishes the thought of launching the rockets and sadistically killing Goodspeed with his knife.
• Scary Black Man: A given, considering the actor who plays him.
• Slasher Smile: Sports when the marines gun down the SEAL team, and even when a rocket is fired at the city.
• The Starscream: Betrays Hummel along with Frye.
• Too Dumb to Live: Stands in front of a rocket with Goodspeed at the other side and able to launch it. It plays out exactly how you'd expect for Darrow.
• Villain Has a Point: Darrow pointing out that they stopped being marines once they've taken hostages and became mercenaries when Baxter and Hummel try to appeal to his code as a Marine.

Captain Hendrix

Portrayed by: John C. McGinley

• Evil Genius: He devised the motion sensors used in the shower room, disguised as trip wires no less.
• Forgotten Fallen Friend: He served closely with Hummel in Operation Desert Storm and is a prominent member of his inner circle but is never mentioned again after being lost down a tunnel.
• Mook Lieutenant: He oversees other groups of Hummel's men and leads the pursuit in the tunnels.
• Oh, Crap!: When Mason sets him on fire.
• Rasputinian Death: Set on fire, then dropped a long distance into a pool of water to presumably drown.
• Trap Master: His custom motion sensors let his fellow Marines know they have company and allow them to set an ambush for Goodspeed's team.
• Uncertain Doom: Arguably. He's dropped into a pool of water from a height he might have been able to survive and while he does seem to be floating in it dead or unconscious, it was just a few seconds after the drop and he might have recovered from that.

Gunnery Sergeant Crisp

Portrayed by: Bokeem Woodbine

• Apologetic Attacker: He sides with Frye and Darrow but does apologize a bit for it, still addressing Hummel as "sir" when trying to take his sidearm.
• Even Evil Has Standards: He thinks nothing of shooting SEAL teams to death, but shows some repulsion at the idea of killing thousands of civilians with the VX gas. It's still not enough to dissuade him from siding with Frye and Darrow, however.
• Impromptu Tracheotomy: Hummel shoots him in the throat at point-blank range.
• Overranked Soldier: Hummel introduces Crisp as a Gunnery Sergeant, a rank that usually requires a minimum of 13-15 years of service in the Marine Corps, and the average age of a "Gunny" is 35 (Bokeem Woodbine was 22 at the time the film was released). Even allowing for a Battlefield Promotion and Crisp's outstanding performance during Desert Storm, his actor is still ridiculously young to be holding such a rank.
• Sergeant Rock: A villainous version, serving as a non-com leader of Hummel's marines. It's mentioned he fought with Hummel and Hendrix in Desert Storm.

Private McCoy

Portrayed by: Steve Harris

• BFG: When he attacks Goodspeed near the end of the film, he first uses a M60E3 machine gun. When that runs out of ammo, he switches to a 50-caliber bolt-action rifle.
• Blood Knight: He tells Goodspeed he would would gladly gut him.
• Disney Villain Death: Knocked off a wall onto a sheet of glass below.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: The machine gun he discarded is used by Mason to knock him off of Alcatraz's walls.

Private Cox

Portrayed by: Brendan Kelly

• Evil Redhead: A redheaded member of a group of ex-Marines turned terrorists.
• Fighting Irish: A soldier who takes pride in his Irish heritage, even giving a Historical In-Joke to The Irish Question while fighting Mason.
  "English prick. Did I tell you my old man was Irish?"
• Fingore: Beaten when Mason dodges a punch and Cox punches a wall; while he's reeling from that, Mason takes the opportunity to kill him by wrapping a chain around his neck and a nearby heavy object, then dropping both down a well so that Cox is strangled.

FBI Director James Womack

Portrayed by: John Spencer

• Arch-Enemy: To Mason, who shows utter fury at seeing him during his interrogation scene.
• Inspector Javert: His job is to enforce Mason's (illegal) conviction for espionage charges, but he goes way past doing it because it's his job and has a full-blown vendetta on Mason. When Mason tries to negotiate his release (or at least the chance that it'll happen) in exchange for helping with the Alcatraz hostage situation, Womack tears the contract apart the moment it gets out of the interrogation room and insists Mason will remain behind bars. When Goodspeed says that Mason is dead after letting him go and further lies by saying Mason was "disintegrated" by the plasma as the reason there is no body, Womack insists he still wants to see Mason's remains until Paxton says it doesn't matters anymore, only asking a final plaintive "he disintegrated?", to which Goodspeed says "it happens".
• Jerkass: He is always angry, all the time, with the occasional smug moment tossed in.
• Perpetual Frowner: Womack's default expression is an irritated, suspicious scowl.
• Villain of Another Story: Womack takes a backseat to the Marine hostage-takers, but comes across as pretty villainous himself. He's been detaining Mason under shady circumstances for decades and is likely involved in some of the shady conspiracies detailed in the evidence Mason stole.

Others

SEAL Commander Charles Anderson

Portrayed by: Michael Biehn

• Batman Gambit: Tries to pull one on Hummel when the team is caught in a kill box, counting on Hummel not wanting to kill fellow soldiers. Shame Frye and Darrow thought differently.
• Defiant to the End: After being gunned down, he empties his sidearm at the marines before Darrow shoots him again.
• Mauve Shirt: He's the leader of the SEAL team and dies along with his men during the shootout in the shower room. Also counts as Sacrificial Lion.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: He declares that he can understand Hummel's rage having lost men as well but that doesn't give Hummel a right to mutiny.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: A competent, respectful, and decent leader who argues in favor of Mason helping out his team against Womack.

FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Ernest Paxton

Portrayed by: William Forsythe

• Everyone Has Standards: He's disgusted at how Mason was imprisoned for decades without trial and how Womack was perfectly willing to send him back to jail when he was finished.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Paxton is gruff, short-tempered and a bit of a hardass but unlike Womack, he's not a bad guy. When he sees that Goodspeed is terrified of going into combat, he calmly reassures him that he'll be okay and he's disgusted when he learns how the government imprisoned Mason for decades without trial. He also sincerely congratulates Goodspeed at the end and it's clear he knows that Stanley is lying about Mason at the end but goes along with it, believing he's earned his freedom.
• Mission Control: He's the one talking to Stanley and Mason for most of the operation, especially once it's down to just the two of them.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He really doesn't cares about Womack's vendetta on Mason and when Goodspeed lies about Mason being dead, he lets it slide and even supports it.
• Sympathy for the Devil: As far as he cares, Mason is just another convict, but when Womack explains Mason's backstory and the conviction he's been in for decades, Paxton calls it as the illegal action that it is and adds "no wonder [Mason]'s pissed".
• This Cannot Be!: He's rattled and moans "This is not happening" once Hummel's men ambush and kill the SEAL team.

Carla Pestalozzi

Portrayed by: Vanessa Marcil

• Girlish Pigtails: Apparently, Stanley has a thing for these, because Carla has this hairstyle when they're making love prior to his mission on The Rock.
• High-School Sweethearts: With Goodspeed. They've been dating since she was the prom queen.
• Imperiled in Pregnancy: She tells Goodspeed that she's pregnant just a day or two before the city she's in is threatened with a biological weapon.

Jade Angelou

Portrayed By: Claire Forlani

• Morality Pet: To Mason, bringing out his first major moment of tenderness. Knowing that she's in danger from the missiles help motivate Mason to work to bring down the Marines.
• One-Night-Stand Pregnancy: She was born as a result of one after one of Mason's escapes. The police recaptured him at her mother's house the morning after Jade was conceived.

Lieutenant Shepard

Portrayed by: Danny Nucci

A member of SEAL Team 1 assigned to guard Mason and Goodspeed.

• Boom, Headshot!: Gets shot in the head by Frye.
• Dies Wide Open: After Frye kills him, he's left hanging upside-down with a look of terror on his face, which also horrifies Goodspeed.
• Honor Before Reason: Ventures up into the shower room to help his comrades, which costs him his life.