Character list for the Bulgarian series Pod prikritie
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Law enforcement
Undercover Officer (later Inspector) Martin Hristov
Portrayed by: Ivaylo Zahariev
The main protagonist, young officer Popov met at a borstal. He's been trained since he was a child and now Popov has him infiltrate Djaro's group.- Becoming the Mask: Zigzagged. He never abandons his post, but he becomes deeply entrenched with the criminal world, perpetrates a lot of heavy crimes to protect his cover, and sometimes plays for himself or does favors to his friends in the underworld, risking Popov's wrath or the success of a mission.
- Police Brutality: He picks up this habit when interrogating criminals.Todorov: You're doing like Neshev , rest his soul!
- Tyke Bomb: First his father trained him to be a thief, then Popov trained him to be an elite police officer.
Chief Inspector (later Commissar) Emil Popov
Portrayed by: Vladimir Penev
The head of an inspection team at GDBOP (General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime) at the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior. His main concern is the criminal group around his former coworker, Peter "Djaro" Tudjarov.- By-the-Book Cop: Downplayed, see Da Chief below. He still retains his aspects of the trope, such as getting angry at a stripper dressed as a (US) cop for making a mockery of the uniform, although it may have to do with the stripper lap-dancing for his wife.
- Da Chief: He doesn't care much for protocol, except for when someone goes really out of line. Popov likes to maintain a professional attitude and work ethic, but is willing to bend the rules if it means he'll get closer to catching Djaro. He's in an odd position of coming off as a Cowboy Cop to his boss and playing By-the-Book Cop to his team of Cowboy Cops, especially later on.
- Kicked Upstairs: Djaro tries to move some levers to get Popov promoted to a thankless managerial position and thus take his own case from him. Popov's boss hears about it and resigns, putting Popov in his place and in high command of the team he just left.
- Knight Templar: Putting Djaro behind bars is his obsession and he will do anything within the confines of his legal authority to keep pursuing the case, even against his higher-ups.
- Like a Son to Me: Popov has practically raised him and considers him as a son. Notably, he condones Martin dating his daughter, whom he's otherwise very protective of. Erol is like a son to him, too.
- Married to the Job: His marriage suffers from his relentless pursuit of his arch-enemy.
- Why Don't You Marry It?: Margarita once outright tells him to marry Djaro.
- Papa Wolf: He's very protective of Zori, sometimes to her annoyance, but at other times with very good reason. He gets utterly broken when she gets killed in a shootout because of him. He also considers Martin as close as a son and is heartbroken when he dies. Same with Erol.
- Tragic Keepsake: An old, battered Zippo firecracker. It's what he thinks Djaro used to set his friends on fire and escape with confiscated money.
Chief Inspector Vassil Nikolov
Portrayed by: Deyan Donkov
- Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: He's The Mole for Djaro in Popov's team. Which turns out to be his cover, since he's employed by the US Secret Service to spy on Djaro. But as Popov correctly figures out, the Americans only used him because he was already corrupt and with ties to Djaro. It turns out that Djaro has some dirt on him and holds his loyalty this way, so the only way for Nikolov to do his job is as a deep-cover double agent.
- Right Hand Versus Left Hand: He and Martin obstruct each other's job, since they're The Mole and a fake The Mole, respectively.
- Walking Spoiler: His entry has spoilers divided in four to keep twists from being uncovered at once.
Inspector Mihail Zarev
Portrayed by: Plamen Manasiev
- Number Two: He's the one Popov usually commands to manage things for him.
- Straight Man: He's the most level-headed of the team.
Inspector Atanas Kirov
Portrayed by: Yosif Shamli
- The Big Guy: He's one of the more physically imposing members of the team and good at Perp Sweating, although he's not excessively violent.
- Due to the Dead: When confronted by Benishev about the cavalier attitude of a fallen colleague, he refuses to listen to any badmouthing and lights up a cigarette in his memory.Benishev: I see you're all used to disrespecting rules in this team. Smoking is not permitted here.Kirov: I'm not smoking. This one's for Neshev. (places the cigarette on top of his glass and leaves)
- Character Death: He gets killed in action.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: With Zarev. Kirov is the bad cop.
Inspector Todor Todorov
The newest member of Popov's team.- Have I Mentioned I Am Sexually Active Today?: When a angry Popov demands to know his password, he blurts out "sexgod34".
- Nepotism: He was assigned to the team thanks to his grandfather, a general. However, he's capable and loyal and quickly learns to work with the team.
- New Meat: He's young and cocky, which often earns him a scolding.
Inspector Ivo Manolov
The youngest member of the team.- Friendly Fire: Martin inadvertently kills him when he misses on purpose to spare Tisho and fires on a nearby door.
- Fatal Family Photo: When he goes on a mission with Martin, he's texting his girlfriend and talks about their upcoming date. He never goes on that date.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted, obviously, with him and Ivo Andonov.
Chief Inspector Momchil Neshev
Portrayed by: Peter "Chocho" Popyordanov
A detective from the Sofia City Police Department, transferred to head Popov's team after Nikolov's death.- Cowboy Cop: He's a grizzled cop who plays rough and gets results quickly.
- Twerp Sweating: He excels at more brutal forms of this.
Erol Metin
Portrayed by: Boyko Krustanov
Another undercover cop who's infiltrated Faruq Aykan's organization on Popov's orders. He gets tasked by Popov with assisting Martin in bringing down Ivo Andonov.- Mirror Character: From Martin, of whom he's something of a Junior Counterpart despite them being roughly the same age. They both infiltrate a mob boss' group, win his trust by excelling at various criminal tasks, start an affair with his lover and bring down the group, all the while mentored by someone with a fierce vendetta against the mob boss.
- Passing the Torch: He is "the torch" Popov passes to Martin.
- There Is Another: Popov reveals his existence to Martin when he himself retires.
Inspector Yana Taneva
The team's criminal psychologist, eho gets assigned in Season 5.- Dating Catwoman: She starts an affair with Hook who seduces her during and in-between interrogations.
- Reverse Psychology: She likes to employ that during interrogations.
- The Smurfette Principle: Aside from the secretary, she is the only woman on the team. The men belittle her and order her around until she finally proves her mettle.
Commissar Slavov
The head of GDBOP.- Beleaguered Boss: He's sympathetic with Popov's plight, but comes under a lot of pressure from the Ministry's Chief Secretary when Popov gets outwitted on several occasions, in what would have been some very public police actions.
- Benevolent Boss: He does what he can to help Popov in his job.
Commissar Bogdan Benishev
A high-ranking officer from the State Agency for National Security who temporarily replaces Popov.- Dirty Cop: turns out to be one, working with a businessman in Ivo Andonov's circle and getting money, ostensibly for forensic equipment, but he gets to keep the lion's share.
- Interservice Rivalry: He looks down on GDBOP personnel and considers them "dumb cops".
- Jurisdiction Friction: He is sometimes the source or simply the messenger for this when DANS tries to take Djaro's case from Popov.
- Majored in Western Hypocrisy: He takes pride in having served with the US Secret Service and won't shut up about it, peppering his speech with Anglicisms and bemoaning how GDBOP is "stuck in communist times" (read: obsolete).
- The Neidermeyer: He alienates the team by acting superior the moment he arrives.
- Slave to PR: He plans on staging spectacular actions just to get the media's attention.
Inspector Krustan Grigorov
- The Mole: He sells information to Ivo Andonov.
Judicial system
Boyana Vassileva
Portrayed by: Koina Ruseva
Djaro's attorney and part-time lover.
- Amoral Attorney: She arranges that Djaro has no trouble with legal authorities.
- New Old Flame: As per her words, she and Djaro "finished a story long in the writing".
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: When she can no longer help Djaro out and her blunders start costing him, he orders her dead.
Prosecutor Dorotheya Terziyska
Portrayed by: Boika Velkova
An elderly prosecutor at the Sofia City Court who starts an affair with Popov.- Action Girlfriend: Downplayed. She isn't a cop and doesn't fight, but she helps Popov via her connections in court, which is an environment as dangerous as the police. She's contrasted with Margo, Popov's Wet Blanket Wife.
Bulgarian underworld
Peter "Djaro" Tudjarov
Portrayed by: Mihail Bilalov
A former police officer in a team which included Popov and Mironov, Petar Tudjarov is now a shady businessman and crime boss who's at the top of Bulgaria's mafia hierarchy.- Corrupt Corporate Executive: What is publicly known and verifiable is that he's a ruthless owner of a construction firm who doesn't care if he'll pour his asphalt over a 2000-year-old Thracian tomb as soon as he gets his money. In reality, that's the least ruthless thing he's done.
- Domestic Abuser: He's only a gentleman for show. If you're a woman and get him angry by spying on him, failing him or refusing to cooperate,he will knock you down to the floor with a slap. When he gets high on coke after ordering Boyana's death, he orders Asya and when she refuses to snort some, he rapes her and violently kills her. When that is what Elitza walks in on, he rapes and murders her too.Elitza Vladeva: Do you kill every woman you fuck?
- The Don: Owing to his cunning, viciousness and tenacity, he's considered a first among equals by the rest of the Bulgarian mob bosses.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Rumored to be one of real-life oligarch Vasil "Skull" Bozhkov
, the wealthiest Bulgarian businessman with a shady past, who's also an avid antique collector. - Evil Former Friend: To Popov. Djaro's flashback reveals that he actually started resenting Popov, calling him a sycophant, when the latter was considered for promotion.
- Lawman Gone Bad: Popov reveals that they used to be on the same team until he betrayed them and left the other two (Mironov and Stenli) for dead in order to steal some gangsters' money for himself. It later turns out that he and Mironov planned the theft together, but Mironov was the one who shot Stenli, while Djaro would have just made off with the money.
- Leitmotif: Traviata.
- Rabid Cop: He was sadistic even when he was still one.
- Suddenly Shouting: He usually speaks in a low purr, even when angry. However, sometimes he BURSTS into a roar either when he's about to kill someone, or just to scare them shitless.
- Wicked Cultured: A textbook example. He collects (read: steals) ancient artifacts and medieval katanas, knows his wine and loves listening to Verdi.
Ivo Andonov
Portrayed by: Zahary Baharov
A young mobster who's Djaro's right hand and runs most of his operations.- Bald of Evil: He's always with a shaved head and he's a ruthless mob boss.
- The Berserker: He's introduced with "That's Ivo. They say he's crazy". Stabbing him won't get him killed, it'll get you killed, more brutally than he would have otherwise.
- Deadpan Snarker: When he's mad, he can deliver some snark before he loses his temper.Ivo: What was your Bulgarian language grade in school? Cause either I'm not speaking correctly, or you cannot understand me.
- The Don: He becomes the undisputed head of the Bulgarian mafia after Djaro's death.
- The Dragon: To Djaro. Until he turns on him.
- Horrible Judge of Character: You'd think that after watching Djaro have his group torn apart by some young, suspiciously capable and charming guy who came out of nowhere, is suspected multiple times to be The Mole but somehow always comes out clean, but ultimately turned out to really be an undercover agent, he'd not let the same happen to him. Then Erol turns up, pulls all kinds of stunts and quickly earns the trust of Ivo just like Martin had earned Djaro's, and Ivo doesn't suspect until the very end.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: He has been taking Djaro's mistrust for a while, along with his favoritism for Martin, but he snaps when Djaro orders him dead out of paranoia.Djaro: We were never like a family.
- The Sociopath: Ivo has complete Lack of Empathy, only cares about power and sees people only as tools to use and then dispose of when they are no longer useful. The sole exceptions are his mother after whose murder he starts exhibiting those traits more, Sunny and Hook, who is the only person Ivo considers a friend.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: A villainous version. Whether Djaro was on a more equal footing with the other mob bosses and didn't needlessly antagonize them, instead counting on the respect he had earned with his cunning to stay as a first among equals, Ivo just murders whoever stands in his way, brutally, until everyone is either dead or paying tribute to him. Then again, he's having to prove himself.
Rossen "Hook" Gatzov
Portrayed by: Marian Valev
A gangster high in the hierarchy of Djaro's group who's basically the third-in-command.- Family-Values Villain: He's the only one out of Djaro's gang who is a family man. He cares deeply about his wife and son. After they get brutally assassinated, he spends two seasons on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
- Friendly Address Privileges: Only his wife, Ivo and Djaro can address him by his given name instead of "Hook" and in the case of Djaro, only because he's his boss.
- The Mafia: Unlike most characters, he is much more similar to an Italian gangster than an Eastern European one.
- Lawman Gone Bad: "Hook" is Bulgarian slang for cop, which he used to be.
- Noble Demon: Hook insists that he's an "honest gangster" - he won't turn on his "brothers" and won't engage in needless killing or things such as trafficking of underage girls. He also keeps a life debt and respects people on the other side if he has seen that they're decent. That said, killing other mobsters or cops that he doesn't know personally as part of the business is fine by him.
- Religious Bruiser: He suddenly becomes a devoted Christian after he gets falsely diagnosed with terminal cancer.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: He's one of the two gangsters on the show that almost always wears suits. The other is Djaro, but unlike him, Hook wears a suit when he's out doing the dirty work.
Zdravko "Hair" Kiselov
Portrayed by: Alexander Sano
The guy responsible for female trafficking.- I Owe You My Life: Martin got close to him by saving his life while in jail. He then gets even more indebted to Martin after he saves him from being wrongfully executed on suspicions of betraying Djaro.
- Ladykiller in Love: He has no problem picking up a girl, but he has little luck hitting on Adriana, the bartender at Djaro's bar (even if that violates The Bro Code that she used to be Ivo's mistress). She doesn't get together with him until he gets honest about his feelings for her.
- Unluckily Lucky: His nickname, "Hair" comes from his tendency to get away from trouble by a hair's breath (or, since in Bulgarian the expression is tied to Damocles' sword, of his life hanging by a thread of hair). When he dies, his last words are "the hair snapped".
Nikolai and Tihomir "The Twins"
- The Brute: They are Djaro's heavy hitters, more skilled than the average thug, but not good at anything else.
- Cant K Ill You Still Need You: After they kill his mother Ivo won't forgive Tisho but has to employ him because he can't afford to waste a good thug, so he demotes Tisho to his chauffeur and constantly humiliates him by ordering him around.
- Dumb Muscle: They sometimes don't know the meaning of basic terms.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: They aren't actually brothers, but they could as well be. After Nicki's death, Tisho mourns him.
Angel "Gele" Yakimov
Portrayed by: Stanislav Ianevski
Djaro's bodyguard.- Sacrificial Lamb: He doesn't have much of an influence of the plot, besides his assassination makes everyone realize that Djaro is paranoid and causes them to abandon him.
- The Starscream: Gele attempts to be a small-time version, selling drugs behind Djaro's back. It gets nowhere.
Krum
Ivo's go-to thug.- Brains and Brawn: With Rafael.
- Dumb Muscle: He's only good for violence.
- We Have Reserves: When Hook kills him, Ivo flatly says he won't miss Krum.
Rafael
Ivo's right-hand man who used to be in Metho's employ.- The Evil Genius: He's Ivo's tectical genius and organiser.
- Silk Hiding Steel: He's effeminate, but he still packs a punch when necessary.
General Penev
An elderly general formerly from the communist intelligence services, he has a great deal of influence over underworld bosses such as Djaro, Ivo and Mironov.- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Supposedly of real-life DS general Lyuben Gotzev who's rumored to have orchestrated the rise of Bulgaria's greatest crime syndicates.
- Former Regime Personnel: He served in DS, which was a dreaded spying agency.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: When Ivo starts getting less benefits and more lectures from him, he has him gunned down outside the restaurant where they had an argument.
Alexander Mironov
Portrayed by: Hristo Mutafchiev
A former teammate from Popov and Djaro's unit, presumed murdered by Djaro years ago when Djaro defected to escape with money confiscated from some Serbian gangsters.- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He shows up to Popov, who has been grieving him and Stanley for years, and promises him to help against Djaro. He was the one responsible for the whole tragedy, and the one who killed Stanley.
- Dirty Cop: He is a crime boss who works with General Penev to undermine Djaro's illicit construction deals and orders several people's brutal assassinations to do so. Then an even more gruesome revelation is made. The idea of taking money from Serbian smugglers was his and not Djaro's. When Stanley was about to alert Popov to the theft, it was Mironov who shot him.
- Eviler than Thou: It turns out that it was him who killed the fourth team member, Stanley, in order to escape with the money. Djaro, who never planned to turn on his team, shot him in disgust and fled.
- Evil Versus Evil: Djaro hunted him down and tried to assassinate him, which Mironov presented to Martin as something of a sob story.
- His Name Is...: He gets shot by Martin just before he can reveal to Djaro that the former is an undercover agent, and thus ruinPopov's plans.
- Not Quite Dead: He didn't get burned alive in the police car by Djaro. Instead, Djaro shot him and escaped, after which Mironov woke up, faked his death and lit the car on fire, using a gangster's body to fill in for his own. His appearsnce shocks both Djaro and Popov.
- Something Only They Would Say: Djaro and Mironov both can only think about him when he sends them origami swans, which they know he used to make.
- Unfriendly Fire: In Djaro's flashback, it's shown how he shoots Mironov with the words "I should have done this a long time ago". This gets presented in a whole new light when it's revealed that moments ago Mironov was the one who turned on their coworker and murdered him in cold blood.
- Walking Spoiler: His role reveals a lot of details about Popov and Djaro's vendetta.
Anton Damyanov
Ventzislav "Vein Ventzy" Venev
A mob boss with a huge share in Bulgaria's drug market.- Sacrificial Lion: His assassination kicks off Djaro's downfall.
"Metho the Powerlifter"
"Lizard"
An uncouth mob boss.- Braids of Barbarism: he wears his hair in a long one.
- Casual Sports Jersey: He always wears one of the team he owns, with his nickname (GUSHTERA) on it.
- Football Hooligans: He dresses like one.
"Greasy"
Another mob boss.- Sacrificial Lamb: Ivo kills him when he takes over, to show that he isn't screwing around and allowing anyone to make deals behind his back.
Turkish underworld
Faruq Aykan
Bardem Aykan
Ak Hassan
A Turkish assassin.- Off with His Head!: He gets decapitated with a katana by Hook for doing the same to his wife and son.
- White Hair, Black Heart: He's called "White Hassan" for his white hair. He also brutally murdered a woman and a child on Faruq's orders.
Other criminals
Kiril "Kiro the Legend" Hristov
Martin's father, a notorious thief.The Hackers
Spas
Others
