Robert Angier is a protagonist turned villain in the 2006 film The Prestige. He is an aspiring magician who blames his rival Alfred Borden for the death of his wife during a trick gone wrong, and becomes obsessed with proving he's the better magician.
He is played by Hugh Jackman.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Heinous?[]
- He becomes obsessed with outdoing Borden as a magician and destroying his life.
- He sneaks into Borden's show with a gun and fires at him, blowing two of Borden's fingers off.
- He uses his mistress, Olivia, as a pawn to spy on Borden and steal his diary, hoping to learn his secret. When Olivia protests that this won't bring Angier's wife back, he responds that he doesn't care about his wife anymore, just outdoing Borden, though he seems to regret saying that. His behavior alienates Olivia so much that she betrays him and helps Borden.
- He kidnaps Borden's assistant, Fallon, and buries him alive as leverage to force Borden to reveal his method. When Borden asks if Fallon is alive, Angier coldly responds, "How fast can you dig?"
- When he tests Tesla's "duplication machine", Angier shoots and kills his own clone, ignoring the clone's protests that he is the real Angier.
- He comes up with an elaborate plan to get Borden killed. He stages a series of shows where each night, he uses the machine to clone himself, which transports him across the theater, while each clone is dropped into a water tank below the stage and drowned. One night, Borden shows up and goes backstage to investigate how the trick is being done. He is found in front of the tank as the latest clone is drowning, and is wrongly convicted of Angier's murder and sentenced to death.
- He sends a man to blackmail Borden, promising that his daughter Jess will be taken care of if Borden reveals all his secrets. Angier then shows up and reveals he is alive, gloating that he's gotten the last laugh. Borden desperately hands over a paper revealing how he does his trick, but Angier simply tears it up and leaves with Borden's daughter in his custody. He then runs into Cutter, who is appalled that he's alive and is letting Borden hang. Cutter insists that Jess be returned to her father, but Angier refuses.
- When the surviving Borden twin tracks Angier down and shoots him, avenging his brother, Angier shows no remorse for his actions including killing his own clones, but says it was worth it, because he got to astonish the audience with his trick and loved the looks on their faces as they tried to figure it out.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- The film portrays him as a tragic character due to his grief over his wife's death, his insecurity over Borden's success, and desire to become a well-respected magician, only for his obsession with Borden to ruin his life.
- He's portrayed as an anti-hero for most of the film, until he turns villainous at the end by killing his own clones and getting Borden executed.
- He has a genuine friendship with his assistant Cutter, and tries not to implicate him in his schemes.
- He asks Cutter to look after Borden's daughter, showing that he did not really want to harm her.