Top 10 Best Prison Break Characters
Some shows ask you to suspend disbelief. Prison Break grabs it by the collar, shoves it against the wall, and yells, "You're coming with me." And you do. You follow blueprints tattooed on skin, schemes stacked twelve moves ahead, and villains slicker than oil on tile.
But none of that works without the characters. You remember who turned on who. Who cracked under pressure. Who somehow found a way to smile in a 6x8 cell. Every betrayal, breakdown, and perfectly timed escape hinged on someone who made you yell at your screen or quietly root for the wrong guy.
Think of the one who made your jaw drop. The one who could talk circles around the FBI. The one who would sell out his own mother for a cigarette and a shot at freedom. Scroll through the list and vote for the ones who earned it.
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Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell
In season one, T-Bag is a very simple character: a racist who uses his position in the prison to sexually abuse other prisoners and has no problem blaming others for his crimes. Still, T-Bag is quite charming with the ladies. He never misses a chance to mock his enemies, whose lives he constantly ruins.
Despite his villainous nature, T-Bag was not a complete psychopath. He was angered by the death of his boyfriend, Maytag, and grief-stricken when he learned his cousin, James Bagwell, had been killed. T-Bag's most admirable quality in season one was his sharp sense of humor.
In season two, we learn T-Bag was an academically gifted and seemingly good-natured boy. It's implied that after T-Bag's father molested him, his life spiraled out of control. T-Bag seems to blame his father for his crimes due to a secret hatred of himself because he went through what his victims endured. After kidnapping his ex-girlfriend, Susan Hollander, T-Bag tells her he wants to change and believes raising her kids would help him make the world a better place. Following Susan's rejection, T-Bag releases her.
In season three, T-Bag is opportunistic, poisoning Lechero's ears with lies about his men, especially since Lechero's right-hand man, Sammy Norino, disliked him. T-Bag shows courage when it comes to the ones he cares for, even taking a beating for Lechero's mistress, Mary Francis. When he escapes Sona, T-Bag impersonates salesman Cole Pfeiffer and works at the Gate Corporation, where he seems to develop the morals he believes Cole would have. He mourns the death of Bellick and decides he would like to escape his criminal roots.... read more
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Michael Scofield
Michael J. Scofield, played by Wentworth Miller, is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists of the American television series Prison Break. He is portrayed as a structural engineer who devises an elaborate plan to help his brother escape from prison. The character appears in all five seasons... read more
He literally tattooed an escape plan onto his body and then used it to break his brother out of Fox River - a prison thought to be unbreakable. Who else is going to beat him?
Well, not the greatest acting chops, but good enough to pull off an incredibly interesting character. Plus, he's not exactly hard on the eyes.
Damn, he's such a good-looking genius. Who doesn't like him? Plus, he gets himself into prison on purpose to save his brother's life.
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Alexander Mahone
Alex was a caring father and husband until he killed convict Oscar Shales. Alex then left his family to prevent them from uncovering the truth. He is put in charge of the manhunt for the Fox River Eight.
The Company used Shales to extort Mahone into killing the fugitives in case Michael Scofield had given them incriminating evidence. Though he had reservations, Mahone complied, partly to protect his reputation and partly to protect his family. This led to the deaths of Tweener, Charles Patoshik, and John Abruzzi.
After Michael planted drugs on him, Mahone was incarcerated in Sona. With very few allies, Mahone decides to work with Michael. However, as Michael hates Mahone due to his role in the death of Aldo Burrows, Michael strings him along. Eventually, Mahone confesses his crimes, becoming a dedicated senator and loyal friend to Michael.
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Paul Kellerman
Paul Kellerman grew up resenting his father and mother but was nothing but loyal and good to his sister, Kristine. Kellerman served in the Gulf War, where he met his close friend, Danny Hale. The men were reunited as partners in the Secret Service, which was when Kellerman became close to Vice President Caroline Reynolds, whom Kellerman obeyed without question.
He and Hale then framed Lincoln Burrows for Terrence Steadman's murder. Kellerman and Hale also killed innocent people to ensure the truth wasn't uncovered and that Lincoln was sentenced to death, including Bishop McMorrow, whose only crime was opposing the death penalty. Kellerman's most villainous act was framing Lincoln's son, LJ Burrows, for the murders of his mother and stepfather, Lisa and Adrian Rix.
After Hale betrays Kellerman by giving his name on a list of conspirators to Veronica Donovan, Kellerman shows his first sign of guilt before killing Hale. After the Fox River Eight escape, Kellerman decides to use Sara Tancredi to track Michael Scofield. He befriends Sara but later tortures her for information. When he is ordered to kill Sara and fails, his superior, Bill Kim, removes him from the picture entirely.
Kellerman plots to kill Reynolds but decides against it. Full of guilt and with nothing left to lose, Kellerman attempts suicide. He later gives testimony at Sara's trial, exonerating her and Lincoln. Years later, after becoming a congressman, Kellerman does something similar and dies fighting for what's right against Jacob Ness.
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Fernando Sucre
He is always there when Michael and Lincoln need him.
Love this guy. His presence added so much to this show.
Easily, he's just a loyal and good friend.
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John Abruzzi
Abruzzi was an American Italian mob boss incarcerated for conspiracy to murder based on Otto Fibonacci's testimony. Following this, Abruzzi became obsessed with finding and killing Fibonacci, forming an uneasy alliance with Michael Scofield to do so. Part of his motive was that his family was under threat from Philly Falzone if Abruzzi did not kill Fibonacci.
Abruzzi would exact revenge on those who betrayed him, cutting out Gus Fiorello's eye when he tried to usurp Abruzzi's position as head of PI. He also worked with Michael to trick Philly into getting himself arrested. Despite these ruthless actions, Abruzzi had a sense of honor, arguing against his teammate T-Bag's decision to kill Bob Hudson, as Bob was an innocent man.
T-Bag told his cousin James Bagwell of the escape attempt so he would not be kicked out of the team. Abruzzi figured this out by ordering his friend Maggio to kidnap James. When this led to the death of James's son, Abruzzi converted to Christianity. Filled with remorse, he confronted T-Bag, who cut his throat after escaping. Abruzzi cut off T-Bag's hand, giving him a chance of survival out of remorse. Sadly, because of his misguided desire for revenge, he was killed by Alex Mahone's men.
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Sara Tancredi
Liked her character and storyline with Scofield.
Adorable and very loyal. She and Michael do everything to find each other.
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Lincoln Burrows
Lincoln is actually not a bad character. He always helps his friends and family when they are in danger. He always stays strong and positive no matter what people think or say about him.
Can't act his way out of a paper bag, but I liked his dynamic with Miller.
He is very strong, and he does everything for the people he loves.
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David "Tweener" Apolskis
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Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin
Y'all don't know what you're talking about. C-Note is the guy! He said, Duck the army, I'm going to jail. He just wanted a family thing. Americans be haters. Free up C-Note. He should at least be before Lincoln and Paul. Who likes Paul?
A good parent and a great husband. He sacrifices everything for his family.
He escaped prison with the law. Good father and even better character.
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Felicia Lang
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Aldo Burrows
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Charles Patoshik
As we see the story from Michael's point of view, we dislike Haywire instantly because he's a threat to Michael. However, the sad truth is Haywire was one of the many Michael screwed over in the process of trying to do something good.
Haywire is different from other prisoners, being mentally retarded and having no qualms about trading prison secrets for favorable treatment. After escaping the prison, Haywire only wants to move on with his life and not hurt anyone. Tragically, Alex Mahone goaded him into killing himself to protect his family.
All he wants to do is go to Holland but was driven insane by abusive parents and intense studies. Poor guy.
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Brad Bellick
Great job. Perfect casting, and like Sucre, added so much by his presence.
Disliked him strongly in season 1 and season 2, but loved him in season 3.
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Gretchen Morgan
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Charles Westmoreland
Being a helpful companion to Michael, he was quite honestly a very memorable character! He also had a huge passion for his cat Marilyn. It really sucks that he was short-lived.
Serving as an advisor to his friend Michael Scofield throughout season 1, Charles Westmoreland was an accomplished liar whose sense of decency and honor earned him respect from inmates and guards alike. Unlike other inmates, Westmoreland was extremely loyal to Michael.
After being told he was not allowed to see his daughter before she died, he got in on Michael's escape plan. In doing so, he was killed by his rival and former friend, Captain Brad Bellick. In his last moments, Westmoreland told Michael to give his hidden money to his daughter, showing the consideration that made Charles so likable.
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Veronica Donovan
Veronica is such an underappreciated character. She's a loyal, smart, and tough girl who fought so hard for Michael and Lincoln. Her death was sad, and I wish she had lasted longer on PB.
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Henry Pope
Pope was a father figure to Michael who treated his prisoners with respect and eventually confessed to his wife about fathering a child from another woman to stop Paul Kellerman and Daniel Hale from blackmailing him regarding Michael. A brave man I'd love to have as a friend.
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James Whistler
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L.J. Burrows
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Sofia Lugo
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Nick Savrinn
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Bill Kim
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Donald Self
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McGrady
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Jonathan Krantz
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Avocado
Avocado is just plain hilarious, personally. Every time I look at him, I just chuckle.