James Cole

James Cole

12
    12 Monkeys
Photo Credit: Everett Collection

Character Analysis

(Avoiding Spoilers)

Living... in what is left of Philadelphia the year of 2035. Billions of people died from a virus in 1996, and there is only 1 percent of the population left. He can't live above ground anymore because animals have taken over the Earth. So he has been living in an underground shelter with the other survivors.

Visiting... 1990. After being tossed in jail, James has allowed the authorities to send him back in time (in exchange for a pardon) to learn more about the virus before it started mutating. With the information James gets, scientists can hopefully find a cure. But things have not been much better for James in the past. When James told others he is from the future, they thought he was out of his mind and threw him in a dilapidated insane asylum. James is getting to know one of the craziest patients named Jeffrey, who is a son of a renowned scientist.

Interests... watching old movies. He recently saw Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo, which is about a man who feels he is going insane. Not surprisingly, James felt a connection with that character. 

Relationship Status... single. He's developing feelings for his psychiatrist, Dr. Railly. He feels he has known her before.

Challenge... knowing what the future holds. All the people around him are going to die soon. He wishes he could just be a normal person with an unknown future.

Personality... "a total nutcase, completely deranged, delusional, paranoid" according to Jeffrey. There’s probably some truth to that. But who can blame him with what he has to go through?

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