Leonard Shelby

Grew Up… originally from San Francisco.

Living… on the road, from motel to motel. Leonard doesn’t have a fixed address. He wakes up in a new place most days, but in a lot of ways it’s the same place every time: a room, a window, a bedside table with a bible in the top drawer.

Profession… he’s currently a sort of freelance vigilante, but he used to be an investigator for an insurance company. As he puts it, “I'd investigate the claims to see which ones were phony. I had to see through people's bull****. It was useful experience, 'cause now it's my life.” Though Leonard no longer works in claim investigation, one case is of particular interest to him still: that of Sammy Jankis, a man who allegedly developed short-term memory loss due to a car accident. Leonard ruled that Jankis’ condition was mental, not physical, and therefore ineligible for a payout from the insurance company. Now Leonard suffers from a similar memory problem and uses the case he investigated for insight into his own situation.

Interests… none except revenge. All Leonard’s interests died with his wife, who was raped and murdered. Leonard believes he killed at least one of the men who did that, but believes he was attacked by a second man, and that beating led to his current loss of memory. Now Leonard is determined to exact vengeance on the second man.

Relationship Status… widower who was previously married to Catherine Shelby. Leonard loved his wife. Now that she’s dead, all he can do is try to find justice and remember what he can of her. Given his memory issues, that’s no easy task.

Challenge… tracking down “John G,” one of his wife’s killers. He’s trying to do that using only clues he’s left for himself in the form of polaroids, tattoos, and notes. It’s a complicated system, and it remains to be seen if it actually works. But as Leonard puts it, “My wife deserves revenge, whether I know about it or not.”

Personality… driven, blunt, and methodical. Leonard is serious to the point of humorlessness – he has to be. After Leonard’s life-changing beating and subsequent memory loss, he has lost room for anything but will to live and the vengeance he hopes will gain him closure.