List of characters in Natural Born Killers
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This lists the major characters in the film Natural Born Killers.
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[edit] Mickey and Mallory Knox
Mickey and Mallory Knox are the protagonists of the 1994 film Natural Born Killers. The characters were created by Quentin Tarantino and the film was directed and co-scripted by Oliver Stone. In the film, Mickey and Mallory together kill over fifty people.
[edit] Mickey
Mickey is portrayed by Woody Harrelson.
As a child, Mickey witnessed his abusive father's suicide. As an adult, he drifted through a series of menial jobs and stints in prison before he met Mallory while delivering meat to her parent's home, and later stole her father's car. He was quickly arrested and placed in prison for the theft. During a tornado, he escaped from prison, returned to Mallory, and helped her kill her parents. After committing several murders they performed their own wedding ceremony where they declared their love for one another.
[edit] Mallory
Mallory is portrayed by Juliette Lewis.
Mallory was molested by her father (Rodney Dangerfield) and ignored by her mother (Edie McClurg). She met Mickey when she was 18 and fell in love with him. He was soon sent to prison however, on theft charges. He later escaped and re-united with Mallory, and helped her murder her parents. They spared her little brother, Kevin, the only person besides Mickey she had ever loved.
[edit] Murder spree and motives
Mickey and Mallory both spent several weeks roaming the country, killing at random, eventually claiming 52 victims. Mickey later claimed in prison that he did not believe his victims were worthy of life, and declared himself a "Natural Born Killer".
[edit] Signature
Mickey and Mallory's signature move is to always spare one person so that they can "live to tell the tale" to the media and police. Their witness is chosen at random. One example of this is the opening scene of the film, in which they play eenie meenie miney mo to choose which of the two witnesses they kill. An exception to this is the drugstore scene, in which Mickey kills the clerk despite him being the only person in the store, saying:
"Yeah, but if I don't kill you, what is there to talk about?"
[edit] Capture
After they were both bitten by several snakes while walking through the desert, Mickey and Mallory went to a drugstore in seach of some anti-venom. However, they were cornered by the police and threatened into capture by Detective Jack Scagnetti (Tom Sizemore).
[edit] Prison and escape
They were both sentenced to life in prison until reporter Wayne Gale decides to interview Mickey after the Super Bowl. During the interview, Mickey starts a riot in the prison cafeteria. During the riot Mickey and Mallory escape along with Gale, whom they shot to death once they decided they were safe from the police. They then disappeared to start a new life.
[edit] Alternative ending
Stone also shot an alternate ending were Mickey and Mallory were killed, but it was not used due to plans for a sequel. This ending can be seen on the DVD, in the Special Features section.
[edit] Trivia
- Stone's first choice for Mickey was Michael Madsen but ended up choosing Harrelson after Warner Brothers asked for someone better known.[citation needed]
- Harrelson's father, Charles Harrelson, is a convicted professional hitman.
[edit] Jack Scagnetti
Jack Scagnetti is a fictional character created by Quentin Tarantino for the movie Natural Born Killers. He is portrayed by actor Tom Sizemore.
[edit] Role in the movie
Scagnetti is a successful cop who saw his mother killed by Charles Whitman when he was a child. Obsessed with taking revenge against criminals, he became a cop and, eventually, a public hero. Behind his heroic facade, however, he was a sadistic misogynist and borderline vigilante with nothing but disdain for the law he claimed to uphold. He was also a murderer in his own right, having strangled a prostitute in a fit of rage.
He reached the height of his fame while pursuing Mickey and Mallory Knox (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis), two serial killers on a cross-country murder spree. His pursuit of the Knoxes was covered extensively by tabloid reporter Wayne Gale (Robert Downey Jr.) on his show "American Maniacs." He became particularly fixated on Mallory, and his frustrated sexual attraction to her further fueled his rage. He eventually captured them in a shootout outside a drug store. He profited immensely from the ensuing media acclaim, even writing a book, "Scagnetti on Scagnetti."
A year later, Scagnetti visited Mallory in prison, and tried to seduce her. Mallory attacked him and broke his nose. Meanwhile, Mickey had started a riot in the prison cafeteria in an attempt to escape. During the chaos, Mallory shot and killed Scagnetti.
[edit] Trivia
- In Tarantino's movie Reservoir Dogs one character mentions a cop named Scagnetti. Tarantino was likely referencing his original script (NBK had not been adapted yet), but it is not the same character as the dialogue reveals this Scagnetti's name to be Seymour.
- Lewis actually broke Sizemore's nose during the prison confrontation scene.[citation needed]
[edit] Wayne Gale
Wayne Gale is a fictional character created by Quentin Tarantino in the movie Natural Born Killers. He is portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.
[edit] Character
Gale is a Golden Globe winning Australian journalist who, early in his career, covered international stories such as the U.S. invasion of Grenada. Eventually, however, he settled for hosting "American Maniacs," a sensationalistic tabloid news show focusing on serial killers. A vain, opportunistic narcissist, Gale has nothing but contempt for his audience ("Repetition works; Do you think the morons out there in zombie land actually remember anything?") and does his job only for perks such as fame, money, and an Asian mistress named Ming. He claims to be a personal friend of Bill Clinton.
[edit] Role in the movie
His ratings go through the roof when he focuses his show on Mickey and Mallory Knox (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis), two serial killers on a cross-country murder spree. He makes the two killers into international celebrities, all the while becoming incredibly rich and raising his own celebrity profile. When they are caught by Detective Jack Scagnetti (Tom Sizemore), he helps turn the detective into a star, conveniently ignoring the fact that he is completely corrupt and just as violent as the Knoxes.
One year later, on Super Bowl Sunday, Gale interviews Mickey on live TV. During the interview, Mickey escapes and a riot breaks out, forcing Gale to stop the broadcast. Mickey takes the crew as hostages and tells them to go save Mallory. During the riot, Gale uses the camera to transmit live what happens in the riot. He publically claims that the riot has spiritually reawakened him, leaves his wife for his mistress (who promptly leaves him), and helps Mickey and Mallory escape from prison.
All of his crew are killed in the riot. After Mallory is saved and they escape from prison, she and Mickey tell Gale that he is going to be their last victim (with his camera as a witness.) Gale panics and tries to run, but eventually resigns himself to his impending death, and allows them to kill him.
