Stephen Saunders (24 character)

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24 character
Stephen Saunders
Gender	Male
Jobs held	MI6 agent SAS
Affiliation	Self-employed
Family	Jane Saunders (Daughter)
Spouse	NA
Current status	Deceased
Portrayed by	Paul Blackthorne
Seasons	3

Stephen Saunders is a character on the television series 24. He is the main villain of season 3. He is portrayed by Paul Blackthorne.

[edit] Bio

Saunders is a former MI-6 agent and SAS soldier. He was assigned to work with CTU agent Jack Bauer on Operation Nightfall, a mission to eliminate Serbian war criminal Victor Drazen. He was assumed dead after being caught in a bomb blast, but apparently survived, having been captured by the Serbians and tortured for two years. After his escape from Serbian custody, Saunders became embittered and vowed "to make America clean again."

Saunders was seen with several known terrorists before Day Three. In Day Three, he launched a plot to disable what he called "the American military machine." He released a vial of the deadly Cordilla virus in the Chandler Plaza hotel, and used the results to blackmail President David Palmer into using the phrase "the sky is falling" in a presidential address (presumably to launch an attack on MI-6's office in Los Angeles), then forced Palmer to order the execution of Division Director Ryan Chappelle, after he inquired about Saunders's bank accounts. His final demand was for Palmer to release a list of America's Non-Official Covert operatives. CTU closed in on his location before that could happen, but he managed to escape.

His daughter, Jane, was taken into custody by CTU, and he didn't want to act before ensuring her safety. Shortly before he escaped, Saunders' men took Michelle Dessler hostage and demanded that Tony Almeida, head of CTU's Los Angeles Domestic Unit, clear a path for him. Bauer figured out what was going on and managed to set up a trap to help capture Saunders.

Bauer took Saunders and Jane to the Chandler Plaza, where he threatened to force Jane into the hotel, thus infecting and killing her with the virus before Saunders' eyes if he did not betray his couriers. Saunders finally gave in just as a screaming Jane was about to be dragged through the doors and into the infected hotel. Saunders was then taken back to CTU in order to reveal the locations of the couriers. He was in the process of identifying the final courier, Arthur Rabens (located in Los Angeles), when the wife of deceased agent Gael Ortega, Theresa, pulled a concealed pistol and shot him twice in the chest, killing him to avenge Gael.

[edit] Character note

• Stephen Saunders was partially inspired by Goldeneye's villain Alec Trevelyan. Like Trevelyan, Saunders is an MI-6 agent and friend of the main protagonist that was presumed dead only to be living as a villain. Also a minor character from the James Bond movie The Living Daylights is called Saunders and he is also an MI-6 agent.

[edit] Trivia

• In the final episode of Season 3, a profile of Stephen Saunders is seen on a computer screen. It describes him as being only 5' 10", despite the fact that he is notably taller (he is 6'3.5").
• In an interview with 24 Inside, Paul Blackthorne stated that he originally auditioned for the role of Michael Amador.