Mr. Helpmann

Mr. Helpmann is one of the primary antagonists, along with Jack Lint, in Terry Gilliam's 1985 film, Brazil. Portrayed by Peter Vaughn, he is the Deputy Minister of Information, and is the boss of protagonist, Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce).

Much like Jack Lint, Mr. Helpmann is first presented as being a friend of Sam's and someone he can trust. He is partially responsible for giving Sam a promotion to the Department of Information Retrieval.

Despite this, it is later revealed that he is fully aware of Sam's plans to join the resistance, led by Archibal Tuttle (Robert De Niro). It is only towards the end of the film that Sam is aware of this and Helpmann knew of his plans the entire time, despite appearing kind from the start. This is made aware when Mr. Helpmann visits Sam in a mental hospital and does nothing to save him.

Although Mr. Helpmann, like Jack Lint, is considered a primary antagonist in the film, he is in fact only a small part of a bigger picture. Brazil is about the bureaucracy of governments and how they can enslave a society, and therefore the Government as a whole could be considered the main villain. However, Mr. Helpmann is a primary antagonist that the audience sees so is considered as such by many people.