Colonel Richard Strickland

Colonel Richard Strickland is the main antagonist of the 2017 fantasy romance film The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro. He is portrayed by Michael Shannon.

The Shape of Water
Strickland works as the head of the Occam Aerospace Research Center in the early 1960s of Baltimore. Sometime later, Strickland discovers an amphibious humanoid creature in the rivers of South America. Whilst being imprisoned by the institute, Elisa Esposito - a mute woman working the nightshift as a janitor for the Occam Aerospace Research Center - began to interact with the humanoid creature that Strickland had dubbed as "the Asset." She began to feed the Asset hard-boiled eggs, and plays recordings of music for it with her portable turntable. Soon, a relationship began to bloom between them.

Reporting to his superior, General Hoyt, the two begin to converse on the discovery. Curious about the Asset's biology, Hoyt demands Strickland to begin preparations to dissect the Assect so that its organs can be used for the improvement of space travel. Unbeknownst to Strickland, one of the scientists working in the facility - Robert Hoffsteler - was secretly a Soviet spy. Despite his pleas to spare the Asset, Robert's pleas fall on deaf ears, and Strickland orders the operation to be conducted. Elisa realizes her superior's intentions, and starts to formulate a plan in order to save the Asset. She takes the Asset to her apartment, keeping him alive in her bathtub by using chemicals that Robert had retrieved. Strickland began to implicate that Elisa and her friend Zelda were most likely the ones behind the Asset's disappearance, but he immediately drops his suspicion upon reflecting on their lowly titles.

With the Asset's health worsening, Elisa hatches a plan to release the Asset into the canal within days banking on how there would be few witnesses. Realizing that the Asset wasn't dead, Hoyt threatens Strickland's livelihood, giving him thirty-six hours to find the Asset. Robert's superiors also become incensed against him, agreeing to meet him at a rendezvous point with two superiors. Before Robert could be killed, Strickland kills them and proceeds to coldly torture Robert in an attempt of extracting information about the whereabouts of Elisa as well as the Asset. When he got what was looking for, Strickland leaves Robert to die of his wounds. Strickland then invades Zelda's house, and threatens her for more information which leads to her husband having to reveal her role in the operation. He then enters into Elisa's apartment, finding a note on her calendar.

Before the Asset is released, Strickland arrives and immediately punches Giles before shooting at Elisa and the Asset. The Asset recovers from his gun-inflicted wounds due to his regenerative abilities, and slices Strickland's throat with his claws. The Asset enters into the canal with Elisa's body, and uses his powers to create gills that take the place of the scars around Elisa's neck. Now, the two can remain together.