Hal (The Call of the Wild)

NOTE: This article is about Hal from the 2020 adaptation The Call of the Wild''. The mainstream version can be found here: Hal, Mercedes and Charles''.

Hal is the main antagonist of the 2020 live-action adaptation of Jack London's The Call of the Wild. He is a wealthy gold seeker who mistreats Buck and plans to kill John Thornton.

He was portrayed by.

Role
When Hal comes across Buck and his team after Perrault and Francoise sold them off, Pike barks at him. He then picks them up and takes them to his family. Hal and his family try to get Buck and his team to mush, but they struggle to pull the sled. Mercedes asks if they're broken, but Hal tells her that they're just lazy and orders Charles to hit Buck. As Charles prepares to strike Buck, John Thornton intervenes and stops him. Thornton tells Hal that the sled is frozen under the ice and breaks it free. Thornton asks Hal where they're going, but Hal tells him that it's none of his business. Thornton then tells Hal about an abandoned cabin near a river of gold and warns them about the dangers on their journey, but Hal ignores him. Charles orders the dogs to mush and they leave Dawson.

Throughout the journey, Buck and the team struggle to keep up as they climb up a mountain. Dolly slips and the entire sled slides down until Buck stops it. Hal gets back up and whips the team to get them to go further, unaware of the danger that lies ahead. They eventually arrive at a frozen lake and the team stops dead on their tracks, but Hal continues to push Buck, in spite of Mercedes' warnings. Hal pulls out his gun to shoot Buck, but Thornton arrives in the nick of time to stop him and holds him at gunpoint. Thornton confronts Hal and explains that he's trying to save their lives as he pushes him down onto the frozen lake. Thornton frees Buck and Hal threatens him as the other dogs snarl at him. Mercedes warns him that they shouldn't cross the lake, but he refuses to listen to her and pushes the dogs to walk over the frozen lake. Thornton warns him not to do it, but Hal again ignores him as he and his family walk over the ice.

One night, Thornton walks to a bar and Buck follows him after recovering. Hal walks in and punches Thornton in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. Hal blames him for letting his dogs run off and for making him lose his fortune as he kicks Thornton. Buck bolts into the bar and attacks Hal until two men hold him back. Hal tries to explain what happened and Buck lashes out at him. Hal decides to have Buck put down now, but a Skookum Bench King confronts him and pulls out his gun before he gets thrown out of the bar.

While Buck and Thornton are on their journey to find gold at the abandoned cabin in the uncharted wilderness, Hal comes to Thornton's cabin and breaks in. He knocks down some stuff off a desk and notices a map leading to the cabin, so he sets out to find him.

When Thornton decides to go back home and parts ways with Buck, he notices a flock of birds flying out of the trees in the distance. Unbeknownst to him, Hal has followed him and arrived at his cabin. The following night, Thornton senses Hal's presence and sets out to investigate. However, Hal fires a shot and Thornton accidentally drops his lantern, setting the cabin on fire. As Hal tries to enter the cabin, Thornton blocks the door and grabs hold of his rifle. Thornton comes out and they fight until Hal manages to mortally wound him. Hal demands Thornton to tell him where the gold is and he tosses his gold to him. As he prepares to kill Thornton, Buck leaps from the roof of the cabin onto Hal and knocks the rifle from his hands. Hal grabs his club and Buck cowers. As Hal swings his club, Buck manages to grab it and yank it out of his hands. He then pushes Hal into the cabin, causing the cabin to collapse and crush him to death.

Trivia

 * Unlike the book, Hal survived drowning in the frozen lake and wanted revenge on Thornton. In the book, Hal and his family were simply incompetent and were inexperienced in surviving the Northland.