Ian Howe

"You wanna know the key to running a convincing bluff? Once in a while, you need to be holding all the cards."

- Ian Howe to Ben Gates.

Ian Howe is the main antagonist of the live action Disney film National Treasure. He was a treasure hunter and criminal knowledgeable who was a friend of the movie's protagonist, Ben Gates. At first they worked together in trying to find the lost treasure of the Knight's Templar, but they became enemies when a clue lead them to a map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Ian wanted to steal the document, but Ben refused to, and in doing so, forged their animosity. After Ian and his henchmen unsuccessfully tried to kill Ben and his exploring parter Riley, they decided that they had to steal the Declaration before Ian did. They succeeded, but Ian eventually got a hold of it.

After some cat-and-mouse games with the FBI, Ian and his goons captured Ben, Riley, Abigail, and Ben's dad, and forced them to lead them onward in the search for clues. They eventually were lead to a huge, old underground staircase under a graveyard. One of Ian's henchmen, Shaw, fell down into the seemingly bottomless pit below. The group got to a chamber that dead-ended, and Ian forced Ben at gunpoint to tell him what the next clue was. They gave him a fake clue and he and his remaining henchman escaped, leaving Ben and his friends behind in what was later revealed to be the passageway to the treasure room. At the Old North Church where the fake clue lead them, Ian and his henchmen were arrested by the FBI and sent to prison.

Ian Howe was played by Sean Bean.