Lord Kelvin

Lord Kelvin (simply known as Kelvin) is the main antagonist in the 2004 live action film Around the World in 80 Days. He is the arrogant head of the Royal Academy of Science until the events of the film.

He was portrayed by Jim Broadbent.

Biography
Despite his position as head of the academy, Kelvin arrogantly believes that everything worth discovering has already been discovered. However, Phileas Fogg (the protagonist of the film) is a man who finds science fascinating and is constantly wanting to make new discoveries, including the idea of creating a flying machine.

Fogg goes to the Royal Academy to express some of his new findings, but ends up being talked into a bet by Kelvin, specifically to prove whether it is possible to travel around the world in no more than 80 days. At first, Fogg is extremely reluctant and unenthusiastic, but after being mocked by Kelvin, he changes his mind and accepts the challenge. He and Kelvin agree that if Fogg wins the bet, he will take Kelvin's place as the new minister. However, if he loses, Kelvin will tear down Fogg's laboratory and force him never to invent anything ever again.

Fogg teams up with a Chinese man named Lau Xing (going under the pseudonym Passportout) and a French woman named Monique La Roche. As it turns out that Lau recently robbed the Bank of England to reclaim a divine object known as the Jade Buddha, which was stolen from his village Lanzhou by a military extremist organization known as the Black Scoprions (led by the ruthless Fang), and tagged along with Fogg to return the jade back to his village. It also turns out that Fang is in league with Kelvin, as she smuggled the jade statue to him in exchange for military assistance to invade Lanzhou. During Fogg's journey, Kelvin sends an incompetent officer named Inspector Fix to pursue him and prevent him from winning the bet. He also learns that Lau was the criminal who robbed the bank and contacts several British colonial authorities to capture both Fogg and Lau at all costs. However, as the days goes by, Fogg, Lau and Monique manage to defeat Fang and her associates while the evading the authorities to continue their expedition onward to the Atlantic Ocean. During the last days, the trio create a flying machine using detailed plans that Fogg had earlier acquired from the Wright brothers out of part from a ship.

At the eightieth day, the trio fly their contraption and arrive at the front steps of the Royal Academy, much to Kelvin's annoyance. Before Fogg can reach the top of the steps (where his journey officially began), Kelvin delays him by accusing him and his cohorts of robbing the Bank of England as the clock strikes noon. However, Inspector Fix appears and turns on Kelvin for his abusive behavior and disgusting attitude, as do the other ministers from the Academy. Queen Victoria arrives soon after and is insulted by Kelvin, who was unaware that she was present at the time. She reveals to him that one of his aides had informed her that Kelvin had been selling her arsenal to Fang in exchange for jade mines in China, which he desperately attempts to deny. After failing this, Kelvin runs away but is easily caught by the police on the Queen's orders. Kelvin is then locked up and sent to prison, vowing revenge on Fogg in the process.