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| “ | Ooh-wee, you good-lookin'. You're hot! It's like looking at a mirror, only not. | „ |
| ~ Castor meeting with Sean after taking his face. |
| “ | Your son was an accident. I wanted to kill you. But you took it so personally. Why didn't you just kill yourself or let it go? | „ |
| ~ Castor Troy to Sean Archer. |
| “ | You're right, Sean, I misbehaved. I need to be punished. But remember, every time you look in the mirror, you'll see my face. | „ |
| ~ Castor before attempting to destroy Sean's face. |
| “ | Ready for... the big ride... baby... | „ |
| ~ Castor's last words after being impaled on a harpoon. |
Castor Troy is the main antagonist of the 1997 action film Face/Off.
He is a terrorist-for-hire who plans to stage a bombing in Los Angeles with the help of his brother Pollux, with a price tag of $10 million. However, his plans are hindered when his archenemy, FBI Deputy Director Sean Archer, knocks him into a coma and switches faces with him to thwart the bombing.
As his original self, he was portrayed by Nicolas Cage, who also played Yuri Orlov in Lord of War, Dracula in Renfield, Nicky Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and Longlegs in Longlegs. While masquerading as Sean Archer, he was portrayed by John Travolta, who also portrayed Vic Deakins in Broken Arrow, Billy Nolan in Carrie, Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction, Ryder in the 2009 film adaptation of The Taking of Pelham 123, and Terl in Battlefield Earth.
Biography[]
In 1991, Castor Troy attempts to assassinate FBI Deputy Director Sean Archer at a carnival, but he accidentally kills Archer's four-year-old son Michael. Archer vows to bring Castor to justice.
Six years later, Castor and his younger brother/accomplice Pollux accept a $10 million contract to set off a powerful bomb they have hidden in a secret location. As Castor and Pollux board a plane at a small airport, they are pursued by Archer and his FBI team. Archer shoots the plane's engine, causing it to crash. Archer later corners Castor at a warehouse. Castor gloats to Archer about the bomb, but he is knocked into a coma before Archer can learn more, while Pollux is arrested.
Archer learns more about the bomb, but he is unable to convince Pollux to give up the location. His colleagues tell him that there is only one way to find the bomb: To exchange his face for Castor's own in order to infiltrate the prison where Pollux is and get the bomb's location. Archer then undergoes face transplant surgery and is sent to the same prison that houses Pollux.
Soon after, Castor awakes from his coma and discovers his face missing. He calls in his gang and force the surgeon who performed the face transplant to attach Sean's face onto his own. Castor burns the lab with the surgeon and Archer's FBI colleagues inside, erasing all evidence of the switch. Castor visits the prison and taunts Archer, gloating that he will take over Archer's life while Archer rots in prison. Castor, as Archer, releases Pollux and forces him to reveal the bomb's location. After disarming the bomb, Castor gains the trust of Archer's FBI colleagues. Castor also gets close to Archer's family: He sleeps with Archer's wife, Eve, and saves his daughter, Jaime, from being sexually assaulted.
Later, Castor learns that Archer has escaped from prison and has retreated to his headquarters. Castor, as Archer, attacks the headquarters. He confronts Archer, who later kills Pollux. The next day, Castor kills FBI Director Victor Lazarro when the latter questions him on the raid, using heart attack as a ruse. At Lazarro's funeral, Castor confronts Archer once again and takes Eve hostage. A gunfight later ensues and Castor takes Jaime hostage, but she retaliates by stabbing him with a knife he, ironically, gave her for self-defense. Castor kills two FBI agents and flees in a speedboat, but Archer pursues him and forces him into shore by collision. During the final fight, Archer attempts to impale Castor with a spear gun, only for Castor to start mutilating his (Archer's) face. Before Castor can render Archer's face completely useless to him, Archer kills Castor with the spear gun and finally Archer gets his face back.
Personality[]
Castor Troy is a wanted terrorist-for-hire. He is highly intelligent and completely ruthless, with a sadistic sense of humor and pure psychopathy. He is also responsible for numerous bombings and many political assassinations. Castor has an arch-nemesis: FBI Special Agent Sean Archer, who has been pursuing him for years. Their animosity becomes a mutual obsession after Troy accidentally kills Archer's son. Also, the film's novelization reveals that Castor committed rape and animal torture as a teenager.
That said, Castor is not totally without humanity. He genuinely loves his brother Pollux, and is moved to tears when he is killed, even momentarily contemplating suicide. He has at least some affection for his mistress and their son, and empathizes with Archer's daughter, saying that he understands that her rebellious behavior is a way of coping with her brother's death. Castor also seemed to be shocked and horrifed when he unintentionally killed Sean's son, Michael, but when he and Eve visit Michael's grave while the former is pretending to be Sean, he appears to be bored and uninterested in the event, making it ambiguous as to whether he feels any genuine guilt from the incident.
Abilities[]
- High intellect: Despite his deranged personality, Castor Troy is an intelligent terrorist for hire, evading the authorities for years and planting a bomb in a hidden location to blow up Los Angles a sport of an extortion plot. After kidnapping the doctors who performed on Sean and forcing them to do the same operation on him he burned all the evidence of Sean being in disguised effectively trapping him in prison while Troy gets to be free with a powerful government job.
- Leadership: Troy is a charismatic leader of his group of terrorists for hire, able to lead behind the scenes or in the field.
- Peak Human Condition: Troy is in top physical shape. He's strong enough to overpower a SWAT officer with one hand, shatters a car window with a kick, drags a guy out of a car and throws him around, shoulder bashed down a large mirror, picked up and swung around an anchor hard enough to pierce the hull of the speed boat he was on. He fast enough to evade gunfire while firing his own guns and stopped a harpoon gun from firing with his bare hands.
- Expert Combatant: Castor is skilled hand to hand fighter. Him and Sean seem equally matched during a scuffle before Sean eventually gets the upper-hand.
- Expert Marksmanship: Castor Troy is highly skilled with various firearms such as hand guns, sub machine guns, and sniper rifles. He accurately shoots at Archer's helicopter, shoots two cops while jumping out of a plane, gets a clean headshot on an unsuspecting officer, shoots a flammable gas canister, and shoots several cops dead while driving a speed boat.
- High Pain Tolerance: Castor Troy has a high tolerance for pain as he can take brutal beatings, having a chair smashed over his head, multiple stab wounds to the legs, and getting launched out of a speed boat onto a beach.
Equipment[]
- Twin Gold Plated M1911A1 Handguns: Castor Troy uses these pistols as his sidearms of choice.
- Push Dagger: Castor carries a push dagger as a last resort which he used against Sean Archer.
- Sniper Rifle: Castor used a sniper rifle in an attempt to kill Archer though only wounded him and accidentally killed his son instead.
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Nicolas Cage and John Travolta spent two weeks together before filming to learn how to play each other. They decided on specific gestures and vocal cadences for each character that could be mimicked.
- John Travolta asked the writers if they were making fun of him with the "ridiculous chin" line. They explained that Castor was such a narcissist that he would hate having anyone else's face.
- Nicolas Cage didn't want to see the grotesque face makeup, so director John Woo hid all the reflective surfaces on set.