| “ | Literal man! Cruel man!... yes, fine: bounty hunters. An ugly title, really... as if emolument were the point. Is the cobbler not paid for his shoes? It's an honest calling! | „ |
| ~ Clarence referring to the nature of his work. |
Clarence and Thigpen are major antagonists in "The Mortal Remains", one of the anthological stories in the 2018 Western black comedy The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
They are depicted as affable bounty hunters who are suggested to be grim reapers and the escorts of the other characters in the story.
Clarence is portrayed by Brendan Gleeson, who also portrayed Stubbs in Turbulence, Barty Crouch Jr. while under the guise of Alistor “Mad-Eye” Moody in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Menelaus in Troy, Lord Johnson-Johnson in A.I. Artifical intelligence, and John C. McCloy in Mission: Impossible II.
Thigpen is portrayed by Jonjo O'Neill, who also portrayed Captain Kaido in the Star Wars franchise.
Physical appearances[]
Clarence[]
Clarence is an older gentleman with blonde hair, who wears a suit and a bowler hat.
Thigpen[]
Thigpen is a smaller, thinner man compared to Clarence. He has dark facial hair and similarly wears a hat and suit.
Personalities[]
Clarence[]
Clarence has a peaceful disposition and is quieter compared to Thigpen. In truth, he is a violent and aggressive man.
Thigpen[]
Thigpen is a talkative, charming man and seemingly the brains behind the two.
Biography[]
Background[]
Clarence and Thigpen claim to be bounty-hunters, and work for an unnamed individual. They have a usual modus operandi, whereby Clarence distracts their victims with a story or a song, and Thigpen does the killing.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs[]
Five travellers are seen in a carriage headed to an unknown destination. Three of whom, the Trapper, Mrs. Betjeman (the Lady), and René (the Frenchman) have moral disputes about the meaning of life and the afterlife. As their argument becomes increasingly tense, Clarence sings a song which subdues the group.
The group enquire about Clarence and Thigpen, who affably tell the trio about their murderous ways. Thigpen says he enjoys watching his victims die and "try to make sense of it", which reflects the trio's views of their moral debate about the afterlife. This unsettles the group as they arrive at a hotel (suggested to be the afterlife). They take the corpse of an individual from the top of the carriage and leave, questioning how they should stage the corpse in the hotel lobby.
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 villains
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Buster Scruggs | The Kid | Cowboy | The Impresario | Young Man | Clarence and Thigpen | ||