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NOTE: The article details Count Olaf as depicted from the 2017 Netflix remake of "A Series of Unfortunate Events", for information on the original book, the 2004 film and video game versions, see here
Villain Overview

Hello, hello, hello.
~ Count Olaf's famous catchphrase.
You know, some people say that the hardest job in the world is raising a child. But it is nothing compared to conceiving, writing, directing, producing and performing in a theatrical presentation for the purposes of stealing their dead parents' fortune. It's a very difficult job, and I will not have any orphans MUCKING IT UP!
~ Count Olaf.
Well, I have you cornered, Violet, and I have no mercy. Soon enough, your siblings will fall into my trap. And when they do, I won't be satisfied with just your fortune! This time, I will obliterate you and the entire Baudelaire line in the cruelest way imaginable! Won't that be fun?
~ Count Olaf threatening Violet.
Don't you understand, Baudelaires? Don't you understand that so much of life is waiting for those who have wounded you to finally DIE?!
~ Olaf accepting his fate while succumbing to his demise.

Count Olaf is the main antagonist of the 2017 Netflix television reboot of Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events.

He appears as a greedy and extravagant actor much like his book and movie counterparts, hell-bent on claiming the Baudelaire fortune from the children Violet, Klaus and Sunny. Later on, it is revealed he wants to destroy the Baudelaires as well as all members of the secret VFD organization, which he was once part of.

He was portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris, who also played Replay in Static Shock, Ray Thompson in Justice League, John Tagman in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Dr. Horrible in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Fairy Shoeperson in Sesame Street, DJ Veteran Child in the Saints Row video games, Music Meister in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Dr. Blowhole in The Penguins of Madagascar, Chester Creb in American Horror Story: Freak Show, The Analyst in The Matrix Resurrections and the Celestial Toymaker in the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials.

Personality[]

Olaf is a very intelligent and evil mastermind being very difficult for the authorities to catch due to him always being one step ahead. He is very greedy and wants the Baudelaire fortune more than anything and will stop at nothing until he gets it, he is also a master of disguise as he has always been in previous adaptations this also proves to be helpful since he manages to fool everyone despite the Baudelaires and one of their guardians (Doctor Montgomery Montgomery). He is also very extravagant and despite his natural intelligence he appears to be rather uneducated. He sees himself as a very talented actor along with his theatre troupe despite being incredibly dull to everyone else. He also has extreme narcissism.

In the second season of the series, Olaf becomes much darker and violent, due to his plans repeatedly failing over and over again, and lusts to murder the children most horrifically as retribution for their success over his schemes. This can be seen as following more closely to the source material.

Powers and Abilities[]

  • Genius intellect: Count Olaf is highly intelligent, though not on the Baudelaires' level.
    • Master deceiver: Count Olaf can masterfully deceive people.
      • Gifted actor: Count Olaf is a reasonably talented actor.

Disguises[]

Main article: Count Olaf#Disguises

Quotes[]

I don't have time to learn a second language besides whatever it is I'm speaking right now.
~ Olaf refusing to hear what Sunny has to say.
I'm handsome and I'm talented and love your bank account!
~ Olaf singing to the Baudelaires.
Klaus, I'll touch whatever I want.
~ Olaf to Klaus when he refuses to allow him to touch the Baudelaire fortune.
My name is Captain Sham and my home is the sea!
~ Count Olaf posing as Julio Sham.
My name is cookie, Shirley? Err... My name is Shirley, cookie?
~ Olaf posing as Shirley St. Ives.
Settling down is what losers do. Settling down is what started World War One. Settling down is what happens when you bite your lip and then your lip gets swollen and so you bite your lip again and then you keep doing that thing where you keep biting your lip over and over... I don't want that.
~ Olaf as Coach Genghis.
Scram, police! Oh wait... that... that's us. Right...
~ Olaf as Detective Dupin.
Attention. This is Dr. Mattathias Medicalschool with some very important news. A terrible fire has broken out in the Heimlich Hospital... Oh, and you might want to evacuate the building. Or move the patients or something. Thank you.
~ Olaf as Dr. Mattahias Medicalschool after starting the Heimlich Hospital fire.
Eat the damn corn.
~ Olaf as a ringmaster forcing the freak disguised Violet and Klaus to eat corn.
I didn't need a fortune-teller to tell me where the Baudelaire brats were hiding. I figured that out all by myself. So, allow me to tell you your future. A great deal of suffering and pain and then a long fall to rock bottom. Do you know how that feels? Because I do. But things are looking up for me. I'm cutting all ties with my past failures.
~ Olaf before dropping Klaus and Violet down a cliff.
So are you. You're not the innocent orphans you've let these people think you are. You've lied. You've stolen, you've abandoned people, you've set fires. Time after time, you have relied on treachery for survival, just everybody else. Because here is the real truth that no one's willing to tell you; There are no noble people in the world.
~ Olaf to Klaus and Violet in the Penultimate Peril.

Trivia[]

  • Count Olaf sometimes makes fourth-wall breaks. For example, he says he prefers entertainment from the comfort of his own home, a reference to Netflix. Sometimes he occasionally looks directly into the camera after saying something like, "I hate boring television." During Season 2, he tells the Baudelaires, "If you had the skills to stop me, we wouldn't be having this batch of episodes in your new lives."

Navigation[]

           Lemony Snicket signature Villains

V.F.D. Firestarters
Leadership
The Man With a Beard But No Hair | The Woman With Hair But No Beard
Count Olaf's Theater Troupe
Count Olaf (2017) | Esmé Squalor | Hook-Handed Man | Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender | White-Faced Women | Bald Man | Carmelita Spats | Hugo, Colette & Kevin | Wart-Faced Man
Other Agents
Dr. Georgina Orwell | Ernest Denouement

Inhumane Society
Hangfire | Ellington Feint | Dr. Flammarion | Nurse Dander | Stew Mitchum | Sharon Haines

Other
Sir | Vice Principal Nero | Ishmael | Bombinating Beast

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