| “ | God, I hate that whale! | „ |
| ~ Mr. Dial |
Mr. Dial is the main antagonist of the 1993 Warner Bros. film Free Willy. He is the owner of an amusement park called the Northwest Adventure Park, where he tries to make profit out of the titular orca, Willy.
He is portrayed by Michael Ironside, who also played Darryl Revok in the 1981 film Scanners, Overdog in the 1983 film Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, Richter in the 1990 film Total Recall, General Katana in the 1991 film Highlander II: The Quickening, Colonel Dugan in the 1994 film The Next Karate Kid, Nolan Pierce in Walker, Texas Ranger, Emperor Zanramon in the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, Lewis Snart in the CW TV series The Flash.
Biography
When Willy gets sold to the Northwest Adventure Park after being captured from the wild, Dial decides to make money off the orca. However, after he sees that a boy named Jesse can teach Willy tricks that no one else can, Dial comes up with a plan to make more money by making a show for Willy called "The Willy Show". Unfortunately, Willy gets incredibly stressed and refuses to perform, due to children banging on his underwater observation area, thus leading to the orca smashing against the glass, damaging it and causing the children to flee.
Later, when Jesse bids Willy goodbye, he comes across Wade and Dial's other assistants damaging the tank and causing the water to leak out in an attempt to kill Willy in order to cash in on Dial's $1,000,000 insurance policy. Jesse warns Randolph and Rae and they come up with a plan to release him back into the ocean. When Jesse and his friends get stuck in mud while trying to avoid being spotted by Dial and his goons, Jesse calls his foster parents, Glen and Annie to help and they come to their aid. After Glen and Annie manage to free the truck, they head over to the marina to release Willy, only to find Dial and his associates blocking the gate. Glen drives through the gate and Dial's goons try to stop them, but Jesse and his friends manage to hold them off long enough for Willy to swim away. However, Willy finds himself cornered by Dial's whaling ships attempting to block his path with a net, but Jesse manages to lead the orca away from the boats. The two reach the edge and Jesse encourages Willy to make his highest jump over the breakwater. Willy manages to jump to the other side and finally reunites with his family, much to Dial's dismay.
