| “ | The only time a whore should open her mouth... is when she's giving head. | „ |
| ~ Philo Gant to Faith Justin |
Philo Gant is the secondary antagonist in the 1995 live action film, Strange Days.
He was portrayed by Michael Wincott, who also played Armand Dorleac in The Count of Monte Cristo, Top Dollar in The Crow, Michael Korda in Metro, Prophet of Truth in Halo 2, Guy of Gisbourne in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Gary Soneji in Along Came a Spider, and Scroop in Treasure Planet.
Biography[]
Philo Gant is a wealthy record producer and nightclub owner, as well as the boyfriend of aspiring singer Faith Justin, who he keeps under his thumb with the promise of eventually producing her album. Philo is addicted to SQUID recordings, perpetually watching the memories of others. As a result, Philo's mental health has declined and he has become increasingly possessive and controlling of Faith and the musicians under his label. Philo has prostitutes under his employ wear SQUIDs to spy on his musicians, in particular rapper and black civil rights activist Jericho One. In turn, Philo hires private investigator Max Peltier to follow Faith. Unbeknownst to Philo, Max and Faith start a relationship.
When one of these prostitutes, Iris, witnesses Jeriko's death at the hands of corrupt police officers Burton Steckler and Dwayne Engelman, Philo realizes that exposing the tape would mean revealing his spying and ruin his career. Philo sends Iris to a hotel, and orders Max to kill her and anyone else aware of the tape. Max complies, raping and murdering Iris. Later that night, Faith's ex-boyfriend Lenny Nero arrives to tell her that Iris (who had contacted him earlier that night) had been in trouble, insulting Philo as well. Philo has his bodyguard Wade Beemer escort Lenny outside and beat him.
When Lenny alerts Faith to Iris's death, an enraged Philo has him taken to the basement of his nightclub to be brutally beaten by his henchmen. Philo then beats Faith for talking to him, yelling misogynistic insults at her.
On New Year's Eve, Philo throws a party for Los Angeles's elite. However, he walks into his hotel suite to find Max and Faith having sex. Max attacks Philo and places a SQUID a headset on him, before using it to leave Philo in a vegetative state. Max subsequently shoots Philo in the head, intending to frame Lenny for the murders.
Personality[]
Philo is a deeply controlling man, spying on all of his associates simp,y to ensure they won't leave him. Philo is deeply misogynistic, often beating the women under his employ and viewing Faith as little more than a sex object.