| “ | One year of preparation. We did everything we could to make you come back. Do you know how much time you wasted? It's Thanksgiving! I could have been home with my family having dinner instead of cleaning up your mess because you bumped your head and started to believe your cover. | „ |
| ~ Cole to Martin |
Dr. Rodney Cole is the main antagonist of the 2011 British-German-French psychological thriller action film Unknown. He is a representative of the assassin group "Section 15".
He was portrayed by Frank Langella, who also portrayed Dawg Brown in Cutthroat Island, Bob Alexander in Dave, Boris Balkan in The Ninth Gate, Clare Quilty in the 1997 film adaptation of Lolita, and Skeletor in the 1987 live-action Masters of the Universe.
Biography[]
Rodney Cole was a former mercenary who became a high-ranking member of Section 15, an assassin group that gained a legendary reputation for never falling their jobs and working for whoever would pay the highest prices. Amongst those he recruited into the group was Martin Harris, who he gained respect for as his best subordinate.
When a client sought to gain control of highly valuable research from Professor Bressler, Cole had Harris and his other subordinates prepare for a year to ensure that the job was completed smoothly. They planned to have Bressler assassinated during a summit in Berlin. As extra cover, they would make their attack seem like one that was caused by extremists against Prince Shada, a Saudi Arabian prince who had survived several assassination attempts, while using Bressler's death as collateral damage caused by the explosion.
When Martin Harris loses his memory, he remembers his old friend Rodney Cole. He tells the policemen to call Rodney who can verify his identity but the police cannot reach him. Later, when former Stasi spy turned private investigator Ernst Jürgen finds proof for Martin's story, he is called by Cole who says he just arrived at the Berlin airport having been lecturing in Leipzig previously. He is very sympathetic for Martin and the two arrange a meeting.
When Cole arrives at Jürgen's house, Jürgen tells him about his past in the Stasi and about Section 15, which was rumored to still exist. Cole then gets colder and asks why Jürgen didn't flee when he had the chance. Cole then proceeds to ask Jürgen about every detail about Martin's journey and every person Jürgen has called for proof. However, knowing that Cole would kill him afterwards, Jürgen took cyanide to evade interrogation and to protect Harris.
Cole then met Martin at the airport. Martin is happy to see him and follows Cole who then uses Martin's trust to lure him into his van. Martin is then tasered by Jones, another Section 15 hitman. They bring Martin to an abandoned parking lot where Cole tells Martin that Martin also was also a member of Section 15 and that Liz was not his wife, but his partner. Martin Harris was actually a fake identity created to bring the assassins into the summit to kill Bressler. Cole then thanks Martin for retrieving the lost briefcase to cover a loose end and orders Jones to kill Harris. He gets in the van and prepares some drugs to make Martin's death look like the overdose of a dead junkie.
In that moment Gina arrives. When Jones starts shooting her she drives into him, slamming him into Jones and Cole's van, killing Jones, while making the van go over the edge of the parking lot. The van falls down and explodes upon impact, killing Cole.
Personality[]
Rodney Cole in public projects the image of an old teacher who loves to spend time with his family. However, when he meets Jürgen, he reveals his true nature, as a ruthless assassin who is determined to get the job done, no matter the cost. He has no qualms to take an assassination contract on anyone, even on a person who contributes to the happiness of the world like Professor Bressler.
Cole is also very intelligent and organized, as he is able to arrange assassinations with very much details like elaborated false stories and plan in perfect coordination with the target's routine. Probably due to the constant success of Section 15 over time, he is intolerant of failure as he is willing to kill his former partner by an overdose. Despite all of this, he has some respect for Jürgen, admiring the latter's self-sacrifice in order to avoid brutal interrogation.
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