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“ | In this world, everything is governed by balance. There's what you stand to gain and what you stand to lose. And when you think you've got nothing to lose, you become overconfident. | „ |
~ The Professor. |
“ | No criminal record, no registration, hasn't renewed his ID since he was nineteen. For all intents and purposes, a ghost. | „ |
~ Tokyo talking about The Professor's past. |
“ | And what if you're wrong about what it means to "win"? Picture yourself a few months from now, at home, listening to the unemployment figures, the debt maturities. The whole country plunging into bankruptcy, into an unprecedented crisis, into absolute chaos. Which Tamayo would have won more? The one who arrested us? The one who killed us and lost the gold? Or the one who got it back and stopped the biggest financial collapse in history? Listen to me. Tamayo... I know you'll struggle to grasp this. I really do. But in this moment, we both only have one option. Just one. Either we both win... or we both lose. | „ |
~ The Professor manipulating Tamayo to let the robbers escape freely. |
Sergio Marquina, better known as The Professor, is the main protagonist of the heist drama series Money Heist.
He is the mastermind behind the Royal Mint of Spain Heist and the Bank of Spain Heist. The Professor is a cunning individual that plans ahead and will make sure that everything goes according to plan. He is a thinker, able to make intelligent, risky decisions on the spot.
The character was portrayed by Álvaro Morte, who also played Father Sal Tedeschi in Immaculate.
Personality[]
The Professor is a highly intelligent individual who will make sure that everything goes according to plan. He has a calm exterior that allows him to negotiate with authorities to get what he wants and advise his team to ensure they succeed in his goals. The Professor is a man who plans two steps ahead of everyone else, prepared for almost any situation and is unmatched by anyone else in the field of intellect. The Professor prefers to have no casualties, as it is his number one rule. However, he still endangers the lives of hostages by putting them in the line of fire of the police.
However, the Professor is not without a heart, as he ensures that hostages get proper care and medication. He is capable of love as he develops a relationship with Raquel Murillo, whom he cares about very much. The Professor is also loyal, as shown by his desire to save Rio after his capture.
Despite his calm, stoic personality, the Professor tends to start losing control once things get further out of hand. In the Bank of Spain Heist, he was overwhelmed to the point that he did not notice that officer Suarez had faked Lisbon's death. In such an emotional state, he might start making impulsive decisions for himself out of frustration, as shown when he prioritized saving Lisbon instead of focusing on the Heist itself.
Biography[]
Past[]
Being a sickly child, Sergio grew up in a hospital. His father would fascinate him by telling stories of bank robbers, inspiring him to conduct a heist one day just like his father would. Curious, one day, he decided to trail his father, who was out to rob a bank. However, just as he reached, his father was shot dead, sending Sergio and his half-brother Berlin into grief. As revealed, the Royal Mint of Spain Heist was his father's idea, not Sergio's himself. He spent the rest of his life devising a plan for the perfect heist, which eventually came to be the Royal Mint of Spain Heist. He also frequently attended Berlin's weddings and planned a heist together to rob the Bank of Spain, which was left unused until Rio's capture.
They then found potential candidates for their heist to rob the Royal Mint of Spain, recruiting Tokyo and seven others who would later be part of the gang. The gang was seen devising their plans in a secret warehouse, with the Professor assigning them each a city name and going through his plan for the heist.
Royal Mint of Spain Heist[]
The Professor is in charge of giving commands from the gang's hideout. Using a microphone secretly attached to one of the officers' clothes, he manages to eavesdrop on their plans. However, upon hearing the police had managed to locate one of the gang's cars in a junkyard, he rushes there to destroy any more possible evidence. He does so only to be spotted and have his identity later found. Raquel corners him in a bar, pointing a gun and suspecting him of being The Professor. Sergio manages to convince her otherwise, and the two immediately fall in love, with Sergio going under the alias "Salva" instead of his real name.
Inspector Ángel Rubio later falls into a coma following a car crash, while attempting to send Raquel sixteen voicemails about The Professor's identity. The Professor tries to kill Raquel's mother by poisoning her coffee with dioxin but nervously shatters the cup and gets away with it. As Raquel's partner, he has no choice but to follow her around in the car whenever she took part in police investigations. The Professor was then arrested following an inspection of a house in Toledo, which was the gang's hideout all along. He had burned old photos of his father prior to the heist with a heavy heart.
He later fights with Raquel's ex-husband Alberto, causing the Professor to be thrown under arrest. He then fakes a chest injury, causing Raquel to be able to acquit him for said offence. However, during an interrogation, Tokyo leaks his real name. Raquel eventually finds out that her love was the mastermind of the heist all along. The Professor is cornered by Raquel unexpectedly in a restaurant bathroom and is handcuffed. However, later on, she was defected from the investigation team due to her romantic involvement with The Professor. The Professor grieves over his brother Berlin's death in the final episode of the Season. After the heist, Raquel decides to run away with the Professor and the two fall in love again.
Bank of Spain Heist[]
While spending time with Raquel in a faraway place, he calls back the entire gang. To rescue Rio, he uses an old plan to rob the Bank of Spain planned by him and Berlin. He recruits Palermo, Bogotá, Marseille, Benjamin, and Raquel (under the codename "Lisbon") to aid him in the mission to rescue their gang member. On D-Day, the Professor is shown on many building screens to deliver a message. As cash is being scattered throughout the city, he informs everyone about the illegal capture of Rio, gaining the support of many public members. Eventually, said person is released into the hands of the gang. Still, The Professor and Lisbon are being chased by the police. Though the Professor manages to hide, he is delivered into absolute grief and shock upon hearing two loud gunshots from an abandoned house. He was misled into thinking that Suarez had executed Lisbon.
However, he later realizes Lisbon is alive and starts losing his cool, ensuing in a fight with Marseille. The two eventually settle the matter, and the Professor is sent into further grief after Nairobi's death. Given that Lisbon was about to be sent to the courts, he devises a last-minute plan to save her with outside assistance. Through another recording, he further exposes the illegal capture of Aníbal Cortés and Raquel Murrillo. This causes the gang's supporters to charge through the barriers outside the Bank of Spain and the defection of Alicia Sierra from the task force. As he avenges Nairobi's death along with the other thieves, Alicia manages to find his hideout and shoots his leg.
The two men working for The Professor on the outside, Marseille and Benjamin, are captured by Alicia as well. However, things take a turn once Alicia gives birth to a son with the aid of the Professor. The police also start chasing them both, forcing them to work together and hide safely in a hotel room. Once the building seemed clear, the two had a chat and he prepares some food. Although Alicia added she was not fully on his side, she still helps him to find the stolen gold from Rafael and Titania. Finding out the entire gang had been ambushed and handcuffed by the police, The Professor abruptly decides to turn himself in.
One by one, the hostages are interrogated. The Professor pulls out his last trump card - with a truck of gold-coated brass ingots outside the bank. This angers Colonel Tamayo, realizing the supposed gold was not real. The Professor further guilt-trips him, telling Tamayo about the huge economic crisis Spain was facing, and that it was either they both won, or they both lost. He manages to convince Tamayo to keep the fake gold a state secret and fake-killing the whole gang out of the bank. At a military base, he tells them although not everyone was there, they still had achieved something. Alicia comes, and they both exchange a handshake.
Powers and Abilities[]
Appearance[]
The Professor is a tall man with an average build and slim figure. He has curly dark hair, a beard, and brown eyes. He usually wears a suit and glasses. He is conscious of his outfit, having said that what one wears is a way of expression.
Quotes[]
“ | When someone is in love, they looks through rose-tinted glasses. Everything's wonderful. They transform into a soft teddy bear that's smiling all the time. | „ |
~ The Professor on the topic of love. |
“ | The second any blood is shed, we'll no longer be Robin Hood, but just a bunch of plain motherf***ing punks. | „ |
~ The Professor explaining why casualties could lead to conflict. |
“ | Raquel: How long did it take to study every move we make, each time? The Professor: To be honest, half my life. |
„ |
~ The Professor to Raquel. |
“ | I'm not going to let anyone else go down for this heist. I won't let you down. | „ |
~ The Professor, to Alicia Sierra, having lost Tokyo and Nairobi. |
Trivia[]
- When casting for the Professor, the producers were looking for a fifty-year old "Harvard type".
- Javier Gutierrez was considered for the role of The Professor.