List of A Series of Unfortunate Events characters
The children's novel series A Series of Unfortunate Events and its film and television adaptations features a large cast of characters created by Daniel Handler under the pen name of Lemony Snicket. The original series follows the turbulent lives of the Baudelaire orphans, [|Violet], [|Klaus], and [|Sunny], after their parents are killed in an arsonous structure fire. It chronicles their multiple escapes from the murderous Count Olaf, and their discoveries of a connection of between both their late parents and Olaf and a secret organization called V.F.D.
The author himself is also a character, playing a major role in the plot. Although the series is given no distinct location, other real people appear in the narrative, including the series' illustrator, Brett Helquist, and Daniel Handler himself.
Main characters
Count Olaf
Count Olaf is the franchise's main antagonist and one of the primary characters. His name was chosen to suggest Scandinavian origin to add confusion and ambiguity about the setting of the series.He claims to be a distant relative of the Baudelaires, either their third cousin four times removed, or their fourth cousin three times removed. Olaf is a failing actor and is after the Baudelaire fortune. He and his acting troupe follow the children with dogged determination to kill them and obtain their inheritance. He is known for his one eyebrow, gleaming eyes, and V.F.D. insignia tattoo, shaped like an eye, on his left ankle.
He was once part of the secret organization of V.F.D. before helping to instigate a schism that split its members. He joined the fire-starting side of the organization and was known to have committed a wide assortment of arsons, among numerous other crimes, in his thirst to destroy the organization and gain revenge over his former comrades.
In the 2004 film and its video game adaptation, Olaf was portrayed by Jim Carrey with additional dialogue being provided by Robin Atkin Downes in the video game adaption. Unlike in the books, Count Olaf loses custody of the Baudelaires after Mr. Poe sees that he "let Sunny drive" after a failed attempt to get them run over by a train. He does redeem himself to Mr. Poe when he rescues the Baudelaires from the Lachrymose Leeches which leads up to his plot that involved "The Marvelous Marriage". When Count Olaf's plot is exposed, everyone in the audience converges on Count Olaf as the constable arrests him. Although the judge decrees that Count Olaf be made to suffer every hardship he inflicted on the children before serving a life sentence, Count Olaf vanishes after a jury of his peers overturns his sentence. A deleted scene of the film has him lifted by his acting troupe with a rope where he flees and swears he'll have the Baudelaire fortune. Count Olaf escapes in the video game adaptation when the lights go out.
In the 2017 TV series, he is portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris. In flashbacks, it is shown that Count Olaf was engaged to Kit Snicket, his father was the chief of the city's official fire department, and his mother had died in a fire. His father was accidentally killed one night at the opera by a poison dart thrown by Beatrice Baudelaire that was meant for Esmé Squalor. As a result, he swore vengeance on Beatrice and the entire V.F.D. After some time wandering underground, Count Olaf was mentored by the Man with a Beard But No Hair and the Woman with Hair But No Beard.
Baudelaire Children
The Baudelaire siblings, Violet, Klaus and Sunny, are the main protagonists and three of the primary characters of the series. They are all described as "intelligent, charming, resourceful, and pleasant facial features". The series begins with the siblings finding out their parents have died in a house fire and then proceeds to follow their tumultuous lives as they go from guardian to guardian with Count Olaf at their heels, attempting to get his hands on their fortune. Over the course of the series, the Baudelaire siblings are forced to perform immoral acts, such as lying, stealing and arson, demonstrating one of the central themes of the series: the lack of clear division between 'good' and 'evil'. Snicket also explores this theme in All the Wrong Questions.The name Baudelaire was taken from the French poet Charles Baudelaire. One of his most famous works, Les Fleurs du mal, discusses finding beauty in otherwise grim circumstances. The names of the Baudelaire siblings themselves were taken from a variety of backgrounds to add confusion and ambiguity about the setting of the series. Violet was chosen because it sounded British, while Klaus and Sunny sounded German and American, respectively. The Baudelaire siblings all have fast-acting peppermint allergies. Daniel Handler has confirmed that the Baudelaires are Jewish, but whether they are ethnically and/or religiously Jewish is not stated. Klaus and Sunny's name may have been inspired by the real story of Claus von Bülow, a businessman in New York, who was accused of attempting to murder his wife, Sunny von Bülow.
Violet Baudelaire
Violet Baudelaire is the eldest of the three Baudelaire orphans, as well as the daughter of Beatrice and Bertrand Baudelaire and is uniquely gifted in inventing abilities. She uses these skills to help her younger brother Klaus and her baby sister Sunny escape from Count Olaf time and time again. Violet is fourteen at the beginning of the series and turns fifteen in The Grim Grotto, and is sixteen upon leaving the Island in the last chapter of The End.Being the eldest Baudelaire, she is set to inherit the Baudelaire fortune upon turning eighteen. Brett Helquist's drawings indicate she has long, dark brown hair, and though her eye color is never specified, it is implied that her eyes are a different color than Klaus, who has brown eyes. When thinking and concentrating on new inventions, Violet ties her hair in a purple ribbon to keep it out of her face. When Violet was five years old, she won an invention contest with an "automatic rolling pin", which she made using a window shade and six pairs of roller skates. Violet also invented a new kind of pencil sharpener, built a telephone from scratch, and created a device to soothe Sunny's teething pains.
In the film and video game adaption, Violet is portrayed by Emily Browning.
In the TV series, Violet is portrayed by Malina Weissman.
Klaus Baudelaire
Klaus Baudelaire is the middle child of the Baudelaire siblings. He is a gifted reader and had read most of the books in the Baudelaire library before it burned down. His love of reading and research skills are often useful for foiling Count Olaf's plans. Klaus is twelve at the beginning of the series, turned thirteen while incarcerated for a brief period of time in The Vile Village, and fourteen by the last chapter of The End. Klaus is bespectacled in the books and TV series but not in the film adaptation. He has black hair and brown eyes. Herman Melville is one of his favorite authors. He particularly enjoys "the way Melville dramatizes the plight of overlooked people, such as poor sailors or youngster, through his strange, often experimental philosophical prose", which sums up the theme of the series.In the film and video game adaption, Klaus is portrayed by Liam Aiken.
In the TV series, Klaus is portrayed by Louis Hynes.
Sunny Baudelaire
Sunny Baudelaire is the youngest of the three Baudelaire orphans and is described as an infant through much of the series, although her exact age is never specified. Although Sunny cannot walk until the end of the seventh book and speaks in idiosyncratic baby talk, she repeatedly demonstrates advanced problem solving skills, motor dexterity, comprehension, moral reasoning, and intelligence. She does, however have an expansive vocabulary of non-English words that can be translated by Violet, Klaus, and, occasionally, Lemony Snicket who despite giving meanings to most of Sunny's early language, chooses to define the words as "meaning something like" rather than meaning an exact word or phrase. According to The Miserable Mill, one of her favourite words is "Aha!". By the last chapter of The End, she is speaking in full sentences.Sunny is frequently noted for strength of her teeth. While Violet and Klaus often use their respective talents of inventing and reading to solve their problems, Sunny is required on multiple occasions to use her sharp teeth. As the books progress, Sunny grows out of infancy and develops a love for cooking.
In the film, Sunny is portrayed by Kara Hoffman and Shelby Hoffman.
In the TV series, Sunny is portrayed by Presley Smith where her voice in the first two seasons was provided by Tara Strong.
Lemony Snicket
Lemony Snicket is the pen name of the American author Daniel Handler. Lemony is the in-universe author and narrator of the book series chronicling the lives of the Baudelaire children. Over the course of the series, it is revealed that Lemony has two other siblings, Jacques and Kit Snicket. All three siblings were inducted into V.F.D. at an early age and some of Lemony's childhood work for the organization is described in the series All the Wrong Questions.Over the course of the series, it is also revealed Lemony was in love with and even engaged to the Baudelaires' mother, Beatrice Baudelaire. Their relationship came to an end when Lemony was falsely accused of murder and arson, forcing Lemony to eventually fake his death. Nevertheless, he always loved Beatrice and, after learning of her death, dedicated his life to documenting the lives of her children.
In the 2004 film, Lemony Snicket is voiced by Jude Law; he is shown in silhouette writing the story on a typewriter inside a clock tower. In the video game adaptation and the multi-cast audiobook, he is voiced by Tim Curry.
In the 2017 TV series, he is portrayed by Patrick Warburton who appears as the onscreen narrator.