List of Cloverfield characters

Lily Ford, Marlena Diamond, Robert Hawkins, and Hudson Platt, surrounded by United States soldiers in this promotional photo for the film Cloverfield

The Cloverfield universe refers to various fiction revolving around the J. J. Abrams-produced Cloverfield, which includes the 2008 film itself, the manga prequel Cloverfield/Kishin, and the 2016 sequel 10 Cloverfield Lane.^[1] The films were subject to notably heavy viral marketing campaigns; in fact, Cloverfield was first publicized with a two-minute teaser trailer that did not advertise the film's title, only its release date: "01·18·08."^[2] Elements of the viral marketing campaign included MySpace pages created for fictional characters,^[3] unusually intense secrecy over the film's plot, and websites created for fictional companies alluded to in the film.^[4][5]

Main characters in Cloverfield

Clover

Clover is the production name given to the giant monster that attacks New York the same night the main characters throw a going-away party for their friend Rob. Clover is the main antagonist of the film. Various members of the filmmaking crew referred to the monster as "Clover" throughout the special features of the Cloverfield DVD. Additionally, actor Michael Stahl-David reported that the monster was referred to as "Clover" prior to the movie's release.^[6]

While rescuing Beth, Hud gives various theories on where the monster may have come from — which included being from the ocean, from outer space, or created by the government. The monster killed Jason when he smashed the Brooklyn Bridge with his tail and later killed Hud by biting him in half. The parasites that drop off its body during his rampage also bite Marlena, who later dies gruesomely as a result.

Seemingly, according to the tie-in manga Cloverfield/Kishin, and hinted at slightly by the viral marketing websites, a Japanese oil-drilling company known as Tagruato (of which Slusho!, where Rob was supposed to work, is a subsidiary company) captured the monster for unknown reasons. In the manga, the monster has some kind of biological connection to Kishin Aiba, the main character, due to a result of tampering and experimentation of their cells. Kishin Aiba is able to control the monster without it harming him, thinking that the child is its kin or brethren.

Rob Hawkins

Myspace.com/robbyhawkins

Robert "Rob" Hawkins (played by Michael Stahl-David), 27, is the protagonist of the film. At the beginning of the film, it is shown that a month earlier he had slept with his longtime platonic friend, Beth. A month later, during the farewell party that his brother Jason and his girlfriend, Lily, made in celebration of Rob's new job in Japan, he encounters her again. However, when Beth arrives, she introduces a new man to the group, Travis; an argument between Rob and Beth erupts over this, and Beth is seen angrily leaving the party. However, shortly after the monster attacks, Rob receives a call from Beth while he, his brother Jason, and his friends — Lily, Hud, and Marlena — are evacuating by way of the Brooklyn Bridge. Distressed upon learning that Beth is helplessly trapped in her father's apartment, a guilty Rob, having just lost his brother Jason to the monster, decides to attempt to rescue her. En route to Beth's apartment in Midtown, Rob and company are intercepted by the monster as he is being attacked ineffectively by the U.S. armed forces, which forces the group to retreat to the subway. Here, Rob and Lily mourn Jason's demise, with Rob informing their mother. After discovering a route on the other subway lines, they trek through the tunnel, and it is here where the parasites from the monster attack. Rob manages to fight them off but in the process, Marlena is bitten. After Marlena's gruesome death in the field hospital from the bite, and assurances from one of the soldiers, the surviving trio then discover Beth's apartment, which is tilted badly against an adjacent building, thanks to the monster's earlier attack on the city. After a harrowing climb up the adjacent building, they successfully rescue Beth and they hurry to the last civilian helicopters. Lily is separated from the rest and is forced to board a separate helicopter, with Rob, Beth, and Hud boarding another. However, their airlift was cut short when the monster attacked their helicopter during an unsuccessful bomb run. Rob, Beth, and Hud survive the crash in Central Park, only to have the monster eat Hud. Rob and Beth grab the camera and hide under the bridge. Here, they dedicate their apparent demise to their love for each other, and the events that happened that night, naming a few of their friends whose lives were lost and giving a brief statement about what happened that night. The final contents of the tape go back to Rob and Beth's Coney Island date from a month earlier, where they are seen musing about their good day together and blissfully unaware of a mysterious object falling into the ocean from the distance. It is unknown whether or not Rob survived the final attack depicted in the film.

Elizabeth McIntyre

Myspace.com/beth_mcintyre

Elizabeth "Beth" McIntyre (played by Odette Annable), 23, is the long-time platonic friend of Rob Hawkins. At the beginning of the film, she appears in a month-old recording in bed naked at her father's apartment while Rob playfully records. However, she becomes upset with Rob after he seemingly ignores her after they sleep together. The night before Rob leaves for his new job in Japan, Beth brings another man, Travis, to the going-away party after her friend Lily invites her to come. After a heated argument between Beth and Rob, she and Travis leave the party. Upon the monster's arrival, however, Rob calls Beth, but is distressed to hear her say that she is trapped in her father's apartment during the onslaught. Most of the film's plot concerns his attempt to rescue her and ensure her safety, a feat which Rob is able to accomplish, albeit with great difficulty — what with interceptions by the monster, its parasites, and the army making it nearly impossible. Finally, when Rob and the others find her, she is unconscious, impaled in the shoulder by a rebar of her building's structure. After the rescue, she, along with Rob and Hud, board a helicopter that is treated to a bird's eye view of the assault on the monster, but is attacked in the process. She survives the monster attack and crash. After the death of Hud, she and Rob take cover under a nearby bridge and make a final recording, dedicating it to profession of love towards each other and letting whoever watches the video know who they are, and what happened. The bridge is then destroyed by the bombs on the final trump card used in the attempt to kill the monster. A recording after this shows Rob and Beth at Coney Island. She ends the recording and the film with her words: "I had a good day." It is unknown whether she survives the final attack depicted in the film, (although in an alternate ending, she survives based on footage that was recorded when the explosion in the end of the movie happened).

Hudson Platt

Myspace.com/hudsonplatt

Hudson "Hud" Platt (played by T. J. Miller), 27, was Rob's best friend and inadvertently filmed nearly the entire attack by the monster.^[7] Hud, much like T. J. Miller in real life, is the comedian of the group, and often provides comic relief throughout most of the film.^[8] He reluctantly takes over the filming job, after Jason lazily asks him to do so. During the party, he is depicted as unsuccessfully trying to flirt with his crush, Marlena, instead of fulfilling his original task of recording testimonials for Rob. He is able to catch a glimpse of the argument between Rob and Beth, but is then scolded by Lily. Hud and Jason soon both pressure her to tell them the reason behind the argument, which Lily hesitantly reveals. Hud then gossips to the rest of the attendees about Rob and Beth's one night stand, which clearly irritates Jason and Lily. While fruitlessly trying to comfort Rob alongside Jason, the monster suddenly attacks the harbors of New York. Hud then ends up filming a series of incidents, including the decapitation of the Statue of Liberty, the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge, brief and close encounters with the monster, looting, and various lives lost during the night. While in the subways, Hud begins speculating about the monster's possible origins (ending up with a brief sarcastic remark from Marlena). Hud is depicted as always being attacked while filming. The first attack is the encounter with the parasites while the group is traveling on foot through the subway tunnels. Marlena saves Hud from being dragged away by the parasites, only to be bitten herself. She later dies from the parasitic bite. Hud is perhaps the most emotionally affected by her death, and is depicted briefly mourning and weeping uncontrollably after they were discharged from the hospital. Nonetheless, he still chooses to go with Rob and Lily to rescue Beth. After saving her, Hud, along with Rob and Beth (Lily was evacuated on a secondary chopper), boarded the helicopter, and the three were granted a look at one last assault on the monster by a B-2 Spirit; however, the monster attacked their chopper amidst the confusion. The helicopter was forced to crash in Central Park. Here, Hud dies after the monster spots him on the ground, stares at him briefly, and then eats the lower half of his body before dropping the upper half to the ground. Rob and Beth are seen mourning his demise shortly afterward as they retreat under the nearby Grayshot Bridge.

Hud himself was also originally to have survived, but producer J. J. Abrams suggested having him getting eaten by the monster, allowing the audience to vicariously experience this. The scene was then planned as having Hud be eaten instantly after turning around, but it was decided that the audience deserved a clearer look at the monster, which resulted in the longer shot with the monster leaning down to inspect Hud before biting and killing him.^[9] According to the "Special Investigation Mode" on the Cloverfield Blu-ray release, Hud was "posthumously awarded for his brave work in documenting and providing the Department with rare close-up details of Cloverfield events."^[10]

Lily Ford

Myspace.com/lily_ford

Lily Ford (played by Jessica Lucas), 27, is friends of Beth and Marlena and the girlfriend of Jason. In the film, she suggested to Jason that they should throw a farewell party for his brother, Rob, before his departure to Japan to accept a new job. Lily also invited Beth, which made Rob angry, leading to his argument with Beth. After the monster's decapitation of the Statue of Liberty, she — along with Rob, Jason, Marlena, and Hud — retreats to the Brooklyn Bridge, upon which Jason was killed by a swipe of the monster's tail. Upon retreating to the subway, she grieves about her boyfriend with Rob. While walking in the subway's tunnels, the group runs afoul of the monster's parasites; they barely escape with their lives, and Marlena ends up severely bitten. Shortly, after arriving in a field hospital outside the tunnels, she bears witness to Marlena's death. While shaken up by Marlena's death, she and Rob and Hud push on to rescue Beth, which they accomplish while catching the monster battling the US army in the distance. Later, the group finally arrives at the final extraction point for civilians. Lily is put on a different helicopter from the rest of the group, but her overall fate is left unknown.

Marlena Diamond

Myspace.com/marlenadiamond

Marlena Diamond (played by Lizzy Caplan), 26, is good friends with Lily, and, during Rob's going-away party, is seen mostly avoiding Hud during the party while he tries unsuccessfully to flirt with her. When the monster attacks, she catches a glimpse of the monster and tells the others that it was eating people. When they retreat to the subway en route to save Beth, the parasites from the monster attack the group. Hud nearly dies in the encounter, but Marlena saves him at the cost of being severely bitten. While tending to her wounds, she and Hud share an intimate moment, during which she seems to warm up to him. After finding their way into one of the field hospitals near the subway, a corpse is seen being carted away; the corpse’s stomach and chest regions having apparently exploded due to 'a bite' leaving a gruesome, gory cavity that is shortly caught on film by Hud. Shortly after this, Marlena starts to bleed from her eyes, nose, and mouth, having stated she "[doesn't] feel so good". She is hastily escorted against her will by men into a sterile room while crying out for Hud. Her death is witnessed on camera after her abdomen rapidly inflates and explodes, though it is never explained what caused this, but it could have been the parasite's bite.

In spite of not being initially told the premise of the film, Lizzy Caplan stated that she accepted a role in Cloverfield solely because she was a fan of the Abrams-produced television series Lost (in which her former Related co-star Kiele Sanchez was a recurring character), and her experience of discovering its true nature eventually caused her to state that she would not sign on for a film in the future "without knowing full well what it is." She indicated that her character was a "sarcastic outsider," and that her role was "physically demanding."^[11]

Jason Hawkins

Myspace.com/jj_hawkins

Jason Hawkins (played by Mike Vogel), 28, was Rob's older brother and boyfriend of Lily. He was filming the planning of the party over the tape of Rob and Beth's journey to Coney Island. Growing bored of the job, he then handed the camera to Hud, a friend of his and Rob's. During the party, Rob and Beth argue, which leads to Rob's subsequent depression. Jason tried to comfort his brother, but it did little to quell his brother's dilemma. Soon the monster attacks and Jason and the others retreated to the Brooklyn Bridge after the monster destroyed the town ahead of their apartment. Jason was separated from the others during the evacuation and was apparently killed by the monster's tail when it attacked the bridge. Later in the subways, the group mourns his death. Rob has to inform their mother of his demise. In the DVD commentary, the actor (jokingly) suggests that Jason may have survived the collapse of the bridge, although nothing in the film suggests this.

Minor characters in Cloverfield

Jamie Lascano

Myspace.com/jamielascano

Jamie Lascano (played by Jaime Harlan) is Marlena's roommate and a friend of Rob Hawkins. She has a boyfriend, named Teddy Hanssen, who disappeared. She made 11 videos which were made available before the film's release on Jamieandteddy.com, of which the password is "jllovesth". In one of the videos she consumes a chemical substance that she received and it affects her in the same way a stimulant would, it is suggested on other marketing tie-ins that it is an ingredient in Slusho! drinks. She was seen in the film at Rob's leaving party, passed out on a couch. She was pronounced dead by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Teddy Hanssen

Teddy Hanssen is the boyfriend of Jamie Lascano and brother of Alyse Hanssen. He used to work at ParafFUN Wax, a subsidiary of Tagruato before he went away to work for T.I.D.O. Wave, an eco-terrorist organization that investigates Tagruato. Jamie makes numerous online videos to contact Teddy. One such video shows a sample of a chemical substance along with an audio tape being played that indicates that Teddy was captured and is being held aboard one of Tagruato's stations and also indicates that "they've found something, or they are making something". He also urges Jaime not to contact him, but to wait for 'Randy' to call and explain everything. A "MISSING" poster was eventually released on 1-18-08.com. Teddy's whereabouts and fate are unknown, however, various people believe he can briefly be seen on the Brooklyn Bridge.^[12]

Alyse Hanssen

Alyse Hanssen is looking for her younger brother Teddy and wrote the blog Missing Teddy Hanssen to ask for help from strangers. She mentions that she was contacted by an agent named John Garretie who may or may not be CIA. He leaves some comments to her posts along with other users who may or may not be real people. She also mentions the Chuai Station disaster which was featured in a number of fake newscasts in many languages. The video shows how the platform in the middle of the Atlantic ocean collapses as employees flee on both helicopters and rafts.

Ganu Yoshida

Ganu Yoshida is the C.E.O. of Tagruato. He was attacked in New York City by a group that he suspects is T.I.D.O. Wave weeks after the Chuai Station sank in the Atlantic and just before the monster attacked.

Jenn and Antonio

Jenn and Antonio (played by Margot Farley and Theo Rossi) are close friends of Rob Hawkins. Jenn and her boyfriend Antonio are seen frequently through the party, showing that both are close friends with Hud as well. They are both last seen in the streets soon after Jason made the decision to cross the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan. Their ultimate fate remains unknown.

Charlie

Charlie (played by comedian Brian Klugman) first appeared prominently in the teaser trailer; towards the beginning of the trailer he directs the comment "You owe me eleven dollars," to Rob. Charlie again appears at the very end of the trailer, stating "This is going to be the best night ever!", which is not seen in the film. He also appears in the extended theatrical trailer, though briefly, and is only visible during the short party scene at the beginning.

In the movie he is seen several times during the party, first when Hud tries to talk to Marlena Diamond but his cowardice gets the best of him at the last second and he runs into Charlie, and both awkwardly exchange "what's ups". However, in a deleted scene, he gives a quick testimonial to Rob about adult videos in Japan, but then asks Hud to delete it. He appears several more times during the party and is last seen talking on the roof after the initial earthquake signaling the monster's attack. He is not seen again for the rest of the film and his ultimate fate is unknown.

Travis Marello

Travis Marello (played by Ben Feldman) is Beth's new boyfriend. He was seen in the party with Beth which upset Rob. According to the Special Investigation Mode on the Cloverfield Blu-ray release, Travis drove home to New Jersey before the end of the party and survived the attack.

Sergeant Pryce

Sergeant Pryce helps the group by allowing them to go search for Beth and afterwards escorting them to a chopper. He is last seen entering a departing Humvee as the monster attacks the evacuation site. His fate is unknown. The shoulder patch of his Army Combat Uniform and body armor indicates he is a member of the 69th Infantry Regiment

Heather

Heather (played by Liza Lapira) was a girl at the party and a close friend of Lily. She is seen multiple times during the party. Heather is then seen in the streets after the monster rampages down the street where Rob, Hud, Lily, Marlena, Jason and the other party guests and people in the buildings were standing watching the destruction. She did not get in a building but did survive the attack. She helps Lily clean Marlena and can then be seen walking next to Rob to the bridge. She is then seen running from the bridge next to Lily and Marlena, but she does not stop with them. Whether or not she got out of New York or was killed at some point in the film is unknown.

Main characters in Cloverfield/Kishin

Kishin Aiba

Kishin Aiba is a troubled boy, who had been repeatedly tormented by a couple of bullies in a public restroom within their school. Although he was saved from humiliation by a girl named Aiko Sasahara, they continue their activities with him and decided to leave him within the confines of an emergency safety house. He had a long history of being bullied due to his mother being "strange", and along with her, he was badly ridiculed for this. When his mother died, he was so stricken with grief that even into his teens, he wished he had died with her. His emotional torment continues, and which at the same time the monster begins to come to surface within Tagruato's oceans. He later escapes the school grounds with Aiko's help to his house after seeing news coverage about the monster. Here, the two bond together while on their way to Kishin's apartment to seek shelter, only to stumble across an unknown cult bent on using him for a dark purpose tied to the monster.

Unlike his mother, Kishin and his father are not on good terms, as seen in some panels. Medical records seen at his father's room, along with the cult tracking him down, heavily implies that Kishin is part of a series of experiments with an item revered by the cult, that ties him to the monster itself. In the third chapter, it is seen that his system has been mixed with the monster's own stimuli made into a tiny organ called the Splinter of Amnion to allow him to control it without him falling to its wrath. Kishin's father confirms this as an act of sabotage by his mother, whereby she used Kishin as a vessel under the cult's orders, but dies by Tagruato's hands.

Kishin succumbs to madness due to the betrayal of his mother and now uses the monster to cause more destruction. He is able to control the monster without it harming him, it thinking that the child is its kin or brethren. In the final chapter, with the help of Aiko, Kishin gains his sanity back, learns to value the life of others and his own and faces the monster, where it removes the Splinter of Amnion from his system to its own, but it cannot feed on the emotions Kishin has laced it with, it leaves Kishin in the seas of Japan where he is rescued by Aiko and the bullies. The manga ends as they embrace, having finally found the one thing he cares for in his life.

Yoko Aiba

Yoko Aiba is the mother of Kishin. According to the manga she was ostracized by the children and the adults due to her eccentric nature, which is later revealed that she was part of the cult that worshiped the monster. She is deeply attached to her son, comforting him at his troubled times. She doesn't care for her well-being so as long as her son believes in her. She dies due to being targeted by Tagruato, leaving her son alone and in emotional pain for most of his life after that. During her time with Kishin's father, She obtained the device that could transmit and control the monster. She placed this biological device within Kishin so he may be able to control the monster.

Aiko Sasahara

Aiko Sasahara is Kishin Aiba's classmate. She keeps an uptight attitude and is optimistic despite her troubled past with her parents. Her father died two years prior to the story and her mother is an abusive drunk who exploits her husband's finances over their daughter's well-being, she is determined to live her life on her own terms, she has a deep fear for rodents/mice, as seen in the recent chapter. She escapes the school with Kishin after hearing a report on the monster's rampage on the coastlines of Japan, she bonds with Kishin by discussing his personal conflicts to one of Slusho!'s stars promoting the drink, Yuki. They arrive at Kishin's residence where two unknown men from a cult comes looking for Kishin, she tries to seek help but to no avail and is last seen being escorted to a shelter by the cult's underlings, but her mind is still set on saving Kishin. She is thrown out of the shelter by the very same group that bullies Kishin and is last seen fighting off the parasites before coming to view Kishin and the monster causing destruction in Japan. Unlike Kishin, she has good physical prowess and can fight if needed be, even able to defeat a parasite with no bites or injuries. She and Kishin has a fan following for one of the popstars promoting the product Slusho! from Tagruato named Yuki. Her role is greatly expanded in the final chapter, she helps bring Kishin's sanity back by confessing her feelings to him. She, Kishin and the bullies hold off the parasites while Kishin leaves to deal with the monster. The monster, unable to feed on the stimuli on Kishin's emotions due to his love for Aiko, leaves him in the seas of Japan, where she and the bullies rescue him while it retreats back to the oceans. The manga ends with Kishin and Aiko in embrace at the wake of the disaster.

Kurosaki

Kurosaki is a sailor unknowingly escorting the monster in one of Tagruato's ships. He was a father-to-be and loves to show off pictures of his wife and unborn child to his fellow unit, much to their chagrin. However, he longs to return home to see his family again. When the monster escapes Tagruato's grasp, he and his unit attempt to fight off the beast whilst waiting for backup, only to fail miserably. He gives the last transmission for airstrike and laments his death while musing at his wife's picture before the monster claws its way into the ship's hull, devouring him. Due to his bleached hair, many assumed before his name was revealed that he was an American sailor. This is not the case as his name was mentioned in the second chapter. Before his death, it was heavily implied that he and his unit did not know of the monster's existence until the attack, despite being briefed with the mission being regarded as classified.

Minor characters in Cloverfield/Kishin

Mr. Aiba

Mr. Aiba is Kishin's father and husband of Mrs. Aiba. He is revealed to be head of research of Tagruato's industries and has connections to the Slusho! drink. He is callous and cares little for his son, and therefore the two are not on good terms. He is found to be the scientist in earlier chapters and saves Kishin from being killed by the cult. He reveals to Kishin his true purpose and his tie to the monster, and attempts to destroy him before the monster can get to Kishin. His attempts fail after the monster shields Kishin from harm. Mr. Aiba is the researcher and founder of the Splinter of Amnion, a biological orb that controls the monster.

The School Bullies

Three unnamed individuals bully Kishin, putting him down due to the eccentricity of his mother. Kishin, with the help of Aiko, evades them on the second chapter. They take deep pleasure in tormenting Kishin as evidenced throughout the manga. They are seen again in the shelter where the parasites rush into the city and purge its citizens. They play a large role in the final chapter with Kishin and Aiko, when one begs to be spared and is saved only by Aiko's intervention. With Aiko's help, they hold the parasites off until Kishin stops the monster.

Yuki

Yuki is a famous popstar in the Cloverfield universe. He is first introduced in the second chapter promoting the Slusho! drink. Aiko Sasahara admires Yuki's performances and was surprised that Kishin has some connections to him.

The Cult

The Cult are a mysterious worshiping fanatics who abduct Kishin and wish to use him in some unknown experiments. Their goal is to make Kishin a vessel to control the monster to purify Japan, which they believe has been tainted by human society. They also worship the creature itself, implying they know of its existence long before Tagruato or the Japanese government. Most are killed by Kishin's father. Kishin's mother is affiliated with the cult prior to conceiving him and entered a relationship with one of Tagruato's staff.

Main characters in 10 Cloverfield Lane

Michelle

Michelle (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is a young woman who leaves New Orleans and drives through rural Louisiana after an argument with her fiancé Ben that ends with her ending their relationship. Late at night, she turns on the radio only to hear that there were continuous blackouts in major cities. Distracted by a call from Ben, Michelle gets into an accident and is rendered unconscious. She wakes up in a concrete room chained to a wall, and is approached by a man named Howard, who explains that an unknown attack has taken place and that he brought her to his bunker after finding her on the side of the road. Michelle struggles with accepting the idea that some type of war has left the Earth inhabitable and fights to know the truth of what is really going on.

Howard Stambler

Howard Stambler (played by John Goodman) is a man who brings Michelle to an underground bunker following her car accident, deciding to save her from an unknown attack that has taken place and that left the surface inhabitable. His motives and the truth of what is occurring on the surface seem to be mysterious to Michelle upon her arrival. A viral marketing site used to promote the film states that Howard was Tagruato Corporation 's Employee of the Month in February 2016.^[13]

Emmett DeWitt

Emmett DeWitt (played by John Gallagher, Jr) is another survivor who witnessed the attack and fled to Howard's bunker. He helped build the bunker for Howard and confirms to Michelle that something dangerous and deadly is taking place at the surface.

Minor characters in 10 Cloverfield Lane

Ben

Ben (voiced by Bradley Cooper) is Michelle's ex-fiancé. Michelle abruptly breaks up with Ben at the start of the film after an argument and leaves town, leading to her car accident with Howard.

Leslie

Leslie (played by Suzanne Cryer) is Howard's neighbour who begs to be let into the bunker when Michelle is trying to escape. After noticing that she is suffering from severe skin lesions, Michelle realizes the air may not be safe and Leslie dies.

References