Bill Pullman as Oswald Danes in Torchwood episode "The New World"
First appearance
"The New World" (2011)
Last appearance
"The Blood Line"
Portrayed by
Bill Pullman
In-universe information
Affiliation
Jilly Kitzinger Torchwood Institute
Home era
Early 21st century
Oswald Danes is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who and is portrayed by American actor Bill Pullman. The character was promoted as one of five new main characters to join Torchwood in its fourth series, Torchwood: Miracle Day (2011), as part of a new co-production between Torchwood's British network, BBC One, and its American financiers on US premium television network Starz. Pullman appears in eight of the ten episodes, and is credited as a series regular. Whilst reaction to the serial and Pullman's character was mixed, Pullman's portrayal was praised by critics and in 2012 he received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor on Television.
Danes is a former schoolteacher who molested several of the little girls he taught, and eventually killed one of them. He was sentenced to death, but on the day of his execution - the so-called Miracle Day, when death ceases worldwide - Danes survives his own lethal injection. His survival draws global attention, and he subsequently is released from prison on a legal technicality. After being offered both exposure and protection by public relations expert Jilly Kitzinger (Lauren Ambrose), he becomes her client, which helps him gain more publicity. Following a series of events he ends up aiding Torchwood, a team composed of two former alien-hunters and two former CIA agents, on their mission to restore death to the world. Danes is killed off in the final episode of the series; when death is restored he takes one of the Torchwood team's enemies out in a murder–suicide.
Critics commented upon the character's resemblance both to horror film killers such as Freddy Krueger and Hannibal Lecter, as well as to American Evangelists and to the biblical Jesus Christ. The series also follows Danes' rise and fall in the public eye and the precariousness of fame. Though critics questioned the wisdom of having a pedophile as a character, the show's creative team was adamant that they had deliberately made him unlikable. In killing the character off, the creative team did not wish to suggest that the character had been redeemed for his earlier crimes, and made sure that this was emphasised even in his final act of self-sacrifice. Pullman has expressed interest in reprising the role in a future Torchwood series.
OswaldDanes is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who and is portrayed by...
filmmakers to show their work to industry professionals. Pullman played OswaldDanes, a pedophile and child killer, in Torchwood: Miracle Day, the fourth...
science fiction TV series Doctor Who OswaldDanes, in the British science fiction TV series Torchwood: Miracle Day Oswald "Otto" Rocket, on the American animated...
joins as OswaldDanes, a highly intelligent child murderer, and Lauren Ambrose plays Jilly Kitzinger, a ruthless PR woman who takes on Danes as a client...
the controversial OswaldDanes (Bill Pullman), a recently released convicted child murderer and paedophile, representation. Danes agrees to be represented...
Marina Nikolayevna Oswald Porter (née Prusakova; Russian: Марина Николаевна Прусакова; born July 17, 1941) is a Russian-American woman who was the wife...
introduces new characters such as Rex Matheson, Esther Drummond, and OswaldDanes. Torchwood : UK viewers per episode (millions) Audience measurement performed...
the accession of Oswald until 920, when East Anglia was incorporated into the kingdom of England, following the defeat of the Danes by Edward the Elder...
Walter Bishop / Walternate Bill Pullman Torchwood: Miracle Day Starz OswaldDanes Norman Reedus The Walking Dead AMC Daryl Dixon 2012 (39th) Jonathan Banks...
was a fanatic for great danes. Elmer made his screen debut in Elmer the Great Dane (1935) and was originally the pet dog of Oswald, back when the rabbit...
herself in the basement due to unbearable pain related to stomach cancer. OswaldDanes (Torchwood), blows himself up. King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule (The Legend...
complete list of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit's appearances in cartoons, films, video games, etc. Wikisource has original works on the topic: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit...
(Fox) as Walter Bishop Bill Pullman – Torchwood: Miracle Day (Starz) as OswaldDanes Norman Reedus – The Walking Dead (AMC) as Daryl Dixon Michelle Forbes...
Elsewhere, Jack tries to convince Oswald to use his fame to expose PhiCorp's advanced knowledge of the Miracle, but Oswald goes ahead with his pro-PhiCorp...
Battle of Maldon: Danes defeat the English army, whose leader, Byrhtnoth, is killed. The first Danegeld, of £10,000, is paid to the Danes in return for their...
independent kingdom in the mid-tenth century when Deira was conquered by the Danes and formed into the Kingdom of York. The rump Earldom of Bamburgh maintained...
Æthelflæd in Gloucester and the Danes were compelled to accept peace on Edward's terms. In the following year, the Northumbrian Danes retaliated by raiding Mercia...
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