List of Rambo characters
There are several characters in the four Rambo films. Several of them appear in only one of the films.
Main characters
John Rambo
John James Rambo is an iconic fictional character and the basis of the Rambo saga.
He is played by Sylvester Stallone in the films and voiced by Neil Ross in the animated series.
Sam Trautman
Colonel Samuel "Sam" Trautman is the secondary character in the franchise.
He is played by Richard Crenna in the first three Rambo films and voiced by Alan Oppenheimer in the animated series.
Introduced in First Blood
Will Teasle
Sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy) appears in First Blood. He serves as sheriff of Hope and strongly dislikes "unwanted elements" in his town, like drifters. Teasle arrests John Rambo for this reason, but Rambo eventually escapes. As the film progresses, Teasle becomes enemies with Rambo. He initially wants to take Rambo alive, but when Art Galt is killed while trying to shoot Rambo, Teasle becomes obsessed with hunting him down and killing him, even after learning that Rambo was a war hero in Vietnam. Teasle later meets Colonel Trautman; the two men seems to respect each other, although they both clearly dislike one another. At the end of the film, Rambo severely injures Teasle and almost kills him before Trautman intervenes and stops him, unlike in the novel, where Teasle and Rambo kill each other. He is last seen being taken into an ambulance, and he is not seen or mentioned again in later films.
Art Galt
Deputy Art Galt (Jack Starrett) is Teasle's head deputy, and also his closest friend. He is shown to be very cruel, as he tortures Rambo to the approval of most of the other deputies. He gets beaten up by Rambo as he escapes the police station. Teasle sends him to look for Rambo in a helicopter. Despite Teasle's orders to take him alive, Galt tries to kill him in cold blood as he climbs down from a cliff, threatening to kill the pilot if he does not fly straight so that he can get a clear shot, and ignoring Teasle on his radio. When Rambo is cornered against a tree, he throws a rock at the helicopter's windshield, causing Galt to fall from the helicopter into the gorge, to his death.
Introduced in Rambo: First Blood Part II
Co-Bao
A native girl named Co-Bao (Julia Nickson) appears in Rambo: First Blood Part II. She works for an intelligence agency. She wants to leave her country, and she arranges for Rambo and herself to go upstream with a group of river pirates. Rambo comes to the camp, and in contradiction to his briefing, he finds US prisoners there and rescues one of them from a makeshift crucifixion. Later, Co enters the camp, in the guise of a prostitute, and comes to the hut in which Rambo is held captive. Rambo agrees to Podovsky's conditions, but instead threatens Murdock on the radio that he is "coming to get you", then escapes from captivity into a nearby jungle with Co's help. Co then tends to Rambo's wounds and begins to implore him to take her to the United States. Rambo agrees, and they kiss. However, they are then attacked by some Vietnamese soldiers, and Co is killed. Rambo kills them all (except for their commander, who escapes, but is later killed by one of Rambo's exploding arrows) and then buries Co's body in the jungle.
In Rambo: The Force of Freedom, Co-Bao was used as the inspiration for Katherine Anne "K.A.T." Taylor (voiced by Mona Marshall) who was a master of disguise, gymnastics, and martial arts alike.
Co-Bao appears in Rambo via flashbacks. The flashbacks were scenes from the second film.
Marshall Murdock
Marshall Murdock (Charles Napier) is an American bureaucrat and CIA field officer who is in charge of the operation. In Rambo: First Blood Part II, he tells Rambo that the American public is demanding knowledge about the POWs, and they want a trained commando to go in and search for them. Rambo is briefed that he is only to photograph the POWs and not to rescue them, nor is he to engage any enemy soldiers. Rambo reluctantly agrees, and he is then told that an agent of the American government will be there to receive him in the jungles of Vietnam. Murdock claims that he served with the 2nd battalion, 3rd Marines at Kon Tum in 1966, however Rambo realizes this as a lie because the battalion didn't serve in 1966. Later in the film, he betrays Rambo. He turns out to not care about American veterans as he never expected to find any or he assumed Rambo would have been killed rather than complete the mission. In the end, when Rambo returns with the POWs, he confronts Murdock for betraying him, telling him that he knows that there are more POWs left. Rambo then demands Murdock to find them all, or he will kill him for it. It is unknown what happened to Murdock after this.
Ericson
Ericson (Martin Kove), one of Murdoch's associates, is a CIA paramilitary operative and skillful mercenary pilot who can fly fixed and rotary-winged aircraft equally well. He seems a pleasant character, who attempts to befriend Rambo. When Murdoch orders Rambo's betrayal, he reluctantly complies. When Rambo flies the POWs back to the base, Ericson greets Rambo and congratulates him for surviving, only for Rambo to knock him unconscious with a machine gun.
Lifer
Another of Murdoch's mercenaries, Lifer, a CIA paramilitary operative (Steve Williams) is a seedy-looking character who, along with Ericson, betrays Rambo on Murdoch's orders. When Trautman argues, Lifer holds a gun to his head. At the end when Rambo returns with the POWs, Lifer hides amongst the Army personnel helping the POWs onto waiting ambulances.
Lieutenant Tay
Tay is a vicious POW-camp officer played by George Kee Cheung. Tay, who tortures the POWs and Rambo when he is captured, is ultimately killed by Rambo in revenge for the death of Co-Bao.
Captain Vinh
P.O.W. Camp commander. Ends up burned to death in a fire set by Rambo.
Banks
Banks (Andy Wood) is an American POW who is rescued by Rambo and Co-Bao. He is shocked by how long he has been held captive.
Yushin
Yushin is a Russian soldier. He is Podovsky's henchman. He serves as a torturer and electrocutes Rambo to force him to make a radio call. He and Rambo later fight each other in a Soviet helicopter and he is thrown out of chopper and falls to his death.
Lt. Colonel Podovsky
A Soviet commander, he is played by Steven Berkoff. He first arrives at the POW camp after Rambo is captured. He and Yushin torture Rambo, and later threaten to torture Banks, to make him radio the Americans that no further rescue attempts should be made for the POWs. When Rambo later destroys the entire camp and frees the POWs, Podovsky chases after them in an attack helicopter. After Rambo's chopper gets damaged in the chase, Rambo tricks the Soviet by pretending to be dead and immobile. When Podovsky flew close enough, Rambo blows him and his helicopter up with a rocket launcher, killing Podovsky and the crew inside.
Introduced in Rambo: The Force of Freedom
Force of Freedom
- Edward "Turbo" Hayes (voiced by James Avery) - An African-American mechanical engineer and race car driver. According to his toy bio, Turbo is also a First Lieutenant who graduated from the US Air Force Academy.
- White Dragon (voiced by Robert Ito) - A heroic ninja who is Black Dragon's twin brother. According to his toy bio, White Dragon had also developed a ninja training program for the U.S. military.
- T.D. "Touchdown" Jones - A former football player and ally of Rambo.
- Chief - An Indian ally of Rambo.
S.A.V.A.G.E.
S.A.V.A.G.E. stands for Specialist-Administrators of Vengeance, Anarchy and Global Extortion. They always have goals for world domination until they end up fighting the Force of Freedom. In addition to a substantial number of soldiers, among the members of S.A.V.A.G.E. are:
- General Warhawk (voiced by Michael Ansara) - The reflective sunglasses-wearing leader of S.A.V.A.G.E., he was previously a European army captain who was convicted of selling state secrets and deported for his coup. He then organized and built S.A.V.A.G.E.
- Sergeant Havoc (voiced by Peter Cullen) - General Warhawk's second in command and top enforcer. He has strength that rivals Rambo's strength. He was previously a drill sergeant for the free world. After being court-martialed for spying, he joined up with S.A.V.A.G.E.
- Gripper (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A European mercenary with a metal right hand (hence the name) that wears an eyepatch. He was a former member of the French Foreign Legion until he was dismissed after failing to recognize the surrender flag.
- Nomad (voiced by Ed Gilbert) - A burnoose-wearing Middle-Eastern terrorist. He was a wandering nomadic warrior that calls no country his home. Nomad leads a group of outcasts which consists of cutthroats and thieves.
- Mad Dog (voiced by Frank Welker) - The leader of an unnamed biker gang who sports a mohawk and a S.A.V.A.G.E. logo tattoo on his chest. He is first called Spike in the episode "Battlefield Bronx," but renamed Mad Dog in all subsequent episodes. According to his toy bio, Mad Dog was found unfit for military services and has an extended criminal record for theft, reckless driving, and arson.
- Animal - Member of Mad Dog's biker gang.
- Jerkface (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - Member of Mad Dog's biker gang.
- Razor (voiced by Frank Welker) - Member of Mad Dog's biker gang.
- Black Dragon (voiced by Robert Ito) - A rogue ninja who is the twin brother of White Dragon. He is known as the greatest assassin that ever lived. Black Dragon would sell his service to any group that would pay his fee with his recurring clients being S.A.V.A.G.E.
- Snakebite (voiced by Peter Cullen) - A man who was born and raised in the Okeefenokee Swamp and likes wild animals like venomous snakes, insects, and black rats which he carries in his Beast Pack.
- Dr. Hyde - A cybernetic mad scientist whose head is in a dome-shaped helmet.
- Max - Dr. Hyde's android henchman.
- X-Ray - Dr. Hyde's cybernetic henchman.
Introduced in Rambo III
Colonel Zaysen
Colonel Zaysen (Marc de Jonge) is a Soviet colonel, who has managed to keep his sector of an Afghan province under total control since 1983. He is a ruthless commander of the Soviet garrison in which Colonel Trautman is imprisoned, and is also a veteran combat helicopter pilot. He and his henchman Kourov (Randy Raney) capture Trautman, who Rambo later rescues.
Robert Griggs
In Rambo III, Robert Griggs is the U.S embassy and CIA field officer in Thailand. He is portrayed by Kurtwood Smith. He and Trautman search for John Rambo to recruit him for a supply mission in Afghanistan, which Rambo refuses. While in Afghanistan, Trautman's troops are ambushed by Soviet troops while passing through the mountains at night. Trautman is imprisoned in a Soviet base and coerced for information by Colonel Zaysen (Marc de Jonge) and his henchman Kourov (Randy Raney). Rambo learns of the incident from Griggs and convinces Griggs to take him through an unofficial operation, despite Griggs' warning that the U.S. government will deny any knowledge of his actions if killed or caught (to which Rambo replied, "I'm used to it").
Mousa Ghani
Mousa (Sasson Gabai) is an Mujahideen fighter who lives in Peshawar, Pakistan, where he transports medical supplies to the Afghan province immediately over the border. Moussa is enlisted by Griggs to help get Rambo across the border and into the Soviet fort holding Trautman. Although he initially doubts Rambo's abilities, he still leads him inside the fort.
Hamid
Hamid is a young Afghan orphan whose parents were killed by Soviet troops and aspires to gain revenge by becoming a Mujahideen fighter. Hamid sneaks along when Rambo and Mousa enter the fort, endangering them, when Rambo and himself are wounded, it forces Rambo to give up on the attempt to free Trautman.
Kourov
Colonel Zaysen's henchman. He is a Spestnaz commando and a large brute. He assists in torturing Trautman and hunting for Rambo. Rambo kills him with a grenade.
Introduced in Rambo
Michael Burnett
Michael Burnett (Paul Schulze) is the leader of a church mission attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to a Karen tribe in Burma. He and Sarah were engaged before the events of the film. He and the rest of his group (including Sarah) were captured after Tatmadaw overran the tribal village and killed most of its residents there, causing the church pastor to hire mercenaries and Rambo to mount a rescue. He initially expressed disgust to the visible aspects of war and killing people in general (especially when Rambo kills some Burmese pirates who intended to rape Sarah and kill the rest of them), stating that taking a life was never right. He was eventually able to come to terms with the fact that sometimes even mere survival needs to be fought for. This is shown near the end of the film, when he angrily kills a Tatmadaw soldier by smashing his head with a rock to save a mercenary, an act that left him in shock. He eventually survived the journey and reunites with Sarah.
Sarah Miller
Sarah Miller (Julie Benz) is a sixth-grade teacher stateside. She is engaged to Michael Burnett (Paul Schulze). An idealist, she managed to persuade a disillusioned Rambo into taking them to Burma and was the only person in the church mission who attempted to start a conversation with him. On the trip to Burma she was discovered to be a woman by Burmese soldiers. Rambo saved her from what otherwise would have been gang rape and sexual slavery. She was taken prisoner by Tatmadaw . Thanks to subsequent efforts by Rambo to throw off Tatmadaw pursuers, and protection rendered by a mercenary called School Boy, she remained free from re-captivity upon the rescue mission's completion. After the climatic battle, she reunited with Michael.
Lewis
Lewis (Graham McTavish) is one of the mercenaries hired to retrieve the Christian missionaries abducted by the Tatmadaw. A former SAS with rudeness streak. He state's he does mercenary work to pay off his ex-wife's alimony and child support for his 3 children. Although he constantly bickered with everyone and was stubborn, he did prove to be a big asset to getting the missionaries back.
"School Boy"
School Boy (Matthew Marsden) is a young British mercenary and ex-SAS sniper who turns out to be more personable than the rest of the group. His skills with a Barrett M82CQ - 50 BMG sniper rifle were demonstrated when, during the covert assault on the Tatmadaw camp where the captured missionaries were held, he eliminated multiple sentries to keep the escape route open. When Rambo separated from the group to locate Sarah, he volunteered to wait for him while the rest of the group made their escape; this proved to be a fortunate decision, as his sniper rifle saved Rambo and Sarah from being killed by a Tatmadaw patrol. He was later entrusted with Sarah's safety, when Rambo took a series of actions to disrupt Tatmadaw's attempt to hunt them down. He and Sarah remained undetected by Tatmadaw troops upon Tatmadaw's defeat (indeed in part because of Rambo's efforts).
Reese
Reese (Jake La Botz), nicknamed Tombstone, is one of the fellow mercenaries (and the only American) hired to recover the Christian missionaries abducted by the Tatmadaw. It is implied that he is former United States Army; his arms are covered in tattoos and he was wearing a camouflaged vest, speaks with a Southern accent and called himself "just some grunt". He also wields an M4A1 carbine with an M203 grenade launcher. Reese annoyed everyone, especially Lewis, by singing the song "The Wishing Well". It is believed that Reese survived the final gunfight but he was left severely injured and lying amidst the wreckage with Lewis. He is on his knees looking up by Lewis.
Karen Rebels
The rebels provided guides for the mercenary group sent to rescue the captured missionaries. These guides, along with Rambo, ended up improvising a disguise as a truck-borne patrol for infiltrating the Tatmadaw base where the missionaries were held and tortured. During the climatic battle near the end of the film, the Karen rebels participated en masse to help turn the tide in favor of the mercenaries.
R. Rambo
R. Rambo, is the name found on a mailbox at the end of the movie Rambo. In an earlier scene, Sarah asks Rambo if he had any family. Rambo says that he thinks his father is still alive. R. Rambo is presumably his father.