Part 2: Characters

Actor Michael Emerson who plays Harold Finch, presumed-dead by his fiancee. A reclusive, security conscious and intensely private billionaire software engineer. His real name is unknown and he has many aliases , using various species of birds as the last name. Finch has developed a machine that can isolate the Social Security numbers of people with either premeditated homicidal intent or who will be homicide victims, based on its analysis of surveillance data. Following a traumatic event in his own life that led to the death of his business partner and close friend, Nathan Ingram, he recruits John Reese to help him deal with the people the Machine identifies. Finch lives and works in an abandoned library and shows the results of severe physical injuries, including the inability to turn his head, a rigid posture, and a limp.


Jim Caviezel is an actor who plays presumed-dead ex CIA agent John Reese. Little is known about Reese's background and his name is one of several aliases he uses. He lost his lover, Jessica Arndt, prior to meeting Finch, which appears to have marked him deeply. Reese demonstrates skill in the use of a range of weapons, hand-to-hand combat, and counter-surveillance tactics. He knows very little about Finch and often is rebuffed when he attempts to learn more about him.
John Reese is a character who has been presented as the bully killer, the revenge seeker and courageous fighter. He is always dressed in his distinct sophisticated suits when carrying out his attacks, which in the end lead to his disadvantage as people were determined to track him down, kill him or put him in prison, not knowing that he is actually a person sent to save.