William Bludworth is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
in the
''Final Destination'' film series, portrayed by
Tony Todd
Tony Todd (born December 4, 1954) is an American actor who made his debut as Sgt. Warren in the film ''Platoon'' (1986), and portrayed Kurn in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1990–1991) and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Ni ...
. He appears in ''
Final Destination
''Final Destination'' is an American horror franchise that includes five films, two comic books, and nine novels. It is based on an unproduced spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, originally written for ''The X-Files'' television series, and was d ...
'', ''
Final Destination 2
''Final Destination 2'' is a 2003 American supernatural horror film directed by David R. Ellis. The screenplay was written by J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress, based on a story by Gruber, Bress, and series creator Jeffrey Reddick. It is the seq ...
'', and ''
Final Destination 5
''Final Destination 5'' is a 2011 American 3D supernatural horror film directed by Steven Quale and written by Eric Heisserer. It is the fifth installment in the ''Final Destination'' film series and a prequel to the first film. ''Final Dest ...
''.
William Bludworth is the owner of Bludworth
Funeral Homes
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral.
Services
...
and has the most knowledge of
Death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
and its forces or capacities, and can basically be seen as the Grim Reaper throughout.
Films
''Final Destination'' (2000)
In the first film,
Alex Browning
Alexander Theodore Browning is a fictional character in the ''Final Destination'' series created by Jeffrey Reddick and portrayed by Canadian actor Devon Sawa. As the series' most popular character, Alex serves as the protagonist of the original ...
and
Clear Rivers
Clear Marie Rivers is a fictional character from the ''Final Destination'' film series. Created by Jeffrey Reddick and portrayed by Ali Larter, the character first appeared in ''Final Destination'' (2000) as a high school senior who, after su ...
sneak inside the morgue to glimpse at
Tod Waggner's corpse. Bludworth catches them in the act and asks why they came. Offering his help, he explains to them the rule of
Death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
: those who cheat death will be revisited by Death once more to claim back their lives which should've been lost. He also tells them about Death's list (a list of the order of deaths of the survivors in the original incident) and how it will work on them once again. Finally, he states that ruining the list can affect the remaining survivors. Bludworth claims that if Alex and Clear can figure out death's design, then they may have a chance to beat it. He warns them about the consequences of tampering with the design however by telling them, "beware the risk of cheating the plan, disrespecting the design...could initiate a horrifying fury that would terrorize even the Grim Reaper...and you don't even want to fuck with that mack daddy."
''Final Destination 2'' (2003)
In the second film, Bludworth is revisited by Clear, together with
Kimberly Corman
Kimberly Corman is a fictional character in the ''Final Destination'' series, portrayed by A. J. Cook. Kimberly serves as the protagonist of ''Final Destination 2''. She is a college student from White Plains, New York, and is one of the survivor ...
and
Thomas Burke, to obtain help about cheating death. He is seen de-accessorizing the corpse of
Evan Lewis. However, he only mentions to them the rule of life and death:
new life can defeat Death.
''Final Destination 5'' (2011)
Despite being absent from the
third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
and
fourth films, Bludworth reappears in the
fifth film. In this film, he is seen as a coroner who the characters encounter several times, and informs them only that by taking a life can they live, for they will receive the lifespan of the person they've killed. The point they neglect to realize however is that they have no way of knowing how long the person they would kill has to live on their remaining lifespan.
Casting
Tony Todd
Tony Todd (born December 4, 1954) is an American actor who made his debut as Sgt. Warren in the film ''Platoon'' (1986), and portrayed Kurn in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1990–1991) and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Ni ...
, who played Candyman in the 1992 film ''
Candyman'', was cast as mortician William Bludworth. Writer
Glen Morgan
Glen Morgan (born July 12, 1961) is an American television producer, writer and director. He is best known for co-writing episodes of the Fox science fiction supernatural drama series ''The X-Files'' with his partner, James Wong. He served as ...
initially wanted Todd for the role for his deep voice that would give the film an eerie tone.
Reception
Todd's performance in ''Final Destination'' has received positive reviews among critics.
Joe Leydon
Joseph Patrick Michael Leydon (born August 22, 1952) is an American film critic and historian. A critic and correspondent for ''Variety'' since 1990, he is the author of ''Joe Leydon's Guide to Essential Movies You Must See'' (Michael Wiese Prod ...
of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' complimented his performance, saying that "Todd --- an old hand at scary stories after the "Candyman" series --- overplays with enough relish to position himself as a probable returnee for a ''Final Destination 2.''".
Brett Gallman of ''Oh, The Horror!'' described Todd's wry and sinister portrayal "has crafted one of the genre's most memorable characters in recent memory
though he's only appeared twice for about five total minutes in the series."
On the other hand, Todd's role in ''Final Destination 2'' received mixed reviews among critics, most complaining about Todd's minimal screentime. Robert Koehler of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' remarked that Todd's "single, distinctly flat scene" was wasted by the filmmakers.
Gallman of ''Oh, The Horror!'' is enticed by Todd's role "whose purpose has still yet to be revealed in the franchise."
References
External links
William Bludworthon
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bludworth, William
Fictional African-American people
Fictional characters from New York (state)
Final Destination characters
Film characters introduced in 2000
Male horror film characters