Our 20 favorite techies from TV and movies
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Bertram Gilfoyle from Silicon Valley
Bertram Gilfoyle from Silicon Valley
Gilfoyle’s dead inside. Everyone knows a Gilfoyle at the office. If you don’t, then the Gilfoyle is you.
Benji Dunn from the Mission: Impossible franchise
Benji Dunn from the Mission: Impossible franchise
Dunn, the technician-turned-field agent, will do anything, including hacking a stolen laptop, for a free drink from Ethan Hunt. Which is one more free thing than most of us get from our co-workers.
Elliot Alderson from Mr. Robot
Elliot Alderson from Mr. Robot
He’s a cybersecurity specialist by day and a hacker by night and his Red Bull intake must be epic.
Scotty from Star Trek
Scotty from Star Trek
He can divert all the power to the engines, and yet, somehow, the lights never go out in sick bay.
Tej Parker from the Fast & Furious franchise
Tej Parker from the Fast & Furious franchise
The mechanic and technical expert of his crew, Parker can trick out cars, hack computers, crack safes and invent a new harpoon made of titanium and powered with nitrous. Which, as we all know, is totally what you’re working on right now.
Tony Stark from the Iron Man and Avengers franchises
Tony Stark from the Iron Man and Avengers franchises
He’s like Elon Musk … but a superhero. The billionaire playboy graduated summa cum laude from MIT and has the baller budget to tinker on anything he wants. He also has that goatee, but we’re not judging. Much.
Howard Wolowitz from The Big Bang Theory
Howard Wolowitz from The Big Bang Theory
He’s a man of many talents. He’s an aerospace engineer who has been to the International Space Station. Also… he can speak Klingon.
Lucius Fox from the Batman trilogy
Lucius Fox from the Batman trilogy
He undoubtedly runs the cleanest server room ever.
Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation
Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation
Though he was born blind, the chief engineer of the Enterprise-D can “see” through his biological implant. Like most good engineers, he can also see through your weak passwords.
Trinity from The Matrix
Trinity from The Matrix
We don’t know much about Trinity’s life before leaving the Matrix, but we do know she was a hacker who successfully breached the IRS. And that taste in targets automatically makes her amazing.
Timothy McGee on NCIS
Timothy McGee on NCIS
Special Agent McGee serves as Special Agent Gibbs’ computer consultant … and yet he still has to deal with nicknames like “McGeek.” We feel you, man.
Galen Tyrol from Battlestar Galactica
Galen Tyrol from Battlestar Galactica
The chief Viper engineer makes sure all of the defense crafts are operational. Like any on-staff tech support, he keeps everything running smoothly … all while masquerading as a human. You know, just like us.
Q from the James Bond franchise
Q from the James Bond franchise
Q is the man James Bond trusts for his sophisticated gadgets and security protocols. He can do anything from making a miniaturized radio to solving complex codes. He also has a mug cooler than Bond’s.
Doc Brown from the Back to the Future franchise
Doc Brown from the Back to the Future franchise
He built a time machine out of a DeLorean, yet he can’t organize his workspace. We are all Doc Brown.
Maurice Moss from The IT Crowd
Maurice Moss from The IT Crowd
Everybody knows a Maurice Moss, the hardest-working guy in the IT department who nonetheless doesn’t get the respect he deserves, all because he owns an astronaut-themed duvet cover and loves Masters of the Universe.
Miles Dyson from Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Miles Dyson from Terminator 2: Judgment Day
That awkward moment when you create a neural-net processor that accidentally becomes Skynet and embarks on a genocidal war on mankind? Really. Who hasn’t had that happen at work?
Milton Waddams from Office Space
Milton Waddams from Office Space
There are many office heroes in IT, but not many antiheroes. Milton Waddams is the exception. Everyone laughs at a Milton Waddams … until the office goes up in flames. Do not underestimate the Milton Waddams of your server room.
Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series
Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series
This world-class computer hacker is introverted, likes working from home and is fueled primarily by microwave pizza, sandwiches and soda … a.k.a. the lifeblood of an IT department.
Walter O'Brien from Scorpion
Walter O'Brien from Scorpion
The computer expert not only uses his knowledge to thwart terrorism, but also routinely tries to “fix” the world around him. Regular folks have a tough time empathizing with him, but that’s just the cost of genius.
Chloe O'Brian from 24
Chloe O'Brian from 24
O’Brian’s abilities could take her anywhere, but she’s only truly at home behind a computer terminal.
