- “My name is Hercule Poirot... and I am probably the greatest detective in the world.”
- ―Hercule Poirot introducing himself
Hercule Poirot is a character who is featured in Agatha Christie's novels as the titular protagonist. He is a Belgian detective who appears in the 2017 live-action film Murder on the Orient Express, the 2022 film Death on the Nile, and the 2023 film A Haunting in Venice. As one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, Poirot has appeared in more than 50 short stories published from 1920 to 1975.
Background[]
Hercule Poirot is the lead protagonist in a series of novels by writer Agatha Christie. He is established as being Belgian, specifically Walloon, possibly from Spa in the province of Liège or Ellezelles in the province of Hainaut, and Catholic by birth. He speaks English, French, Dutch, German and Italian. In the past, he was once a police officer, but following World War I (then known as The Great War), he became a private detective known for his incredible deductive reasoning. Poirot typically goes from one case to the next wherever he is needed and meets those where his reputation precedes him.
Personality[]
Hercule Poirot is methodical and direct in his approach to sleuthing. He is capable of making immediate deductions after only having brief interactions with those around him. Outside his work, Poirot is a light-hearted, humorous, and at times eccentric individual who is obsessed with punctuality and continuity to the point of possibly being obsessive compulsive. When he accidentally stepped in feces, he responded by making sure his other foot stepped on it as well so that it was "balanced". His long career has made him close with numerous friends and keeps a close kinship with them. However, he can become embittered or outraged whenever they do something that goes against his morals. Poirot is overall humble, as he constantly gives credit to his "little gray cells" within his brain to help make deductions.
Physical appearance[]
Hercule Poirot is a man roughly in his 50s or 60s who is always seen dressed in very clean three-piece suits that match with his personality. He has neatly combed hair, but his major distinction is his glorious mustache that appears to have doubled curl tips. While not particularly vain, he is shown to wear a mustache protector while in bed.
Character Biography[]
Background[]
Hercule Poirot, then just a simple farmer, fought in World War I, then known as the Great War. On October 31, 1914, Poirot's squadron was to attack and reclaim Yser Bridge in his home country of Belgium by the end of the day. Due to the shift in wind, Poirot was able to deduce the chance to attack much sooner than anticipated and successfully reclaimed the bridge. Unfortunately, he was unable to prevent his captain from tripping a landmine, blowing himself up and leaving Poirot with a severe facial scar. Poirot's wife, Katherine, visited him in the hospital and assured him that she would remain with him, adding that he would need to grow a mustache to hide his scar. Katherine meant the world to Poirot, but would die sometime later.
Trivia[]
- His name is pronounced "Er-kyool Pwah-row". He is sometimes referred to as "Hercules", though this is not his full name as he states "I do not slay the lions", showing how his name is comically similar to the Greek legendary hero.
- Other notable actors who have portrayed Poirot in the past include Orson Welles (1939), Albert Finney (1974), Peter Ustinov (1978-1988), Ian Holm (1986), David Suchet (1989-2013), Alfred Molina (2001), and John Malkovich (2018).
- While Poirot is Agatha Christie's most famous literary character, Christie herself grew to despise her own creation calling him, "detestable, bombastic, tiresome, ego-centric little creep".
External links[]
|
This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from the Disney Wiki. The list of authors can be seen in the page revision history (view authors). As with 20th Century Studios Wiki, the text of the Disney Wiki is available under the CC-BY-SA license. |
Template:Hercule Poirot