Morris O'Brian
Encyclopedia
Morris O'Brian is a fictional character
from the TV series 24
. He is portrayed by actor Carlo Rota
. As shown in Day 6 (5PM to 6PM), Morris can speak and understand at least some of the Russian language
.
, he is a systems analyst at CTU, and the (separated) husband of Chloe O'Brian
, though the two are back together in Season 6. While charming, flirtatious, and proficient with CTU's systems; he harbours a past of alcoholism.
in the conspiracy behind the Sentox Gas attack. Before this, Morris worked selling women's shoes in Beverly Hills. When Morris arrives at Counter-Terrorist Unit (CTU), Chloe reveals that she actually called him to help her and Jack Bauer
cover their actions by interfering with CTU communications. After this, Morris is sent to deliver the necessary equipment to Jack, in order to record a confession on video of Logan admitting his acts. Later, when Chloe is going home after a painful day, including witnessing the death of her friend Edgar Stiles
, Bill gives her a picture of herself with Edgar, smiling, and she starts to get emotional. She and Morris go off to talk about it.
Little is revealed about Morris, but everything points to the fact that he and Chloe had problems because of their work and Morris's behavior, with him shown to be gallant with the ladies. When Chloe asks Bill Buchanan
to give Morris clearance, Bill is very reluctant to allow him to return to CTU, implying that they have had a run-in in the past. Morris speaks with a southern English accent.
Morris returns to CTU full-time prior to the events of Day 6. He is seen having frequent disagreements with his boss, Milo Pressman
, who also recently returned to CTU. Milo worked with Morris before Day 6, as an analyst and co-worker, however Morris states that as a boss, Milo is "a bit of a bore".
Morris has resumed a relationship with Chloe, something which she hypothesizes is the reason he and Milo argue, since Milo dated her during her separation from Morris. Morris comforts her when they are presuming that Jack Bauer
is to be killed, since she and Jack were friends. He attempts to locate Jack using a private satellite he has access to from a past contracting job in Uzbekistan
. However, Abu Fayed, the terrorist holding Jack learns of this and contacts CTU (with which he had struck a deal not to be tracked), which causes Bill Buchanan
to yell at Chloe and Morris.
Throughout the day the heat between Morris and Milo Pressman
continues and seems to get worse until Chloe loses her patience. She informs Morris that she went out with Milo a few times, realized that nothing was there, and broke it off.
At around 12:55 p.m. during Day 6, it is revealed that Abu Fayed plans to force Morris into programming at least one of the four remaining suitcase bombs, and gets him outside of CTU by falsifying information implying that Morris's brother has been hospitalized. He is kidnapped by Darren McCarthy and his girlfriend around 12:58 p.m.
1:00pm through 2:00pm, Jack follows the car containing Morris over Los Angeles in a helicopter, until McCarthy stops the car under an overpass and switches vehicles. Morris informs McCarthy's girlfriend Rita that CTU only knows about McCarthy's involvement, and informs her that she will be responsible for thousands of deaths if she does not intervene. Rita responds by shooting McCarthy point-blank and leaving his body in the street, but instead of dropping off Morris, she decides to give him to Fayed and take the money for herself.
Morris is taken to Fayed's apartment by Rita, who is executed shortly thereafter when she states that she has made a terrible mistake. Morris is tortured by beating, a power drill in his shoulder, and repeated drowning in a bathtub after refusing to co-operate and claiming he is only an analyst. After Fayed threatens to bleed Morris to death, and eventually moving in to drill his brain, Morris agrees to perform the programming, and does so. CTU arrives, and Morris is saved from execution by Fayed, but Fayed escapes.
Morris is returned to CTU and, after commiserating over his compliance with Fayed, he returns to his job after persuasion from Chloe. After learning that Milo was injured while bravely protecting Marilyn Bauer during a field mission gone awry, Morris becomes even more ashamed of his compliance with Fayed.
Morris steps out of CTU for a few minutes to clear his head. He steps into a nearby store where he sees a news report on TV of the devastation in Valencia, where Fayed's men had detonated one of the nuclear weapons earlier in the day. Believing his actions may lead to further destruction, a despondent Morris buys a bottle of whiskey and takes a drink. He immediately comes to his senses and forces himself to spit it back out. He returns to CTU and when Chloe confronts him about the smell of whiskey, he admits to buying the drink but swears he spat it right back out and begs her to give him another chance. Chloe agrees not to inform Buchanan, but tells him to call his Alcoholics Anonymous
sponsor and warns him she'll be watching him closely for the rest of the day.
Morris tried to remain sober in his job, though there were hints he was not functioning at full capacity. Chloe eventually confronted him in the men's bathroom, where he steadfastly denied being out of control. However, after Chloe left, he dumped the remainder of the alcohol he bought down the sink and focused back on his work.
Later in the day, Morris notices that someone has hack
ed into his computer
. When he asks Chloe, she admits that she has stolen the bomb's schematic for Jack and asks Morris to keep it in the dark. However, Morris refuses and forces Chloe to bring it to Bill. Chloe reluctantly tells Bill and is angry at Morris for not listening to her. Morris and Chloe have an additional argument, which climaxes with Chloe telling Morris to "stop arming nuclear weapons for terrorists". Morris subsequently asks Buchanan to move him from the Communications Department (where Chloe and himself presently work) at CTU. After Buchanan is fired by Karen Hayes
, Nadia Yassir
takes over as interim Director of CTU, and refuses to comply with Morris's wish for a transfer. Chloe then confronts Morris. Morris tells her that she crossed the line and says to her, "We're done," leaving her in tears.
Later, Chloe confronts Morris over his decision to break up. Morris tells Chloe that he ended their relationship because he felt that neither of them would be able to move past the fact that he had armed the nuclear weapons; soon afterwards, CTU was attacked by Cheng Zhi's operatives
and the entire staff, including Chloe, was taken hostage. In a desperate move to save the lives of CTU's workers and the productivity of the unit, Jack Bauer
, Nadia Yassir
, and Morris ambush four of Cheng's armed terrorists, subduing or killing all of them until further backup arrives from Mike Doyle and his tactical team.
In the penultimate hour, Chloe collapses and Morris comes to her aid. Toward the end of the final hour Chloe informs Morris that she's pregnant, while lying in a bed in CTU's clinic, which prompts Morris to get back together with Chloe.
Actress Mary Lynn Rajskub
confirmed that Morris will appear in the upcoming seventh season: “[I'm] calling Morris while I’m busy. So far he’s taking care of the baby, but he’ll be around.” On July 3, 2008, Michael Ausiello
revealed that "Carlo Rota has just signed on to appear in a handful of episodes, starting around the midday point".
Morris appeared twice in season 7. His first appearance was dropping Chloe off at the FBI office, where she had been routed to help their investigation. Their son Prescott was in a car seat in the back. He then appeared later that night; after Chloe was arrested for surreptitiously helping Jack, Morris was called in to broker a deal and help FBI Special Agent In Charge Larry Moss determine just what information had been slipped to Jack. Though respectful of his wife's loyalty to Jack, Moss threatened Chloe with 15 years' jail time, which Morris felt was too high a price to exact on her— and, for that matter, their son. Chloe is released from custody a little after 9:40 PM, and the two return to their son.
In the 3:00 - 4:00 AM episode, Jack calls Chloe while she is asleep in a hotel room. We notice that beside her in the queen-size bed is her son, Prescott, and Morris is sleeping across the room on a couch. Jack tells her he got the old CTU servers unsealed from the vault where the Senate investigation was holding them, and that she is the only one who can work them properly. She agrees to help him, but when he tells her about the bio threat, she realizes she must get her husband and son to safety. Chloe wakes Morris up, and after a while, he agrees to take Prescott and leave town to safety. This is their last appearance in the series.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the TV series 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
. He is portrayed by actor Carlo Rota
Carlo Rota
Carlo Rota is a British-born Canadian actor, best known to Canadian audiences for his role on Little Mosque on the Prairie and to international audiences for starring on the FOX series 24.-Early life:...
. As shown in Day 6 (5PM to 6PM), Morris can speak and understand at least some of the Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
Characterization
Actor Carlo Rota described Morris as "complex". Originally from the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, he is a systems analyst at CTU, and the (separated) husband of Chloe O'Brian
Chloe O'Brian
Chloe O'Brian is a fictional character played by actress Mary Lynn Rajskub on the US television series 24. An analyst at CTU Los Angeles , she is Jack Bauer's most trusted colleague, often doing unconventional and unauthorized favors for him, even at personal risk to herself...
, though the two are back together in Season 6. While charming, flirtatious, and proficient with CTU's systems; he harbours a past of alcoholism.
24: Season 5
Morris is introduced late in Season 5 when Chloe, his ex-wife, calls him in to help her recover a recording that implicates President LoganCharles Logan (24 character)
Charles Logan is a fictional character played by Gregory Itzin in the television series 24. During the show's fourth season, Logan is the Vice President of the United States who is sworn into office as President of the United States when former President John Keeler is critically injured in a...
in the conspiracy behind the Sentox Gas attack. Before this, Morris worked selling women's shoes in Beverly Hills. When Morris arrives at Counter-Terrorist Unit (CTU), Chloe reveals that she actually called him to help her and Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is the main protagonist of the American television series 24. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a member of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit based in Los Angeles, and working with the FBI in Washington, D.C...
cover their actions by interfering with CTU communications. After this, Morris is sent to deliver the necessary equipment to Jack, in order to record a confession on video of Logan admitting his acts. Later, when Chloe is going home after a painful day, including witnessing the death of her friend Edgar Stiles
Edgar Stiles
Edgar Stiles was a fictional character played by Louis Lombardi in the American television series 24.-Characteristics:Edgar had experience as an Intelligence Analyst at CTU as well as being a protocol manager...
, Bill gives her a picture of herself with Edgar, smiling, and she starts to get emotional. She and Morris go off to talk about it.
Little is revealed about Morris, but everything points to the fact that he and Chloe had problems because of their work and Morris's behavior, with him shown to be gallant with the ladies. When Chloe asks Bill Buchanan
Bill Buchanan
Bill Buchanan was an American songwriter.-Career:His most famous composition took place in 1956, when he and Dickie Goodman created the sound collage "The Flying Saucer." After Buchanan and Goodman severed their partnership in 1959, Buchanan later wrote the song "Please Don't Ask About Barbara"...
to give Morris clearance, Bill is very reluctant to allow him to return to CTU, implying that they have had a run-in in the past. Morris speaks with a southern English accent.
24: Season 6
Morris returns to CTU full-time prior to the events of Day 6. He is seen having frequent disagreements with his boss, Milo Pressman
Milo Pressman
Milo Pressman is a fictional character played by Eric Balfour on the show 24.During the events of Day 6, Milo works as the Internet Protocol Manager of the Los Angeles CTU Domestic Unit.-Characterization:Milo Pressman was born in 1978...
, who also recently returned to CTU. Milo worked with Morris before Day 6, as an analyst and co-worker, however Morris states that as a boss, Milo is "a bit of a bore".
Morris has resumed a relationship with Chloe, something which she hypothesizes is the reason he and Milo argue, since Milo dated her during her separation from Morris. Morris comforts her when they are presuming that Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is the main protagonist of the American television series 24. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a member of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit based in Los Angeles, and working with the FBI in Washington, D.C...
is to be killed, since she and Jack were friends. He attempts to locate Jack using a private satellite he has access to from a past contracting job in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
. However, Abu Fayed, the terrorist holding Jack learns of this and contacts CTU (with which he had struck a deal not to be tracked), which causes Bill Buchanan
Bill Buchanan
Bill Buchanan was an American songwriter.-Career:His most famous composition took place in 1956, when he and Dickie Goodman created the sound collage "The Flying Saucer." After Buchanan and Goodman severed their partnership in 1959, Buchanan later wrote the song "Please Don't Ask About Barbara"...
to yell at Chloe and Morris.
Throughout the day the heat between Morris and Milo Pressman
Milo Pressman
Milo Pressman is a fictional character played by Eric Balfour on the show 24.During the events of Day 6, Milo works as the Internet Protocol Manager of the Los Angeles CTU Domestic Unit.-Characterization:Milo Pressman was born in 1978...
continues and seems to get worse until Chloe loses her patience. She informs Morris that she went out with Milo a few times, realized that nothing was there, and broke it off.
At around 12:55 p.m. during Day 6, it is revealed that Abu Fayed plans to force Morris into programming at least one of the four remaining suitcase bombs, and gets him outside of CTU by falsifying information implying that Morris's brother has been hospitalized. He is kidnapped by Darren McCarthy and his girlfriend around 12:58 p.m.
1:00pm through 2:00pm, Jack follows the car containing Morris over Los Angeles in a helicopter, until McCarthy stops the car under an overpass and switches vehicles. Morris informs McCarthy's girlfriend Rita that CTU only knows about McCarthy's involvement, and informs her that she will be responsible for thousands of deaths if she does not intervene. Rita responds by shooting McCarthy point-blank and leaving his body in the street, but instead of dropping off Morris, she decides to give him to Fayed and take the money for herself.
Morris is taken to Fayed's apartment by Rita, who is executed shortly thereafter when she states that she has made a terrible mistake. Morris is tortured by beating, a power drill in his shoulder, and repeated drowning in a bathtub after refusing to co-operate and claiming he is only an analyst. After Fayed threatens to bleed Morris to death, and eventually moving in to drill his brain, Morris agrees to perform the programming, and does so. CTU arrives, and Morris is saved from execution by Fayed, but Fayed escapes.
Morris is returned to CTU and, after commiserating over his compliance with Fayed, he returns to his job after persuasion from Chloe. After learning that Milo was injured while bravely protecting Marilyn Bauer during a field mission gone awry, Morris becomes even more ashamed of his compliance with Fayed.
Morris steps out of CTU for a few minutes to clear his head. He steps into a nearby store where he sees a news report on TV of the devastation in Valencia, where Fayed's men had detonated one of the nuclear weapons earlier in the day. Believing his actions may lead to further destruction, a despondent Morris buys a bottle of whiskey and takes a drink. He immediately comes to his senses and forces himself to spit it back out. He returns to CTU and when Chloe confronts him about the smell of whiskey, he admits to buying the drink but swears he spat it right back out and begs her to give him another chance. Chloe agrees not to inform Buchanan, but tells him to call his Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
sponsor and warns him she'll be watching him closely for the rest of the day.
Morris tried to remain sober in his job, though there were hints he was not functioning at full capacity. Chloe eventually confronted him in the men's bathroom, where he steadfastly denied being out of control. However, after Chloe left, he dumped the remainder of the alcohol he bought down the sink and focused back on his work.
Later in the day, Morris notices that someone has hack
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
ed into his computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
. When he asks Chloe, she admits that she has stolen the bomb's schematic for Jack and asks Morris to keep it in the dark. However, Morris refuses and forces Chloe to bring it to Bill. Chloe reluctantly tells Bill and is angry at Morris for not listening to her. Morris and Chloe have an additional argument, which climaxes with Chloe telling Morris to "stop arming nuclear weapons for terrorists". Morris subsequently asks Buchanan to move him from the Communications Department (where Chloe and himself presently work) at CTU. After Buchanan is fired by Karen Hayes
Karen Hayes
Karen Hayes is a fictional character on the television program 24 portrayed by actress Jayne Atkinson. She appeared as a recurring character in twelve episodes of the fifth season and was a main cast member in eighteen episodes of the sixth season....
, Nadia Yassir
Nadia Yassir
Nadia Yassir is a fictional character from the TV series 24 played by Marisol Nichols. Introduced in Season 6, she works for the Counter Terrorist Unit at Los Angeles, a fictional domestic branch of the Central Intelligence Agency...
takes over as interim Director of CTU, and refuses to comply with Morris's wish for a transfer. Chloe then confronts Morris. Morris tells her that she crossed the line and says to her, "We're done," leaving her in tears.
Later, Chloe confronts Morris over his decision to break up. Morris tells Chloe that he ended their relationship because he felt that neither of them would be able to move past the fact that he had armed the nuclear weapons; soon afterwards, CTU was attacked by Cheng Zhi's operatives
Cheng Zhi
Cheng Zhi is a fictional character played by Tzi Ma on the television series 24. He is a Chinese official and an enemy of Jack Bauer. At the end of Day 6, Bauer badly scars Cheng during an assault and captures him.-24: Season 4:...
and the entire staff, including Chloe, was taken hostage. In a desperate move to save the lives of CTU's workers and the productivity of the unit, Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is the main protagonist of the American television series 24. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a member of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit based in Los Angeles, and working with the FBI in Washington, D.C...
, Nadia Yassir
Nadia Yassir
Nadia Yassir is a fictional character from the TV series 24 played by Marisol Nichols. Introduced in Season 6, she works for the Counter Terrorist Unit at Los Angeles, a fictional domestic branch of the Central Intelligence Agency...
, and Morris ambush four of Cheng's armed terrorists, subduing or killing all of them until further backup arrives from Mike Doyle and his tactical team.
In the penultimate hour, Chloe collapses and Morris comes to her aid. Toward the end of the final hour Chloe informs Morris that she's pregnant, while lying in a bed in CTU's clinic, which prompts Morris to get back together with Chloe.
24: Season 7
Actress Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...
confirmed that Morris will appear in the upcoming seventh season: “[I'm] calling Morris while I’m busy. So far he’s taking care of the baby, but he’ll be around.” On July 3, 2008, Michael Ausiello
Michael Ausiello
Michael Ausiello is an American television industry journalist and actor. He was a Senior Writer at TV Guide and its companion website, TVGuide.com. On May 28, 2008, Ausiello left TV Guide for Entertainment Weekly and posted his first blog for Entertainment Weekly on July 2, 2008...
revealed that "Carlo Rota has just signed on to appear in a handful of episodes, starting around the midday point".
Morris appeared twice in season 7. His first appearance was dropping Chloe off at the FBI office, where she had been routed to help their investigation. Their son Prescott was in a car seat in the back. He then appeared later that night; after Chloe was arrested for surreptitiously helping Jack, Morris was called in to broker a deal and help FBI Special Agent In Charge Larry Moss determine just what information had been slipped to Jack. Though respectful of his wife's loyalty to Jack, Moss threatened Chloe with 15 years' jail time, which Morris felt was too high a price to exact on her— and, for that matter, their son. Chloe is released from custody a little after 9:40 PM, and the two return to their son.
In the 3:00 - 4:00 AM episode, Jack calls Chloe while she is asleep in a hotel room. We notice that beside her in the queen-size bed is her son, Prescott, and Morris is sleeping across the room on a couch. Jack tells her he got the old CTU servers unsealed from the vault where the Senate investigation was holding them, and that she is the only one who can work them properly. She agrees to help him, but when he tells her about the bio threat, she realizes she must get her husband and son to safety. Chloe wakes Morris up, and after a while, he agrees to take Prescott and leave town to safety. This is their last appearance in the series.