Will Tippin
Encyclopedia
William "Will" D. Tippin is a fictional character
, one of Sydney Bristow
's friends on the television series
Alias
. He is portrayed by Bradley Cooper
.
newspaper
. Following the death of Sydney's fiancé, Danny Hecht, Will began pursuing leads surrounding Danny's bizarre death. Sydney, knowing the truth — Danny was killed because SD-6
found out he knew Sydney was a spy — asked Will to cease his investigation to protect him from the same fate. However, after a short time, Will went on to investigate and soon found himself wrapped up in Sydney's world of espionage. After a certain time, Will had acquired enough facts to write an article about SD-6 and handed it to his editor to publish it if he wasn't to contact her within the next 7 days. In that time, Tippin had planned to see the unknown voice
in Paris
in person, who had supported him in the last weeks with hints about SD-6 in general and Jack Bristow
in particular. Having arrived there, he instead learns about the true identity of Sydney Bristow. Since he is now in danger because of his knowledge of SD-6, he is brought into a safehouse of the CIA
in Los Angeles, only to be kidnapped out of that safehouse to Taipei
by Julian Sark
. Sydney, Jack and Vaughn
had to get there to rescue him. In order to discredit Tippin's story — and at the same time, save him from being killed by SD-6 — Jack arranged for him to appear as a drug addict in order to condemn his trustworthiness as a newspaper reporter.
In the first half of the second season, Will was recruited as a private researcher for the CIA. Utilizing his tenacity and journalistic instinct, Tippin researched the secret government experiment Project Christmas
for Michael Vaughn. That experiment was designed to use standardized tests given to school children to determine potential future CIA recruits. The Soviets
became aware of the project and sent KGB
operative Irina Derevko
on an undercover mission to determine the specifics so they could enact their own version of the program.
Will briefly dated Francie Calfo
and shortly after, unbeknownst to him, Francie's genetic doppelganger
Allison Doren. Will discovers the ruse by finding Provacillium in Allison's purse, medication taken by gene therapy patients. At exactly the same time, Allison looks through Will's work and finds out Will is researching an "Allison Georgia Doren." Allison realizes Will is close to knowing the truth, and attempts to kill him, nearly succeeding in doing so. Upon being nearly killed, he was quickly shuttled into the Federal Witness Protection Program
, removing him as a regular character for season three. However, he did have a brief reappearance after he was sought out by Sydney and the two had a brief tryst
. During this reunion mission, Will finally encounters Allison and kills her for the murder of Francie, after which he returns to private life.
Near the end of the 5th season, in the episode "There's Only One Sydney Bristow" (also the series' 100th episode), Tippin is kidnapped by Anna Espinosa
and used as bait for Sydney. During the rescue mission, a sample of her DNA is stolen. Later, it is discovered Will's captors (Prophet Five) have implanted a miniature bomb in his head, set to go off if Sydney doesn't deliver a Milo Rambaldi
artifact to Anna aboard a train in Europe. Will accompanies Sydney on the mission, which is once again a trap to gather more genetic material from Sydney (ultimately used to transform Anna into a genetic duplicate of Sydney in the same way Francie was replaced by Allison). Will rescues Sydney and Sydney disarms the bomb with a remote control. During this mission, Will informs Sydney he was planning on proposing to his girlfriend before he was kidnapped and asks Sydney to be his best man, to which she agrees with enthusiasm. This is the last we hear of him.
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...
, one of Sydney Bristow
Sydney Bristow
Sydney Anne Bristow , played by Jennifer Garner, is the main character and protagonist on the television series Alias. She is an American woman with Russian-American family background who works as a spy for the CIA....
's friends on the television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
. He is portrayed by Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper is an American film, theater, and television actor. He is known for his roles in the films The Hangover, The A-Team, and Limitless. In 2011, People magazine named Cooper "Sexiest Man Alive".-Early life:...
.
Character biography
At the beginning of the series, Will was just Sydney Bristow's friend and a local reporter with a Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. Following the death of Sydney's fiancé, Danny Hecht, Will began pursuing leads surrounding Danny's bizarre death. Sydney, knowing the truth — Danny was killed because SD-6
Alliance of Twelve
The Alliance of Twelve, with SD-6 being one of its subsidiary cells, is a fictional international organized crime group in the television series Alias...
found out he knew Sydney was a spy — asked Will to cease his investigation to protect him from the same fate. However, after a short time, Will went on to investigate and soon found himself wrapped up in Sydney's world of espionage. After a certain time, Will had acquired enough facts to write an article about SD-6 and handed it to his editor to publish it if he wasn't to contact her within the next 7 days. In that time, Tippin had planned to see the unknown voice
Deep Throat (disambiguation)
Deep Throat was the name given to the anonymous source in the Washington Post investigation of the Watergate scandal and was used in the movie All the President's Men....
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in person, who had supported him in the last weeks with hints about SD-6 in general and Jack Bristow
Jack Bristow
Jonathan "Jack" Donahue Bristow, played by Victor Garber, is Sydney Bristow's father on the television series Alias. Jack is widely referred to as "Spy Daddy" in Alias fandom, and consistently ranks as one of the most popular characters on the show...
in particular. Having arrived there, he instead learns about the true identity of Sydney Bristow. Since he is now in danger because of his knowledge of SD-6, he is brought into a safehouse of the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
in Los Angeles, only to be kidnapped out of that safehouse to Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
by Julian Sark
Julian Sark
Julian Sark is a recurring fictional character portrayed by David Anders on the ABC television series Alias. The series follows Sydney Bristow, an operative working for an organization called SD-6 which she believes is a covert branch of the Central Intelligence Agency...
. Sydney, Jack and Vaughn
Michael Vaughn
Michael C. Vaughn is a fictional character on the television series Alias. Played by Michael Vartan, Vaughn is one of Sydney Bristow's co-workers and her ongoing love interest. He, like Sydney, is skilled in a variety of areas...
had to get there to rescue him. In order to discredit Tippin's story — and at the same time, save him from being killed by SD-6 — Jack arranged for him to appear as a drug addict in order to condemn his trustworthiness as a newspaper reporter.
In the first half of the second season, Will was recruited as a private researcher for the CIA. Utilizing his tenacity and journalistic instinct, Tippin researched the secret government experiment Project Christmas
Project Christmas
Project Christmas is a fictional black ops project from the television show Alias. Developed by the Central Intelligence Agency and headed by Jack Bristow in the 1970s, the project was designed to identify and train children as sleeper agents to become future spies...
for Michael Vaughn. That experiment was designed to use standardized tests given to school children to determine potential future CIA recruits. The Soviets
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
became aware of the project and sent KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
operative Irina Derevko
Irina Derevko
Irina Derevko , is a fictional character on the television series Alias, and a main character during the second season of the series. Irina, played by Lena Olin, is the mother of the central character, Sydney Bristow.-Biography:...
on an undercover mission to determine the specifics so they could enact their own version of the program.
Will briefly dated Francie Calfo
Francie Calfo
Francine "Francie" Calfo is a fictional character on the television series Alias, portrayed by Merrin Dungey. She is Sydney Bristow's close friend.-Biography:Francie was Sydney Bristow's best friend and roommate during the beginning of the series...
and shortly after, unbeknownst to him, Francie's genetic doppelganger
Project Helix
Project Helix is the name of a fictional technology in the TV series Alias. The device is used to rewrite a person's DNA, effectively morphing them into a clone of the person from whom the replacement DNA was procured. The only way to detect a double is through a deliberate flaw built into the...
Allison Doren. Will discovers the ruse by finding Provacillium in Allison's purse, medication taken by gene therapy patients. At exactly the same time, Allison looks through Will's work and finds out Will is researching an "Allison Georgia Doren." Allison realizes Will is close to knowing the truth, and attempts to kill him, nearly succeeding in doing so. Upon being nearly killed, he was quickly shuttled into the Federal Witness Protection Program
United States Federal Witness Protection Program
The United States Federal Witness Protection Program is a witness protection program administered by the United States Department of Justice and operated by the United States Marshals Service that is designed to protect threatened witnesses before, during, and after a trial.A few states, including...
, removing him as a regular character for season three. However, he did have a brief reappearance after he was sought out by Sydney and the two had a brief tryst
Courtship
Courtship is the period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. In courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement...
. During this reunion mission, Will finally encounters Allison and kills her for the murder of Francie, after which he returns to private life.
Near the end of the 5th season, in the episode "There's Only One Sydney Bristow" (also the series' 100th episode), Tippin is kidnapped by Anna Espinosa
Anna Espinosa
Anna Espinosa is a fictional character from the television series Alias, . Born in Cuba, raised in Russia, Anna was a Soviet spy at some point, until the collapse of the Soviet Union...
and used as bait for Sydney. During the rescue mission, a sample of her DNA is stolen. Later, it is discovered Will's captors (Prophet Five) have implanted a miniature bomb in his head, set to go off if Sydney doesn't deliver a Milo Rambaldi
Milo Rambaldi
Milo Giacomo Rambaldi is a fictional person from the American television series Alias. The work of Rambaldi, often centuries ahead of its time and tied to prophecy, plays a central role in the show.According to Alias creator J.J...
artifact to Anna aboard a train in Europe. Will accompanies Sydney on the mission, which is once again a trap to gather more genetic material from Sydney (ultimately used to transform Anna into a genetic duplicate of Sydney in the same way Francie was replaced by Allison). Will rescues Sydney and Sydney disarms the bomb with a remote control. During this mission, Will informs Sydney he was planning on proposing to his girlfriend before he was kidnapped and asks Sydney to be his best man, to which she agrees with enthusiasm. This is the last we hear of him.