This is a list of characters in The Expendables franchise.
Appearances Character Films The Expendables The Expendables 2 The Expendables 3 Expend4bles The Expendables Barney Ross Sylvester Stallone Lee Christmas Jason Statham Yin Yang Jet Li Gunner Jensen Dolph Lundgren Toll Road Randy Couture Hale Caesar Terry Crews Billy "The Kid" Timmons Liam Hemsworth Galgo Antonio Banderas Doctor "Doc" Death Wesley Snipes John Smilee Kellan Lutz Luna Maya Ronda Rousey Thorn Glen Powell Mars Victor Ortiz Easy Day Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson Decha Unai Tony Jaa Galan Jacob Scipio Lash Levy Tran Supporting Characters Trent "Trench" Mauser Arnold Schwarzenegger Lacy Charisma Carpenter Tool Mickey Rourke Sandra Garza Giselle Itié Booker "The Lone Wolf" Chuck Norris Pilar Amanda Ooms Bonaparte Kelsey Grammer CIA Members Agent Church Bruce Willis Agent Maggie Chan Yu Nan Agent Max Drummer Harrison Ford Agent Gina Megan Fox Primary Antagonists Agent James Munroe Eric Roberts Jean Vilain Jean-Claude Van Damme Conrad Stonebanks Mel Gibson Agent Marsh / Ocelot Andy Garcia Secondary Antagonists Daniel "Dan" Paine Steve Austin General Garza David Zayas Lawrence "The Brit" Sparks Gary Daniels Hector Scott Adkins Goran Vata Robert Davi Suarto Rahmat Iko Uwais
Main All the following characters are all shown to be members of the Expendables at some point in the films.
Barney Ross Barney Ross, portrayed by Sylvester Stallone, is the leader of the Expendables, who served as USAF pilot and Marine before becoming a mercenary. He is hired by Agent Church in the first film to investigate suspicious activities on the island of Vilena and take out its fanatical dictator, General Garza. Barney considers abandoning the job after finding out that renegade CIA agent James Munroe is using Vilena as a source of narcotics production. However, he is impressed by the courage of Garza's rebellious daughter and ends up taking down both Garza and Munroe. Though Barney completes his assignment, Church wants compensation for the death of Munroe and hires the Expendables in the second film to recover a briefcase containing sensitive information from a downed plane in Albania . Since the case is locked in a booby-trapped safe, Church forces Barney to take hacker Maggie Chan along for the mission. Barney reluctantly accepts and the mission goes off without a hitch. However, Barney's crew is ambushed by arms-dealer Jean Vilain and his gang, the Sangs. Vilain murders Barney's rookie crew member Billy the Kid and takes the briefcase, which contains a computer map revealing the location of five tons of discarded plutonium. Vowing vengeance, Barney and the crew hunt down Vilain. After a one-on-one battle at an airport, Barney kills Vilain.
In the third film, Barney and his crew, now reinforced by veteran member Doctor Death, are sent to take down an arms dealer who turns out to be Expendables co-founder Conrad Stonebanks. The mission ends in disaster and Hale Caesar is severely injured. Barney is tasked by CIA agent Drummer to arrest Stonebanks and deliver him to the Hague for war crimes; Ross subsequently forms a new Expendables team, disbanding the former members. The new team is initially successful, catching Stonebanks during a deal in Poland, but they were captured when Stonebanks' lackeys come to rescue him. Barney initially plans to go after Stonebanks accompanied only by ex-mercenary Galgo, but the old team rejoins him on a mission to take down Stonebanks in Asmenistan. Barney confronts Stonebanks on the floor level of a demolished hotel in a fist fight that ends with Barney fatally shooting Stonebanks and narrowly escaping the collapsing building.
Barney is very close to his teammates and often worries over their safety, showing great remorse over the death of Billy the Kid and even disbanding his former team after Hale Caesar is hospitalised. He also expresses some regret when it comes to his life choices; when Billy states his intention to retire and live with his girlfriend, Barney shows no ill will towards him and commends his choice, stating that he would likely do the same if given the choice. His signature weapon is a revolver pistol, which he keeps hidden in a holster behind him in order to take targets by surprise, and is also an expert pilot. Barney has an affinity for skulls, which feature prominently in his personal effects. The most notable of these is his lucky ring, which he gives to Hale Caesar while he recovers in hospital.
Lee Christmas Lee Christmas, portrayed by Jason Statham, is a former SAS soldier, Barney's closest friend and right-hand man on the Expendables team. Barney frequently trusts Lee with dangerous missions and takes him along on the recon to Vilena. In the first two films, Lee struggles with his commitment to the team and his girlfriend Lacy, whom he initially intends to marry. Lee often questions Barney's decisions but loyally sticks by him regardless. He shows some hostility towards Doctor Death, as they are both expert knife-users. Lee uses throwing knives and can throw them with amazing speed and accuracy, often taking down multiple opponents at the same time; he is also extremely capable in unarmed combat. Lee is constantly the target of good-natured belittling and jokes from other members, especially Barney. He is picked on due to his size, ego, last name (which lends itself to puns) and his accent, which Agent Drummer cannot understand.
Galgo Galgo, portrayed by Antonio Banderas, is a former soldier and sharpshooter with the Spanish Legion. He later struggles to find work due to his age, sending many fake resumes to Bonaparte. He meets Barney while the latter is on a recruitment mission to form a new team to take down Conrad Stonebanks, but is rejected. When the new team is captured, Galgo approaches Barney and begs to be allowed to help. Barney agrees and Galgo proves himself useful, despite irritating everyone with his constant talking. Barney eventually deduces that Galgo's incessant chatter is due to survivor's guilt; Galgo then reveals that the other members of his unit were killed during a peacekeeping mission. After Stonebanks' death, Galgo is officially accepted into the Expendables.
Antonio Banderas intentionally played against type in the role of Galgo. Banderas had established himself as a suave and serious Latino lead actor; however, as Galgo he performs exaggerated mannerisms and talks constantly.
Yin Yang Yin Yang, portrayed by Jet Li, is another capable unarmed combatant in the team and Kung Fu expert. In the first movie, Yang complains that he should be paid more, due to being smaller than everyone else, and thus having to do more work. He and Gunner are shown to generally dislike one another, although this animosity seems to have eased into a playful rivalry by the time of the second film. Yang is seen at the start of the second film helping to rescue Trench Mauser and an unnamed Chinese hostage (presumably he was being held for ransom, as he is referred to as "moneybags" by Christmas) but leaves the team to escort the billionaire back to China while the others return to the US. Yang returns near the finale of the third film, now in Trench's employ; the two are called in on short-notice by Agent Drummer and Trench Mauser to help the Expendables take down Conrad Stonebanks.
Director Simon West confirms that Jet Li's lessened role in The Expendables 2 was due to scheduling conflicts; as such, Li only appears in the film's opening and in one fight scene.
Doctor "Doc" Death Doctor "Doc" Death, portrayed by Wesley Snipes, is a former U.S. Army Special Forces medic, martial arts and knives expert of the team; he is often referred to as simply "Doc". Introduced in the third Expendables film, he was a member of the original Expendables team that was founded by Barney Ross and Conrad Stonebanks, before being imprisoned for 8 years. He is rescued and freed from a prison train by Ross, Christmas, Toll Road and Gunner Jensen. He is often shown in playful competition with Christmas over who is more skilled with knives. He assists the team in Somalia to take down a dealer named Victor Minz, only to be startled in discovering that Minz is really Stonebanks. After Stonebanks wounds Caesar, he, Christmas, Toll Road and Gunner are dismissed by Ross. Later on, they all rejoin Barney to go after Stonebanks.
Wesley Snipes was originally offered the role of Hale Caesar, but was forced to turn it down due to serving a three-year sentence for tax evasion, which is referenced in the third film. Once he was released, Stallone offered him the role of Doc.
Gunner Jensen Gunner Jensen, portrayed by Dolph Lundgren, is a heavy weapons expert and member of the Expendables with degree in chemical engineering. It is stated by Barney in the first film that Gunner is a drug user and it is implied that this has affected his mental and emotional stability, leading to Barney reluctantly discharging Gunner from the team after he needlessly tries to hang a Somali pirate at the end of a hostage recovery mission. Gunner is later hired by James Munroe to provide intel on Barney and the Expendables when they begin disrupting his drug operation in Vilena. After a chase and a fight with his former teammate Yin Yang, Gunner is shot by Barney, but survives and gives Barney the info he needs to take Munroe down. He later rejoins the Expendables and participates in their subsequent missions in the next two films, including their missions against Vilain and Stonebanks respectively.
Gunner seems to have overcome his drug problem in the later films, as he is depicted as much more clear-headed. He and Yin Yang share a mutual dislike of each other in the first film, but this has seemingly devolved into good-natured ribbing by the second film. Gunner is often used as comic relief in The Expendables 2, and there are many in-jokes related to Dolph Lundgren's real-life persona, namely his degree in Chemistry, scholarship to MIT and his Swedish heritage; another source of comedy is Gunner's unsuccessful attempts to hit on Maggie Chan. The role of Gunner was retooled for Lundgren after Jean-Claude Van Damme declined the role during production of the first film.
Toll Road Toll Road, portrayed by Randy Couture is the demolitions expert of the Expendables team. He has a relatively minor role in all three films, but takes part in the campaigns against Munroe, Vilain and Stonebanks. It is stated in the first film that he wrestled in college and this has left him with a cauliflower ear; he is highly self-conscious of his ear and is easily angered when other team members comment on it.
Hale Caesar Hale Caesar, portrayed by Terry Crews, is another heavy weapons expert and the muscle-house of the Expendables team. He is usually given assignments that require amazing feats of strength; in the second film, Caesar holds open one of two spring-loaded doors by himself to allow Maggie Chan access to a safe, while the other door is only held back by the combined strength of Barney and Lee. Caesar is also often used as comic relief (his name is a pun on "hail Caesar") and has some unexpected talents, such as being a good cook. The plot of the third film revolves around Barney and his crew exacting vengeance on Stonebanks, who nearly kills Caesar. After a failed assassination mission, Caesar is shot through the back by Stonebanks with a sniper rifle and left hospitalized. He is recovering well by the film's end, and returns Barney's lucky ring.
Billy "The Kid" Timmons