Dr. David Bowman — 2001: A Space Odyssey Character Profile

About Dr. David Bowman

Commander of Discovery One, evolves into a cosmic being after encountering the monolith.

Dr. David Bowman — Character Profile

Alignment

Hero

Species

Human

Abilities

Space navigation, EVA operations, Critical thinking, Monolith encounter, Cosmic evolution

• Strength: 6/10
• Intelligence: 9/10
• Charisma: 7/10
• Morality: 8/10
• Influence: 9/10

Affiliations

• Space Odyssey universe

Quick Facts about Dr. David Bowman

Occupation

astronaut

Dr. David Bowman's Known Relations

• HAL 9000 — Enemy

Dr. David Bowman appears in 2 titles

• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• 2010 (1984) — character page

Character Facts

Played by

Keir Dullea

Appears in

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Role

Protagonist

Relationships (4)

• Dr. David Bowman — related — Dr. Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood)
• Dr. David Bowman — Alliance Teammate — Dr. Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood)

  Fellow astronauts sharing the high-stakes Jupiter mission.

• Dr. David Bowman — Conflict Arch Enemy — HAL 9000 (Douglas Rain)

  Protagonist forced to destroy the sentient AI to survive.

• Dr. David Bowman — Professional Mission Director — Dr. Heywood Floyd (William Sylvester)

  Earth-based official overseeing the space exploration program.

Explore the full interactive character relationship map of 2001: A Space Odyssey

More characters from 2001: A Space Odyssey

• Dr. Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood)
• Dr. Heywood Floyd (William Sylvester)
• HAL 9000 (Douglas Rain)
• Astronaut (Bill Weston)
• Moonwatcher (Daniel Richter)
• Aries-1B Stewardess (Edwina Carroll)
• Dr. Andrei Smyslov (Leonard Rossiter)
• Elena (Margaret Tyzack)
• Stewardess (Penny Brahms)
• Aries-1B Lunar Shuttle Captain (Ed Bishop)
• Poole's Mother (Ann Gillis)
• Poole's Father (Alan Gifford)