Character Relationship Map: Dave

Characters

• Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell (played by Kevin Kline) — protagonist

  Dave Kovic is a Georgetown temporary-employment agency owner whose resemblance to President Bill Mitchell leads him into an elaborate impersonation. He gradually rejects Bob Alexander’s scheme, improv...

• Ellen Mitchell (played by Sigourney Weaver) — protagonist

  Ellen Mitchell is the estranged First Lady, initially contemptuous of the president she believes she knows. Dave’s empathy and determination to save the homeless shelter change her view, and she disco...

• Bob Alexander (played by Frank Langella) — supporting

  Bob Alexander is the Chief of Staff who turns Dave’s impersonation into a plan for seizing the presidency. He manipulates the succession, frames Vice-President Nance, forges the president’s signature,...

• Alan Reed (played by Kevin Dunn) — supporting

  Alan Reed is the Communications Director who initially hesitates to support Bob Alexander’s deception but later helps sustain the public story about the president’s condition. He warns Bob against des...

• Duane Stevenson (played by Ving Rhames) — supporting

  Duane Stevenson is a Secret Service agent who recruits Dave to impersonate the president and helps maintain the deception. He escorts Dave and Ellen to the hidden hospital room where the real presiden...

• Murray Blum (played by Charles Grodin) — supporting

  Murray Blum is Dave’s accountant friend and a practical adviser during the White House crisis. After Bob Alexander uses a forged signature to block shelter funding, Murray helps Dave design a solution...

• Randi (played by Laura Linney) — supporting

  Randi is a White House staffer involved in a secret affair with the real president. Duane Stevenson recruits Dave to impersonate the president so the real president can meet Randi privately, but the p...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell → Randi (Romantic Affair Partner) — Their affair is the hidden personal crisis behind the presidential substitution.

  The plot explicitly states that Mitchell is having an affair with Randi and suffers a major stroke while having sex with her.

• Duane Stevenson → Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell (Professional Protective Agent) — Duane's protective role connects him to the real president's security and concealment.

  Duane works within the Secret Service context surrounding Mitchell and helps maintain the transition between the real president and the impersonator.

• Bob Alexander → Alan Reed (Professional Political Associate) — Alan functions as Bob's communications partner before turning against him.

  Alan initially accepts Bob's explanation of the plan and tells the press that Mitchell's stroke was minor.

• Ellen Mitchell → Duane Stevenson (Professional Access Facilitator) — Duane enables Ellen to verify the truth behind the presidential deception.

  Duane escorts Ellen and Dave to the secret hospital room beneath the White House so she can see the real Mitchell.

• Ellen Mitchell → Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell (Romantic Estranged Spouse) — Her damaged marriage to the real Mitchell contrasts with her growing bond with Dave.

  Ellen has been estranged from her husband for years and initially treats Dave, believing him to be Mitchell, with contempt.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Alan Reed → Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell (Narrative Truth Bearer) — Alan reveals both Mitchell's culpability and Bob's larger manipulation.

  Alan admits that the evidence implicating Mitchell in the scandal is true, while also helping prove that Bob was the mastermind.

• Bob Alexander → Randi (Narrative Scandal Connection) — Randi's affair is the immediate circumstance Bob exploits.

  Bob's scheme begins after Mitchell suffers a stroke while meeting Randi during their affair, creating the opportunity to conceal Mitchell's condition.

• Bob Alexander → Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell (Alliance Conspirator) — Bob's succession scheme is built around exploiting Mitchell's incapacitation.

  Bob's plan relies on forcing the Vice President out, having Dave appoint Bob as vice president, and then succeeding after Dave fakes another stroke wh...

• Ellen Mitchell → Murray Blum (Alliance Indirect Collaborator) — Murray assists Dave's response to a cause important to Ellen.

  Dave consults Murray before working with the Cabinet to restore the shelter's funding, an issue Ellen staunchly supports.

• Ellen Mitchell → Bob Alexander (Conflict Political Adversary) — Bob's political maneuvering directly threatens Ellen's central social cause.

  Bob forges Mitchell's signature on a veto that threatens funding for the homeless shelter Ellen strongly advocates.

• Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell → Randi (Narrative Impersonation Facilitator) — Randi's affair with Mitchell directly creates the situation that begins Dave's presidential impersonation.

  Duane recruits Dave to impersonate Mitchell so the real Mitchell can meet Randi, a White House staffer with whom Mitchell is having an affair.

• Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell → Murray Blum (Social Trusted Adviser) — Murray is Dave's practical confidant and civilian supporter.

  Dave consults Murray about restoring funding for the homeless shelter. Murray later helps Dave run for the D.C. city council.

• Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell → Duane Stevenson (Alliance Protector) — Duane enables Dave's access to presidential spaces while helping protect the secret.

  Duane recruits Dave for the impersonation and later escorts Dave and Ellen to the secret hospital room beneath the White House.

• Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell → Alan Reed (Alliance Co-conspirator) — Alan first supports the deception, then becomes Dave's critical inside ally.

  Alan initially hesitates but agrees to tell the press that Mitchell's stroke was minor. Later, Alan promises to expose Bob's scheme if Bob destroys Da...

• Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell → Bob Alexander (Conflict Political Manipulator) — Bob uses Dave as the central instrument of his political takeover.

  Bob asks Dave to continue impersonating Mitchell and outlines a plan to remove the Vice President, install himself in the succession, and eventually b...

Story Analysis

A civilian impersonator discovers that authentic leadership can challenge a corrupt political succession scheme.

Plot Progression

1. A Double Steps Forward — Dave's resemblance and comic impersonations lead Duane to recruit him for a presidential appearance. Mitchell's stroke transforms a temporary performance into an emergency national deception.
2. Power Behind the Mask — Bob turns Dave's impersonation into a succession plot, while Alan helps maintain the public story. Dave's popularity grows even as Bob manipulates the administration and targets the Vice President.
3. The Shelter and the Secret — Dave's compassion at Ellen's shelter visit changes her view of him, but Bob's forged veto creates a direct moral and political crisis. Dave works with Murray and the Cabinet to restore the funding, pr...
4. Love Against the Scheme — Ellen discovers that Dave is an impostor and sees the real Mitchell in a hidden hospital room. After learning that Mitchell will not recover, Dave and Ellen spend a night together and begin to fall in...
5. Truth in Congress — Dave fires Bob and announces a national jobs plan, provoking Bob's scandal counterattack. At a joint session of Congress, Dave and Alan expose Bob's responsibility before Dave completes the final swit...
6. A Civilian Future — The jobs plan becomes law, Bob and other officials are indicted, and Alan remains in government. Dave returns to civilian politics, where Ellen visits him and their relationship begins openly.