Character Relationship Map: Vice

Characters

• Dick Cheney (played by Christian Bale) — protagonist

  Dick Cheney is the film’s central subject, portrayed from his early work in Wyoming through his rise in Washington. He becomes White House Chief of Staff, Secretary of Defense, Halliburton CEO, and vi...

• Donald Rumsfeld (played by Steve Carell) — supporting

  Donald Rumsfeld is Cheney’s early political mentor and later his partner in national-security policy. He helps Cheney become a skilled political operative, serves as Secretary of Defense, and works wi...

• George W. Bush (played by Sam Rockwell) — supporting

  George W. Bush recruits Cheney as his running mate in the 2000 election. Cheney accepts after securing delegated executive responsibilities and an agreement concerning gay rights, then works within hi...

• David Addington (played by Don McManus) — supporting

  David Addington is legal counsel during George W. Bush’s administration and works closely with Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Scooter Libby, and Mary Matalin. He belongs to the group that expands Cheney’s i...

• Scooter Libby (played by Justin Kirk) — supporting

  Scooter Libby serves as Chief of Staff during Cheney’s vice presidency and works with Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, David Addington, and Mary Matalin. He is part of the inner political group that helps Che...

• Antonin Scalia (played by Matthew Jacobs) — minor
• Kurt (played by Jesse Plemons) — supporting

  Kurt is the film’s fictional narrator, introduced as a veteran of the Afghan and Iraq wars. He narrates Cheney’s career and deathbed farewell, then dies in a traffic accident. His heart is transplante...

• Mary Matalin (played by Camille James Harman) — minor

  Mary Matalin works with Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, David Addington, and Scooter Libby during George W. Bush’s administration. She is part of the political inner circle depicted as helping Cheney coordin...

• Gerald Ford (played by Bill Camp) — supporting

  Gerald Ford becomes president after Richard Nixon’s resignation, and Cheney rises to White House Chief of Staff during Ford’s administration. Cheney’s service under Ford marks a major step in his poli...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Mary Matalin → George W. Bush (Professional Political Colleague) — Matalin is connected to Bush through the administration's political structure.

  Mary Matalin is included among the political officials working in Cheney's vice-presidential operation under Bush.

• George W. Bush → Scooter Libby (Professional Administration Colleague) — Libby is a senior official within Bush's administration.

  Libby serves as Cheney's chief of staff during Bush's vice-presidential administration.

• George W. Bush → David Addington (Professional Administration Colleague) — Addington is part of the administration's executive-policy network.

  Addington works within the Bush administration as legal counsel alongside Cheney.

• Donald Rumsfeld → Gerald Ford (Professional Secretary Of Defense) — Rumsfeld serves in Ford's cabinet during the cabinet shake-up.

  During Ford's presidency, Rumsfeld becomes Secretary of Defense.

• Dick Cheney → Gerald Ford (Professional Chief Of Staff) — Cheney serves Ford as a senior White House official.

  After Nixon's resignation, Cheney becomes White House Chief of Staff for President Gerald Ford.

Story Dynamics

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

• David Addington → Scooter Libby (Alliance Executive Team Colleague) — They operate as members of Cheney's senior policy team.

  Addington and Libby are both named among the officials working with Cheney during his vice presidency.

• Donald Rumsfeld → Scooter Libby (Alliance Policy Network Colleague) — Their roles overlap within Cheney's administration.

  Rumsfeld and Libby work within the group surrounding Cheney's foreign-policy and defense decisions.

• Donald Rumsfeld → David Addington (Alliance Policy Network Colleague) — They belong to the same executive-power network.

  Rumsfeld and Addington are both identified as collaborators in Cheney's vice-presidential policy operation.

• George W. Bush → Donald Rumsfeld (Defense Team Alliance) — Rumsfeld serves as a major defense-policy partner within Bush's administration.

  Rumsfeld works with Cheney during Bush's administration on the response to September 11 and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

• Kurt → Scooter Libby (Narrative Narrated Subject) — Libby is presented as part of Cheney's inner administration.

  Kurt's narration includes Libby among Cheney's senior vice-presidential collaborators.

• Kurt → David Addington (Narrative Narrated Subject) — Addington appears as part of the executive-power narrative.

  Kurt's account includes Addington's work with Cheney during the vice presidency.

• Kurt → Donald Rumsfeld (Narrative Narrated Subject) — Rumsfeld is one of the principal figures in Kurt's account.

  Kurt narrates Rumsfeld's mentorship of Cheney and their later wartime cooperation.

• Kurt → George W. Bush (Narrative Narrated Subject) — Kurt presents Bush as a central figure in Cheney's political rise.

  Kurt's narration covers Bush's invitation to Cheney and the administration's later decisions.

• Dick Cheney → Kurt (Narrative Counterpart) — Kurt functions as the narrator and becomes physically connected to Cheney through the transplant.

  Kurt narrates Cheney's story, later dies in a traffic accident, and has his heart transplanted into Cheney.

• Dick Cheney → Antonin Scalia (Social Political Introduction) — Scalia exposes Cheney to an important theory of executive power.

  During Cheney's tenure in the Ford administration, a young Antonin Scalia introduces him to the unitary executive theory.

Story Analysis

The film follows Dick Cheney's quiet rise from political operative to vice president while examining executive power, war, and personal compromise.

Plot Progression

1. From Wyoming To Washington — Dick Cheney moves from personal instability into political work. His contact with Rumsfeld and exposure to executive secrecy begin shaping his ambitions.
2. The Making Of Power — Cheney rises through the Ford administration and encounters the unitary executive theory. A heart attack interrupts his congressional campaign but does not end his political ascent.
3. War And Corporate Distance — Cheney advances conservative policies, serves as defense secretary during the Gulf War, and then becomes Halliburton's CEO. The apparent private-sector ending is revealed as false.
4. The Vice Presidency — Bush recruits Cheney as his running mate after accepting Cheney's conditions about delegated authority. Cheney builds an influential network inside the administration.
5. War And Consequences — The September 11 attacks lead to invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and to a series of controversies. Cheney's influence grows while the administration's public approval declines.
6. The Unrepentant Survivor — The film stages Cheney's apparent deathbed farewell, Kurt's death, and the heart transplant that symbolically links narrator and subject. Cheney ends by addressing the audience without expressing regr...