Ulysses Everett McGill
Protagonist of 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'; charming Depression-era con man
Ulysses Everett McGill is the central character of the Coen Brothers' acclaimed 2000 film 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?', portrayed by George Clooney. A fast-talking, Pomade-loving con man who escapes from a chain gang during the Great Depression, Everett embarks on an odyssey through the American South with two fellow escapees to locate buried treasure and win back his estranged wife. The character is a clever homage to Homer's Odyssey, with the film structured as a picaresque journey filled with colorful Southern characters and adventures. Everett's defining characteristics include his verbose vocabulary, his vanity regarding his pomaded hair, and his ability to talk his way out of dangerous situations. Throughout the film, he encounters sirens, a one-eyed Bible salesman, and various other Homeric parallels while a bluegrass soundtrack accompanies his misadventures. Clooney's charismatic performance and the character's quotable dialogue ('O Brother!', 'I'm a dapper dan man') have made Ulysses Everett McGill an iconic figure in contemporary cinema, representing the everyman antihero navigating a transformed American landscape.
Fictional Character
American
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Thinking about the name
Ulysees
Greek origin
“An alternative spelling of Ulysses with doubled 'e,' this variant creates a more complex, romantic appearance. The extra vowel gives it a softer pronunciation in some English dialects, appealing to parents seeking a distinctive spelling that feels more literary or poetic than standard forms.”