List of A Series of Unfortunate Events characters

Count Olaf is the franchise's main antagonist and one of the primary characters. His name was chosen to suggest Scandinavian origin to add confusion and ambiguity about the setting of the series. He claims to be a distant relative of the Baudelaires, either their third cousin four times removed, or their fourth cousin three times removed. Olaf is a failing actor (though he claimed to have been considered for major acting awards) and is after the Baudelaire fortune. He and his acting troupe follow the children with dogged determination to obtain their inheritance and kill them. He is known for his one eyebrow, gleaming eyes, and V.F.D. insignia tattoo, shaped like an eye, on his left ankle.

He was once part of the secret organization of V.F.D. (Volunteer Fire Department) before helping to instigate a schism that split its members. He joined the fire-starting side of the organization and was known to have committed a wide assortment of arsons, among numerous other crimes, in his thirst to destroy the organization and gain revenge over his former comrades.

In the 2004 film and its video game adaptation, Olaf was portrayed by Jim Carrey with additional dialogue being provided by Robin Atkin Downes. Unlike in the books, Count Olaf loses custody of the Baudelaires after Mr. Poe sees that he "let Sunny drive" after a failed attempt to get them run over by a train. He does redeem himself to Mr. Poe when he rescues the Baudelaires from the Lachrymose Leeches which leads up to his plot that involved "The Marvelous Marriage". When Count Olaf's plot is exposed, everyone in the audience converges on Count Olaf as the constable arrests him. Although the judge decrees that Count Olaf be made to suffer every hardship he inflicted on the children before serving a life sentence, Count Olaf vanishes after a jury of his peers overturns his sentence. Count Olaf escapes in the video game adaptation when the lights go out, while in a deleted scene of the film has him lifted by his acting troupe with a rope where he flees and swears he'll have the Baudelaire fortune.

In the 2017 TV series, he is portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris. In flashbacks, it is shown that Count Olaf was engaged to Kit Snicket, his father was the chief of the city's official fire department, and his mother had died in a fire. His father was accidentally killed one night at the opera by a poison dart thrown by Beatrice Baudelaire that was meant for Esmé Squalor. As a result, he swore vengeance on Beatrice and the entire V.F.D. After some time wandering underground, Count Olaf was taken in as a student of the Man with a Beard But No Hair and the Woman with Hair But No Beard. Provided by Wikipedia