James "Sonny" Crockett

James "Sonny" Crockett
Miami Vice character
Don Johnson as Sonny Crockett
First appearance	Brother's Keeper/Pilot
Portrayed by	Don Johnson (series) Colin Farrell (film)
Information
Nickname(s)	Sonny
Aliases	Sonny Burnett
Occupation	Metro-Dade Police (series) Miami-Dade Police (film)
Title	Detective
Family	Jake Crockett (brother, series)
Spouse(s)	Caroline (ex-wife, series) Caitlin Davies (killed in series)
Children	Billy Crockett (with Caroline)
Relatives	Jack Crockett (cousin, series)
Nationality	American

Detective James "Sonny" Crockett is a fictional character from the Miami Vice television series and Miami Vice (film). The character is portrayed by Don Johnson in the television series, and Colin Farrell in the movie version of the show. He was introduced in the Miami Vice pilot in 1984 and appeared in almost all 111 episodes (except one Season 5 episode called Borrasca) and in the motion picture. The character has also appeared in video games and various popular culture references.

James Crockett (born circa 1950), more commonly known as Sonny Crockett, is a former University of Florida Gators football star who had sustained an injury which put an end to his sports career. He served two tours in Vietnam – or as he calls it, the "Southeast Asia Conference". He first appears in the pilot episode of Miami Vice (1984) as an undercover vice cop on the trail of a Colombian drug lord. While undercover he meets Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas), an NYPD undercover officer, who too is on the trail of a drug dealer and cop killer, Calderone (Miguel Pinero).

Calderone and "the Colombian" are the same person. Crockett and Tubbs both go undercover as Sonny Burnett and Rico Cooper respectively, trying to get closer to Calderone. They are successful and in the end capture him. Just as they go to see him in jail, Calderone makes his $2 million bail and is on his way out of the country. Crockett promises Tubbs that they will get him, but as reconciliation asks him if he is interested in a career in Southern Law Enforcement. There begins their new partnership as Vice Cops for the Metro-Dade Police Department (now Miami-Dade Police Department).

At first Crockett appears somewhat hard to get along with (a notion, which he admits himself in episodes Brother's Keeper, and Nobody Lives Forever), and have a hard exterior, but is also a rather caring and loving person. This soft side becomes evident when innocent victims die or suffer injustice as the result of others' mistakes. Crockett despises those who use or deceive others self-serving reasons. He assiduously honors his own promises and commitments, and despite being a man of few words, expects no less from others.