Number Six (The Prisoner)

Number 6 is the central character in the 1960s television series The Prisoner, played by Patrick McGoohan. In the AMC remake, the character is played by Jim Caviezel, renamed "Six". In the original-series episode "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling," and due to its mind-transfer plotline, Number 6 is portrayed by .

In several episodes, his attempts to escape his prison the Village would be foiled, either by Number 2, the place's chief administrator, who was frequently changed, or by Rover, an enigmatic artificial guardian that resembles a weather balloon.

Much of Number 6's background is kept a mystery during the series, and not even his true name is revealed.

In the first episode, it is stated that he was born on 19 March 1928 (the same date as McGoohan's birthday), and that he held a position of some responsibility with the British government, possibly in some branch of British Intelligence, but the exact nature of his job is not known.

Several episodes suggest he was a spy or similar operative (code number ZM-73, as well as several other aliases). He is shown to be highly sagacious, if not a genius, with tremendous proficiency and expertise in subjects ranging from fencing, boxing and marksmanship to mathematics, languages and astronomy.

A central theme in the series was Number 2's attempt to discover why Number 6 resigned from his position.

Many people as well as the series itself postulate that those in control of the Village are either testing Number 6, or actually want to know why he resigned. Even according to McGoohan during subsequent interviews, the answer is not clear: others suggest the Village first wants to find why he resigned, hoping this revelation would unleash a torrent of other information. (At least one Number 2 believes it would: in "The Chimes of Big Ben", Number 2 says, "If he will answer one simple question, the rest will follow: Why did he resign?")

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