Terrence Steadman

From Prison Break Wiki

Terrence Steadman, played first by John Billingsley, then by Jeff Perry, is a fictional character from Fox television series Prison Break.

Steadman is the brother of Caroline Reynolds, the Vice-President and later President of the United States. Steadman was at the center of a conspiracy orchestrated by Reynolds and "The Company" to fake his death and frame Lincoln Burrows for the murder. Supposedly, they chose Lincoln because his father leaked information about Ecofield, Steadman's company. Lincoln was fired from a Ecofield warehouse.

Contents 1 Appearances 1.1 Season 1 1.2 Season 2 2 Portrayal

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Season 1

After Lincoln's arrest, Steadman was forced into hiding, confined to a house his sister had purchased for him in Montana. The house was designed to prevent Steadman from leaving. Windows were made of bullet-proof glass and doors could only be opened from the outside. Additionally, the house was monitored by Secret Service agents. Only a small number of people knew Steadman was still alive; not even his wife knew. Reynolds and the Company went to great lengths to create the illusion of Steadman's death: his teeth were removed and placed in a decoy body buried in Steadman's grave in order to fool dental records should the body ever be exhumed. Steadman was forced to use a set of dentures.

The first person outside the conspiracy to learn Steadman was alive was Veronica Donovan when she was told by Daniel Hale shortly before his death in the episode "End of the Tunnel". Along with Nick Savrinn, she began an exhaustive search to track down Steadman, eventually learning of his house in Montana. Veronica then travelled to the house, snuck in, and confronted Steadman face to face.

[edit] Season 2

In the season premiere, Steadman expresses his reluctance to attempt to leave the house, fearing that he would be killed. Veronica manages to convince him to reconsider. Unfortunately, Veronica's efforts to bring Steadman public were short-lived. When she called the authorities, Secret Service agents arrived and killed her. Steadman could only watch as the agents carried her body away.

After being absent for the next twelve episodes, Steadman's return to the series in the fourteenth episode of the season marks the first confrontation between himself and Lincoln Burrows.

[edit] Portrayal

Steadman appeared in three episodes in the first season, played by John Billingsley. After Billingsley joined the cast of the series The Nine he became unavailable to reprise the role and was replaced by Jeff Perry. Based on how little time the character was seen clearly, series creator Paul Scheuring jokingly questioned in interviews whether Billingsley had ever even been on the show to begin with.

Given Perry's performance, his physical resemblance to Billingsley, the three month hiatus between seasons, and the brevity with which the character was actually seen on-screen during the first season, it remains to be seen how many viewers will notice the change in actors.

Additionally, Steadman's supposed body was seen briefly in a flashback in the episode "Allen" (and later again in reused footage in "Brother's Keeper") played by David Lively. However, this was likely a decoy body, meaning he did not technically play Terrence Steadman, though he was credited as doing so in the end credits at the end of the episode.

Steadman apoligized to the brothers, just before shooting himself in the head.