Terrence Steadman 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 to be framed in the murder because his father leaked information about Ecofield, which was Steadman's company. Lincoln was fired from an Ecofield warehouse, just weeks before he was framed for killing Steadman.
Biography
Season 1
After Lincoln's arrest, Steadman was forced into hiding, confined to a house his sister had purchased for him in Blackfoot, 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 including his wife. 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" biodegradable grave in order to fool dental records should the body ever be exhumed. The body was exhumed in the episode "By the Skin and Teeth" Steadman was forced to use a set of dentures, and is often shown to be drinking blended foods, as they are friendly to his toothless condition.
The first person outside the conspiracy to learn Steadman was stillalive was Veronica Donovan when she was told by Daniel Hale shortly before he was shot to death by his ex-co-worker, Paul Kellerman, 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. In the finale of season 1, Veronica travelled to the house, snuck in, and confronted Steadman.
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. Steadman was laterly kidnapped by rogue Secret Service agent Paul Kellerman, Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows in order to expose him to the connections that Burrows had in Washington but he took Burrows' handgun and shot himself in the head resulting in his suicide.
Post-Death
Season 2
Following his death, Michael asked what they should do. Paul did use his badge and did if he did arrest Michael and Lincoln. They escaped and later filmed a video in which they explained that Terrence Steadman died yesterday and a few years days earlier died Veronica Donovan, because she discovered the truth about Steadman.
Season 4
Michael mentioned to Lincoln that he already thought that Lincoln was innocent for the death of Terrence Steadman. Terrence was later mentioned on the news, when a news reporter said that Lincoln was responsible for the death of Naveen Banerjee.
Appearances
Season 1
- Pilot (Mentioned only)
- Allen (Mentioned only)
- Brother's Keeper (First appearance)
- Tonight
Season 2
- Manhunt
- John Doe
- The Message (Corpse only)
Season 4
- Cowboys and Indians (Mentioned only)
Bodyguards
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| Picture | Name | Episode | Number | Manner of death | Information | |||||||
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Agent Blondie | John Doe | 1 | Shot by Alexander Mahone | Blondie guarded Terrence for a short time. Blondie did kill Veronica Donovan in front of Terrence Steadman. He was later killed by Mahone. | |||||||
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Bodyguard I | John Doe | 2 | Shot by Paul Kellerman | This man guarded Terrence and was shot by Kellerman. | |||||||
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Bodyguard II | John Doe | 3 | Shot by Paul Kellerman | This man guarded Terrence and was shot by Kellerman. | |||||||
Trivia
 Terrence Steadman played by a possible unknown actor. |
- He appeared in The Message as dead body. It's unknown if he was portrayed by Jeff Perry, but his body was seen. Since he wasn't credited, it's very likely that he has been portrayed by an unknown performer.
- Terrence's death marks the first time that Lincoln Burrows is involved in a death that he didn't commit. The second time is in Naveen Banerjee's death.
- He has one of the most ironic deaths. When Lincoln is on the run along with Michael, he use the gun from Lincoln to kill himself. If they would explain that that was Terrence Steadman, Lincoln's fingerprints would be still being on the gun. This could have said that "Lincoln killed Terrence Steadman".
- Terrence had no mention at all about him in season 3, while the show was actually around him and "his death".
- Terrence has been more mentioned during the show then he actually appeared in the show.
- Ironically enough, Terrence pointed a gun at Lincoln, "his killer". However, Lincoln pointed earlier a gun at him. Terrence also died in front of "his killer".
- Terrence never saw his sister during season 2. Terrence was at his home, while the President had her own schedule. Also, Patricia Wettig was playing in an other show and appeared as Caroline Reynolds after his death.
Behind the scenes
Portrayal
 A decoy body of Terrence Steadman |
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.