John Nolan’s Villain Role: What Made John Greer So Terrifying in Person of Interest

Credit:- CBS

Actor John Nolan’s recent passing was a heartbreaking moment for fans of the CBS hit show, Person of Interest. Nolan was the uncle of filmmaker Christopher Nolan and his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Interestingly, Jonathan was the creator of the show and cast his uncle as the primary antagonist, John Greer.

John Nolan was introduced in the second season of the show, and from his very first appearance, he established himself as a truly menacing villain. A former MI6 agent, Greer later joined Decima Technologies and devoted his life to serving the totalitarian artificial intelligence, Samaritan.

Greer made it his mission to hunt down Finch and Reese (Michael Emerson and Jim Caviezel) and destroy the Machine (Finch’s all-seeing AI), allowing Samaritan to take control. His efforts continued throughout the series, causing significant damage to the protagonists and their allies.

Nolan passed away at the age of 87 on Saturday, April 11. Beyond his iconic role in Person of Interest, he enjoyed a decades-long career across stage, film, and television. He appeared in his nephew Chris Nolan’s movie Batman Begins as a member of the board of Wayne Enterprises. He also appeared in the director’s debut film, Following. Their final collaboration came in 2017’s Dunkirk.

How John Greer Made Samaritan More Terrifying Than The Machine

John Nolan’s John Greer in Person of Interest swore his allegiance to the British MI6 in his early days, but was changed by the betrayal that happened to him. In 1973, a young Greer was ordered to kill the Russian spy named Oleg Luski. During the capture of Luski, Greer’s partner, Jacob, is shot and killed.

When he interrogates Luski, he learns that Blackwood, who gave him the order to kill Luski, was a double agent. He kills Blackwood, but not before telling him that the boundaries between worlds will be erased, eliminating the need for organizations like MI6.

It was probably this incident that motivated his actions in the future. When we see him in the show for the first time, he is already on a mission to destroy the Machine. He sent his men after Daniel Casey for the laptop that was used to hack into the Machine. In another attempt, he uploaded a virus developed by his company, Decima, to infect the Machine.

After these two failed attempts, he then turned his attention to a second AI project, Samaritan, developed by Finch’s MIT classmate, Arthur Claypool. It was abandoned and stored away in a bank vault, but a Decima operative was able to retrieve the project.

Multiple attempts later, John Greer now had Samaritan fully operational and more dangerous than the Machine. While the Machine used its functions to help people, Samaritan’s purpose was complete control. It didn’t hesitate to eliminate any threats against its totalitarianism.

It was exactly what Greer wanted from the beginning, and he slowly began to take commands from the super AI. Finch, Reese, and the others went into hiding, but not before taking a small part of the Machine with them. The rest of the show saw Finch’s team going up against Samaritan and Greer. In the end, many lives were lost before the Machine could regain control.

What Happened to John Nolan’s Character in the Finale

John Nolan as John Greer in Person of Interest | Credits: CBS

John Nolan’s character had a purpose in Person of Interest. Once he saw his purpose being fulfilled, he did everything in his power to protect it. Greer wanted an all-powerful intelligence overseeing the entire world with no boundaries. Once Samaritan took over control, Greer still wanted Finch eliminated or brought to their side, so that he didn’t pose a threat to Samaritan.

To what extent did this man go to help the Samaritan?

In the penultimate episode, Finch infiltrates Fort Meade to destroy Samaritan with the help of the ICE-9 virus. However, before he can unleash it, Greer’s operatives apprehend him and bring him to Greer. In a final attempt to convince Finch to merge Samaritan and the Machine’s powers, Greer lists all the good that Samaritan had done, including global food distribution and preemptive health screening.

The scene proved that Greer truly believed in his cause, even admitting that he did what he did to save humanity. He further told Finch that a “great filter flood” was coming and Samaritan’s “ark” was the only way for them to escape.

However, Finch wasn’t drawn to Greer’s idea of a much better world. Shockingly, Greer’s final idea to stop Finch was to kill him, but also sacrifice himself along with Finch. He locks himself and Finch in a sealed room and has the air sucked out.

The man goes through a painstaking death from lack of oxygen for his cause. But all in vain, because Finch managed to escape with the help of the Machine.

John Nolan Made John Greer One of TV’s Coldest Villains

John Nolan as John Greer in Person of Interest | Credits: CBS

John Nolan’s Greer was one of the coldest villains that TV ever produced. He was too focused on his mission to ‘save humanity’ that nothing mattered more to him than Samaritan. In an earlier episode, Root and Finch are captured by Decima’s operatives when they try to infiltrate their Base of Operations.

Martine Rousseau, who has been one of Greer’s key operatives, prepares to torture Root to get information out of Finch. However, Root breaks free for a moment and snaps Martine’s neck, killing her. A nonchalant Greer asks his men to remove her body.

It was the first time that Finch had seen this side of Greer: committed to his cause and not even caring about the death of one of his best operatives. It truly surprised him, and he even asked Greer about this nonchalant response. Interestingly, Finch and Greer have a similar conversation again in the penultimate episode.

During their final encounter, Finch asks him about the numerous lives that he and Decima took for their cause. However, Greer stood by his idea that it was all necessary for the future of humanity. By taking his own life, Greer tried to show that even he didn’t matter in the larger scheme of things.

John Nolan was the perfect casting for this role. His age did not prevent him from portraying such a cold and calculating villain in his nephew’s show. Nolan played a man of unwavering conviction. And he brought that intensity to the screen with remarkable effectiveness, sending a chill down the spine every time he appeared. Rest in peace, Nolan.

What do you think of John Nolan’s performance in Person of Interest? Let us know in the comments below!

Person of Interest is now available for streaming on Prime Video.