The Prestige - Characters & Cast

Primarily, Angier is motivated by a burning need to defeat Borden, whom he blames for his wife's death. He is also driven by a desire for the audience's adoration, unsatisfied by letting a double take the final bow. This culminates in his quest for the ultimate trick, one that is truly 'real' and not just an illusion, leading him to Nikola Tesla's machine.

Angier begins as a talented magician but is more of a showman than a true innovator. His wife's death transforms him, fueling a desperate obsession with revenge and outdoing Borden. He is willing to sacrifice everything—his morality, his fortune, and ultimately his own life, repeatedly—for the sake of a perfect illusion. His arc is a descent into moral darkness, starting as a sympathetic grieving husband and ending as a man who murders a copy of himself nightly to win a rivalry.

Borden's primary motivation is the perfection of his craft. He is driven to invent the greatest illusions and is willing to live a fractured, painful life to protect the secret that makes them possible. His rivalry with Angier is secondary to his dedication to magic, though he engages in it fiercely.

Borden is a rougher, working-class magician who is a true innovator and purist of the craft. From the start, he is living a shared life with his identical twin, a secret that allows him to create the perfect illusion but at an immense personal cost. His arc is one of sustained sacrifice. He endures the loss of his wife and lover, imprisonment, and eventually the death of one twin, all to protect their secret and their art. He is colder and more ruthless than Angier initially appears, but his dedication is to the magic itself.

Cutter is motivated by a respect for the craft of magic and a sense of decency. He wants to create brilliant illusions but is horrified by the inhuman lengths Angier goes to. His final motivation is to correct a wrong and protect an innocent child from the wreckage of the magicians' feud.

Cutter is an "ingénieur," a designer of magic tricks who initially works with both Angier and Borden. He serves as a mentor figure to Angier after the split. He represents the traditional ethics and boundaries of magic. His arc involves him becoming increasingly disillusioned with Angier's deepening obsession and cruelty. He ultimately realizes the true horror of what Angier has done and facilitates the final confrontation, choosing to help the surviving Borden twin escape with his daughter.

Sarah is motivated by a desire for a stable, honest love from her husband. She desperately wants to understand the man she married, but his unwavering commitment to his secret makes that impossible, driving her to destruction.

Sarah is Alfred Borden's wife, who is caught in the impossible situation of being married to two men who are sharing one identity. Her arc is a tragic descent into confusion, despair, and madness. She senses the duality in her husband—his wildly shifting moods and affections—but cannot comprehend the truth. This emotional turmoil ultimately leads to her suicide, a direct casualty of the Borden twins' obsessive secret.