Phil Callahan, portrayed by John Reynolds, is a recurring character in Stranger Things. He is a police officer at the Hawkins Police Department, and is typically seen working alongside Police Chief Hopper and Officer Powell.
History
1983
On the morning of November 7th, 1983, deputies Phil Callahan and Calvin Powell were playing cards (specifically, five card draw), when Police Chief Jim Hopper arrived late for work, seemingly hungover. Callahan jokingly mocked his appearance, saying that he "looked like Hell", with Hopper countering by claiming that he "looked better than [his] wife when [he] left her [that] morning".
Callahan accompanied Hopper to Hawkins Middle School, where they questioned Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, and Dustin Henderson regarding the disappearance of Will Byers. When Mike brought up Mirkwood, Hopper turned to Callahan and asked if he had ever heard of it, to which he responded that it "seemed made up". The boys promptly informed them that, although the nickname they had attributed to the street was made up (derived from The Hobbit), it was in fact real, and was located where Cornwallis and Kerley met.
Hopper and Callahan, now accompanied by Officer Powell, began searching along Mirkwood. During their search, Hopper stumbled across Will's bike, abandoned in a ditch, in a rather haphazard manner. Callahan brought up the possibility of Will having fallen off of his bike and having gotten injured, but Hopper thought this as odd, effectively shutting down the theory by suggesting that he would have walked his bike home instead of leaving it there. The three officers proceeded to bring the bike back to the Byers', and began conducting a search of the house for any evidence that Will had managed to get home the evening of his disappearance. As Hopper became preoccupied while inspecting the shed, Callahan finally managed to get his attention. Hopper then urged Callahan to call Flo in order to organize a search party.[1]
Whilst in attendance of the search party, Hopper briefly met with Callahan and Powell to discuss if they had come across any further evidence. After Hopper had promptly walked ahead, Callahan had inquired if he had once had sexual relations with Joyce, though Powell did not dignify his inquiry with an answer, much to the former’s chagrin.
The officers, undeterred by the lack of further evidence, continued their search at the quarry. As Callahan stood at the cliff's edge, Hopper advised him to back away. Callahan, with his typical misguided self-assuredness, claimed that he could make the jump, recounting how George Burness had survived whilst drunk, to win a bet. Hopper warned him that the fall would kill him, but Callahan remained unconvinced. Hopper then received a call from Flo, who promptly beseeched him to head over to Benny's. After arriving at the diner, the officers found Benny's corpse, propped up as if to make his death appear like a suicide. The discovery, along with the disappearance of Will Byers, made Callahan remark that Hopper must have "[felt] like a big city cop again".
Callahan was present when Hopper questioned Earl regarding Benny. When Earl mentioned that a "boy" with a shaven head tried to steal food from Benny, Callahan presented him a copy of Will’s missing poster. Hopper wondered if the child that Earl had witnessed could potentially have been Will, albeit with a buzz cut. Initially, Earl was unable to give him an answer (at least, with some degree of certainty), but he eventually concluded that the kid could have been Will. That evening, as Callahan, Powell, and Hopper partook in another search party, Callahan pondered upon the validity of Earl's statement. Their attention was suddenly drawn to Scott Clarke, who had found a piece of ripped cloth at the edge of a drainage pipe, which led to Hawkins National Laboratory.
The next day, the three officers decided to investigate the laboratory, but were initially denied entry by the security guard. Hopper swiftly convinced him to let them enter the premises, and they were then escorted by the Hawkins Head of Security, who dismissed their claims regarding the disappearance of Will Byers. He insisted that they would have been aware if a kid had managed to sneak into the lab, due to the extensive security footage at their disposition. Hopper then requested to see the footage from the night of the 6th and 7th, and, fulfilling his request, the head of security led the officers into the lab, allowing them to view the footage. Following their departure from the building, Hopper realized that there was no rain present within the footage, when it was, in fact, raining on the evening of the 7th, furthering his suspicion of the lab.
Callahan was present at the scene when what was assumed to be the body of Will Byers was retrieved from the quarry, and subsequently accompanied Hopper and Powell to the Byers' house, where he briefly spoke with Joyce and Jonathan.
At the high school, Callahan and Powell questioned Nancy in regards to the evening of Barbara Holland’s disappearance. Nancy believed that a strange creature she had observed may have taken Barb, urging the officers to go and investigate Steve's house. Callahan informed her that they had already searched the residence and had come across no evidence that would substantiate Nancy’s claim—not even Barb's car. The officers believed that Barb had possibly run away due to jealousy, but Nancy insisted Barb would never do anything of the like.
Being unable to contact him, both Callahan and Powell visited Hopper at his trailer. Whilst there, they informed him that Bev Mooney was worried about Dale and Henry, who had not returned from their hunting trip. Additionally, they also apprised him that state police had found Barbara Holland's car parked at a bus station, leading to their consideration of the possibility that she had run away.
Following a theft at Bradley's Big Buy, Callahan and Powell were called to the store by the manager. They took statements from the manager, as well as a clerk, who described the shoplifter's appearance to the officers.
As Jonathan and Steve fought in an alleyway, Callahan and Powell arrived on the scene. While trying to restrain them, Callahan was unintentionally hit in the face by Jonathan. As Powell arrested Jonathan, Callahan pursued Steve and his friends but was unable to successfully apprehend them.
Callahan notified Hopper of Jonathan's arrest, summoning both him and Joyce to the police station. When they arrived, they urged Callahan to remove Jonathan's handcuffs. Callahan refused, stating the reason he was wearing them was because he had assaulted a police officer. Both he and Powell then revealed the stash of "monster hunting" supplies in the trunk of Jonathan's car. Hopper demanded to know why he was in possession of such items, but Jonathan claimed that he would not believe him.
As Hopper spoke with Jonathan and Nancy in his office, a woman came to the station in order to report that her son's arm had been broken by a "psychotic child." As Callahan and Powell questioned her, they got into an argument, with her believing that they were humiliating her son. She demanded an apology and to speak with the chief. Callahan argued to Hopper that he was just trying to state facts, but Hopper told the officers to take a statement. When Troy described the girl's appearance, Hopper took interest and asked for more information. He then explained the girl's telekinetic abilities, and that she was with Mike, Lucas, and Dustin.
On Christmas Eve, Callahan attended the Christmas party held at the police station.
1984
Sometime after the events unfolding in the week of November 6th, 1983, deputy Callahan grew a "police style" mustache (known more commonly as a ‘pornstache’). When journalist Murray Bauman came to the police station to convince Hopper of his claim of the presence of Russian spies in Hawkins, Callahan laughed away and trifled his theory, sarcastically asking whether "the spies [were] in cahoots with the aliens". He and Calvin Powell assisted Jim Hopper during the investigation of what was presumed to be a rot, of sorts, within the pumpkin fields.
1985
On July 1st, 1985, Callahan was present when an ambulance took Doris Driscoll as she was found consuming fertilizer. Unnerved by the outlandish nature of the scene, Callahan asked Nancy and Jonathan, who had found the elderly lady in her frenetic state, what "in the name of Jesus [was] going on [there]".
The next day, Callahan visited the The Hawkins Post, and spoke to chief editor Tom Holloway (who had become flayed) regarding the matter, and promptly left prior to Tom calling Nancy and Jonathan into his office and firing them.
1986
On March 22nd, 1986, Callahan was amongst the officers who responded to the Munson trailer, where they discovered the disfigured body of Chrissy Cunningham, who had, ostensibly, been murdered the previous night. Callahan was also present when Powell interrogated Jason Carver apropos of his whereabouts during the evening of Chrissy’s assumed homicide. Callahan also criticized Jason concerning his basketball team’s employment of the abandoned Benny's Burgers as a party spot, informing Jason that Benny's family would be "disappointed by [his] actions".
On March 23rd, Callahan was amongst the deputies who responded to Fred Benson's murder site. There, Powell questioned Nancy, but Nancy was distracted by the arrival of Steve, Dustin, Max, and Robin and does not answer their questions.
On March 26, Callahan was present as Powell interrogates Jason about Patrick McKinney's murder. He also participates in the town hall meeting later that day and threatens to arrest anyone who violates the mandated curfew or attempts to hunt down members of the Hellfire Club.
That night, Callahan responds to the Wheeler House, and later tracks down Dustin, Lucas, and Max at Lover's Lake. He and Powell try to interrogate Max about Eddie's whereabouts, but they are unsuccessful. Callahan is told by Powell that Max, Dustin, Lucas, and Erica have gone up to Nancy's room, but when he opens the door, he discovers that the window is open and finds out that they have escaped the police's custody. Callahan tries in vain to stop Erica from slashing the tire of a police car, and he is among those who watch the kids leave to go to the Munson trailer.
What became of Callahan is unknown after the "earthquake".
Personality
Callahan is portrayed as gullible to an almost obnoxious extent, much alike his fellow deputies, naively subscribing to the belief that George Burness had survived his jump into the quarry, as well as the rumours of Hawkins Lab building "space lasers". As showcased various times throughout his interactions with various individuals (encompassing deputy Calvin Powell, chief Jim Hopper, Nancy Wheeler, etcetera), he is prone to making apathetic, trivialising or downright insensitive comments, such as downplaying Benny Hammond's apparent suicide and poorly handling a complaint regarding Troy Walsh's broken arm. Moreover, he is shown to have an habit of (whether intentionally or not,) overstepping personal boundaries, especially when it comes to personal relationships, displaying a blasé attitude towards his unequivocally crude (and unnecessary) remarks. He once asked Powell whether Hopper and Joyce had ever had sexual relations, and later insinuated that Steve and Nancy had done more than "just talk".
Callahan effectively fulfils the stereotype of deputies within rural midwestern zones; he is generally guileless, naive, obnoxious, and bumbling, and occasionally exhibits qualities of haughtiness or conceitedness (such as during his interrogation of Erica, Max, Dustin, and Lucas), despite doing nothing to substantiate such behaviour.
Appearances
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Video games
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Gallery
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For this subject's gallery, see Phil Callahan/Gallery. |
Trivia
- Callahan's surname is likely a reference to Inspector Harry Callahan, the character played by Clint Eastwood in the "Dirty Harry" film series from the '70s and '80s.
- His badge number is 420, presumably a subtle nod to cannabis or to the act of smoking it.
- Season 5 is the only season Callahan does not appear in.