The Uncharted series is filled to the brim with colorful characters who aren't afraid to make wise-cracking jokes even in the face of danger. It's among the biggest reasons why fans have grown to love the series since Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was released in 2007. These characters are incredibly easy to get attached to and quote. Fans look forward to their appearances and aren't afraid to criticize when their favorite doesn't get as much screen time.
Quite possibly the biggest fan-favorite character in the series is Victor Sullivan, known commonly and informally as Sully. The shifty, cigar-chomping Sully is the mentor and father figure of the series' original lead Nathan Drake. Throughout their journeys together, Sully has played a significant role in Drake's development and growth both as a fortune hunter and as a person. And behind that cigar and iconic mustache is a character with a surprising amount of depth.
Spoiler Warning: This list contains plot spoilers for the Uncharted series.
10 Two Actors Have Portrayed Sully So Far
There have been two actors who have portrayed Sully thus far. The first is Richard McGonagle, who lends his incredibly distinctive voice to the character in each of the games Sully appears in. McGonagle has appeared and voice acted in numerous films, television series, and video games. Beyond Uncharted, one of his most recognizable roles is that of Bato from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
In the live-action Uncharted film, Sully is played by Mark Wahlberg. Wahlberg initially vied for the role of Drake previously, but still managed to take a central role in the movie. Although, it is certainly odd seeing Sully without a mustache.
9 Sully Had A Rough Upbringing
Sully's life did not get off to a smooth start. At the end of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Sully lectures Drake about dealing the hand one's dealt. Sully mentions that he had a rough childhood with "a lousy father." This ultimately led Sully to not want to have children of his own.
The point Sully wanted to make was that despite his upbringing, experiences, and desires, he still accepted the teenage Drake into his life. Sully raised Drake and taught him nearly everything he knew about this line of work. He wanted to provide Drake with the father neither truly had, leading this to become one of the best things to happen to either character's lives.
8 Sully Served In The Navy And Was Dishonorably Discharged
Another aspect of Sully's background that was revealed in Drake's Deception was the fact Sully served in the US Navy. This bit of background was key to finding the location of Iram of the Pillars (the "Atlantis of the Sands"). Sully not only had the ability to read the stars to discern the lost city's location, but he was also able to firmly commit those coordinates to memory. This would lead to his capture as he was the only person with this vital information.
In his multiplayer bio for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Sully is stated to have been dishonorably discharged from the US Navy for "running scams." The bio doesn't go more in-depth as to what those scams were.
7 Sully's History As A Smuggler
Sully's life of crime and adventure didn't begin upon meeting Drake. After his dishonorable discharge from the US Navy, Sully became a smuggler who would be hired to acquire goods, particularly stolen goods. This would lead to Sully working with undesirable people such as Panamanian drug lord Hector Alcazar, for who Sully smuggled Japanese woodcut prints for.
Later on, Sully would meet Katherine Marlowe, the eventual antagonist of Drake's Deception, with who he would develop a romantic relationship with. Through her, Sully was tasked with stealing Sir Francis Drake's ring and astrolabe in Cartagena, Columbia. It is there Sully would meet Drake, which changed the course of both of their lives forever. Sully also often finds himself in debt, which would lead to his and Drake's conflict with Gabriel Roman in Drake's Fortune.
6 Naturally, Sully Owns A Bar
It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that Sully owns a bar. Not much is known about the bar, but it has made two appearances. The first appearance come from outside of the games as Sully's Bar was a social space in PlayStation's social platform PlayStation Home. In PlayStation Home, Sully's Bar is fully explorable with different rooms to where players can enjoy aspects of Uncharted's history and play an arcade mini-game.
Sully's Bar does appear once in the games, although it looks different than how it's depicted in PlayStation Home. Sully's Bar appearance in the PlayStation Vita's Uncharted: Golden Abyss is in a cutscene where Drake requests Sully's help to save Marisa Chase. The bar also has a parrot that players can use the touchscreen to tap, making it say comical lines.
5 Sully Was Initially Not A Fan Of Sam
Drake had two role models to look up to growing: Sully, and Nathan's brother, Sam Drake. Sully and Sam, however, did not initially see eye-to-eye. Sam was in and out of prison. It's understandable that Sam would be off-put by leaving prison one day and discovering his teenage brother now travels with a middle-aged man. Sam did not trust Sully, which Sully reciprocated likely seeing Sam as a bad influence and poor protector of Drake.
In A Thief's End, the two would reconcile through their quest for Henry Avery's pirate treasure. Sully and Sam would go on to partner up, and work together, after Drake's retirement at the conclusion of the game.
4 Sully Is At The Center Of Two Contradictions
When a developer creates a new series, it's easy to understand that they are focused on the short term. This can create discrepancies between different materials as the series grows. One example of this is in the original game. Sully, who is presumed dead after being shot by Gabriel Roman, is shown to be alive and helping Roman locate El Dorado. Drake becomes angry with Sully thinking Sully has betrayed him. As the series progressed, and the two's history is revealed, this leap in distrust has grown to become more and more bizarre.
Another example comes from Uncharted 2, where it is implied that Sully had never met Drake's previous romance Chloe Frazer prior to the events of the game. This is later contradicted in both DC Comics' Uncharted and the upcoming film of the same name where the two characters are familiar with one another.
3 Sully Has A Goddaughter
In Christopher Golden's novel Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth, it is revealed that Sully has a goddaughter. The goddaughter, Jadranka Hzujak, is the daughter of an old archaeological friend of Sully named Luka Hzujak. Jadranka, referred to simply as Jada, comes to Sully for help after her father was found murdered in a trunk in New York City's Grand Central Station.
This would lead Sully, along with Drake and Jada, on a quest to figure out what discovery led to his old friend's murder. This gives The Fourth Labyrinth very personal stakes for Sully in particular.
2 The Name Of Sully's Plane Is A Reference To Another Naughty Dog Series
Sully is a trained pilot, which is on display from his very first appearance in the series. His plane, named "Hog Wild," is actually an Easter egg in reference to the Crash Bandicoot level of the same name. The original Hog Wild would be shot down early in Drake's Fortune. Sully would, however, obtain a new plane at the end of Drake's Deception. This plane would briefly make a return in A Thief's End.
Sully also has experience with helicopters as he uses one at the end of Golden Abyss to take Drake and Marisa Chase home.
1 Drake Named His Dog After Him
In A Thief's End, Drake goes on one last adventure with Sully. In an optional conversation after a lemur encounter, Drake states that if they make it out of this alive, he'll get a dog. Sully responds by saying if they survive this, he'll buy Drake the dog to which Drake asks if he can name it Victor. Sully laughs and agrees to the proposal.
In the epilogue of A Thief's End, it is shown that Drake does in fact get that dog in the form of a Labrador Retriever named Vicky. Drake adopted Vicky as a puppy, but is shown in the epilogue as an elderly dog.