Fin Tutuola
Encyclopedia
Det. Odafin "Fin" Tutuola is a fictional character and protagonist
on the TV drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
, played by Ice-T
.
The character's name is taken from the book The Palm Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola
, a member of the Yoruba people
of Nigeria
. Information about Amos Tutuola, recounted in the book's introduction, states that his grandfather was an odafin, the spiritual leader of a clan, and Tutuola was the given name of the author's father; Odafin literally means "the establisher of laws" or "lawmaker" in the Yoruba language
of southwestern Nigeria.
When Ice-T asked Law & Order series producer Dick Wolf
how the part was supposed to be performed, Wolf told him to simply do what Ice-T would do if he were a cop.
and was six during the 1968 riots following the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination
, making his birth year 1962. He served in the US Army Rangers, where he saw combat
in Mogadishu
.
A former narcotic
s detective, Tutuola joins the SVU squad in the episode "Wrong Is Right
", as a replacement for Monique Jeffries
(Michelle Hurd
). He is then paired with Det. John Munch
(Richard Belzer
).
While in the Narcotics Division, Tutuola worked undercover
regularly. He would often spend weeks or even months at a time in various alternate identities. He left Narcotics and transferred to SVU when his partner took a bullet that was meant for him.
Tutuola initially has a rocky relationship with his colleagues in SVU, especially with Munch and Olivia Benson
(Mariska Hargitay
). Unlike them, he sees the world in black-and-white
, with all criminals equally deserving of prison
regardless of extenuating circumstances. He also keeps a tight rein on his emotions, refusing to talk about his problems or to admit that the grisly nature of his work often affects him. For example, he and Munch are partners for nearly a year before he opens up about his former partner's death. Subsequent episodes reveal that he has a distant relationship with his gay son, Ken.
In the season 9 episode "Undercover"
, both he and Benson go to Sealview Correctional Facility to investigate a case, and Fin saves Benson from being rape
d. In the Season 9 finale "Cold", Detective Elliot Stabler
(Christopher Meloni
) suspects that Fin tipped off temporary partner Chester Lake (Adam Beach
) before he and Benson could take Lake into custody. Stabler checks Tutuola's phones, infuriating him. Near the end of the episode, Stabler apologizes for not trusting him, but Tutuola dismisses his apology because he believes Stabler will still be the same "rat-bastard" tomorrow. Afterwards, he requests a transfer from the squad.
However, three months later (as revealed in the season 10 episode "Trials
"), Tutuola's transfer request had become bogged down in red tape
, keeping him with SVU. As Captain Don Cragen (Dann Florek
) explains it, the person in charge of transfer paperwork is a colleague of Tutuola's in the narcotics unit who holds a grudge because his ex-wife started calling Tutuola after their divorce. Hearing this, Tutuola resigns himself to the likelihood that his transfer will not be effected anytime soon. No further mention of Tutuola's transfer request is made after this point, and Tutuola's relationship with Stabler also seems to have warmed again since.
. After Munch is shot in the buttocks by a suspect during a court trial in the 7th season episode "Raw", Tutuola surprises Munch in the hospital with his favorite fig milkshake.
In the season 6 episode "Haunted"
, Tutuola is gravely wounded while attempting to stop a holdup at a bodega
; after being released from the hospital, he spends little time recovering, instead throwing himself back into work finding a kidnapped victim and busting a methamphetamine
lab. This episode introduces Fin's son Ken Randall (Ernest Waddell
), a
computer science
major, from whom he has become estranged due to the time he spent working undercover.
In the season 7 episode "Strain"
, while attempting to solve the murders of AIDS
victims, Tutuola seeks assistance from Ken, who helps the SVU squad locate the hacker
who fraudulently obtained a list of AIDS patients. In the course of the investigation, Tutuola learns that Ken himself is gay
. Their relationship is tested again in the episode "Venom", when uniform cops find Ken digging up a city street and arrest him. Ken contacts Benson instead of his father and tells her he is digging up the street to look for a body of a dead woman. The investigation, which first focused on Ken, takes a new turn when DNA
evidence shows that Ken's cousin Darius Parker (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges
) is not only the murderer but also Ken's older half-brother, who had been abandoned by his mother -- Tutuola's ex-wife Teresa Randall (Lisa Gay Hamilton
). The episode ends with Darius threatening to expose the entire family's secrets in court.
In the Season 8 finale episode "Screwed"
, Darius goes on trial for the murders and, true to his word, exposes the family's dirty laundry to the public. Teresa at first refuses to testify, forcing the judge to remand her into custody for contempt of court
, but she eventually reveals that Darius is the product of incest
and rape. Darius is acquitted
of all charges, and both Tutuola and Ken disown him. Ken is seen again in the Season 11 episode "Conned"
where he found a suspect waiting for him in front of his new apartment which he shares with his boyfriend; the suspect was beaten up and Ken brought him up because he is in a group Ken has once a week for counseling.
As of 2009, throughout the whole time he has been with SVU (10 years), he has never been prone to and/or instigated violence in the interrogation room due to an insult addressed to him. In the season 11 episode "Anchor"
, Capt. Cragen
reassures ADA Alexandra Cabot that "Fin won't take the bait" during an interrogation in which the suspect refers to Fin as a "coon." Instead, Tutuola just says calmly, "Is that the best you got?" In the season 10 episode "Confession"
, Fin enters the interrogation room with a suspect; Cragen quickly closes the blinds to block the view into the room from an approaching superior, a subtle gag that hints that Fin was about to become violent. The interrogation isn't shown, however, and nothing is said of the matter afterward.
Fin has been known to lose control outside the interrogation room as shown in the season 5 episode "Ritual"
. Fin chases a man responsible for the trafficking of Nigerian children and delivers a beating far in excess of what would be needed to stop him.
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
on the TV drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
, played by Ice-T
ICE-T
* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...
.
The character's name is taken from the book The Palm Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola
Amos Tutuola
Amos Tutuola was a Nigerian writer famous for his books based in part on Yoruba folk-tales.- Early history :Tutuola was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 1920, where his parents Charles and Esther were Yoruba Christian cocoa farmers. When about 7 years old, he became a servant for F.O...
, a member of the Yoruba people
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
of Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Information about Amos Tutuola, recounted in the book's introduction, states that his grandfather was an odafin, the spiritual leader of a clan, and Tutuola was the given name of the author's father; Odafin literally means "the establisher of laws" or "lawmaker" in the Yoruba language
Yoruba language
Yorùbá is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20 million speakers. The native tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas...
of southwestern Nigeria.
When Ice-T asked Law & Order series producer Dick Wolf
Dick Wolf
Richard Anthony "Dick" Wolf is an American producer, specializing in crime dramas such as Miami Vice and the Law & Order franchise. Throughout his career he has won several awards including an Emmy Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Early life:Wolf was born in New York City, the son...
how the part was supposed to be performed, Wolf told him to simply do what Ice-T would do if he were a cop.
On SVU
Tutuola was raised in HarlemHarlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
and was six during the 1968 riots following the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination
Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination
Martin Luther King, Jr., a prominent American leader of the African-American civil rights movement and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39...
, making his birth year 1962. He served in the US Army Rangers, where he saw combat
Operation Gothic Serpent
Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted by special operations forces of the United States with the primary mission of capturing warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid...
in Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
.
A former narcotic
Narcotic
The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with any sleep-inducing properties. In the United States of America it has since become associated with opioids, commonly morphine and heroin and their derivatives, such as hydrocodone. The term is, today, imprecisely...
s detective, Tutuola joins the SVU squad in the episode "Wrong Is Right
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 2)
This article contains a list of episodes for season 2 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.David J. Burke and Neal Baer served as chief executive producers; Baer took over in the season finale.-Cast:...
", as a replacement for Monique Jeffries
Monique Jeffries
Det. Monique Jeffries is a fictional character played by Michelle Hurd in the American crime drama television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC. A regular cast member during the first two seasons, Jeffries is a tough and street-wise detective with the New York Police Department's...
(Michelle Hurd
Michelle Hurd
Michelle Hurd is an American stage, film, and television actress. She is married to actor Garret Dillahunt.-Early life:...
). He is then paired with Det. John Munch
John Munch
Sergeant John Munch is a fictional character played by actor Richard Belzer. Munch first appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street. Upon that series' cancellation, the character was transplanted to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the first spin-off of the Law & Order franchise...
(Richard Belzer
Richard Belzer
Richard Jay Belzer is an American stand-up comedian, author, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as John Munch, which he has portrayed as a regular cast member on the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as in guest...
).
While in the Narcotics Division, Tutuola worked undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
regularly. He would often spend weeks or even months at a time in various alternate identities. He left Narcotics and transferred to SVU when his partner took a bullet that was meant for him.
Tutuola initially has a rocky relationship with his colleagues in SVU, especially with Munch and Olivia Benson
Olivia Benson
Det. Olivia "Liv" Benson is a fictional character on the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Mariska Hargitay. She is the former partner of Elliot Stabler. In Season 13, her partner will be Nick Amaro...
(Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.The daughter of actress...
). Unlike them, he sees the world in black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
, with all criminals equally deserving of prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
regardless of extenuating circumstances. He also keeps a tight rein on his emotions, refusing to talk about his problems or to admit that the grisly nature of his work often affects him. For example, he and Munch are partners for nearly a year before he opens up about his former partner's death. Subsequent episodes reveal that he has a distant relationship with his gay son, Ken.
In the season 9 episode "Undercover"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 9)
This page contains a list of episodes for season 9 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.-Cast:*Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler*Mariska Hargitay as Det. Olivia Benson*Richard Belzer as Sgt. John Munch...
, both he and Benson go to Sealview Correctional Facility to investigate a case, and Fin saves Benson from being rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d. In the Season 9 finale "Cold", Detective Elliot Stabler
Elliot Stabler
Det. Elliot "El" Stabler is a fictional character on the TV crime drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Christopher Meloni. He was the partner of Olivia Benson before retiring, following a shooting.-Character overview:...
(Christopher Meloni
Christopher Meloni
Christopher Peter Meloni is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC police drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and as inmate Chris Keller on the HBO prison drama Oz.-Early life:Meloni was born the youngest of three children in...
) suspects that Fin tipped off temporary partner Chester Lake (Adam Beach
Adam Beach
Adam Ruebin Beach is a Canadian Saulteaux actor.He is best known for his roles as Tommy on Walker, Texas Ranger, Kickin' Wing in Joe Dirt, Marine Private First Class Ira Hayes in Flags of Our Fathers, Private Ben Yazzie in Windtalkers, Dr...
) before he and Benson could take Lake into custody. Stabler checks Tutuola's phones, infuriating him. Near the end of the episode, Stabler apologizes for not trusting him, but Tutuola dismisses his apology because he believes Stabler will still be the same "rat-bastard" tomorrow. Afterwards, he requests a transfer from the squad.
However, three months later (as revealed in the season 10 episode "Trials
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 10)
This article contains a list of episodes for season 10 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.-Cast:*Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler*Mariska Hargitay as Det. Olivia Benson*Richard Belzer as Sgt. John Munch...
"), Tutuola's transfer request had become bogged down in red tape
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
, keeping him with SVU. As Captain Don Cragen (Dann Florek
Dann Florek
Ezekial Dann Florek , professional name Dann Florek, is an American actor and director.-Early life:Florek was born in Flat Rock, Michigan. He attended Eastern Michigan University, but never graduated...
) explains it, the person in charge of transfer paperwork is a colleague of Tutuola's in the narcotics unit who holds a grudge because his ex-wife started calling Tutuola after their divorce. Hearing this, Tutuola resigns himself to the likelihood that his transfer will not be effected anytime soon. No further mention of Tutuola's transfer request is made after this point, and Tutuola's relationship with Stabler also seems to have warmed again since.
Character evolution
Over the eight seasons the character has been featured on the show, Tutuola has come to respect and trust his SVU colleagues, even though they often disagree over the best way to solve cases. An example is his partnership with Munch, which has grown from icy distrust to mutual respect and good-natured banter, often about politics, as Munch is politically left-wing and Tutuola is a registered RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. After Munch is shot in the buttocks by a suspect during a court trial in the 7th season episode "Raw", Tutuola surprises Munch in the hospital with his favorite fig milkshake.
In the season 6 episode "Haunted"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 6)
This article contains a list of episodes for season 6 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.-Cast:*Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler*Mariska Hargitay as Det. Olivia Benson*Richard Belzer as Det. John Munch...
, Tutuola is gravely wounded while attempting to stop a holdup at a bodega
Bodega
Bodega is a Spanish word that may refer to:* a winery, wine cellar or wine bar* a convenience store specializing in Hispanic groceriesPlaces:* Bodega, California, town in Sonoma County, California...
; after being released from the hospital, he spends little time recovering, instead throwing himself back into work finding a kidnapped victim and busting a methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
lab. This episode introduces Fin's son Ken Randall (Ernest Waddell
Ernest Waddell
Ernest Waddell is a New York City-based actor. He is perhaps best known for his recurring roles on two television series : Fin Tutuola's son Ken Randall on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Omar Little's boyfriend Dante on The Wire...
), a
computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
major, from whom he has become estranged due to the time he spent working undercover.
In the season 7 episode "Strain"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 7)
This article contains a list of episodes for season 7 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.Christopher Meloni was nominated for his first Emmy in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Mariska Hargitay won the Emmy for Outstading Lead Actress in a Drama...
, while attempting to solve the murders of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
victims, Tutuola seeks assistance from Ken, who helps the SVU squad locate the hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
who fraudulently obtained a list of AIDS patients. In the course of the investigation, Tutuola learns that Ken himself is gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
. Their relationship is tested again in the episode "Venom", when uniform cops find Ken digging up a city street and arrest him. Ken contacts Benson instead of his father and tells her he is digging up the street to look for a body of a dead woman. The investigation, which first focused on Ken, takes a new turn when DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
evidence shows that Ken's cousin Darius Parker (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
) is not only the murderer but also Ken's older half-brother, who had been abandoned by his mother -- Tutuola's ex-wife Teresa Randall (Lisa Gay Hamilton
Lisa Gay Hamilton
Lisa Gay Hamilton is an American film, television, and theater actress known for her role as attorney Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama The Practice, and for her critically acclaimed performance as young Sethe in Jonathan Demme's film adaptation of Toni Morrison's Beloved...
). The episode ends with Darius threatening to expose the entire family's secrets in court.
In the Season 8 finale episode "Screwed"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 8)
This article contains a list of episodes for season 8 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.-Cast:*Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler*Mariska Hargitay as Det. Olivia Benson*Richard Belzer as Det. John Munch...
, Darius goes on trial for the murders and, true to his word, exposes the family's dirty laundry to the public. Teresa at first refuses to testify, forcing the judge to remand her into custody for contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
, but she eventually reveals that Darius is the product of incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
and rape. Darius is acquitted
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
of all charges, and both Tutuola and Ken disown him. Ken is seen again in the Season 11 episode "Conned"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 11)
The 11th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on September 23, 2009 and concluded on May 19, 2010. It was moved from Tuesdays to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET for the NBC broadcast. On March 3, 2010 SVU returned to its previous time slot of 10 p.m. ET...
where he found a suspect waiting for him in front of his new apartment which he shares with his boyfriend; the suspect was beaten up and Ken brought him up because he is in a group Ken has once a week for counseling.
As of 2009, throughout the whole time he has been with SVU (10 years), he has never been prone to and/or instigated violence in the interrogation room due to an insult addressed to him. In the season 11 episode "Anchor"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 11)
The 11th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on September 23, 2009 and concluded on May 19, 2010. It was moved from Tuesdays to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET for the NBC broadcast. On March 3, 2010 SVU returned to its previous time slot of 10 p.m. ET...
, Capt. Cragen
Donald Cragen
Donald "Don" Cragen is a fictional character in the police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order and its spinoff Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, played by Dann Florek.-Character appearances:...
reassures ADA Alexandra Cabot that "Fin won't take the bait" during an interrogation in which the suspect refers to Fin as a "coon." Instead, Tutuola just says calmly, "Is that the best you got?" In the season 10 episode "Confession"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 10)
This article contains a list of episodes for season 10 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.-Cast:*Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler*Mariska Hargitay as Det. Olivia Benson*Richard Belzer as Sgt. John Munch...
, Fin enters the interrogation room with a suspect; Cragen quickly closes the blinds to block the view into the room from an approaching superior, a subtle gag that hints that Fin was about to become violent. The interrogation isn't shown, however, and nothing is said of the matter afterward.
Fin has been known to lose control outside the interrogation room as shown in the season 5 episode "Ritual"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 5)
This article contains a list of episodes for season 5 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.Diane Neal joins the cast this season as Casey Novak, the SVU's new ADA.-Cast:*Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler...
. Fin chases a man responsible for the trafficking of Nigerian children and delivers a beating far in excess of what would be needed to stop him.