| Oswald Danes | |
|---|---|
| Torchwood character | |
 Bill Pullman as Oswald Danes in Torchwood episode "The New World" | |
| First appearance | "The New World" (2011) |
| Last appearance | "The Blood Line" |
| Portrayed by | Bill Pullman |
| In-universe information | |
| Affiliation | Jilly Kitzinger Torchwood Institute |
| Home era | Early 21st century |
Oswald Danes is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who and is portrayed by American actor Bill Pullman. The character was promoted as one of five new main characters to join Torchwood in its fourth series, Torchwood: Miracle Day (2011), as part of a new co-production between Torchwood's British network, BBC One, and its American financiers on US premium television network Starz. Pullman appears in eight of the ten episodes, and is credited as a series regular. Whilst reaction to the serial and Pullman's character was mixed, Pullman's portrayal was praised by critics and in 2012 he received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor on Television.
Danes is a former schoolteacher who molested several of the little girls he taught, and eventually killed one of them. He was sentenced to death, but on the day of his execution - the so-called Miracle Day, when death ceases worldwide - Danes survives his own lethal injection. His survival draws global attention, and he subsequently is released from prison on a legal technicality. After being offered both exposure and protection by public relations expert Jilly Kitzinger (Lauren Ambrose), he becomes her client, which helps him gain more publicity. Following a series of events he ends up aiding Torchwood, a team composed of two former alien-hunters and two former CIA agents, on their mission to restore death to the world. Danes is killed off in the final episode of the series; when death is restored he takes one of the Torchwood team's enemies out in a murder–suicide.
Critics commented upon the character's resemblance both to horror film killers such as Freddy Krueger and Hannibal Lecter, as well as to American Evangelists and to the biblical Jesus Christ. The series also follows Danes' rise and fall in the public eye and the precariousness of fame. Though critics questioned the wisdom of having a pedophile as a character, the show's creative team was adamant that they had deliberately made him unlikable. In killing the character off, the creative team did not wish to suggest that the character had been redeemed for his earlier crimes, and made sure that this was emphasised even in his final act of self-sacrifice. Pullman has expressed interest in reprising the role in a future Torchwood series.[citation needed]