Sakharine

Lore & Background

Sakharine is a ship collector who first accosts Tintin at an outdoor market in 1940s Brussels, unsuccessfully attempting to purchase a model of the Unicorn. After the model is stolen from Tintin's apartment, Tintin suspects Sakharine and heads to Marlinspike Hall to accuse him. There, Tintin realizes there are two Unicorn scrolls after noticing Sakharine's model is not broken. Sakharine forms an alliance with the staff of the SS Karaboudjan and leads a mutiny to take control of the ship, imprisoning the ship's captain, Archibald Haddock. He sends a seaplane to find and capture Tintin and Haddock after they escape. Sakharine later steals the third model and scroll from Omar ben Salaad during a Bianca Castafiore concert in Bagghar. He is eventually tracked back to Brussels by Tintin and Haddock, where he challenges Haddock to a sword fight with cranes at the dock. After being cornered, Sakharine threatens to torch the scrolls, but Tintin snatches them from him. He is then pushed overboard by Haddock and arrested by Thomson and Thompson.

In Their Own Story

Sakharine's pursuit of the Unicorn models drives the central conflict of the film. He first appears at the outdoor market, where he unsuccessfully tries to buy the model from Tintin. After Tintin's model is stolen, Sakharine becomes the prime suspect. He has already formed an alliance with the crew of the SS Karaboudjan, leading a mutiny that puts Captain Haddock in a drunken stupor below deck. When Tintin is abducted and imprisoned on the ship, he meets Haddock, and together they escape. Sakharine sees through their ruse of faking their deaths and sends a seaplane to capture them. Later, in Bagghar, Sakharine steals the third model from Omar ben Salaad during a concert. He gains all three scrolls, but Tintin and Haddock track him back to Brussels. In the final confrontation at the dock, Sakharine fights Haddock with swords among the cranes. He threatens to burn the scrolls, but Tintin snatches them. Haddock pushes Sakharine overboard, and he is arrested by Thomson and Thompson.

Reader's Guide

Sakharine is portrayed by Daniel Craig, who also voices Red Rackham, the pirate who attacked the Unicorn. Spielberg described Sakharine as having "a certain elegance" and being "cruel when he has to be." Jackson and Spielberg decided to promote Sakharine from a relatively minor character in the original comics to the main villain of the film. Craig joked he followed "the English tradition of playing bad guys." Sakharine's butler is Nestor, voiced by Enn Reitel. His thugs include Tom, played by Mackenzie Crook, and Allan, played by Daniel Mays. Sakharine's pursuit of the three Unicorn models is the central plot device, as together the scrolls reveal the coordinates of the sunken Unicorn and its treasure. The film draws inspiration from the Tintin volumes The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, and Red Rackham's Treasure.

Did You Know?

• Daniel Craig, who plays Sakharine, also voices the pirate Red Rackham, Sakharine's ancestor.
• Spielberg described Sakharine as a 'champagne villain, cruel when he has to be but with a certain elegance to him.'
• Jackson and Spielberg decided to promote Sakharine from a relatively minor character in the original comics to the main villain of the film.
• Sakharine's butler is named Nestor, voiced by Enn Reitel.
• Sakharine steals the third Unicorn model from Omar ben Salaad during a Bianca Castafiore concert.