Hemlock Grove Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Roman Godfrey
Romans2pp
Biographical Information
Born

March 21 - April 19, 1996

Home

Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania, United States of America

Alias

Rom (by Letha Godfrey) - Godfrey kid - Spooky little fucker (by the cops) - Elvis (by Isaac Ochoa) - Walking shadow of God (by Norman Godfrey)

Occupation

CEO of Godfrey Industries

Species

Upir

Status

Deceased

Died

2015

Cause of Death

Suicide (1st death. He killed his human side prior to his full unexpected Upir re-birth)
Ripped-out heart (2nd and final time, Killed as an Upir by Peter, a fully transformed Vargulf, assisted by the spirit of Destiny.

Killed By

Himself (1st time - human side before unexpected full Upir rebirth)
Peter Rumancek (2nd & final time - Upir)

Relationship Information
Relatives

Olivia Godfrey
(mother)
J.R. Godfrey
(legal father/biological uncle) Nadia Godfrey
(daughter/niece)
Magdalena
(maternal half-sister)
Juliet Godfrey
(maternal half-sister)
Shelley Godfrey
(maternal half-sister)
Letha Godfrey
(cousin/paternal half-sister)
Norman Godfrey
(uncle/biological father)
Unnamed Maternal Grandfather †
Unnamed Maternal Aunt †
Marie Godfrey
(aunt/step-mother)

Character Information
Portrayed By

Bill Skarsgård

Season(s)

123

First Appearance

Jellyfish in the Sky

Last Appearance

Brian's Song

ZWAyx87 400x400

Roman born half human and half Upir was the only biological child of Olivia Godfrey and Norman Godfrey and he resided in the supernatural-esque town of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania. Roman first lived in the Godfrey Estate with his mother Olivia, with whom he had a volatile relationship, and his younger half-sister Shelley Godfrey, whom he was very protective of and loved dearly.

Roman was the friend of Peter Rumancek, whom he first met in episode one. They had a close relationship and were best friends. He was also very close with his cousin Letha Godfrey.

Early Life[]

Roman is the only biological child of Olivia and Norman Godfrey. His parentage was always in question as he was believed to be the son of Olivia and the late J.R Godfrey. J.R. was the CEO and Founder of Godfrey Industries who was married to Olivia at the time of Romans conception. J.R. believed himself to be the biological father to Roman and Roman believed this too. J.R. found out before his death that Olivia was having an affair with his brother Norman and he confronted him trying to warn him about Olivia before he took his life.

Roman was born with the caul (a skin membrane covering the head and face), In Roman mythology, the caul indicates that a child will be destined for greatness. After Roman was born Olivia is seen removing the caul and devouring it clearly very proud to finally be the mother of a male baby Upir.

When Roman was a small child he found J.R, who the boy adored and believed at that time to be his biological father, dead on the living room floor. J.R. adored his son too and is even seen apologising to Roman, who is sleeping at the time in his bed, moments prior to him committing suicide by shooting himself in the presence of Olivia.

Roman later recalls and tells Peter that when he found J.R. dead that his first thought was that he would get into a lot of trouble for making such a mess with all the blood all over the floor rug as he knew his mother was a woman with an explosive temper who was not to be crossed.

1-TC

Personality[]

Outwardly, Roman personifies the stereotypical "rich boy". Though, as the show progresses, Roman is revealed to be sensitive, as seen in how he cares for Shelley. He is loyal and kind to Peter, his cousin Letha, and his younger sister Shelley.

Physical Appearance

Roman is tall, very attractive, and fairly well-built. He has pale skin, brown hair, and green/hazel eyes. He is always clean shaven and very well dressed at all times, embodying his wealthy persona.

In season one, his hair is often unkempt and pushed back all the time. At times, he sports cuts on his face from drug-induced self-harm. His clothes are also mostly lazy/casually styled as well. 

In season two, Roman's hair is very well kept and usually slicked back formally. He's seen wearing more suits and less casual clothing, as he's taken his spot within the corporate world.  

In the third and final season, Roman still wears the corporate suit attire featuring some lighter colored shirts and ties with his dark suits when he's at work in The White Tower. On his own time, his clothing is very dark in color and casual; simple yet undoubtedly expensive. He is still always clean shaven and appears well groomed. His hair is the one significant difference to his appearance as it is now worn loose frequently and has grown longer, often falling across his forehead into his eyes.  

When revealing his upir nature, either when he is overcome with aggressive instinct or hunger or if he wills it, his inhumanly flexible jaws and mouth will stretch and grow until his bite can engulf the entire throat of a victim.

Relationships[]

  • J.R. Godfrey: Initially portrayed as Roman's father, but it is later revealed that Norman Godfrey (J.R.'s brother) is his biological father
  • Letha Godfrey: Half-sister (Norman Godfrey is their father) and mother of Roman's child
  • Dr. Norman Godfrey: Biological father (portrayed as Roman's uncle until the truth is discovered much later)

Powers & Abilities[]

As an Upir Roman possesses a number of enhanced abilities:

Like all Upirs, Roman possesses an Inhuman, snake-like ability to expand his jaw. His teeth are also incredibly strong; allowing him to easily tear through flesh.

Enhanced Strength: As an Upir, Roman is considerably stronger than humans, having shown great displays of strength; on many occasions Roman has been able to easily overpower, lift and launch others through the air. Roman can exert immense amounts of physical force; he was able to effortlessly snap someone's neck, as well as launch others with great speed and force. Possibly his most impressive feat of strength was when Roman ripped apart Peter in his Vargulf form.

Enhanced Durability: Upir skin is tougher than human skin, making it highly resistant to trauma. Roman has survived significant physical trauma since becoming an Upir; having endured multiple shots to chest and resurrecting from his attempted suicide. Roman has also endured being struck with a metal pole and smashing his head into a mirror at full force without any injury and completely unfazed. As a full Upir Roman can endure the physical strain of mesmerising someone without any noticeable harm. However, like all Upirs, Roman is susceptible to injuries inflicted by someone or something of equal or greater strength; as he experienced a seizure after being struck by a being of greater strength.

Heightened Senses: As an Upir, Roman possesses heightened senses primed to his predatory nature. When experiencing a hunger attack Roman's senses will focus on potential prey; his vision becomes more saturated and his hearing hones in on the heartbeats of others. It is unknown what degree of control Upir have over their senses, it is also possible that his sense of smell, much like his sense of sight and hearing, is primed to the scent of potential prey.

Mesmerisation: As an Upir, Roman can modify the mind, will and memories of others; willing people into doing whatever he commands by looking into their eyes. As a half-Upir, the physical strain of achieving this effect would cause a blood nose, however since becoming a full Upir he is able to achieve this effect without any noticeable physical strain.

Regenerative Healing: Upirs are able to recover from most forms of injury and trauma; with the exception of decapitation, severe mutilation of the heart and head, and immolation. It is also possible for Upirs to suffer permanent injuries. As a half-Upir, Roman was able to heal self-inflicted wounds within a matter of hours, and as a full-Upir, was able to heal gunshots after ingesting a large quantity of blood.

Immortality: Upirs are immortal creatures; they possess an indefinite lifespan and are immune to earthly illnesses and diseases, as well as most conventional causes of harm and fatality. Upirs are still susceptible to fatality by means such as decapitation, severe mutilation of the heart and head, immolation and the Upir neurotoxin.

Psychic Visions: Roman experiences prophetic dreams, which he shares with Peter; portraying the future.

Weaknesses[]

Images

Roman has a lower tolerance to pain and more human ease in his strength and other physical abilities when he loses blood, proved when a Caul member fought him on equal grounds and he needed a shovel to fight the member who had a knife and cut his arm

Roman had limited weaknesses as an Upir; such as the near-inability to be killed, no aging and healing abilities. He also had a near insatible hunger for blood,

After finishing his treatments to become human, Roman will continue to age, become injued and die, like any other human.

Name[]

  • Roman comes from the Latin word "romanus", which means "of Rome". In this initial sense, the title "Roman" means "a citizen of the Roman Empire", a man of Roman (or Byzantine) culture, Latin or Greek.
  • The name is significant because it comes from the Etruscan founder of Rome, Romulus, who was raised by a she-wolf, and was known for being both ruthless and fair, and was also a god separate from men as he was himself the descendant of Mars, the god of blood and war.
  • Olivia's Romanian origin also gives the name significance because Romania and is populous that come from the intermarriages of the Romanians and the Goths.
  • Godfrey, is, however, of Germanic origins. It derives from the personal name 'God-Freida'. This was composed of the elements 'guda', meaning good, and 'frid' - peace, which is somewhat ironic for the show's portrayal.

Quotes[]

  • 1312 ACAB
  • "I'm in love with my car."
  • "Stupid ass birds."
  • "Shee-it"
  • "These bitches got lyme disease"
  • "She's a farm fresh cunt"
  • "I fucked this girl. I fucked her a lot"
  • "Ah, darn! I forgot to bring a frisbee"
  • " You talk too much"
  • "You could have at least left me my fucking cigarettes"

Trivia[]

  • Roman drives a Jaguar XK150 (this is the only car he had that matters 80s american cars are cool)
  • Roman was born with a caul (in Roman mythology, a sign that child was born for greatness) which may be significant in Olivia's decision to name him so, given her apparent belief in the Roman myth.
  • In the book, Roman states that his zodiac sign is Aries, making his birthday somewhere between March 21st and April 19th, 1996.

Gallery[]

Advertisement