- "I believe there’s evil in the world and I want to fight it and win."
- ―Mike Warren
Michael 'Mike' Warren is the protagonist and primary agent featured in Graceland. He is portrayed by Aaron Tveit in all three seasons.
He is the ambitious rookie agent sent to Graceland to investigate potential corruption within its walls. While he starts out green, it turns out he is far more capable than people assume.
Biography[]
Background[]
Michael Warren was born on the U.S. East Coast on January 12, 1987. While he claims to be from Virginia, it is likely a reference to Quantico rather than his actual place of birth.
Mike was a childhood golfing prodigy, earning Golfer of the Month and a magazine spread. When he left the sport, his parents saw it as an act of rebellion. But it had been their dream for him and he only went along with it. He has since agreed with Johnny that golfing is a stupid sport.
Not much is known about his family due to Mike’s secretive nature. However, he was very close to his grandfather on his mother’s side and enjoys discussing him. His grandfather’s prestige as a crime scene photographer inspired Mike’s dream to join the FBI.
His closeness to his grandfather might be down to the abuse he suffered at the hands of his alcoholic father. Upon discovering the abuse, Mike’s grandfather gave him his first gun for protection.
Mike is an overachiever, pushing himself to great lengths to get what he wants. He excelled at FBI training and, at some point, grew close enough to Deputy Director Sam Campbell to consider him his mentor.
He dreams of becoming FBI Director to fight the world’s evil.
Season 1[]
After graduating from FBI training at the top of his class, Mike expected to leave Quantico for a typical desk job in Washington D.C. But he is unexpectedly sent to Southern California to train under his hero, FBI Agent Paul Briggs. As annoyed as he is about the change, he starts bright-eyed and hopeful. He tries his hardest to put his training to work but learns the hard way that people in Graceland don’t play by the rules.
Adjusting to the unexpected change becomes difficult when Mike discovers his assignment -- Investigate Briggs. The FBI suspects that Briggs is corrupt, skimming money and drugs from evidence.
He masterminds a way onto one of Briggs’ cases, going undercover with Jeremiah Bello as a Marine who sold him a thousand armour-piercing bullets and eventually trained his men. Earning enough of his trust, Bello hires Mike as his bodyguard.
But Briggs is always one step ahead of Mike, using the system to throw him off the truth because the FBI are right to suspect him.
And Mike is not the only housemate on the hunt. Charlie is investigating a deadly dealer called Odin Rossi. And when Mike and Charlie work together to find him, the pair get dangerously close to exposing the truth: Paul Briggs is Odin.
However, Mike loses trust in the case against Briggs when he discovers his case officer has bugged his bedroom. When pressed, Juan Badillo reveals that the investigation is for the mass murder of several Federal Agents after an arson attack on the previous ‘Graceland’. Mike doesn’t believe Briggs is capable of murder and breaks off his association with Juan, believing him to be paranoid.
Juan Badillo disappears that night.
Reassessing his perception of Briggs and with Charlie distracted by Odin Rossi, Mike works with Paige Arkin to investigate Juan’s disappearance and Briggs’ role in it.
But after Mike rescues Briggs and Charlie from a cartel serial killer called Jangles, the FBI closes Juan's disappearance. The FBI found his keys in Jangles' possession. And with Odin Rossi apparently in Ecuador, they also declare the investigation against Briggs closed.
Mike is finally transferred to Washington D.C. to take up the hard-earned position of Assistant Deputy Director, leaving Graceland and its Agents on good terms.
Season 2[]
Since moving back to the East Coast for his desk job, Mike has been fighting to keep a case he’s working open. He has been investigating a potential smuggling ring connected to the Solano Cartel that uses the buses crossing between Mexico and the U.S.
Briggs calls him back to Graceland under suspicious circumstances and the pair discover that a cartel has put a hit out on ‘Mike the Marine’. When their plan goes awry, Mike ends up captured by thugs from the Solano Cartel and tortured for information. They want to know how much he knows about the buses. And after Briggs rescues Mike, they’re both encouraged. Mike is onto something.
Mike moves back into Graceland as the case officer, causing friction. None of the housemates know how to deal with the new dynamic of having Mike as their superior. But his connection with Paige rekindles, even though he has a lover back in Washington D.C.
Things grow more complicated for Mike when he struggles to find enough evidence to keep the Bureau happy. He pushes himself and the other agents hard. It leads to him antagonising the corrupt head of the LAPD gang task force, Sid Markham. Mike suspects he is on the Solano payroll.
While in pursuit of a lead, Paige uncovers a human trafficking ring and purposefully gets herself captured by it. She grows fixated on rescuing one girl, Lina, and becomes enraged with Mike for getting her out before she could. After finances get redirected from her case to Mike's, she demands that Mike sleep with his boss, Jessica Foster, to get her case reopened. The plan fails when Mike cannot perform for Jessica because he has fallen in love with Paige. To make up for his failure, Mike infiltrates the base of operations as a return buyer. He planned to use millions of the Bureau’s money to buy all of the girls before the FBI made their arrest.
He spends several sleepless nights trapped in the human trafficking base, trying to build a case and bug the place. It does something to his mental health, driving him to make more and more rash decisions. It all comes to a head when he witnesses Fritz Sulla assaulting the very girl Paige wanted to protect. Mike cracks, grabs Lina and drags her away. But Sulla attacks him and kills the girl. Mike should call in the murder, with enough evidence to shut this thing down. But because he wants to take down the whole cartel, Mike disposes of Lina's body in an incinerator and falsifies evidence that she had escaped. Paige is unconvinced and sets up the raid on the compound, leading Markham to almost kill Mike.
To cover up his role in the cartel, Markham instigates a raid on the Solano’s main compound, massacring most of the cartel before turning his gun on his own men. As everyone knew Mike was a skilled gunman, he sought to frame Mike as the killer and himself as the sole survivor. When Mike discovers this, Markham shoots him.
Briggs gets Mike to the hospital under a fake name. But Paige sends Sid Markham to finish the job. And even though she confesses her crime to Briggs, he doesn’t get there in time.
Sid Markham has murdered Mike.
Season 3[]
Mike was medically dead for six minutes before getting resuscitated by hospital staff. He grows fixated on something he saw while dead – Forty-seven red birds, a clock whose hands make a V shape and a forest.
He reassures Paige that he forgives her for her part in his murder. She does not believe him and is tormented by guilt.
All the while, Mike struggles with the pain of his injuries by taking prescribed oxycodone. However, the doctor informs him that he cannot return to the field while on them. So Mike chooses to return to work. It leads to him finding alternatives to the oxycodone to deal with his perceived pain.
While undercover as an independent career criminal, Mike befriends a young, hyperactive man named Gusti. He suspects Gusti of having a bomb and intends to find out its original owner and its target. He grows close to Gusti’s wife due to their shared addictions and the specific causes - Madison lost her leg, leading to her needing high-strength painkillers.
However, Mike reaches rock bottom after an incident leads to meth addicts kidnapping him and Gusti. Briggs saves them as Odin and prevents the bomb from being discharged. However, Mike accidentally shoots Gusti. After, he is about to use Gusti’s prescribed morphine when he finds leaflets littering the place depicting forty-seven red birds in a V shape and the phone number of a rehab.
Realising how low he’s gone, Mike turns to Briggs for help. Briggs ties him to his bed to detox while the other housemates take turns caring for him. It leads to the revelation that he does not truly forgive Paige for killing him.
However, with the drugs out of his system, Mike realises that Briggs made the leaflets to trick him and his suspicions grow from there.
Recruiting Paige, Mike investigates Briggs. Mike suspects that Gusti’s bomb (actually sarin gas) is tied to Briggs in some way. These suspicions are proven when they discover CCTV depicting Briggs transporting the canister. Briggs had planned to instigate a gang war in retaliation for the death of another agent at the hands of Martin Sarkissian. It leads to Mike, Paige and Johnny getting caught in the crossfire.
After, Briggs brings Mike a falsified report of the events to sign. Mike is conflicted but goes to Deputy Agent Sean Logan directly to negotiate terms before he can sign off the report. He demands Gusti be released of all charges and several other undisclosed terms - possibly the destruction of the Juan Badillo tapes that Logan had been holding over Briggs’ head.
Personality[]
Mike is relentlessly driven, with ambitions to become FBI Director fast. He is an overachiever and a workaholic who thinks of little else.
Very little is known about his life before Quantico. And he gets uncomfortable discussing personal matters. He often lies for no reason. Because of this distrust, he takes on the workload of an entire team. His secretive nature leads to Charlie calling him unsentimental and several other roommates planning his death.
However, he tries to forgive even the most heinous acts committed against him. Only when he's under duress will he show his true feelings. After Paige contracted Sid Markham to kill him, Mike claimed to have forgiven her. However, during his struggle with withdrawals, he begged her not to touch him.
He will also take petty revenge against minor wrongdoings. Ever since Jakes ranted at him about not eating his food, Mike has gone out of his way to do so.
When Mike isn't working, he often plays sports with Johnny and gets up to mischief with him. He enjoys American football, frisbee and his new favourite, surfing. And while he is good at golf, he resents it and will only play if forced to. His parents expected him to play it professionally. Mike admitted to Johnny that refusing to was rebellion.
Mike is a fidgeter and daydreamer. Plus, his mix of ruthless determination and suspicion makes him look paranoid.
Mike eventually struggles with the trauma of everything he has endured, turning to Oxycodone for help.
Skills[]
- Expert Marksmanship: Mike possesses near-superhuman aim and reflexes when handling a gun. He can identify ammo at a glance and disassemble a weapon in seconds. He claims his grip trainer helps.
- Quick Learner: Either through pressuring himself or good memory, Mike is capable of learning quickly. Within two weeks, he was capable of speaking Spanish. (But not confident about pronouns.)
- Golf Prodigy: He has won awards for his skill golfing, which he only did due to pressure from his parents.
- Acting/Lying: Mike slips into cover like shedding a second skin. However, sometimes he lies for no percievable reason.
- Observant: After a few minutes with Juan Badillo, Mike was able to deduce that Juan was not a psychiatrist through a few simple tells.
- Adaptable: When faced with an unexpected issue, Mike will change course. This leads to unpredictable results.
Weaknesses[]
- Impatience: His drive to get results leads to him bulldozing through some delicate situations, getting people hurt. It also means he takes on more than he's ready for.
- Distrust: He doesn't seem capable of trusting anyone, leading him to take too much responsibility for his cases. It also puts strain on his relationships and directly leads to his attempted murder.
- Addiction: Mike becomes dependent on Oxycodone after Sid Markham and Paige attempted to murder him.
Relationships[]
Allies[]
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Other[]
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Suspects[]
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Cover Identities[]
Daily Cover Stories[]
The first time Mike flirts with a woman at a bar as an agent, he tells her that he is a golfer trying to make it on the PGA tour, but is making ends meet by teaching privately. Unfortunately, that woman's father was a golfer. Unlike the other agents, he doesn't enjoy lying to prospective lovers.
Frankie Bout[]
Born in Chicago, Frankie Bout is married to Irina Arroyo's sister, Catarina. Frankie is a year older than Catarina and has previous for GTA after stealing a Pontiac Firebird. He is also suspected of being an addict, possessing trackmarks.
Frankie was a real person that Mike co-opted the identity of.
After Felix Arroyo was arrested, his Vzakonye contacts kidnapped his family to prevent him from talking to the FBI. When asked who he was arrested with, Arroyo claimed Mike was his brother-in-law. To save Arroyo's family, Mike went undercover as Frankie.
The Vzakonye contracted 'Frankie' to kill a DEA agent holed up in a safehouse in return for the Arroyo family's safety. They planned on killing Frankie after and framing it as a suicide. However, Mike refused to get into the car and Briggs killed the two Vzakonye.
Mike the Marine[]
Mike the Marine is a reservist with the 316th Quartermaster Company at Pendleton. He is an expert marksman and has smuggled a thousand highly illegal 'Cop-Killer' bullets to sell on the blackmarket. He is friends with a SEAL, who he would have killed for Bello if an underwater bomb hadn't done it for him. He likes cigars and Westerns.
Mike posed as Briggs' contact to help him get in with Bello, selling a thousand 5.7mm 40 grain 'Cop-Killer' bullets with tungsten carbine cores. However, instead of establishing Briggs, it planted Mike directly into the heart of the gang.
When Bello suspects either Briggs or Mike are a rat after Bobby Moi's attack, Mike reveals his quartermaster is called Henry Freidler. (In reality, that is the name of his highschool football coach,)
Mike used Bello's love of Westerns, cigars, respect and mindless violence to gain a position as his bodyguard.
His cover was blown when he joined Bello in prison to help get Charlie Odin Rossi's identity. Scared the truth would come out, Briggs arranged for Bello to discover the truth, leading to Mike being attacked.
Quotes[]
From Mike[]
- "It wasn’t really my thing, y’know? I did it for my parents. I was good but it was their dream, not mine."
- ―Mike to Johnny about giving up on golf.
- "Mornin' sunshine!"
- ―Mike Warren to a hungover Charlie DeMarco.
- "I believe there’s evil in the world and I want to fight it and win."
- ―Mike to Juan Badillo about why he wants to be FBI Director one day.
- "God’s in the details."
- ―Mike to Juan about knowing why he’s investigating Briggs.
- "I’ll save you thirty seconds and a broken hand"
- ―Mike to Eddie and Bello being frisked.
- "It’s a square. The name is asinine but that’s what people call it."
- ―Mike to Bello and Eddie about Pizza Boxes.
- "A gun jamming [...] to the side and will stick. And if it misfires, it blows off your hand. Any of that happens, you’re tits up"
- ―Mike to Eddie, Bello and their men about gun upkeep.
- "What kind of question is that? You know who I am."
- ―Mike to Eddie with a gun to his head.
- "I’m gonna walk away now. If I ever see you follow me again, I’ll take your other eye."
- ―Mike to Eddie.
- "Do you want to do dinner tomorrow?"
- ―Mike to Abby.
- "I'm not a kid!"
- ―Mike to the Graceland agents as they tease him.
- "Hey, yo. You got some of that baby?"
- ―Mike doing an impression of a 'Kid'.
- "If we spread that rumor, we are writing his death warrant."
- ―Mike to Briggs about Eddie.
About Mike[]
- "Dude, even your acts of rebellion are so you."
- ―Johnny to Mike about joining the FBI.
- "Screw 'The Book'. It wasn't written for you. "
- ―Paul Briggs to Mike about the FBI Field Manual.
- "What do I gotta do to get you to open up? Pull a knife on you?"
- ―Juan Badillo to Mike.
- "She said, ‘That guy, that’s Mike. And, of all the guys in the bar, he’s real."
- ―Abby Sinclair, repeating what Paige said about Mike.
- "I know you’re a white boy, but come on. That sounded ridiculous."
- ―Jakes to Mike.
Appearances[]
| Episode | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Season 2 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Season 3 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Trivia[]
- Mike had bulldogs growing up.
- Agency Ref no. 000-34-5701
- Like the other FBI agents from Graceland, Mike bought dope as a rookie.
- Charlie gives Mike his nickname, Levi, after his first bust in which he sells "8 yards of indoor carpet" to Felix Arroyo in exchange for a truck full of 15/12,000 pairs of counterfeit jeans.
- Mike's high school football coach was called Henry Friedler.
- A deleted scene in Season 1 reveals that Mike was diagnosed with ADHD as a child.
- On Graceland: Undercover, an interactive website with backstories for each of the agents, it is revealed that Mike was abused as a child by his alcoholic father. He was given a gun by his mother's father for protection, which he eventually learned to use with near-perfect precision.
Media[]
Photos[]
- → See 87 pictures of Mike Warren at Images of Mike Warren.
