Robert Knepper

Show: "Prison Break"

Character: Prison escapee Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell

Most dastardly deed: We'll just ignore the rape and murder of six children that landed him in the hoosegow in the first place since viewers never saw that. T-Bag's most recent egregious wrongdoing is the body count he racked up while fleeing in the show's second season, including the death of a corrections officer, a therapist, two prostitutes and (maybe) one of his fellow escapees — all with (almost literally, after a gruesome incident during the escape) one hand tied behind his back.

Best line: When horrifyingly omnisexual T-Bag preens at new inmate Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller): "You're as pretty as advertised."

Ploy for pity: Aw, T-Bag's mother also is his aunt, and his father also is his uncle. Go ask Faye Dunaway in "Chinatown," OK?

Inspired by: The live recording of Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison. The prisoners "just erupt," Knepper said. "You know, the microphones weren't so great back then, but when you hear the roar of the guys, you can feel these guards just standing there, going, 'Uh, oh.' "

Trademark tic: Licking his lower lip before doing something vile. "I had wanted to toughen myself up for the part a little bit, so I started growing this goatee," he said. "And I wasn't used to it at all. And I kept putting my tongue down over the crumb catcher ... and that's how it started."

You know you're in trouble when ... T-Bag feels cornered by correction officers, fellow inmates, girlfriends, boyfriends, whatever. The question isn't "to shank or not to shank," because he'll knife someone every time. "Those guys that are lifers, they're 24/7," Knepper says. "All they think about is how they're going to survive, how they're going to make the most of it in prison. It's their world."

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