28 Facts About Tom Ripley

Tom Ripley is a fictional character in the Ripley series of crime novels by American novelist Patricia Highsmith, as well as several film adaptations.

Tom Ripley is a psychopathic career criminal, con artist, and serial killer.

Tom Ripley has been critically acclaimed for being "both a likable character and a cold-blooded killer".

Tom Ripley is paid to go to Italy by shipbuilding magnate Herbert Greenleaf to convince his son Dickie, a half-remembered acquaintance, to return to New York and take over the family business.

Tom Ripley befriends the younger Greenleaf and falls in love with the rich young man's indulgent, carefree lifestyle; he becomes obsessed with Dickie himself.

When Dickie grows bored with Tom Ripley and spurns his friendship, Tom Ripley kills him and assumes his identity, living off his trust fund.

Tom Ripley's scheme gets him into trouble whenever he encounters people who know him and Dickie eventually resulting in him murdering Dickie's friend Freddie Miles when Miles catches him impersonating Dickie.

Tom Ripley ultimately forges Dickie's suicide note claiming responsibility for Miles' murder and a will leaving him Dickie's inheritance.

The novel ends with Tom Ripley sailing to Greece and rejoicing in his newfound wealth, although he wonders if he will pay for it with a lifetime of paranoia, if he would "see police waiting for him at every pier he ever approached".

Tom Ripley has added to his fortunes by marrying Heloise Plisson, an heiress who has suspicions about how he makes his money but prefers not to know.

Tom Ripley is a silent partner in a gallery that markets counterfeit paintings by the artist Derwatt, who has actually been dead for years.

Tom Ripley manages to escape and follows Tufts to Salzburg, where he impersonates Derwatt to discredit the notion that he is dead.

Sure enough, two Mafia hitmen show up to kill them, but Tom Ripley kills one of them and forces the other to call his bosses and say that he and Jonathan are not the men they are after; Tom Ripley then kills him anyway.

Tom Ripley kills the gangsters and escapes with Simone, and gives her the money Jonathan had earned as an assassin as a way of thanking him for his selfless sacrifice, which puzzles him.

Tom Ripley is amazed to discover that he is devastated by the boy's death.

Days later, Tom Ripley meets with the police and denies knowing anything about Murchison's disappearance or the Pritchards' deaths, a story they appear to accept.

Tom Ripley then disposes of Murchison's ring, the only piece of evidence connecting him to the murder.

Tom Ripley is epicurean and sophisticated, living a life of leisure in rural France.

Tom Ripley spends most of his time gardening, painting, or studying languages.

Tom Ripley has wonderful relationships with women, who never fully understand who or what he is.

Tom Ripley feels genuine affection for several characters throughout the series and has his own code of ethics.

Highsmith's first three Tom Ripley novels have been adapted into films.

The Talented Mr Tom Ripley was filmed as Purple Noon in 1960, starring Alain Delon as Tom Ripley, and under its original title in 1999, starring Matt Damon.

Tom Ripley's Game was filmed in 1977 as The American Friend, starring Dennis Hopper, and under its original title in 2002, starring John Malkovich.

The Tom Ripley novels have been adapted for television and radio.

Tom Ripley initially disliked Hopper's Ripley in The American Friend, but changed her mind after seeing the film a second time, feeling that he had captured the essence of the character.

In Joanna Murray Smith's 2014 play, Switzerland, Tom Ripley comes to life and visits Highsmith, planning to kill her.

In Kim Newman's novel Dracula Cha Cha Cha, Tom Ripley is a supporting character working at the Italian estate of Count Dracula, while plotting to steal vast amounts of wealth from his vampire employer.