Stevie Taggert is one of Dr. Laszlo Kreizler's teenage wards at the Kreizler Institute and personal carriage driver, saved from a troubling past on the streets.
He is a character portrayed by Matt Lintz in The Alienist and by Dominic Herman-Day in Angel of Darkness.
Official Description[]
"STEVIE TAGGERT is a tough, young boy employed by Dr. Kreizler as a driver and houseboy. Rescued from the streets by Dr. Kreizler, he, like Mary and Cyrus, has been given a second chance at a better life, and provides companionship as well as service to the doctor."[1]
Character Overview[]
Stevie Taggert is a tall, thin young man in his late teenage years. Unkempt and perpetually sullen, Stevie has a clear complexion with freckles on the bridge of the nose and the cheeks, short brown hair and brown eyes. He seems to be perpetually hungry and looks to Cyrus Montrose as a role model. Fond of Mary Palmer and thankful to Dr. Kreizler, Stevie is not very keen to participate in the investigation unless he has the chance to race with the carriage through the nightly and crowded streets of New York.
Biography[]
New York City, March 3rd, 1896. [2] Stevie ran into a shocked homeless child on Bowyer Street and decided to take him home and get help from Dr. Laszlo Kreizler. Once the child was comfortable, he revealed that he had seen the mutilated corpse of a child wearing women's clothes on the still-under construction Williamsburg Bridge. The doctor was immediately interested and sent Stevie to fetch John Moore, instructing the boy to take Moore to the crime scene. Stevie found the man in a brothel and accompanied him to the crime scene, where the man captured the gory details on his sketchbook. [3]
When Dr. Kreizler gathered with his associates at Delmonico's for a working dinner, Stevie and Cyrus dined on the caleche parked outside the luxurious restaurant. Once dinner finished, Dr. Kreizler instructed Stevie to follow a drunk John Moore to make sure he didn't get involved in any dangerous situation. Stevie followed him to Paresis Hall, a brothel for homosexuals. [4]
The boy spent the night outside the brothel and rescued Mr. Moore when he was thrown out by Biff and Kelly, intoxicated and beside himself. Stevie immediately took him to the Kreizler Institute, where Moore could recover from his hangover.
A few days later, Stevie warned Dr. Kreizler that another murder had been committed at the former immigration station. Once on site for some early unorthodox investigations, Stevie kept an eye on the area and alerted Commissioner Roosevelt when Captain Connor and other policemen were arriving, prompting Dr. Kreizler and the team to leave the scene.[5]
In the days before the Feast of Ascension, Stevie found himself reluctantly being used as a bait. Miss Sara Howard dressed him as a prostitute, so that Dr. Kreizler and the team could set up a trap for the Killer.
The attempt, however, failed and Stevie found himself merely chasing away some potential customers who, however, had nothing to do with the murders.
At The Slides, a few nights later, Stevie made the acquaintance of Rosie, a much younger boy who was also one of the prostitutes working at that brothel. Rosie gave some guidance on how to seduce customers and shortly thereafter, Stevie was approached by a shady man who gave him a panic attack — the bait apparently worked! The boy beckoned to John Moore and Detective Sergeant Marcus Isaacson, and the two chased the man without success. Stevie, meanwhile, had been locked in one of the upstairs rooms, where he remained unharmed. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Rosie.[6]
The following morning, at the Kreizler Institute, Stevie was in shock and could not provide the right details for John Moore to draw a portrait of the Killer. Furthermore, the constant squabbles between Dr. Kreizler and Moore did not help his poor state.
Later, Stevie helped his friend Cyrus to settle into his new makeshift room after the man was discharged from the hospital where he spent a few days following the brutal attack during the Feast of Ascension. [7]
Stevie, Cyrus and the housemaid, Mary stayed at Dr. Kreizler's house while the alienist travelled to Washington, DC with Mr. Moore. Whilst taking care of the horse in the stable, Stevie was knocked out by a hired gun sent by Connor.
Meanwhile, the former captain and his trusted colleague Sergeant Doyle, burst into the house. Doyle and the Swede tried to knock out Cyrus, who was already in a poor state after his previous injuries. Connor opted to attack Mary, who he deemed helpless, in order to get some information from her. The housemaid, however, fought back and tried to stab him with a kitchen knife. Unfortunately, Connor managed to disarm her and Mary lost her life when Connor threw her off the balcony, breaking her skull on the downstairs floor. [8]
A distraught Stevie attended the funeral of his friend Mary Palmer, crying next to Cyrus at the cemetery. Once at home, Stevie expressed to Cyrus the desire to avenge their friend's death. The older man did not object to such thoughts, but dissuaded Stevie from attempting reckless actions. [9]
Despite the recent mourning and the dangerous situations in which he found himself reluctantly involved in assisting his benefactor, Stevie remained in the service of Dr. Kreizler.[10]
Stevie worked as Dr. Kreizler's carriage driver. He took him to the Lying-In Hospital, where Laszlo wished to speak to Dr. Markoe but Stevie warned him that he was wasting his time.[11]
Stevie drove Dr. Kreizler, John, and Sara to Cyrus' bar for John bachelor party.[12]
Dr. Kreizler entered his office to find Paulie hanging from a noose in his office. He held him up by his lower body while Stevie cut him down. Fortunately, they managed to save Paulie.[13]
Dr. Kreizler brought Clara back to the institute with him and asked Stevie to show her around.[14]
Memorable Quotes[]
- Stevie Taggert (to the team): "I ain’t no fairy!"
- Stevie Taggert (about Connor): "It ain't fair he's living like that and Mary's in the ground. It's a pity she didn't finish him off! Because if I got the chance, I would stick a shank in his throat!"
- — Requiem
Appearances[]
|
The Alienist
|
Angel of Darkness
|
Trivia[]
- In the end credits of Angel of Darkness, Stevie's last name is misspelt as Taggart.
- So far, he is the only character who has been recast.
Notes[]
- In the novel, Stevie is obsessed with smoking tobacco cigarettes. Even though Dr. Kreizler forbids him from having them, Stevie finds every opportunity to snatch some of them as soon as Dr. Kreizler is distracted.
- Stevie Taggert is the narrator of The Angel of Darkness, the sequel to The Alienist by Caleb Carr. However, he doesn't have a major role in the TV adaptation.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Official Overview for Matt Lintz's Stevie Taggart — TNT Pressroom
- ↑ E. Max Frye (writer) & James Hawes (director); (February 19, 2018); "Hildebrandt’s Starling". Episode 5.The Alienist. TNT
- ↑ Hossein Amini (writer) & Jakob Verbruggen (director); (January 22, 2018); "The Boy on the Bridge". Episode 1. The Alienist. TNT
- ↑ Hossein Amini & E. Max Frye (writers) & Jakob Verbruggen (director); (January 29, 2018); "A Fruitful Partnership". Episode 2.The Alienist. TNT
- ↑ Gina Gionfriddo (writer) & Jakob Verbruggen (director); (February 5, 2018); "Silver Smile". Episode 3.The Alienist. TNT
- ↑ E. Max Frye (writer) & Paco Cabezas (director); (February 26, 2018); "Ascension". Episode 6.The Alienist. TNT
- ↑ John Sayles (writer) & Paco Cabezas (director); (March 5, 2018); "Many Sainted Men". Episode 7.The Alienist. TNT
- ↑ John Sayles (writer) & David Petrarca (director); (March 12, 2018); "Psychopathia Sexualis". Episode 8.The Alienist. TNT
- ↑ Hossein Amini (writer) & Jamie Payne (director); (March 19, 2018); "Requiem". Episode 9.The Alienist. TNT
- ↑ Cary Joji Fukunaga, John Sayles & Chase Palmer (writer) & Jamie Payne (director); (March 26, 2018); "Castle in the Sky". Episode 10.The Alienist. TNT
- ↑ Stuart Carolan (writer); David Caffrey (director); (July 19, 2020); "Ex Ore Infantium". Episode 1. Angel of Darkness. TNT.
- ↑ Gina Gionfriddo (writer); Clare Kilner (director); (July 26, 2020); "Labyrinth". Episode 3. Angel of Darkness. TNT.
- ↑ Alyson Feltes (writer); David Caffrey (director); (August 2, 2020); "Memento Mori". Episode 6. Angel of Darkness. TNT.
- ↑ Tom Smuts & Amy Berg (writers); David Caffrey (director); (August 9, 2020); "Last Exit to Brooklyn". Episode 7. Angel of Darkness. TNT.