Player

This article is about the Netflix series character. You may be looking for the original character.

"You can call me...Player."

―Player, "Becoming Carmen Sandiego: Part I"

Crime Net Dossier
Player Bouchard
Nickname(s)	Player
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Age	~12 (1st call to Black Sheep) ~16 17-18 (Currently after the two year jump at the end)
Nationality	🇨🇦 Canadian
Home	Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Appearance
Outfit	Grey Sweater, White Pants, Sneakers, White Hat (in specific episodes)
Traits
Handedness	Left-Handed
Hair	Brown
Eyes	Greyish-Blue
Complexion	Brown
Height	5'
Professional Status
Affiliation(s)	Team Red
Occupation(s)	White Hat Hacker, informant
Alignment	Chaotic Good
Personal Status
Status	Alive
Friend(s)	Carmen Sandiego (best friend) Team Red (ally, team member) Julia Argent (ally)
Enemy(s)	V.I.L.E.
Media
First Appearance	"Becoming Carmen Sandiego: Part I"
Last Appearance	"The Dark Red Caper"
Voice Actor(s)	Finn Wolfhard

Player (last name: Bouchard) is a teenage hacker who currently assists Carmen Sandiego in her capers against V.I.L.E. He first made contact with Carmen through a phone she stole from the Captain during her time on the Isle of V.I.L.E.

Appearance

Player is a young teenager with side-fringed dark brown hair, greyish-blue eyes, and tan skin. He wears a grey and red jacket over a red shirt, with navy blue shorts and grey sneakers. He is also the shortest member of Team Red.

Personality

Despite being the youngest, Player was portrayed as being one of the most mature members after Carmen and Shadowsan. He is a talented hacker, being able to contact Black Sheep's stolen phone after hacking through V.I.L.E. Academy's 27 layers of security. As a White Hat hacker, he uses his talents only for good reasons and seems to have a strong moral compass. He tends to ignore personal property when he hacks into computer systems although was the one to suggest breaking into Lupe Peligro's house.

He seems mild-mannered and makes jokes often, being able to hold light friendly banter with Carmen. He mentions being perfectly happy in his "dark little cave", and doesn't seem all that interested in going outside for himself. His home schooling may factor into this. It's possible he's more interested in experiencing the world vicariously through Carmen's adventures. His reserved attitude seems to extend to Carmen as he never told her about his family or his early life during the events in season 1. He only tells Carmen when she pressures him in the events of Secrets of the Silver Lion.

He's surprisingly quick to trust Black Sheep initially, even when her answers don't seem to make much sense at first, and chooses to go with the flow and believe her when she does admit she's in a school for thieves. Despite the trust he showed to Black Sheep, the current Player was reluctant to trust and at most times against trusting Crackle, Chief, and Shadowsan on multiple occasions in seasons 1 and 2. This sudden paranoia could be caused by past mistreatment towards Carmen. This is farther proven when Player becomes wary when Carmen collaborates with former/current enemies and would constantly influence Carmen's faith in their word.

He's confident in his skills and his friends, though he still shows concern for Carmen when things turn dicey. This could be because he assigns Team Red their capers and if it goes wrong, Player couldn't do anything but coordinate the team and listen in through audio, basically giving him a sense of hopelessness. His young age and friendship with Carmen may also factor into this. His age and mild-mannered nature opts him to follow the orders of Carmen and Shadowsan with the attention to support the team (even if reluctant to do so). Though he's usually mature, Player still participates in Halloween activities like dressing in costume.

Pre-Carmen

Before meeting Carmen at the age of twelve, Player had a slightly troubled childhood, as was revealed in Secret of The Silver Lion.

According to Player himself, his father ran out on him, leaving Player and his mother alone. He spent several months tracking the man down (and along the way developing the skills he'd later use to assist Carmen and the other members of Team Red) but, upon finally finding his father, Player came to the realization that his mother and him were better off without him. (Though not before messing with his father's 'account numbers').

Sometime after coming to this decision, his mother remarried to Player's current step-dad (who he seems on good terms with, even calling him a 'great guy').

Player now appears happy with his life. Though, like most people with troubled pasts, speaking about his childhood can cause him significant distress (as Carmen herself notes).

Abilities

"I just hacked through 27 layers of encryption.
So, who do I inform about weak link over there?"

―Player, "Becoming Carmen Sandiego: Part I"

As described as Carmen's secret weapon, Player has demonstrated he has a high proficiency in encryption breaking, hacking and data collection.

He has provided invaluable technical support to the team.

• Proficient in Encryption Breaking - Player was able to break V.I.L.E's 27 layers of encryption before making contact with Black Sheep, he is the key team member who is able to decrypt V.I.L.E.'s hard drive. When provided a password by Carmen, he was able to access A.C.M.E.'s database in less than a minute.
• Proficient in Data Collection - Player has regularly provided Carmen and her team cultural and geographical knowledge of a location.

Relationships

Family Player's parents Allies Carmen Sandiego Zack Ivy Shadowsan Julia Argent (2019 character) A.C.M.E. (2019)

Enemies V.I.L.E. The Troll A.C.M.E. (Formerly)

Biography

A younger Player.

Early life

His real name is Peter. Player lives with his family in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Before he turned twelve, his parents had an argument and his father decided to leave. At some point during his father's disappearance, Player used his newly required hacking skills to try to find his father. Player had succeeded this but decided he, his mother, and his father were fine, so he did not pursue. Some time after Player's mom remarries a "great guy". Player uses his hacking skills as a white hat hacker and eventually hacks his way into V.I.L.E..

Meeting Carmen

Player first met Carmen (back when she was Black Sheep) when hacking into V.I.L.E.'s security. Player was Carmen's only connection to the outside world, and they quickly became friends. Player would constantly talk to Carmen when she is out of class and alone with no prior knowledge on where or who she really is.

Player aided Carmen with finding her way into the world when she escapes V.I.L.E.'s clutches.

Capers

The Boston Tea Party Caper

After months of planning, Player and Carmen would investigate a V.I.L.E. business front called Darryl's Donut Hole. This led to Carmen meeting Zack and Ivy, who would become members of the team.

Quotes

"You know I'd never miss a night out with you, Red"

"You just look... taller than I thought you would in person"

"Don't worry, Red. I'm not going anywhere"

In Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Voice Actor
Spanish	Player
Armando Corona
French	Player
Thomas Sagols
Danish	Player
Theo B. Koefoed
Norwegian	Player
Kevin Haugan
Dutch	Player
Solo Kuijpers
Polish	Player
Kaj Pilczuk
Portuguese	Player
Vasco Espinoza
Brazilian Portuguese	Player
Victor Hugo Fernandes
Romanian	Player
Raul Stanulescu
Russian	Игрок Igrok	Player	Тихон Ефименко Tikhon Efimenko
Swedish	Player
Hannes Duberg
Turkish	Player
Ömer Şerif Erzurumlu
Italian	Player	Player	Luca de Ambrosis
Finnish	Player
Riku Leskinen
German	Player
Sebastian Fitzner
Greek	Πλέιερ Pléier	Player	Γιώργος Σκουφής Giorgos Skoufis
Japanese	プレーヤー Purēyā	Player	斎賀 みつき (Mitsuki Saiga)
Korean	플레이어 Peulleieo	Player	송단우 Songdan-u
Hebrew	שחקן	Player
Chinese	玩家	Player

Gallery

Screenshots

"Red. You're back online!"

"Usernames work."

"Sure, it does. I just hacked through 27 layers of encryption. So, who do I inform over there about the weak link so you can upgrade your security?"

"Oh."

"Where have you been!? Strange people have been answering your phone."

"Are you gonna tell me what it is, Red, or-"

"The subliminal message!”

"So how come failing Shadowsan’s final is still bugging you?”

"I’m seeing a disarm code. And I’m hearing a speech coming on.”

"Backup’s on the way.”

"Slick move, Red. I’ll analyze the image for any clue to the location of their VILE prison.”

"And… it’s go time.”

Player meeting Zack and Ivy

Production

Renders

Trivia

• The "Player" was an unseen live-action character featured in the 1994 animated series Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?. He would bookend the episodes and communicate with Carmen, implying the events of the series were just a video game on his computer.
• Player's real first name is not revealed in the series. His last name was revealed by his teacher as "Bouchard". It is unclear if the surname is that of his father or stepfather.
  • That fact could only be true if the name "Peter" from The Crackle Goes Kiwi Caper was an alias rather than his given name.
  • His last name "Bouchard" means fort (in German) as he holds the fort as mission control or "Mouth" in French, as he's usually the one giving exposition and talks via communicator.
• Player's alias might be a reference to the fact that the Carmen Sandiego series started as video games.
• In Season 2 Episode 5, "The Boston Tea Party Caper", Player states he doesn't have a Learner's Permit.
  • In that same episode, Carmen stated that it was a few months ago when she escaped V.I.L.E. This would mean that Player was around 14 (16 being the age to have a permit in Canada) in the flashback.
• In "The Opera in the Outback Caper" a top-down shot of Player's room shows a piece of paper on the floor with the "Bureau of Balance" symbol on it. This implies that he is a fan of the real play Dungeons and Dragons podcast the symbol appears in, The Adventure Zone. The reference remains when the same camera angle is used in season 2.
• Player has Shadowsan's respect, a rare honor.
• Player is one of the two characters in the series to appear or be heard in every episode, the other being the title character Carmen Sandiego.
  • Despite appearing in every episode and specials, Player has the least or one of the least amount of episodic screen time among the main characters.
• Player has the following distinctions from the other members of Team Red:
  • He is the first to be recruited to Team Red.
  • He is the youngest and shortest member.
    • Interestingly enough, the two facts above contrasts those of Shadowsan's.
  • Player is one of two members to be referred mainly by their codename.
    • He is also the only member to not share his real name.
    • He is the only member to have his surname revealed.
  • He is the only member who does not travel beyond the location of his home.
    • Though he established Team Red's base, he is the only member to never step foot into it.
  • Due to his secluded location, he is the only member to never physically encounter V.I.L.E. or A.C.M.E., making his affiliation with Carmen unknown to both organizations as neither are unaware that he exists.
    • While V.I.L.E.'s hacker, The Troll, became aware of Player's presence in season 3, it is unknown if The Troll informed V.I.L.E. about him. Zack, Ivy, and Julia, who all join A.C.M.E. in "The Dark Red Caper", also know of Player's involvement with Carmen.
  • Player is the only member to not have his backstory revealed on-screen.
    • His backstory is instead revealed in the Secrets of the Silver Lion book.
  • Player is the only consistent character in Carmen's life as he meets Carmen when she was Black Sheep and remains in contact with her at the end of the series.
  • Including the interactive episode(and its "Bad" endings), Player is the only member to never oppose Team Red at any point of the series.
• Player is one of the five members who have an evil counterpart in VILE: The Troll.
  • Unlike his teammates and their evil counterparts, Player and The Troll have never physically fought but instead hacked into each other's computer systems.