Charlie Dalton

***Spoiler warning:** Plot and character fates will be shown on this page and in infoboxes and quotes.*

## Biographical Information

### Alias

* Charlie  (by everyone)
* Nuwanda  (self-given)

## Relationship Information

### Friends

* Neil Perry
* Steven Meeks
* Knox Overstreet
* Todd Anderson
* Gerard Pitts
* Richard Cameron (roommate/formerly)
* John Keating (former teacher)

## Affiliation

### Occupation

* Former student at Welton Academy (expelled)
* Member of the Dead Poets Society

## Actor/Actress

### Portrayed by

Gale Hansen

"*Mr. Nolan, it's for you. It's God. He says we should have girls at Welton.*"
— Charlie Dalton

**Charles Dalton**, more commonly known as **Charlie**, is the tritagonist of the 1989 film Dead Poets Society. He is an incredibly outgoing character and takes the words of Mr. Keating to heart, he doesn’t hesitate to break the rules and traditions. He stands out and is an incredibly unique character, he thrives off of the attention of the others in the group and likes to take things above and beyond.

> "*Mr. Nolan, it's for you. It's God. He says we should have girls at Welton.*"
> ― Charlie Dalton
>
>

Not much is known about Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, but much like his peers, Charlie's future was decided by his parents. Neil notes him to be a "future banker". The Daltons made Charlie take clarinet lessons for an extended period of time, despite his dislike for the instrument. Neil notes that Charlie's family is rich.

### John Keating

Mr. Keating is clearly Charlie's favourite teacher. In addition, Charlie took the phrase *carpe diem* (seize the day) to heart as their new life motto; this phrase was said by Keating in his first class, encouraging his students to live life to the fullest, and every day as if it were the last.

### Knox Overstreet

Knox is Charlie's friend. They are childhood friends and spend lots of time together. Charlie is the one who convinces Knox to join the Dead Poets Society and encourages him to read the poem he wrote for Chris. He also cheers up Knox when he is sad about Chris.

### Neil Perry

Neil and Charlie were childhood friends, and vaguely implied to have grown up together. The implication of their long-lasting friendship came from Charlie being the only one who seemed to know how Mr. Perry treated his son. Furthermore, Charlie was the one to try to talk to Mr. Perry after the play. They are often considered former lovers from their shared history.

### Richard Cameron

Richard Cameron is Charlie's roommate. However, from the beginning of the film, it is shown that Charlie has little patience for Cameron's brown-nosing tendencies. Later, following the events of Neil's death and Cameron informing the school's administration of his belief that Keating was responsible, Charlie punches Richard Cameron in the face for snitching, and is promptly expelled.

### Todd Anderson

Todd Anderson is new to Welton. He befriends Neil and Charlie, both of whom work to integrate him into their friend group. Charlie seems to value their friendship. The two understand each other the most when Neil died.

### Stephen Meeks

Steven Meeks is one of Charlie Dalton's closest friends, and the nerd of the group. He tutors Charlie on Latin, English and Trigonometry. Charlie describes Meeks as a “genius”.

### Gerard Pitts

Gerard Pitts is a fellow poet and classmate. They seem to get along very well, and Charlie even calls him "Pittsie".

## Trivia

* Charlie can play the saxophone.
	+ He took the clarinet for years and hated it. He later used that skill to teach himself how to play the saxophone.
* Charlie comes from a rich family.
* Gale Hansen, after being asked on Twitter if he supports the headcanon if Charlie being non-binary, responded saying that he was “100% on board”.