Carter Blake

Carter Blake was a fictional character in the 1999 movie Deep Blue Sea. He was portrayed by Thomas Jane.

Deep Blue Sea

Little is known about Carter's early life, only that he "never went to class". He is an outstanding shark wrangler for Aquatica, a research facility that is working to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The team consists of Carter himself, Tom "Scoggs" Scoggins, Sherman "Preacher" Dudley, Dr. Jim Whitlock, Janice Higgins, Brenda Kerns, and most notably Dr. Susan McAlester, who was the cause for everything that went wrong. The relationship between the two is fragile due to the fact that Carter was constantly warning Susan of testing the sharks. Ultimately, she ignores him and creates a trio of genetically engineered mako sharks that makes them smarter, aggressive and also growing to the size of Great White Sharks. The test itself succeeds (with corporate executive Russell Franklin as a witness) until a test shark bites off Whitlock's arm, causing the team to go up to the surface level. In a memorable and scary scene, the same shark is swimming closer to the window facing the holding pen with an object in its mouth: Whitlock's stretcher. The stretcher (with him strapped to it) is used as a ram and causes a massive flow of water. After they escape the wet lab, Franklin confronts Susan with what she's done. Susan tries defending her actions but Carter quickly dismisses her saying:

"What you've done is that you've taken God's oldest killing machine and given it will and desire. What you've done is that you've knocked us all the way to the bottom of the goddamn food chain. Not a great leap foward ahead in my book ."

After Franklin is unexpectedly eaten by a shark, the group is inside the elevator shaft and Carter leads Janice, Tom, and Susan to safety on the ladder while flooding the second floor. He manages to get back on the ladder with everyone else despite nearly being bitten by a shark. The ladder's nails break apart, causing it to fall backwards. Janice loses grip and falls, Carter makes respectable attempts to save her while she is saying: "Carter! Get me out of here Carter! I don't want to die!". Unfortunately she does, being inside the shark's mouth and eaten alive. Preacher, who has previously killed one shark, saves the others and takes them to Janice's living quarters for "something that runs on batteries". While he's in the bathroom, Carter is putting on cream to keep his blood from attracting the sharks. Susan gratefully tells Carter that she couldn't have done it without him, which Carter calmly remarks: "I know Susan, that's the problem."

Carter and Tom go down to drain the wet lab where Carter sees the corpse of Jim Whitlock! Carter comes up for air screaming while Tom does the same, but not for the reason Carter was. Underwater, the duo manages to turn on all the controls but another shark emerges and grabs poor Tom who is smashed into the controls and ripped in half. Carter escapes and drains the lab, successfully getting back to Susan and Preacher. Susan has killed another shark. With one "demon fish" left, the final three drain the floor, and swim to the surface where the last shark attacks Preacher, who steadfastily survives using a crucifix to stab it in the eye. Carter swims out to help his friend and puts him to safety on the now destroyed surface. Susan says that they must kill the shark and Carter notes it's the smartest thing that she's said all day. Carter is unable to shoot the shark, but Susan acts as bait for him to do so. Carter dives in the water in a vain attempt to save her, but is a second late as the shark jumps and eats Susan, ripping her in two. Carter is in turn attacked, and grabs the shark by the dorsal fin. Preacher shoots the shark and Carter and at the last second Carter lets go of the shark, and Preacher timely blows up the shark! Carter emerges from the water, and he and Preacher survive the scenario. Carter had quit shark wrangling afterwards.