- "Hello, Sterling. Your mother doesn't know I'm here."
- —Archer's father[src]
A continuing mystery on the show is the identity of Sterling Archer's father. Whoever provides the voice of Archer's real father is unknown.
Biography
Season 1
"Dial M for Mother"
Whenever Nikolai Jakov refers to Archer as "son," Archer is shocked, as he had been told his entire life that his father was John Fitzgerald Archer, a fighter pilot who was killed.
Season 4
"Once Bitten"
- "Thank you, sir, but, who are you?"
"Sterling... I'm your real father."- —Sterling Archer and his father[src]
The identity of Sterling's father was almost revealed when a dying Archer, who was bitten by a venomous snake, had flashbacks to his past, and remembered a man who came and gave him a stuffed alligator. The man said he was his father. Archer awoke once he was administered the anti-venom, but forgot who he thought his father was. If you listen closely the voice talent is likely done by Adam West.
Personality
- "I hope you like alligators."
"I do!"- —Archer's father and Archer[src]
Candidates
- Unnamed Secret Agent: Malory Archer murdered Savio Mascalzoni, citing that he had gunned down a "beautiful young man with blue eyes, full lips, and thick black hair" who opposed Savio's fascist regime. There's a possibility this is the same man Archer saw in his hallucination.[1]
- Nikolai Jakov: The deceased former head of the KGB and an ex-lover of Malory. Despite being enemies in the public eye, Nikolai and Malory had a secret relationship, which ended when she disappeared for nine months, hinting this was the time Malory became pregnant. Nikolai was not made aware of this fact until many years later,[2] when she accidentally let the information slip. This drove Jakov to abduct Sterling after he came to Russia to investigate his father's identity and have him take a paternity test, threatening to kill Archer should the result be negative. However, Boris sabotaged the DNA sample, and once again left the identity in question.[3] Jakov was killed by Barry Dylan, leaving his candidacy in deeper limbo.[4]
- Len Trexler: Head of ODIN and another ex-lover of Malory. Trexler was more or less simply a name drop, but he has had sexual history with Malory. Trexler hasn't been seen since Season 2,[5] and further irrelevance to the story points towards also not being the father, despite no confirmation.
Debunked Candidates
- Buddy Rich: American jazz drummer. Only mentioned once as being a possibility. However, despite him being one of Malory's main lovers whom she suspected as Sterling's father, she believes he's least likely to be his father.[6]
Trivia
- Archer's father is a short man as shown next to a light switch in "Once Bitten." The light switch comes to his shoulder, measuring the standard 48" in height. This leaves his father's height to be estimated at 5' tall.
- Notably, Archer's father's voice has no trace of an accent, and does not bear any resemblance to the voices of Nikolai Jakov or Len Trexler.
- It is unknown if the vision in Once Bitten was a hallucination or a real memory, since in it Archer claims to love alligators, while in reality they are his greatest fear.
Appearances
| Appearances for Archer's Father |
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References
- ↑ Archer S03E08: "Lo Scandalo"
- ↑ Archer S01E06: "Skorpio"
- ↑ Archer S02E12: "White Nights"
- ↑ Archer S03E10: "Crossing Over"
- ↑ Archer S02E02: "A Going Concern"
- ↑ Archer S01E10: "Dial M for Mother"