William "Bill" Sikes is a fictional character in the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens He is one of Dickens's most vicious characters and a very strong force in the novel when it comes to having control over somebody or harming others. He is portrayed as a rough and barbaric man. He is a career criminal associated with Fagin, and an eventual murderer. He is very violent and aggressive, prone to sudden bursts of extreme behaviour. He owns a bull terrier named Bull's Eye, whom he beats until the dog needs stitches. Dickens describes his first appearance: His prostitute girlfriend Nancy tolerates his violent and lawless behaviour, perhaps because she, being a thief since the age of six, needs stability in her life, and because she believes that she loves him. When Sikes murders Nancy, thinking she has betrayed him, a mob hounds him through the streets of London until he accidentally hangs himself while trying to escape. The murder is especially gruesome, and is one of the most graphic, frightening, scenes Dickens ever wrote. Sikes could be said to have some positive features: at the robbery in the countryside, Sikes, rather than leave Oliver at the scene of his botched burglary of Rose Maylie's house, picks him up and runs with him as far as he can. This, however, could be as much for his own self-preservation as much as Oliver's, and he eventually does abandon the seriously wounded boy and shows absolutely no remorse about doing so. In addition, after he kills Nancy, he apparently does feel guilty, although it could be argued that this is merely fear of the possibility of being caught. Sikes lives in Bethnal Green and later moves to the squalid rookery area of London then called Jacob's Island, east of present-day Shad Thames. (via Wikipedia)

About Bill Sikes

Spouse: Nancy (mistress)

Age: About 35

Residence: Bethnal Green, London, England

First Appearance: Oliver Twist

Created By: Charles Dickens

Gender: Male

Played By: Robert Newton (1948), Oliver Reed (1968), Robert Loggia (voice, 1988), Andy Serkis (1999), Jamie Foreman (2005), Tom Hardy (2007), Burn Gorman (2009)

Occupation: robber, murderer

Name: Bill Sikes

Death Date: Jan 1, 1840