Artful Dodger
Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel Oliver Twist.[1] The Dodger is a pickpocket and his nickname refers to his skill and cunning in that occupation. In the novel, he is the leader of the gang of child criminals on the streets of London trained and overseen by the elderly Fagin. The term has become an idiom describing a person who engages in skillful deception.
This article is about the character from Oliver Twist. For other uses, see Artful Dodger (disambiguation).The Artful Dodger
Edouard Trebaol (1922)
Anthony Newley (1948)
Melvyn Hayes (1962)
Davy Jones (1963)
Phil Collins (1964)
Jack Wild (1968)
Martin Tempest (1982)
David Garlick (1985)
Elijah Wood (1997)
Alex Crowley (2007)
Harry Eden (2005)
Adam Arnold (2007)
Hayley Smith (2011)
Kielan Ellis (2014)
Kyle Coffman (2015)
Wilson Radjou-Pujalte (2016)
Rita Ora (2021)
Billy Jenkins (2022)
Hayden Lawry (2023)
Thomas Brodie-Sangster (2023)
Jack Dawkins
Male
Cultural influences[edit]
In Peter F. Hamilton's Void Trilogy, Aaron pilots a spaceship called the Artful Dodger.
Argentine football player and 1986 FIFA World Cup winning captain Diego Maradona was frequently referred to as the Artful Dodger due to his cunning personality and ability to get away with fouls, such as disguising the illegal use of his hand, as he infamously did when scoring with the "Hand of God".[15][16][17][18]
At least two different books about the Major League Baseball club known as the "Dodgers" have used this character's name as a play-on-words for their titles: The Artful Dodgers, edited by Tom Meany; and The Artful Dodger, by Tommy Lasorda with David Fisher.[19]
Condredge Holloway, the quarterback for the University of Tennessee Volunteers (1972–74), was known as "The Artful Dodger" for his scrambling prowess and elusive manner. Holloway was the first African-American starting quarterback in the history of Southeastern Conference football, went on to star in the Canadian Football League from 1975 through 1987, and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1999.[20]
Dodger is one of the characters in Shadowrun, an elven hacker; his romantic involvement with semi-autonomous knowbot Morgan spurs her into full self-consciousness and turns her into one of the setting's first true AIs, launching a far-reaching chain of events that still largely define the metaplot twenty in-character (fifteen real) years later.
In the Bewitched episode, "The Phrase is Familiar", Tabitha's tutor uses witchcraft to make the Artful Dodger come out of Oliver Twist. In this episode he steals Samantha's ring, Darrin's watch, and the cufflinks of a client of Darrin's advertising company.
The literary magazine Artful Dodge was named after the character.
In an episode of Gilmore Girls, "Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy", Rory calls Jess "Dodger" after he steals her book.
In the Lost Girl episode "It's Better to Burn Out Than Fade Away", a character refers to himself as being the "Artful Dodger" for his artist friend. Bo suggests that he did not actually read Oliver Twist.
The character of Adric in the science-fiction TV series Doctor Who was originally envisioned as an Artful Dodger-style character.
Modern interpretations[edit]
In Walt Disney's 1988 animated feature film version of Oliver Twist, Oliver and Company, the character of the Artful Dodger was changed to a streetwise mutt simply named Dodger. The voice was provided by musician Billy Joel.
In Saban's Adventures of Oliver Twist, Artful Dodger is voiced by Brianne Siddall and resembles a rabbit.
In 1996, Jean Loup Wolfman played the role in an adaptation by Seth Michael Donsky entitled Twisted. The film is set in a contemporary New York City underground populated by drag queens, drug abusers and hustlers. The Artful Dodger is a gay rent boy and hustler called Arthur, better known among his clientele as "Fine Art".[21] He befriends the Oliver Twist character called Lee (played by Keivyn McNeill Grayes), the latter a black adolescent runaway.
In the first edition of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's comic series League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, set in 1898 London, the Dodger briefly appears as an elderly man running his own gang of boy thieves, hinting that he is still following in Fagin's footsteps.[22]
In 2001, the Artful Dodger was the subject of an Australian children's show called Escape of the Artful Dodger. The show followed the Artful Dodger's adventures in the Australian penal colony in New South Wales, as well as his eventual redemption. Oliver Twist and Fagin also appeared.[23]
In the 2003 film Twist, the Artful Dodger is called Dodge and is played by Nick Stahl. The film is told from his point of view, in which he is a drug addict influenced by Fagin.[24]
In the 2010 Doctor Who audio drama Legend of the Cybermen, the Artful Dodger is one of the characters seen in the land of fiction. He was voiced by Steven Kynman.
In Tony Lee's 2011 novel Dodge & Twist, set twelve years after the events of Oliver Twist, Dodger has returned to England a changed man from his time in Australia, and is planning a heist. However he cannot escape the 'ghost' of Fagin, who still guides his actions, even past the grave.[25]
In Terry Pratchett's 2012 novel Dodger, the title character bears certain similarities to the Dickens character. The sampler of the book also includes him meeting an astute gentleman who concerns himself with the well-being of the poor called Charlie Dickens.[26]
A 2014 novel by Peter David, Artful, features the Artful Dodger as the main character, and depicts his life following the events of Oliver Twist, which includes confrontations with vampires, one of whom is revealed to be Fagin.[27] The storyline of that novel was continued in a comic book series of the same name.[28]
In the late 2015 BBC series Dickensian, the Artful Dodger is portrayed by Wilson Radjou-Pujalte.[29]
In the 2021 film Twist, the Artful Dodger is gender-flipped into a woman and played by Rita Ora.
In the 2022 CBBC series, Dodger, the Artful Dodger is portrayed by Billy Jenkins.[30]
In the 2023 miniseries The Artful Dodger, which is set in 1850s Australia, the titular character is portrayed by Thomas Brodie-Sangster.