James Sandin

Lore & Background

James Sandin is the patriarch of the Sandin family in *The Purge*. He works as a security systems salesman and is the top salesman in his company, having sold his upgraded system to multiple neighbors. He believes the Purge has rid the country of poverty and crime by giving people an outlet for their pent-up anger, a view he explains to his son Charlie during a family dinner. James enables the security system shortly before the Purge begins, sealing the doors and windows with metal plating. When his daughter Zoey's older boyfriend, Henry, sneaks inside and tries to shoot James, James returns fire and mortally wounds Henry. Later, after a wounded stranger is let inside by Charlie, a gang of masked young adults arrives demanding the stranger. James admits that his security system, while superficially impressive, cannot resist a systematic assault. The family initially captures the stranger to hand him over but decides to defend him instead. James kills several gang members but is stabbed by the leader. He dies from his wounds, and his wife Mary later shoots neighbor Mr. Ferrin with a shotgun after the neighbors intervene and then turn on the Sandins.

In Their Own Story

In 2022, James Sandin returns to his home in an affluent L.A. gated community to wait out the Purge with his wife Mary, daughter Zoey, and son Charlie. During a family dinner, he announces he is now the top salesman in his company and assures his family that his upgraded security system will protect them. As an extra precaution, he retrieves a pistol from a gun safe. Charlie objects to the violence of the Purge, but James explains that it has rid the country of poverty and crime. Shortly before the Purge begins, James enables the security system, sealing the doors and windows with metal plating. Zoey's older boyfriend Henry, who snuck inside before the system was activated, comes downstairs with a pistol and tries to shoot James. James returns fire and mortally wounds Henry, who later dies on Zoey's bedroom floor. During the chaos, a wounded stranger who Charlie let inside disappears. A gang of masked young adults arrives, and the gang leader demands the stranger. James admits the security system cannot resist a systematic assault. The Sandins capture the stranger but decide to defend him. James kills several gang members but is stabbed by the leader. He dies from his wounds. After the Purge ends, Mary forces her former friends to leave in defeat and thanks the stranger for his help.

Reader's Guide

James Sandin is a central character in *The Purge*, the first installment in the Purge franchise. The film is set in 2022, following an economic collapse in the United States that led to the rise of the New Founding Fathers of America, who created an annual 12-hour Purge during which all crime using a 'Class 4' weapon or lower is legal. By 2022, the economy is booming, with unemployment at 1% and crime at an all-time low, which many attribute to the Purge. James lives in an affluent L.A. gated community and works as a security systems salesman. He is the top salesman in his company and has sold his upgraded system to multiple neighbors. During the Purge, he retrieves a pistol from a gun safe and enables his security system, which seals the doors and windows with metal plating. He kills Zoey's boyfriend Henry in self-defense. When a gang of Purgers arrives demanding a wounded stranger, James initially tries to hand the stranger over but ultimately decides to defend him. James kills several gang members but is stabbed by the leader and dies from his wounds. His wife Mary survives and forces their neighbors, who had turned on them, to leave. Ethan Hawke agreed to $10,000 up front for his involvement and later made $2 million in backend compensation. Hawke reprises his role as James Sandin in the opening scene of '7:01am', the series finale of *The Purge* television series.

Did You Know?

• Ethan Hawke agreed to $10,000 up front for his role as James Sandin and later made $2 million in backend compensation.
• James Sandin retrieves a revolver from a gun safe at the start of the Purge.
• Hawke slept on producer Jason Blum's couch during the course of filming.
• The film *The Purge* was shot in Los Angeles with a production budget of $3 million.