[name_m]Paul[/name_m] [name_m]Simon[/name_m] [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] [ 19 ] [ formely [name_m]Paul[/name_m] [name_m]Soren[/name_m] Stendahl ] is, according to documentation , the son of Tatum’s husband from a previous relationship. His mother died in a fire and he had to live with his father who was helpless in defending [name_m]Paul[/name_m] ‘s mother from the fire due to being in the office then and verifying insurance. He is the loving adoptive brother of [name_f]Maddie[/name_f] and [name_f]Gwen[/name_f].
Are we done with the official version? Yes? Good.
[name_m]Paul[/name_m] is part of a witness protection program and the 19-year-old son of one of Norway ‘s richest businessmen , [name_m]Soren[/name_m] Stendahl. He was kidnapped 3 years ago along with his mother by Italian-American gangsters who wanted to know [name_m]Soren[/name_m] ‘s patent for eco-friendly disposal of waste , as the management of waste and landfills is one of the most profitable activities that organised crime rings around the world do. Mr. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] is not only an insurance verification specialist , but also an undercover FBI agent who worked as an insider in the Italian mafia to monitor kidnapping and human trafficking cases. He contacted families who faced the mobsters demanding ransom from them. He “ watched over “ [name_m]Paul[/name_m] and his mother all the while they were convinced he works for the mafia and “ helped “ the mafia communicate with [name_m]Paul[/name_m] and his mother by translating from [name_f]English[/name_f] and Norwegian into Italian for them.
In the meantime he contacted FBI and [name_m]Soren[/name_m] Stendahl to convince the valuable businessman and patent holder to pay the ransom of 17 million [name_m]Euros[/name_m] and give part of the patent secrets to the mob. [name_m]Soren[/name_m] however negotiated with his lawyers and took a very long time to figure out how to give the patent to the mob so that they couldn’t construct any machines effectively. [name_m]Soren[/name_m] also really wanted to avoid taxation on the 17 million dollar transaction, which he only paid with the taxation when part of his wife and son’s ear was cut off and sent to his office in Norway [ Mr. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] avoided considerably more harm for the two kidnapped people because the original plan was to cut off their entire right legs.]
[name_m]Soren[/name_m] Stendahl drove to rural Oklahoma , where the mobsters had their secret location and left the 17 million dollars at a gas station where [name_m]Paul[/name_m] and his mother were supposed to return to the family. However, the mobsters discovered last minute that the money was given to them without the patent. They set fire around the gas station with the fuel and a lighter. [name_m]Paul[/name_m] managed to escape the fire but his mother did not because the snack shop in the gas station fell apart and the remains of the building left her trapped despite [name_m]Paul[/name_m] running to Mr. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] and the other FBI operation agents for help.
When the operation ended , [name_m]Soren[/name_m] Stendahl asked the FBI agents to protect [name_m]Paul[/name_m] at all costs. He loved his son and wanted to protect him but wasn’t ready for a powerful piece of technology to be used for crimes , yet his wife was the person suffering and led to her demise for it. Mr. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] and his then-wife , a toxicologist who also worked for the FBI and also helped [name_m]Paul[/name_m] find an antidote for a neurotoxin-based poison the mob gave him , decided to legally adopt [name_m]Paul[/name_m] along with entirely changing his identity and the documents around it. [name_m]Soren[/name_m] Stendahl begged them to do the same for his younger son, but Mrs. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] told him it would be too risky and to simply send him to a boarding school somewhere in [name_u]England[/name_u]. Mrs. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] however ended up getting a mission to protect the younger boy by formally marrying [name_m]Soren[/name_m] Stendahl and working with both the [name_f]British[/name_f] and American authorities by watching out for possible attempts to poison either the Norwegian businessman and his younger son. This led to Mr. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] becoming essentially a single father to [name_m]Paul[/name_m] , who fell into a deep depression after that development because he loved his former wife and co-worker and couldn’t bear [name_m]Soren[/name_m] Stendhal’s Norwegian social media posts which pointed to the woman really falling in love for the man she was forced to marry, even if she, too, ended up having to change her identity.
[name_m]Paul[/name_m] remained a staunch source of support for his adoptive dad and to this day feels like Mr. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] risked a lot more for him than his own dad did. [name_m]Soren[/name_m] cared for a stupid patent more than for his family! The traumatic experience of kidnapping and getting injured by the mafia however leads to [name_m]Paul[/name_m] being very needy emotionally towards his dad and looking for his validation a little too hard. Mr. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] got him therapy on the FBI ‘s dime , however all of the pressure as a single father rubbed off on him the wrong way. He started drinking and that’s actually how he met [name_u]Tatum[/name_u] who before making it as a director worked as a bartender. Mr. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] told her part of the real story but she took it as a part of simple storytelling. He was charmed by the bartender and fell in love with her at first sight for patiently listening to him. [name_m]Paul[/name_m] gave him the OK when it came to pursuing dating with her. Mr. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] knows he has to protect his wife in case she discovers that his story wasn’t a work of imagination. He signed up all of his family for self-defence classes, including [name_u]Tatum[/name_u] , [name_f]Maddie[/name_f] and [name_f]Gwen[/name_f]. Mr. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] knows that [name_u]Tatum[/name_u] thinks that [name_f]Maddie[/name_f] and [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] were adopted by them quickly due to how much of good adoptive parents they would make, but really it’s because the authorities in [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] know who Mr. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] is and came to the conclusion that him establishing a brand new family is likely to muddy the waters for criminals who might still try to target him or [name_m]Paul[/name_m], therefore making it harder for them to figure out who they are or even get to them – [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] is not the Italian mob’s territory , while the former state where the family lived – Oregon – partially is, therefore Mr. [name_m]Roberts[/name_m] and [name_m]Paul[/name_m] both try to convince [name_u]Tatum[/name_u] to stay in [name_m]Nashville[/name_m] for the duration of her next project – [name_m]Tip[/name_m].
[name_m]Tip[/name_m] was co-written by [name_m]Paul[/name_m] , being his own way for his new adoptive mother to know his story. The psychological thriller tells a story about a rich kid who’s out of touch with reality and whose biggest concern is his next vacation on the farm or the fact that his rich parents won’t let him date. After he gets kidnapped however , the psychological turmoil leads him to mature quickly and be the source of emotional support for his also kidnapped mother. The man who seems like the main kidnapper turns out the small fish in a big pond who ends up trying to help them. This is of course an attempt by [name_m]Paul[/name_m] to pay homage for his beloved adoptive father , how he makes the effort to protect the whole family by living a humble life and how he enables [name_m]Paul[/name_m] to still meet his biological father in various places in the world despite the risk. During the next meeting [name_m]Paul[/name_m] wants to tell his father [name_m]Soren[/name_m] to write him out of his will and give all of his money to [name_m]Paul[/name_m] ‘s younger biological brother. [name_m]Paul[/name_m] suspects that it won’t be a problem after it will turn out that [name_m]Paul[/name_m] disrespected his wish to go into Finance and decided to study Theatre so as to be an actor in his adoptive mother’s upcoming movies ; he also disrespected [name_m]Soren[/name_m] ‘s wish not to date. He now has a girlfriend. They connected over shared trauma and feelings of being trapped , even if the context of Paul’s girlfriend’s trauma was vastly different to his own. Much like [name_m]Paul[/name_m] ‘s sisters [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] and [name_f]Maddie[/name_f] , Paul’s girlfriend is a foster care kid from [name_m]Nashville[/name_m] instead of a Norwegian rich girl. [name_m]Paul[/name_m] longs to be a normal young adult – playing dress up with [name_f]Gwen[/name_f], going to [name_f]Maddie[/name_f] ‘s softball matches and having awkward cinema dates with his girlfriend. Cutting himself off from [name_m]Soren[/name_m] Stendahl and his bank account seems like the only viable option to achieve normalcy and protect the only family who ever paid attention to who he actually is and not who he is supposed to be because of wealth.
[name_f]Inspiration[/name_f]?
This character is based off of [name_u]Ridley[/name_u] Scott’s movie All The [name_m]Money[/name_m] in The World - [name_m]Paul[/name_m] even has the same name and is " played " by the same actor, [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] [name_m]Plummer[/name_m] , even though his story has been very significantly changed to find the balance between inspiration and fitting the characters