Harold Oxley
An old friend of Indiana Jones whose mind was addled by a crystal skull.
Harold "Ox" Oxley, played by John Hurt, is a colleague and old friend of Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Born in Leeds, England, he broke off contact with Indiana in 1937 while searching for the crystal skulls. Both Ox and Indiana studied under Abner Ravenwood, and Ox became a surrogate father to Marion Ravenwood's son Mutt.
Lore & Background
Mutt Williams tells Jones that Ox found a crystal skull in Peru in search of the mythical city Akator. In Peru, carvings made by Ox lead Jones and Mutt to the grave of Francisco de Orellana, which holds an elongated crystal skull. They are later reunited with an addled Ox, whose wits have been worn down by long exposure to one of the skulls; Jones realizes Ox is communicating through automatic writing and finds the route to the city. Once the skull is returned to Akator, Ox regains his sanity, and he is last seen at Indy and Marion's wedding.
Reader's Guide
Oxley is Mutt's surrogate father and an old friend of Indiana, whom he lost contact with in 1937. His search for the crystal skulls drives the plot of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Mutt asks Indiana to help find him and Marion. The character was created by Frank Darabont in his script of Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods, where he was named Vernon Oxley.
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