Characters

Leone (Léon) Montana
"No women, no kids, that's the rules."
A shrewd hitman, Léon spends an isolated life training and performing assassinations. His only friend is a plant because it is "always happy" and he never has to deal with any questions from it. Léon has great difficulty expressing emotions due to his worklife, and so he remains hidden behind a cold exterior. After taking in Mathilda and teaching her how to 'clean', Léon experiences a strong sense of paternal love, enriching his once somber life. It is with his newly found feelings that he performs a large sacrifice to fulfill Mathilda's wish.

Mathilda Lando
"I want love, or death. That's it."
Mathilda, a precocious 12-year-old, enters Léon's life when her family is killed by a group of corrupt police officers. Though she lacks any feelings of sorrow over most of the members of her family, she desires to avenge her younger brother's death by going after the unscrupulous cop who shot him. She turns to Léon, who initially turns down her pleas for help, but later on, agrees to teach her how to kill. After spending time with Léon, Mathilda claims she has fallen in love with him; however, Léon is quick to dismiss such emotions from a child.

Norman Stansfield
"Death is ... whimsical ... today."
Stansfield enjoys the classical work of Beethoven and the euporia experienced through the consumption of drugs. As a DEA agent, he takes advantage of his position to perform drug trades. He and a number of fellow agents murder Mathilda's family after a botched deal with her father while Mathilda is out grocery shopping. Following this incident, Mathilda vows to go after him for shooting her innocent younger brother.

Tony
"One thing has nothin' to do with the other - remember that Léon."
Tony, an Italian mobster, is the one who assigns Léon his assassination missions and handles Léon's money. Keeping most of the hitman's money stored away, he pays Léon a set amount extracted from the earnings. While he does seem to care about Léon, Tony often takes advantage of the cleaner's naivety.