Occupation: Corporate attorney

Relationships: Jackie Lamont

Appearances: Season 5

Who’d Play Him: Sam Jaeger

The Fixer Who Took Her Literally: Bryan Carlson was a polished attorney and trusted adviser of Don Fenwick in New York. He handled sensitive matters involving Fenwick Industries and became a close confidant of Jackie Lamont, who relied upon him for both legal guidance and the kind of private assistance that could never be recorded in official documents.

After Don Fenwick was declared brain-dead following his confrontation with David Jennings, Bryan arrived as the family attorney to inform Kyle Fenwick that he was next in line to take control of Fenwick Industries. Kyle rejected the position and announced that he intended to remain in Los Angeles, leaving the company’s future uncertain and demonstrating Bryan’s proximity to the financial affairs of the Fenwick dynasty.

Bryan’s most dangerous association, however, was with Jackie. When David revealed that he was dying from an inoperable brain tumor, Jackie became determined to learn who would inherit his vast fortune. She blackmailed Kenny DeWitt into showing her David’s will and was horrified to discover that he intended to leave his multibillion-dollar estate to his half-sister, Brooke Taylor.

Jackie bitterly complained to Bryan that she wished Brooke would disappear forever. She intended the remark as an expression of anger, but Bryan treated it as an instruction. He assured Jackie that he would take care of everything and began arranging a series of import-export deals through Merteuil Industries that supposedly promised to transform the company into an international powerhouse. In reality, he was establishing a relationship with an Acapulco drug cartel.

Bryan negotiated the release of imprisoned cartel leader Ricardo Pacheco and used the production of House of Palms in Acapulco as cover for his plan. Once filming began, armed men attacked the cast and crew. Cassidy Solomon, director Eric Autumn, and a security guard were murdered, while Brooke, Stormy Blackthorne, Kyle Fenwick, Jack Childers, and Jackie’s mole Steven Chandler were among those kidnapped.

The operation served two purposes. The cartel could extort money from its wealthy captives, while Bryan hoped Brooke would be killed, removing her from David’s will. With Brooke gone and David expected to die, Bryan believed he could position himself to gain control of the Jennings fortune. Jackie gradually realized that her careless words had inspired the massacre and became terrified of what Bryan had done in her name.

When Jackie attempted to contact him, Bryan disappeared. A Merteuil executive who discovered suspicious dealings between the company and an Acapulco entity was murdered before he could expose them. Bryan eventually resurfaced and denied any involvement, but Devon Graham remembered seeing him visit an inmate while she was in prison. Brett Armstrong’s investigation revealed that Bryan had arranged Ricardo Pacheco’s parole. Devon was subsequently murdered after an attempt to obtain information from Bryan, adding another death to the conspiracy.

Jackie finally told Brett what she knew, and he passed the information to James Blackthorne. James and David organized a blockade to prevent cartel freighters from docking at San Pedro with a major drug shipment. They eventually located Brooke and the surviving hostages, but the cartel retaliated by abducting Brett, Miranda, and Eddie aboard a yacht connected to the blockade. Jackie joined the rescue and helped disable one of their captors.

With his scheme collapsing, Bryan traveled to Acapulco aboard the Fenwick jet and confronted David and Brooke in their hotel room. He held them hostage and revealed how far he was willing to go to seize David’s fortune. David overpowered him, but Bryan escaped and returned to Los Angeles.

Bryan made one final attempt to silence the woman whose remark had started everything. He cornered Jackie inside her office at Merteuil Industries and tried to kill her, only to be shot by an FBI agent before he could succeed. Jackie then reshaped the public story, presenting herself as instrumental in bringing down the cartel while concealing her own inadvertent role in setting Bryan’s plan in motion.