Benjamin Ferel

Benjamin Ferel is a main character in French thriller series Lupin. He is portrayed by Antoine Gouy, while his teenaged counterpart is played by Adrian Valli De Villebonne.

Benjamin is best friends with Assane Diop, whom he met at an elite boarding school, and currently runs an antique shop while assisting Assane with his less-than-legal dealings in his spare time.

1995
Benjamin first meets Assane when the latter begins attending the College d’Andrésy through a donation made by Anne Pellegrini. Seeing that Assane is being bullied by a group of boys, Benjamin steps in and tells them to leave him alone, unless they want to be reported to the director.

The two quickly become inseparable, and Benjamin is introduced to other meaningful people in Assane’s life, most notably Claire, with whom he develops a friendship as well. When Assane decides to commit his first major crime by stealing a violin from Lorenzo, a racist vendor, in order to give it to Claire, Benjamin declines to assist directly, but offers to keep watch outside the shop. He is present at Claire’s recital, which ends in both her and Assane being escorted from the premises after they are reported by Lorenzo. Benjamin helps Assane fake a message from Lorenzo when the theft of the violin nearly costs his friend his place at the College d’Andrésy. The pair sometimes skip classes in order to explore Paris, discovering secret passages in the Catacombs that they mark for future use.

2006
Benjamin decides to open an antique shop in one of Paris' flea markets, sometimes selling things that Assane has stolen from wealthy families.

Part 1
Benjamin continues to be the only person who is entirely informed of all of Assane’s exploits, and occasionally assists with them: the fake necklace that Assane switches out with the real Pellegrini necklace during the Louvre heist is made for him by Benjamin.

Benjamin is also with Assane when he watches Hubert Pellegrini give his press conference about the contents of the Malaysia tape. Later, he helps raise Assane’s spirits after Fabienne’s murder, telling him that if he becomes depressed, Hubert will have essentially beaten him, and reminding him that he still has an ex-wife and child who care about him.

Part 2
Benjamin encounters Claire returning from Raoul's birthday trip to Étretat, and grows concerned upon seeing her anguished expression. The two walk together, and Claire shows Benjamin a newspaper article containing a story about Fabienne’s death and her fight against Hubert, with a photograph of Assane in his “Salvator” disguise included. Benjamin asks Claire why he should know about this; Claire responds that he has always known about everything. She reveals that Raoul has been kidnapped, and that she believes Hubert to be responsible. Benjamin is stunned, and attempts to assure Claire that Assane will find a way to bring Raoul back to her, but Claire is not convinced. She tells Benjamin that she wants to find her son herself, and begs him for help. Together, Benjamin and Claire devise a plan to exchange the remaining diamonds for Raoul.

Later, Assane complains to Benjamin that Claire nearly wound up betraying him to the police. Benjamin defends Claire, reminding Assane that she was desperate and that she did not go through with it. Assane decides to move on, and the two devise a new plan to go after Hubert which involves Assane seducing Juliette to turn her against her father. To help Assane with the operation, Benjamin makes reservations at a restaurant under the name of Horace Valmont, a fictional French-Canadian businessman that he and Assane have created. He also makes a detailed copy of a painting by Camille Pissarro, which he sends to Juliette, alongside several false news alerts about its disappearance from the Musée d’Orsay.

During this period, Benjamin receives another visit from Claire, who asks him how Assane is doing. He tells her not to worry, and Claire introduces him to her new companion, Marc. After the two have left, Marc quickly returns and buys a bracelet from Benjamin’s shop to give to Claire. Later, Assane asks Benjamin about the bracelet, telling him that Juliette has seen it on Claire's instagram account and wants him to steal it. Benjamin admits that he was the one who sold the bracelet, and tells Assane that as it is extremely rare, he will have to steal it himself if he wants it.

In addition to Assane’s supposed courtship of Juliette, he and Benjamin plan a much more involved stunt for the Pellegrinis’ fundraising concert at the Théâtre du Châtelet. This involves getting their hands on the briefcase of Lucas Lacroix, who handles Hubert’s investments. One day, while Lacroix is walking to work, Benjamin poses as a jogger and knocks him down. When Assane, waiting nearby, asks Lacroix if he is all right, Benjamin grabs the briefcase and dashes off with it, while Assane pretends to give chase. The two hide out in Benjamin’s yellow Fiat 500, where they retrieve all of the data from the briefcase, after which Assane returns it to Lacroix.

Deciding that they need another accomplice, Assane and Benjamin head to the library, where they encounter an emo-punk delinquent attempting to steal an Arsène Lupin book. The two bring the young man to Assane’s house and give him a makeover, styling him as a respectable broker named Philippe Courbet, the surname taken from that of an artist who had painted the cliffs of Étretat. In exchange for his help, Assane and Benjamin give Courbet one of the diamonds, and promise him another once their plans are finished. Hubert is intrigued about the reports he hears of the daring new financial advisor, meets with him and quickly accepts him into his inner circle.

Benjamin pays for Fabienne’s funeral, allowing Hubert and his men to learn about his collaboration with Assane. One day, as Benjamin brings Fabienne’s dog J’accuse to Assane’s apartment, Léonard follows him discreetly. That night, Benjamin remains unaware that Assane has been framed for Léonard’s murder until Assane calls and tells him to leave immediately. He quickly packs a bag and exits his shop. Once Benjamin is outside, he gets another call from Assane, who asks him if he is being followed. Benjamin looks around and sees Pascal behind him, matching his pace. After Benjamin informs him of the situation, Assane tells him to get onto a bus and to jump off at the last second. Benjamin does as Assane tells him; the bus, with Pascal still on it, drives away.

The next morning, Benjamin and a hooded Assane enter their hideout, a storage unit owned by Benjamin. Assane steals a phone from a passerby; once they are inside, he uses it to post a comment on one of the many news articles being released about him. Nervous about being found by the police, Benjamin is shocked by Assane’s calm demeanor and seemingly flippant behavior, and angrily tells him that they need to leave Paris as soon as possible. Assane stubbornly responds that only a guilty person would flee, and they are not guilty. Soon afterward, however, they hear that the police have managed to locate their hideout. The two escape through a secret passage into the Catacombs, in which they manage to evade their pursuers using their knowledge of the many connecting tunnels. That evening, Benjamin and Assane discuss their upcoming showdown with Hubert at the Thèâtre du Châtelet.

On the day of the concert, Benjamin disguises himself as a workman helping Philippe bring large boxes of computer equipment, one of which contains Assane, into the theater. Benjamin and Philippe are stopped by Dumont, who is suspicious of the contents of the boxes, but eventually lets them proceed after looking inside one. Benjamin changes into a security guard’s uniform, and meets with Assane and Philippe in a control room at the top of the theater. Seeing that Assane seems anxious, Benjamin reminds him to be calm and methodical, as usual, and jokingly points out that he himself is usually the nervous one. Assane brightens up and goes on his way. While Assane is interrogating Hubert and running from the other security guards, Benjamin finds the controls for the light fixtures. After Assane has finished publicly accusing Hubert of his crimes, he tells Benjamin to turn off all of the lights. Benjamin does as he is instructed, plunging the theater into darkness.

Benjamin and Philippe take the opportunity of the frenzied atmosphere to sneak out of the theater undetected. Once they are inside Benjamin’s car, Benjamin gives Philippe the last diamond from the necklace, as previously promised. Philippe asks Benjamin where the money that Hubert had been planning to embezzle from Juliette’s foundation will actually go. Benjamin reveals that he and Assane have arranged for it to go to the foundation itself. The two grin at each other, and Benjamin starts the car. Philippe questions whether they should wait for Assane; Benjamin assures him that Assane will catch up, and they drive off.

Personality


Benjamin is a cunning yet loyal person. His encyclopedic knowledge of antiques, his talent for copying artwork, and his skill in operating technology mean that he is an invaluable asset to Assane even beyond their longstanding friendship. Although Benjamin’s craftiness is nearly level with Assane’s, he tends to be more of a realist when it comes to planning their illegal activities. It is Benjamin who often questions Assane about the ramifications of their latest escapade, and who emphasizes that they work in a “calm and methodical” fashion. Benjamin's role in these ventures is typically that of an engineer in the background, helping to make sure that Assane's more ostentatious exploits are carried out efficiently and in an appropriately dramatic fashion.

Little is known about Benjamin's family, although his attendance at the College d’Andrésy suggests that he came from a comfortable background. In the present day, Benjamin’s livelihood derives from his work as an antiquarian. He has sold many of Assane’s stolen goods in his shop, and although he was careful to keep this hidden from the general public, he appeared to be largely unconcerned about being found out. However, Benjamin became anxious when Assane told him that his cover had been blown, and left the shop immediately. More generally, Benjamin admits that between him and Assane, he is the “nervous one.”

After Fabienne’s death, Assane left her dog J’accuse with Benjamin. Not being a strong lover of animals, Benjamin found the experience trying, particularly since J’accuse barked every time the name “Pellegrini” was spoken. Later, Benjamin claimed that J'accuse had developed the ability to notice when he was thinking about Hubert Pellegrini. Eventually, he became so annoyed that he returned the dog to Assane.

In Benjamin’s teen years, he tended to be somewhat sarcastic and cynical; however, he lacked the elitist attitude demonstrated by some of the other students at his school, making sure to defend Assane from a group of bullies and quickly befriending him. In the present day, he is more friendly and good-humored. He knows what to say to get Assane back on his feet when his friend seems despondent, and tried his best to comfort and help Claire after Raoul's kidnapping. However, Benjamin can be somewhat callous towards those whom he is not close with.

Assane
After Benjamin defended Assane from the bullies at the Andrésy school, the two became fast friends, with their youthful pranks gradually escalating into criminal activity. In 2006, when Benjamin opened his antiquary, Assane gave him a number of his stolen goods to sell, including a precious Fabergé egg. At this point, Benjamin largely stayed out of Assane’s romantic life, demonstrating exasperated amusement at the love triangle his friend found himself in.

In 2020, however, Benjamin was urging Assane to ease up on his crimes out of concern for his relationships with Claire and Raoul. This did not stop Benjamin from assisting Assane with his plan to trap Hubert Pellegrini. Following Assane’s successful rescue of Raoul from Hubert’s clutches, Benjamin was with him every step of the way. Together, the two found and disguised Philippe Courbet, and tricked Juliette into falling for Assane in order to separate her emotionally from her father. Benjamin and Assane differed on what to do about Juliette’s feelings for Assane, however; Benjamin urged Assane to cut her off, but Assane was not comfortable with this.

When Assane was framed for Léonard’s murder, he quickly called Benjamin and told him to leave his shop lest he be discovered. Benjamin did as he was told, and the two hid out in a secret bunker, at which point Benjamin wanted to leave Paris, but acknowledged that Assane would never take his advice. After they had escaped the police, who had found the bunker, the pair set to work on their final showdown against the Pellegrinis at the Théâtre du Châtelet. Benjamin’s role in this was to smuggle Assane into the building and to turn off the lights in the theater when Assane needed to escape. After they had carried their plan out successfully, Benjamin left the venue without Assane, with the understanding that his friend would escape on his own.

Claire
Over the years, Benjamin and Claire have come to be good friends, and of Assane’s two love interests, Benjamin appears to prefer Claire substantially.

When Raoul was kidnapped, Benjamin tried to reassure Claire that Assane would bring him back to her. However, when this failed to convince her, he explained the truth and gave her access to the remaining diamonds from the necklace, which she attempted to give to Hubert in exchange for Raoul. Possibly due to his guilt at allowing Claire to get involved in a situation which she was not emotionally prepared to handle, he later defended her decision to betray Assane to the police, pointing out to Assane that she was desperate with worry and was ready to do anything to save her son.

Later, Claire introduced Benjamin to Marc, her new partner. Benjamin seemed somewhat apprehensive of this relationship, although he admitted to Assane that Marc had been perfectly polite to him.

Appearances

 * Part One


 * Chapter 1
 * Chapter 2
 * Chapter 4
 * Chapter 5


 * Part Two


 * Chapter 7
 * Chapter 8
 * Chapter 9
 * Chapter 10

Quotes
"Arsène Lupin is a solitary man, who occasionally calls upon friends with questionable morals but strong loyalty."

- Assane on his friendship with Benjamin

"The other day, all I did was think about Pellegrini. He barked. He can read my mind."

- Benjamin complains about J'accuse

"Even if I tried to convince you, you'd just end up doing whatever you want."

- Benjamin on his relationship with Assane

"Calm and methodical, as usual. I'm the nervous one, don't forget."

- Benjamin tries to build up Assane's confidence

Etymology
Benjamin is a Biblical name meaning “son of the south” or “son of the right hand.” Its original Hebrew form is Binyamin.

The surname Ferel is uncommon, though it can be found in France. It may be a variant of the name Ferrell, which derives from the Irish O’ Fearghail, meaning “man of valor.”

Trivia

 * Benjamin's shop is located in the Marché aux Puces de St. Ouen.
 * Benjamin's yellow Fiat 500 is an homage to the car driven by the main characters of the anime series Lupin III, also based on the exploits of Arsène Lupin.
 * Benjamin is ranked as the 4th most popular character in the series on the online tracking platform TV Time.
 * Users of the site PersonalityDatabase.com have voted Benjamin's Myers-Briggs personality type as INTP.