List of Saw characters

The Saw franchise features a large cast of characters created primarily by directors and screenwriters James Wan, Leigh Whannell, Darren Lynn Bousman, Patrick Melton, and Marcus Dunstan.

The films mainly focus on the character of John Kramer (Tobin Bell), the "Jigsaw Killer," who seeks out those he considers to be wasting their lives and subjects them to torturous and lethal traps, referred to as "tests" and "games," in an attempt to make them appreciate being alive.

The franchise consists of ten films: Saw (2004), Saw II (2005), Saw III (2006), Saw IV (2007), Saw V (2008), Saw VI (2009), Saw 3D (2010), Jigsaw (2017), Spiral (2021), and Saw X (2023).

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

Adam Stanheight is a freelance photographer who was hired by the discharged detective David Tapp to follow Dr. Lawrence Gordon, an oncologist whom Tapp suspected of being the Jigsaw Killer. Adam is kidnapped by Jigsaw's apprentice, Amanda Young and placed in a game alongside Dr. Gordon. Adam was targeted by Jigsaw because of his spy work, whereas Dr. Gordon was targeted for his cold and uncaring nature, as well as for cheating on his wife. The two men are chained to pipes on opposite sides of a large dilapidated industrial bathroom, with an apparent corpse (holding a tape recorder and a revolver) in the middle, and are given instructions via cassette tape. Adam's tape urges him to survive, while Dr. Gordon's instructs him to kill Adam by six o'clock. Adam discovers a bag containing two hacksaws, which they unsuccessfully attempt to use on their chains; Adam's saw breaks, causing him to become enraged and hurl the broken saw at a mirror. Dr. Gordon deduces that the saws are actually intended for their feet, and subsequently realises that they were kidnapped by Jigsaw, whom he knows about because he was once a suspect in the case. At six o'clock, desperate to save his family, Dr. Gordon saws off his own foot, much to Adam's horror, and shoots Adam with the apparent corpse's revolver, despite Adam pleading for his life. Adam survives the gunshot, but plays dead. Zep Hindle, an orderly from Dr. Gordon's hospital, opens the door to the bathroom. As he is about to kill Dr. Gordon, Adam rises and bludgeons Zep to death with a toilet tank lid, believing him to be Jigsaw and therefore responsible for their abduction. Dr. Gordon crawls away to get help, promising to return to Adam. While searching Zep's body for a key, Adam finds a tape recorder that reveals that Zep was also a victim in the game, and was following instructions from Jigsaw in order to obtain an antidote for a slow-acting poison in his bloodstream. As the tape ends, the apparent corpse gets up and is revealed to be John Kramer, the actual Jigsaw. When Adam tries to shoot him, Jigsaw incapacitates him with an electric shock and seals the bathroom door, telling Adam "Game over" and leaving him to die. In Saw II, Adam's corpse is seen (along with that of Zep), revealing that he died some time after the events of Saw. In Saw III, it is revealed that Amanda asphyxiated him with a plastic bag in a mercy killing.

Adam's name is seen in Saw V, as Special Agent Peter Strahm browses through FBI documents of potential Jigsaw victims. His name was listed as 'Adam Stanheight'. Adam also appears in archival footage in Saw VI and Saw 3D.

Adam's decomposing corpse is seen in Saw II, Saw III, Saw 3D and the post-credits scene of Saw X. In Saw II: Flesh & Blood, Adam is mentioned in Tapp's files and audio tapes as having been hired by one of Tapp's colleagues to prove his wife was having an affair, implying this was why Tapp hired him.

Alison and Diana Gordon are the wife and daughter of Dr. Lawrence Gordon. They are held hostage by Zep Hindle as a part of Dr. Gordon's test; one of Jigsaw's reasons for testing Dr. Gordon was because Dr. Gordon had cheated on his wife, as well as being cold and uncaring towards his daughter. Dr. Gordon is ordered to kill Adam, who is chained up in the bathroom with him, by six o'clock, or else Alison and Diana will be killed. When Dr. Gordon fails to do so, Zep attempts to kill both Alison and Diana, but they are rescued by Detective David Tapp. The DVD commentary for Saw 3D reveals Alison divorced Dr. Gordon because of his unstable mindset.