V in V for Vendetta is a deliberately mysterious, nameless revolutionary figure, not a clearly identified person; in the film he is portrayed by actor Hugo Weaving.

Who (or what) is V?

  • V is the masked protagonist of the V for Vendetta comic and film, created by writer Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd.
  • He is an anarchist vigilante fighting the fascist Norsefire regime in a dystopian United Kingdom.
  • His real name and former identity are intentionally never revealed, so he becomes more of a symbol than an individual.

His backstory in the story

  • V was imprisoned in the Larkhill resettlement camp, where political prisoners and minorities were experimented on by the regime.
  • He was the subject in “Room V” (Roman numeral for five), which is where his codename comes from.
  • After surviving experiments and a facility disaster, he escapes, builds the underground Shadow Gallery, and spends years planning revenge and a broader uprising.

Symbolism: “V” as an idea

  • V wears a stylized Guy Fawkes mask and uses the November 5th Gunpowder Plot as a political and symbolic reference against tyranny.
  • The story emphasizes that “beneath this mask there is more than flesh… there is an idea,” framing V as a symbol of resistance more than a single man.
  • Creators and later analyses stress that readers and viewers are meant to question whether he is a heroic freedom fighter, a terrorist, or something in between.

In the 2005 film

  • In the movie adaptation, V is physically played by Hugo Weaving (though some early scenes were originally shot with James Purefoy before being reshot).
  • The film softens or shifts some of the comic’s more extreme anarchist elements but keeps V’s masked, unidentified nature and his role as a catalyst for revolt.

Fan theories and forum discussions

  • Many forum discussions speculate that V might have been ex‑military or even a former bodyguard tied to the regime before Larkhill, based on his combat skills and insider knowledge.
  • However, these are theories only; canon sources keep his identity ambiguous to preserve the theme that “V could be anyone” under a repressive system.

TL;DR: V is an unnamed former prisoner of the Larkhill camp who becomes a masked anarchist fighting the Norsefire dictatorship, portrayed by Hugo Weaving in the film, and designed to be more of an indestructible idea than a revealed, ordinary person.