- "But sometimes it's better to know when to quit instead of lying to yourself and hurting the ones you love."
- ―Clay Banning
Clay Banning is the father of Mike Banning and a former Vietnam War veteran who lived as a sole survivalist in Angel Has Fallen.
Biography
Early Life and Military Career
Clay Banning was born in Fort Hood, Texas on February 8th, 1941 and was a decorated Army Ranger who served as a tunnel rat in the Vietnam War. After the war, he suffered from severe PTSD and abandoned his family when his son Mike was young; this caused both of them to be estranged for many years.
Clay also has a social security number that is collecting disability benefits from the Department of Veteran Affairs, in which Mike has been constantly monitoring over his entire career in the Secret Service.
He had since lived in the woods all over the U.S. as a sole survivalist, including Alaska, North Carolina and West Virginia.
Angel Has Fallen
Clay was present outside of his cabin in West Virginia when Mike went to find him. Upon seeing Mike's arrival, Clay aimed his sniper rifle at his own son and asked how he found him. Mike responded by telling him that he ran the Secret Service protection detail for President Allan Trumbull and recalled to his father that he had been in West Virginia for the past five years; North Carolina and Alaska prior to that. Remember the news of the assassination attempt on Trumbull and the news say that Mike was responsible for it, Mike revealed that he was set up by a friend of his named Wade Jennings and he has to find out who else was involved in the assassination plot.
At night, Clay and Mike observed Jennings' men approaching the house through surveillance cameras. Clay detonates explosives around the perimeter of the house, killing all the would-be attackers. They escaped and Mike had drawn map coordinates to Clay's house and used the cameras on the highway to lead the FBI to the bodies of Salient Global commandos. Before parting ways, Mike revealed to his father that he has a wife and daughter.
Upon seeing Mike's wife Leah and daughter Lynne on the verge of being kidnapped by Jennings' men at their residence, Clay quickly took them down before introducing himself to them as Mike's father and his personal life, even showing regrets for leaving his own family behind.
After the crisis ended in the U.S., Clay ultimately decided that he wanted to live with Mike and his family as he had vowed not to walk away from his family ever again. Later, Clay and Mike visited the Zero Gravity Center together in an attempt to relax as a bonding experience, before complaining when they were engulfed in darkness.
Behind the Scenes
Clay Banning was portrayed by Nick Nolte in Angel Has Fallen.
Appearances
Angel Has Fallen (First appearance)