Cave Johnson (Portal)

Cave Johnson
Portal character
Cave Johnson (left) and his assistant, Caroline (right) as they appear in Portal 2.
First game	Portal 2 (2011)
Created by	Erik Wolpaw
Voiced by	J.K. Simmons

Cave Johnson is a fictional character from the Portal franchise first introduced in the 2011 video game Portal 2. He is voiced by American actor J. K. Simmons and created in part by Portal 2's designer Erik Wolpaw. He is referenced by a computer username in the first game and appears indirectly in Portal 2. Johnson serves as a guide to the player-character Chell as she explores an abandoned part of the Aperture Science facility, though all of his messages are pre-recorded from before the events of the Portal games.

Cave Johnson was created by designer Erik Wolpaw and is voiced by actor J.K. Simmons. His physical appearance is based on that of Portal 2 lead animator Bill Fletcher. He is described as an "eccentric dead billionaire" and "extroverted, enthusiastic, and opinionated." He was the founder and CEO of Aperture Science. He was also a "shower curtain visionary." He was initially considered to be the main character of Portal 2, where players were in control of him as he was trapped inside a computer. This idea was scrapped, however. They later envisioned Cave Johnson as the primary antagonist, but this was also scrapped. This idea was revealed as a result of leaked quotes from the character.

Johnson was envisioned since Portal as an "industrial, Southern guy" who would contrast with the "anti-septic" and "politically correct" nature of Aperture Science. Though their idea of the character underwent several changes over the development, the selection of J.K. Simmons helped to solidify the character. Pictures of Cave Johnson appear throughout Portal 2, and though Valve used a casting call to try to find someone to use as a template, they turned back to their own lead animator, Bill Fletcher, for Cave's face.

Though comparisons have been made between Cave and Andrew Ryan, the wealthy industrialist that created the fictional underwater city of Rapture in BioShock, Wolpaw claims they had not considered this character in their creation of Cave.