Neal Caffrey

Neal Caffrey
White Collar character
A promotional photograph of Neal Caffrey as portrayed by Matt Bomer
First appearance	"Pilot" (episode 1.01)
Last appearance	"Au Revoir" (episode 6.06)
Created by	Jeff Eastin
Portrayed by	Matt Bomer Owen Elkin (young)
Information
Aliases	Danny Brooks (in WITSEC), George Devore, George Danvery, George Donnelly, Nicholas "Nick" Halden, Dr. Leonard Parker, Steve Tabernacle, Benjamin Cooper, Gary Rydell, Victor Moreau, Chris Gates, James Maine, Neal Armstrong, Neal Craig, Neal Mcalli William Grey
Occupation	FBI Consultant, Con Artist, Art Thief, Forger

Neal Caffrey (born Neal George Bennett on March 21, 1977, later changed his name to Neal George Caffrey) is the main character of the USA Network original series White Collar. Neal currently works as a criminal consultant for the White Collar Crime Division of the FBI in New York City. He is a world-class forger and conman, with a fondness for art, fine wine, Sy Devore suits, fedoras, and beautiful women. Neal speaks eight languages, including conversational Swahili, and has 27 known aliases.

Caffrey was suspected of hundreds of thefts before Agent Peter Burke of the FBI apprehended him. Neal received a four-year sentence for bond forgery. After escaping from prison — and getting caught once again by Agent Burke when he is found in his ex-girlfriend Kate's apartment with an empty bottle of wine — Neal struck a bargain in exchange for his release from prison after he identifies a bomb material from Peter Burke's suit, Neal helps the FBI catch the most cunning white collar criminals in the country. Now, Neal must walk the line between his new job as a top FBI consultant, and his old life as a white collar criminal.

Matt Bomer portrays Neal Caffrey on White Collar. Bomer describes the character as having "the veneer of the charming, hyper-intelligent, eloquent, sly mastermind, but underneath, he was really a kind of die hard romantic who would go to any lengths to find the love of his life".

Neal is presented as a charming, sophisticated gentleman with a wide range of knowledge, from art to foreign languages, most of which seems to be self-taught; he reveals early in Season 2 that he did not graduate high school. He is described as a romantic, which is shown when he breaks out of prison to track down Kate Moreau, his girlfriend and true love, after she breaks up with him. Neal is also highly secretive, and does not trust anyone completely. In the Season 1 episode "Threads", he tells Mozzie that he lied to both Mozzie and Kate about the location of his stash of stolen goods, telling Mozzie it was in Portland and Kate in San Diego, in order to test their loyalty to him. Neal rarely makes himself vulnerable, hiding behind a facade of indifference or cheerfulness when he is upset, even after a major personal tragedy in the Season 1 finale. He does not enjoy talking about his past, preferring the mystery.