Tony Almeida

Tony Almeida is a fictional character played by Carlos Bernard on the television series, 24.

Bio

Almeida obtained Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Computer Science from San Diego State University and Stanford respectively. He served in the United States Marine Corps and is a certified instructor of the Krav Maga martial art.

In the first season, Almeida was third-in-command of the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit (behind Jack Bauer and Nina Myers). At the end of the first day, Jack left CTU due to personal difficulties after his wife was murdered, and Nina was sent to prison for various crimes. Tony became second-in-command behind George Mason. In the second season, Mason was exposed to lethal radiation. In a noble effort to remove an armed nuclear bomb from a populated area, he crashed a plane carrying the bomb into the Nevada desert, sacrificing his own life in the ensuing nuclear blast. This left the position of Director open for Tony: a role which he maintained until the third season, when he was sent to prison for aiding a terrorist who was holding his wife Michelle Dessler hostage. The charge was treason, and his likely sentence determined to be at least 20 years imprisonment or at most execution. (The least possible without a partially suspended sentence or presidential commutation is five years in lock-up.)

Despite their conflicts and differences, Tony and Jack share a mutual respect and have worked together on several of their most important missions. Because both Jack and former President David Palmer defended Tony's actions which sent him to prison, Tony recieved a reduced sentence. His wife, Michelle Dessler, left him after he was released from prison due to his drinking habits and his inability to get a job. In the fourth season Tony returned to aid Jack Bauer in a non-official capacity and was later reinstated as a field agent. More tension came when Tony's ex-wife was called from division to take command of CTU Los Angeles.