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Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom
CyrusTheVirus
Cyrus Grissom on Con Air
Name: Cyrus Grissom
Gender: Male
Age: 39
Date of death: 1997
Nationality: United States of America
Alias(es): The Virus
Profession: Criminal Mastermind
Status: Deceased
Cause of death: Head smashed by rock crusher
Played by: John Malkovich
Film: Con Air
"Before I kill you, Poe. I just wanted you to know the last thing that little Casey Poe ever gets to smell will be my stinking breath!"
―Cyrus Grissom to Cameron Poe [src]

Cyrus Grissom (a.k.a. Cyrus the Virus) is an imprisoned, cunning criminal mastermind and the main antagonist of the movie Con Air.

He was portrayed by famed villain actor John Malkovich, who also played Mitch Leary from In the Line of Fire.

Character Biography[]

Sometime before the movie began, Cyrus Grissom has committed murder, kidnapping, robbery, extortion and other criminal acts. He had spent 25 years in jail as it started at the age of 14. He earned two degrees while in jail, murdered 11 inmates, instigated 3 riots and escaped lawful custody twice. He is first seen being boarded onto the Jailbird plane along with several other inmates. He often bragged that he had "killed more men than cancer". When an inmate named Pinball starts a fire and opens the locks, Cyrus takes a needle out of his skin and unlocks himself. He then takes the plane over and calls the flight Con Air. His boss is Francisco Cindino, a South American drug lord.

If all went as planned, Cyrus and his gang would have lived in a country with no extradition charges. Upon discovering his plane being taken by his boss who betrayed him, Cyrus executes Cindino. When the Jailbird crashed into Las Vegas, Cyrus and 2 other inmates named Diamond Dog and Swamp Thing try to escape on a fire truck. Cameron Poe a former U.S. Army Ranger and Vince Larkin a U.S. Marshall chase after the villain on police motorcycles. In a scuffle on the truck, Poe handcuffs Cyrus to the ladder telling him that he will never get near his daughter Casey Poe then leaves him to die under a rock crusher, which falls on his head.


Con Air Characters
Heroes Cameron Poe - Vince Larkin
Villains Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom - Nathan "Diamond Dog" Jones - Francisco Cindino
Allies Mike "Baby-O" O'Dell - Sally Bishop - Duncan Malloy
Henchmen William "Billy Bedlam" Bedford - Johnny "Johnny-23" Baca - Swamp Thing - Pinball
Other characters Garland Greene - Tricia Poe - Casey Poe
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