Niko (The Mask)

Niko or Don Niko is a fictional character from Chuck Russell's 1994 film, The Mask. He was portrayed by Cuban-American actor Orestes Matacena.

The Mask (1994 film)
Niko is the feared Mafia Don and 'King' of Edge City. He is the owner of the Casino/Club Coco Bongo, as well as several other businesses. Niko is never seen without his Cuban bodyguards and also has a group of gangsters who work under him, led by his right-hand man, Dorian Tyrell.

Through reports by his henchmen, Niko learns that Tyrell's criminal activities have been attracting unwanted attention from the police and that the Coco Bongo was on the verge of being shut down. In addition, Niko learns through his henchmen that Tyrell has been deliberately hiding money from him and a number of bodyguards have pledged allegiance to Tyrell himself. Worried that Tyrell's schemes will attract further attention from the police and that Tyrell may attempt to overthrow his position, Niko tells his henchmen to summon Tyrell personally for a meeting. The meeting soon turns sour, as Niko's henchmen force Tyrell to the floor at gunpoint. One of the henchmen then places a golf tee in Tyrell's mouth and then places a golf ball on top of it. He taunts Tyrell by waving a golf club in front of him before swinging the club, hitting the golf ball and narrowly avoiding making contact with Tyrell's skull. He then explains to Tyrell that he will not kill him immediately, but will allow him one week to flee from Edge City.



Two nights later, Niko attends a Charity Ball at the Coco Bongo, believing that Tyrell has left Edge City by now. Smoking cigars and drinking whisky, Niko celebrates with his men. However, the celebration is cut short when the Coco Bongo doors are blown apart in an explosion. Tyrell, under the power of Loki from the mask stolen from Stanley Ipkiss, enters with his henchmen. After a verbal confrontation, a bloody gunfight erupts between Niko and Tyrell's men. Some of Tyrell's men are killed, but eventually, all of Niko's men are eliminated. Tyrell then challenges Niko to shoot him square in the stomach. Niko does so, but the bullets do not harm Tyrell. While Niko looks on in disbelief, Tyrell uses his supernatural abilities to breathe the bullets into his mouth and fire them back at Niko. Niko is shot and killed in dramatic fashion, flying backwards into the air from the sheer force of the bullets.

The Mask: The Animated Series
The now-deceased Niko does not appear in the animated series. However, an early draft of one episode was to have the ghosts of Niko, Tyrell and their deceased henchmen to return to Edge City and wreak havoc. The plot was to involve both of the ghosts and their gangs to break the remaining gang members out of jail, regain their areas of influence and resume their war against one another. However, the script would determine that they join forces in an effort to exact revenge against Ipkiss. Both Orestes Matacena and Peter Greene were approached in order to reprise their roles of Niko and Tyrell through voicing their characters, but eventually the episode was scrapped.