Mark Hoffman

Lore & Background

Hoffman's path to becoming Jigsaw's successor begins in Saw III, where he is shown listening in on a conversation between Officer Daniel Rigg and Detective Allison Kerry about Jigsaw's ability to continue his work. Unnoticed by the others, he pockets a chain fragment from Troy's chain trap. As seen in Saw IV, Hoffman and Amanda then place Kerry in a trap which kills her even though she did as instructed, revealing the trap was rigged to be inescapable. During flashbacks in Saw VI, Hoffman and Amanda fight over John's affections and legacy. Hoffman tries to win John's favor by warning him against Amanda's murderous take on his legacy. Hoffman sabotages a test meant for Amanda by switching John's letter for Amanda with one of his own: a letter informing her that if she does not kill Lynn Denlon, he will tell John she was the person that sent Cecil to steal drugs, which ultimately resulted in Jill Tuck's miscarriage. Amanda kills Lynn but is then killed by Lynn's husband, Jeff Denlon, who also kills John.

In Their Own Story

In Saw IV, Hoffman knocks out Rigg and makes it seem that Detective Eric Matthews and himself have been captured by Jigsaw, and that Rigg must save them both. Rigg completes a series of tests, leading him to Jigsaw's lair and the location of Hoffman and Eric's trap. Despite previous warnings to not go through unsecured doors, Rigg enters the room before the timer expires, causing Eric's death and apparently killing Hoffman as well. However, Hoffman releases himself from his bonds, having never been in any danger, and reveals himself as Jigsaw's accomplice. He leaves Rigg to die and walks out of the room. In Saw V, after FBI agent Peter Strahm enters Jigsaw's sickroom, Hoffman locks him in. Strahm escapes a drowning trap, and Hoffman makes himself out to be a hero, taking credit for the rescue of Corbett Denlon and ending the Jigsaw murders. It is revealed that Hoffman set up Seth Baxter's inescapable trap, in which Seth was bisected by a swinging pendulum blade, in retaliation for the murder of Hoffman's sister. Jigsaw subsequently kidnapped Hoffman, accusing him of blaming Jigsaw for something he had done, and blackmailed Hoffman into becoming his apprentice. Strahm trails Hoffman to a dark basement, finds a glass box with a cassette tape from Hoffman stating he must get into the box filled with broken glass to live. Strahm throws Hoffman into the box, which safely lowers Hoffman down while the walls slide together, crushing Strahm to death. Hoffman is left as the hero from the Jigsaw murders, and Strahm is considered a suspect as Jigsaw's second apprentice.

Reader's Guide

In Saw VI, Hoffman traps a health insurer, William Easton, who denied a man's claim for medical help, leading to his death. It is later revealed that William had rejected John Kramer's insurance claim in relation to his cancer treatment, and that this is part of a wider game in which Jigsaw wants Hoffman to collaborate with Jill. Displeased, Hoffman visits Jill and tells her he will do it alone, demanding the information she was given about the targets for the trap. Jill gives Hoffman five envelopes that Jigsaw had given her for the next game. FBI agent Lindsey Perez, thought to have died in Saw IV, is revealed to be alive. She figures out that Hoffman is Jigsaw's real apprentice, not Strahm. The key evidence is an audio lab analysis of the tape from Seth Baxter's trap, which proves to contain Hoffman's disguised voice. Hoffman attacks Erickson and Perez, uses the technician as a shield against Perez's gunshots, and demands who else knows about him. Perez says, 'Everyone,' before Hoffman finally kills her. He then sets the audio lab on fire to destroy the evidence and finish off the three victims, planting Strahm's fingerprints around the room. One of John's last requests to Jill is to test Hoffman. Jill stuns him, straps him into a chair, and puts him in an updated version of the reverse bear trap but does not leave a key for him to free himself. To escape, Hoffman slams his head down onto his left hand, breaking it so that he can slip it out of the strap. He tries unsuccessfully to open the lock with a screw driver, then throws his head through a barred window on the door; when the timer runs out, the device becomes jammed in the bars failing to open fully. He then pulls his head free, surviving the trap with a major wound on his cheek. In Saw 3D, after escaping the upgraded reverse bear trap, Hoffman leaves, taking medical supplies, and returns to his hideout where he stitches his cheek and bandages his hand. Jill meets with Matt Gibson, an Internal Affairs detective at Hoffman's precinct, and tells him that Hoffman has been involved as an accomplice in nearly every Jigsaw murder. The police attempt to raid the area where Hoffman is, but he hides himself in a body bag and is rolled into the coroner's office. After escaping from there, he goes on a killing spree at the police station. He then finds Jill and puts her in the original reverse bear trap while she is strapped to a chair. With no means for Jill to escape, the trap springs open and kills her. While a news broadcast is heard reporting that Jill has been found dead and that Hoffman is now wanted by the authorities, Hoffman destroys his hideout and prepares to flee the city, but is attacked by three people wearing pig masks. One of the men is revealed to be Dr. Lawrence Gordon, who survived the amputation of his own foot by cauterizing his stump using a hot steam pipe; he was later nursed back to health by John, who subsequently recruited him as an apprentice. Lawrence takes Hoffman into the bathroom from the first film, chains him by the ankle to the pipes, and throws away the hacksaw he used to cut off his own foot before he can do the same. Lawrence then shuts off the lights and leaves, closing the door and leaving Hoffman to presumably die.

Did You Know?

• Hoffman's surname is a tribute to producer Gregg Hoffman, who died on December 4, 2005, just five weeks after the release of Saw II.
• Hoffman was blackmailed into becoming Jigsaw's apprentice after Jigsaw kidnapped him for setting up Seth Baxter's inescapable trap and blaming Jigsaw for it.
• Hoffman survived an upgraded reverse bear trap by breaking his own hand to slip out of the strap, then jamming the device in a door jamb so it failed to open fully.
• In Saw 3D, Dr. Lawrence Gordon chains Hoffman by the ankle to the pipes in the bathroom from the first film and throws away the hacksaw, leaving Hoffman to presumably die.

Origins and Character Conception

Detective Lieutenant Mark Hoffman is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist of the Saw franchise, portrayed by Australian actor Costas Mandylor. While the character was first shown briefly as a police officer in Saw III, later films in the series have expanded his role and revealed him to be an apprentice, and subsequently the successor of the Jigsaw Killer, as the new Jigsaw. The character serves as the secondary antagonist in Saw IV, and the main antagonist in Saw V, VI and 3D. He also has a brief vocal cameo and physically appears in the mid-credits scene of Saw X, setting up a new trap alongside Jigsaw. Like his mentor and partner, Hoffman designs death traps that, for survivors, give them reason to appreciate their lives. Unlike his mentor, however, he has no emotion towards his victims and generally displays a very monotone personality. He also enjoys making his victims suffer, and frequently places his victims in traps where at least one must be killed for the other(s) to escape, and has on occasion placed them in inescapable traps. His surname is a tribute to producer Gregg Hoffman, who died on December 4, 2005, just five weeks after the release of Saw II.

Betrayal and the Rise to Power

Hoffman's ascent to power is defined by calculated treachery against his colleagues and mentor. In Saw III flashbacks revealed later in the series, Hoffman and Amanda Young fought for John Kramer's favor, with Hoffman sabotaging a test meant for Amanda by swapping letters to manipulate her into killing Lynn Denlon, an act that ultimately led to John's death. This betrayal extended to Detective Allison Kerry, whom he trapped alongside Amanda; despite her compliance, the trap was rigged to kill her, showcasing his willingness to eliminate anyone in his path. His most audacious deception occurred in Saw IV, where he faked his own capture alongside Detective Eric Matthews. He allowed Officer Daniel Rigg to complete a series of tests only to reveal that Hoffman had never been in danger. After Rigg's fatal error caused Eric's death, Hoffman freed himself and abandoned Rigg to die, cementing his role as the true architect behind the chaos while maintaining his cover as a dedicated detective.

The Hunt for Strahm and Final Victory

Hoffman's narrative arc reaches its climax in Saw V during his deadly cat-and-mouse game with FBI Agent Peter Strahm. After Strahm escaped a drowning trap designed by Hoffman, the detective framed the agent as Jigsaw's successor to protect his own identity. This manipulation led to an all-points bulletin for Strahm's arrest while Hoffman publicly claimed credit for ending the murders. The conflict culminated in a dark basement where Hoffman lured Strahm into a glass box filled with shards, claiming it was necessary for survival. Strahm, refusing to trust him, threw Hoffman into the mechanism instead. However, the trap was rigged to lower its occupant safely while crushing anyone outside; thus, Strahm was crushed to death, leaving Hoffman as the sole survivor and the undisputed hero of the case in the eyes of the public.

Legacy and Continued Influence

Following his victory over Strahm, Hoffman's influence persists throughout the franchise, solidifying his status as the main antagonist in Saw VI and Saw 3D. In Saw VI, he executes a trap on William Easton, a health insurer who had previously denied John Kramer's cancer treatment claims, demonstrating that he continues to target those responsible for suffering while operating independently of Jigsaw's original moral code. Despite disagreements with Jill Tuck regarding the execution of these games, Hoffman insists on handling them alone, proving his autonomy as the new killer. His legacy extends even into Saw X, where he makes a brief vocal and physical appearance in a mid-credits scene, collaborating to set up a new trap alongside Jigsaw. This enduring presence confirms that Hoffman has not only survived but thrived, ensuring the cycle of death traps continues under his cold, unfeeling command.