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"One distinguishing characteristic about Louis is that he represents the 'every day' man."

―Moby Francke, Valve.

"Pills here!"

―Louis' most memorable voice line

Louis is one of the four playable Survivors in Left 4 Dead. His original concept was an assistant manager at a local retail electronics chain store, but in the game, he is a Junior Systems Analyst at "Franklin Brothers" in the IT department located in Philadelphia PA, until the second day after the first Infection. In official media, he is usually seen wielding a Submachine Gun or dual Pistols.

Louis, along with Zoey and Francis, appears in Left 4 Dead 2 in the campaign "The Passing" as they meet with the Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors. In The Sacrifice comic, Louis damaged his left leg after a Witch attempted to drag him into a yacht full of other Witches prior to Francis' dream in The Sacrifice comic and is unable to stand on his own. Due to this, he mans a Heavy Machine Gun during the campaign's finale. In The Sacrifice comic, Louis was bitten by an Infected individual on the arm hard enough to draw blood prior to meeting the other Survivors. However he remains uninfected and although the virus may be spread by saliva, exhalation droplets or body fluids, Louis was either immune or a carrier. Subsequently, it is revealed in The Sacrifice comic that Louis is indeed a Carrier who is capable of infecting people who do not possess a natural resistance to the Infection.

Louis' facial features are based on Sean Bennett and he is voiced by Earl Alexander.

Official description

Louis
	Age: Unknown
	Hometown: Unknown
	Louis had been working up the courage to quit his job as Junior Systems Analyst at his company's IT department when a virus showed up and downsized the world. Now Louis has a new set of goals (live long enough to succeed) and a new set of tools (guns, sharp objects) to help him achieve them. With any luck, he'll figure out how the new management operates before they get a chance to murder him.[1]

Background

Before the Infection, Louis was working as the Junior Systems Analyst at Franklin Brothers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During his lunch breaks, he would often visit the shooting range which his co-workers would mock him for doing so. It can also be assumed he also played video games as he has a figurine of the Heavy from Team Fortress 2 on his desk and mentions Counter-Strike when picking up a gun, and makes various references to Half-Life as well as grieving over the lack of an Xbox on the island on the Keys. Two days after the Infection began, he encountered his first Infected in the men's restroom after trying to convince a co-worker that the press was overreacting and everything was still safe. After killing the Infected, he exited the restroom only to find his office in shambles, his co-workers all dead, and the outside world falling to pieces.

Louis is the most well educated of all the Survivors, holding at least one undergraduate degree and an MBA and at some point learning Japanese during an internship in Tokyo, Japan.

Relationships with other Survivors

WARNING: The following is conjecture and may not be considered canon.

Louis is the most upbeat Survivor and attempts to keep the group's spirits up, no matter what the situation. Given the life-threatening risks facing the Survivors, this behavior is manifest to such an exaggerated degree that Louis may be displaying the psychological defense known as reaction formation whereby an individual behaves in way that is the direct opposite of how they truly feel. Credible evidence for this can be derived from the fact that before the Infection, Louis was a serious-minded, diligent, and ambitious corporate executive.

He is usually optimistic despite the situation that he and his fellow Survivors are in. Sometimes, he is so optimistic and high in spirits that Francis will callously insult Louis.

• Bill

  In the game, Louis and Bill do not appear to have much of a relationship beyond the bonds of comradeship imposed by the Survivors' dire circumstances. As Louis is a friendly and upbeat person, he will occasionally direct mild banter Bill's way, such as when he responds to Bill's complaining about having to climb stairs (Bill has a stiff knee from an old war wound) by cheerfully encouraging Bill with the claim that climbing stairs are good cardio exercise. Louis also wants to go save Bill when he's incapacitated outside the safe room.^[2]

  The Sacrifice comic reveals that Louis and Bill actually get along quite well with Louis teaching the older man how to make Pipe bombs and earning Bill's respect by showing good initiative in combat. Despite Louis' serious leg injuries, Bill does not for one moment contemplate abandoning him and leaving him behind, as he considers Louis to be "one of his own".

  Louis is somewhat saddened by Bill's death in "The Passing", going so far as to kill a Tank in his name.^[3]

• Francis

  Francis' dour, self-centered personality is almost diametrically opposite to that of Louis and consequently, he appears to be irritated, if not annoyed, by Louis's cheerful, externally focused disposition.^[4] For example, in one classic scenario, Francis closes down Louis' babbling optimism by referring to him as "Mr Positive", or claiming he'll sabotage the team's plan during The Sacrifice just to break through Louis' cheerful disposition.^[5] Not surprisingly Louis is more constrained and wary towards Francis than any other Survivor. Nevertheless, the bonds of comradeship evidently transcend this personality mismatch if the time comes to save Francis when he is incapacitated outside a safe room.^[6]

  In The Sacrifice comic Francis's antipathy to Louis is actually more pronounced than is shown in the game and this quality even manifests itself in dangerous situations when it would be reasonable to expect that such inter-personal difference would be shelved. In particular, The Sacrifice comic episodes 3 and 4 are deeply revealing because they show that Francis has a deep-seated low regard for Louis; for example whilst asleep Francis' sub-conscious mind casts Louis away on a deserted island.

• Zoey

  Zoey teases Louis throughout the campaigns^{[7][8][9][10]} and Louis' optimism seems to be welcomed and appreciated by her.^[11] Both characters become saddened and a more emotional when the other dies.^[12][13]

  In "The Passing" she shows deep concern for his injury, mentioning to the Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors they have a wounded man up there and if Zoey sacrifices herself in "The Sacrifice" she'll say that he always has a friend. He also stands next to Zoey in every campaign poster.

• Coach

  Coach and Louis seem to understand each other's situation quite well; both men are optimistic and want to keep in good spirits. Louis wishes Coach luck, and Coach generously offers to take Louis (and the other Survivors) with them to New Orleans.

• Ellis

  Louis and Ellis share an optimistic outlook and they are quick to wish each other the best of good fortune. Louis seems to find Ellis' comments amusing and claims the young man will "definitely make it to New Orleans."

• Nick

  On account of Nick's prickly and dismissive attitude, Nick is the only Survivor to earn Louis' abiding dislike. Louis does not wish Nick luck at the end of "The Passing" and agrees with Francis when he observes "Bill would've shot him (Nick) by now." Nevertheless, during the finale Louis will provide Nick with covering fire during the battle. Sometimes upon finishing the finale, Louis may wish everyone else good luck by their names and refer to Nick as "what's-his-name".

• Rochelle

  Louis and Rochelle have an instantaneously warm relationship. When she sees him wounded, she takes his health into consideration and it is perhaps Louis' predicament that most acutely sparks her invitation to the trio to join them on their trip to New Orleans.

Comic

Main article: The Sacrifice (comic)

In part 1, the Survivors holdout in Daughtery Farm, and later, after defeating a Tank, they're taken to Millhaven by the military APC that rescues them. Louis attempts to converse with the driver, but he closes the hatch to block off communication, prompting Francis to say they're doomed. While talking to Francis about his pessimism, Louis has a flashback of his first encounter with an Infected. After the Survivors arrive in Millhaven, they learn that they'll be held for testing instead of being taken to the Echo Safe Zone.

In part 2, Louis and Francis are up locked in a cell while Bill and Zoey undergo testing with a doctor. One of the two soldiers guarding their room, Jeff, asks Louis if the Infected have truly been mutating, leading him to explain the Special Infected. After the soldiers tell Louis and Francis that they are Carriers, an alarm goes off and a wandering Witch strolls down the hallway. Louis convinces the soldiers to not shoot her, earning their trust. Louis and Francis are released by Jeff and Annie, planning to take them to an armory to equip them. A Boomer appears in their path, Louis swats away Annie's rifle from shooting him at close-range, and Francis shows them how to deal with Boomer. Louis tells the soldiers to only shoot what they do from now.

In part 3, Louis, Francis, Jeff and Annie reunite with Bill, Zoey and the doctor at the armory. Bill makes a plan for them to go to the train depot. Along the way, the doctor remarks it's a good thing there's few Infected, but Louis points out this means a Tank is nearby. A half-Infected Lt. Mora appears pointing a gun at the Carriers. Louis tries to negotiate but it's no use, so Bill punches him and everyone runs as the Tank arrives and kills Mora. During the fight, Louis is launched onto a jeep leaking gas, he drives it and jumps out just before crashing onto the Tank. Bill ignites the gas trail, exploding the jeep and killing the Tank. The group continue and find the train, but Jeff and Annie stay behind in a military base. The Survivors get onboard and Bill starts the train, however he doesn't slow down for the people outside, leaving them behind with the Infected.

In part 4, Bill tells his plan of going to Florida Keys, he and Louis discuss this plan. While looking for a boat, Louis finds a yacht, and he is suddenly scratched from the hatch but manages to close it before being dragged down. He tells the Survivors to burn the yacht down due to it being full of Witches. Bill finds a stocked sailboat, but a bridge is blocking its path, so the Survivors all decide to go lift it. Louis stays at the bridge with Francis due to his injured leg while Bill and Zoey activate all the generators. The bridge starts rising until stopping due to a malfunctioning generator. The noise attracted a massive horde of Common and Special Infected, making even Louis begin to lose hope. Bill jumps down and sacrifices himself to restore power, allowing the others to escape to the island.

Quotes and Captions

See: Louis/Quotes and Captions

Behind the Scenes

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• Louis' beta appearance was much different than his current one. Originally, Louis had short curly black hair and a beard, a bandage on his forehead, a tan, long-sleeved shirt, a yellow undershirt, blue jeans, and a bandolier of shotgun shells over his shoulder.
  • Also, Louis was pretty unfriendly with Bill but, this was removed in the game's final version.
• Louis' early character was more gloomy and religious. This was scrapped due to this type of character being described as being generally unfriendly to others, possibly encouraging players to split up more.^[14]
• Louis was originally set to be the manager of an electronics store. This, along with his outfit, may also be a reference to Shaun of the Dead, as Shaun manages an electronics store and wears a similar uniform.
• Louis was to be a "narrator" in the cut campaign intros.
• The cut lines tell us that Louis was holding out with other people before meeting the other Survivors. Judging by his line "Folks I was with before you three wouldn't keep moving. Figured they could wait it out. They couldn't", they are likely dead or Infected.
• Louis' positive attitude was inspired by a coworker of Chet Faliszek named Joe.^[15]

Notes

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Reason: {{{needs}}}

• His quote involving "I ain't got time to bleed",^[16] is a reference to the same quotation of Blain Cooper (played by Jesse Ventura) from the movie Predator, and also refers to Duke Nukem 64/3D. This quote is also a Team Fortress 2 Achievement for the Soldier as well as one of his cut lines from the Sandvich character video.
• In the very first trailer of Left 4 Dead, Louis is killed by falling from a roof.
• In some of the posters, Louis holds his primary weapon in his left hand, hinting at a possibility of him being ambidextrous, or initially being left-handed. Exceptions would be "Crash Course" (he dual-wields), "Blood Harvest" and "The Last Stand".
  • In the intro video, he holds his Pistol with his left hand and manages to kill a Hunter with a headshot.
• Louis is the only Bot to ever use the Heavy Machine Gun.
  • He is also the only Survivor to ever comment when he sees the Minigun.
  • He is also the only original Survivor who is unable to toss supplies as a non-player bot. Even Bill is capable of tossing supplies if he is placed in a custom Campaign.
• Part 4 of The Sacrifice comic reveals that the leg injury Louis displays in "The Passing" was received when he was pulled into a boat full of Witches.
• Louis' knowledge of the Japanese language may also be referring to his voice actor, Earl Alexander, who some have reported as saying that he intends to learn Japanese in preparation for moving to Japan someday.
• On Xbox 360, on some occasions, when killing a Tank in a Left 4 Dead 2 ported campaign, Louis may kill a tank in Bill's name, despite Bill still being alive.
  • As of the Last Stand update for the PC, he may randomly say it whenever Bill is killed, even if the Tank wasn't the Infected that killed him.
• One of his quotes in "The Sacrifice" implies that Louis must have owned an Xbox, as he states "No more internet, no more Xbox, no more nothing". This may be also how he is familiar with other Valve games such as mentioning Gordon Freeman when grabbing a Crowbar, referencing the iconic weapon in Half-Life, and Counter-Strike when grabbing a Submachine Gun, a weapon seen in the game.
• Louis is the tallest survivor of the Left 4 Dead series.
• In Left 4 Dead 2, Chargers will take a fraction of a second longer to pick Louis up while smashing him into the ground compared to other Survivors. This is unintentionally due to Louis sharing his character slot with Coach, whom the mechanic is programmed for.^[17]
• In "The Sacrifice" trailer video, Louis is missing his tie in two scenes back to back.^[18]
• Earl Alexander's favorite Louis voice lines are "Pills here!", "Do you like that!" and "Damn it!".^[19]

Gallery

Head shot of Louis

Concept art of beta Louis

Louis' appearance during initial game development

Louis' face model, Sean Bennett

Earl Alexander, Louis' voice actor

Louis firing at the Witch, in the intro

Louis (and a dead Infected) as he appears in-comic

Louis decapitate an infected with a katana in "The Sacrifice" trailer

Louis, about to be attacked by a Hunter in the intro

References

The Survivors
Left 4 Dead				Left 4 Dead 2				Others
Bill	Francis	Louis	Zoey	Coach	Ellis	Nick	Rochelle	Evacuation Personnel Church Guy Whitaker Distant Survivors Comic characters