Why Is Danny Ocean the Leader?

Someone on Reddit's r/Movies asked a question that I really enjoyed:

I love this question because Kings of Copper is about a city where heists are regulated and thieves are celebrities. And the main crewleader, Lars Harrow, is a lot like Danny Ocean.

Here's the thing: when it comes down to it, crewleaders aren't the best as much as they are the most trusted.

Not trusted in a naive way, but trusted to see the whole board. They're the person everyone else in the room has decided to believe in, even when the plan sounds insane.

Danny Ocean isn't the best thief, the best con artist, or the best planner on his crew. But he's the one who can look eleven different egos in the eye and make them feel like this is the score that matters.

Then there’s the trust of delegation. Here is one of my favorite scenes from Oceans Eleven that shows the patois of the frontman/leader and the trusted second. Rusty's the expert on crew composition, so Danny's job is to back the call, not make it. A real crewleader knows when the best move is getting out of the way.

That's what makes a crewleader: being the most accountable to the crew's collective success, no matter who makes the call. They're the one who carries the weight of everyone's trust and treats it like gold.

Or in my book's case, copper.

Crewleaders in Azoria

In By Hook & Crook and Thiefcatcher, my center-stage protagonist Lars Harrow operates in a world where heists aren't crimes, they're regulated public spectacle. Thieves are celebrities. Scores are news. The city watches.

Which makes the crewleader question more complicated in a way.

When your heist plays out in front of an audience, failure isn't just a locked cell, it's humiliation. Your rivals are watching. The press is watching. The whole city knows if your crew falls apart mid-score.

So what makes someone like Lars the one his crew follows?

It's not that he's the best grifter, the best trapspringer, or the best fighter. Hells, he’s not even the best showman (that’s a spot reserved for his sometimes rival Darius). It's that when things go sideways (and they will go sideways) he's the one standing in front of the crew, not behind them. He takes the heat. He improvises.

In a city where theft is theater, the crewleader isn't just running the job. They're the director, the lead actor, and the fall guy (or gal) all at once.

That's the tightrope Lars walks. And honestly? It's why I think Danny Ocean resonates with people even when Rusty's doing more of the visible work. We're not watching for the most competent person in the room. We're watching for the one who makes everyone else believe they can pull off the impossible.

If you want to see how that dynamic plays out when heists are public spectacle, By Hook & Crook and Thiefcatcher are both available now! Just click the button below to get your copies:

As always, thanks for reading! See you in Azoria.