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Fictional character in the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

William "Bill" Sikes is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists (alongside Monks) in the 1838 novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Sikes is a malicious criminal in Fagin's gang, and a vicious robber and murderer. Throughout much of the novel Sikes is shadowed by his “bull terrier” dog Bull's eye.

In the theatre, Sikes was played by Richard John Smith in Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress (1839), and by Henry Irving opposite Nelly Moore as Nancy in Oliver Twist at the Queen's Theatre in London (1868). Sikes was played by Danny Sewell in both the original West End and Broadway productions of the stage musical Oliver! which won several awards in the early 1960s. Oliver Reed played Sikes in the musical's 1968 film adaptation which also won several awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture, with Reed's performance often cited as one of the best portrayals of Sikes – being labelled as "the sinister core of the film". His songs are removed from the film, making his performance of the character closer to that of the novel rather than the stage version. The famous climax of the 1948 film adaptation is retained and Sikes dies in the same manner of being shot and his body dangling from the rope about his body. Sikes was played by Graeme Campbell in the 1984 Broadway revival, Miles Anderson (later Steven Hartley) in the 1994 London revival, Burn Gorman (later Steven Hartley again) in the 2009 London revival and by Tam Mutu in the 2023 Encores! revival.

Robert Newton first played Sikes on screen in the 1948 British film noir Oliver Twist. Sikes's death is changed slightly: while attempting to swing to another building to escape the mob, he is shot by a police officer and dies while dangling from a building by a rope around his body. Perhaps Newton's portrayal is the closest to how Dickens himself envisioned the character: a vicious, heavy drinking sociopath. In Disney's animated version, Oliver & Company (1988), Sikes is renamed Sykes and he is a cold hearted loan shark who lives and works in a New York shipyard and is voiced by Robert Loggia, who was cast in the role after Marlon Brando rejected an offer to voice the character because he felt the film was going to be a flop. Sikes's dog from the novel, Bull's eye, is replaced by two Dobermans named Roscoe and DeSoto. Fagin, here depicted as a hobo living with several dogs, owes him money before Sykes proceeds to kidnap a young wealthy girl, Jenny Foxworth, planning to take a ransom to himself. In a final confrontation, Sykes chases Fagin and the dogs into the subway tunnels in attempt to recapture Jenny until they reach the Brooklyn Bridge. While Roscoe and DeSoto are killed when they fall onto the electrified railway, Sykes fights with Oliver and Dodger on the roof of his limousine, and is brutally killed when his car collides with a train, sending his corpse falling into the East River. In the 2021 movie, Twist, Sikes is altered into a female portrayed by Lena Headey with a pet Doberman named Bull's eye and appears to be a lesbian when seen in a supposed relationship with Nancy.

Peter Vaughan portrayed Sikes in the BBC's 1962 television adaptation, which saw the character portrayed in a gritty, violent way considered to be faithful to the original book. The scene where he brutally murders Nancy was very controversial at the time, with questions being asked in parliament if the serial should've even been allowed to air. In Disney's 1997 live action television production, Oliver Twist, Bill Sikes is played by David O'Hara. In the 2005 Oliver Twist Bill Sikes is played by Jamie Foreman. In 2007, Sikes is portrayed by actor Tom Hardy in the BBC One miniseries Oliver Twist, later aired in the United States on PBS' Masterpiece Classic. In the 2015 BBC TV series Dickensian, Sikes is played by Mark Stanley.

The very first radio portrayal of Bill Sikes was on British radio in 1928 by Philip H. Harper. Successive radio Sikes included Matthew Boulton in 1934 on the BBC Regional Programme, Allan Jeaves in 1941 on the BBC Home Service, Ralph Truman in 1952 on the BBC Home Service, John Hollis in 1970 on BBC Radio 4, and Tim McInnerny in 1994 on BBC Radio 4.