Rory's Artie

Agent Arthur "Artie" Nielsen (née Arthur Weisfelt) is a fictional character on the U.S. television science fiction series Warehouse 13 (2009–2014), portrayed by Saul Rubinek. He is the Special Agent in Charge of Warehouse 13 and is the immediate supervisor of Agents Pete Lattimer, Myka Bering and Claudia Donovan. Artie Nielsen is born Arthur Weisfelt on July 2, 1948 and grows up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has Russian Jewish heritage. His father, Izzy Weisfelt (Judd Hirsch), taught musical composition at Temple University. The young Artie is a gifted pianist and earns admission to the Juilliard School. Rather than continuing his musical training, he goes to work for the National Security Agency (NSA). He stands 5 feet 8 inches tall, and in addition to English, he is fluent in Russian, German and French. He can also read Latin. As chief custodian of Warehouse 13, Artie understands many of its secrets. Artie is a secretive person. Because of all the people he has lost in his life, including agents, he shuts everyone out as a defense mechanism. He withholds information about himself and tends to give just enough information to agents for the mission at hand, without answering many of their questions. He obsesses about minutiae to the point of neurosis, and has been known in the past to leap to conclusions based on precious little evidence beyond "gut" instinct. Artie frequently tries to protect the people with whom he's forged relationships, either by making them promises to do so (whether or not he can keep them) or by swearing to potential attackers that he won't allow harm to come to those about whom he cares. While not noticeably a religious man, he has studied the Talmud enough to at least be able to quote it. Artie prefers old-fashioned items and ways of doing things because they are familiar and comfortable, not necessarily because he likes them better. In one instance he finds an important document in his office card catalogue, exclaiming "Google, shmoogle, I’ll stick with paper." In the season 2 episode "13.1", he reluctantly allows a "Global Dynamics geek" to come to Warehouse 13 and upgrade the antiquated computer systems. Claudia describes to Douglas Fargo that Artie would have "vetoed fire if he'd been born a few years earlier." Nonetheless, Artie is generally adept at using modern technology when he must. Artie is a former code breaker for the NSA and is adept at noticing patterns and calculating probability. He has a high level of knowledge on various subjects which make him effective at his job, although he seems to have trouble remembering dates (MacPherson and Mrs. Frederic correct him on a couple occasions). His thirty-plus years as a Warehouse Agent have taught him the unpredictable nature of artifacts, causing him to proceed with caution in any situation. With access to the Warehouse computer system, Artie has access to information from around the globe, and shows expert computer hacking skills, obviously not better than Claudia's, though he prefers not to use computers. He is also able to improvise gadgets out of household items; he made an electromagnet out of an iron in "Merge With Caution" and used a broken windshield and his Tesla to overload Pete's ocular input in "Around the Bend". Artie is not opposed to using artifacts in his duties as a Warehouse Agent, and usually carries around a black kit bag, similar to what is commonly called a doctor's bag, with a random assortment of artifacts to be used in various situations. While not confirmed, Artie is also a great deal stronger than he appears; several times in the series he is shown knocking out an attacker in one punch.