In the 1997 film “Face/Off,” the FBI agent who swaps faces with Castor Troy is Sean Archer.
Archer, played by John Travolta, is pursuing terrorist-for-hire Castor Troy after Troy’s attempted assassination kills Archer’s young son. When Troy is left in a coma, Archer undergoes an experimental face-transplant procedure so he can impersonate Troy and obtain information about a bomb planted in Los Angeles.
The operation becomes even more dangerous when Troy unexpectedly awakens and takes Archer’s face for himself. The film’s central conceit is therefore not a simple disguise: both men adopt each other’s appearance, identities, and relationships. Travolta plays both Archer and Troy at different points, while Nicolas Cage plays the corresponding roles after the surgery.
Sasha Hassler and Dietrich Hassler are members of Troy’s criminal circle, and Pollux Troy is Castor’s brother. None is the FBI agent. Directed by John Woo, “Face/Off” combines an undercover thriller with science-fiction body-swapping drama.