In The Prestige, what is the real name of the Christian Bale character?

In The Prestige, Christian Bale plays Alfred Borden, the working-class magician known professionally as “The Professor.” Borden is locked in a deadly rivalry with Robert Angier, played by Hugh Jackman, after a tragic accident kills Angier’s wife during an underwater escape trick.

Borden’s greatest illusion is The Transported Man, in which he appears to teleport instantly from one side of the stage to another. The film’s central revelation is that “Alfred Borden” is not a single person but the shared identity of identical twins. They alternate between performing as Borden and hiding as his assistant, Fallon, allowing the illusion to work without a visible double.

That secret explains several apparent inconsistencies, including Borden’s shifting feelings toward his wife Sarah and his unexplained sacrifice of two fingers. The name is sometimes confused with Angier, John Cutter, or Nikola Tesla, but those are separate characters. Tesla, played by David Bowie, becomes involved because he builds the machine that appears to teleport Angier.