He was a giant, reckless, drug-addled mess. Honestly, if you watched the first season of Animal Kingdom, you probably figured Craig Cody would be the first one to end up in a body bag or behind bars for life. He was the guy who would do a line of coke off a surfboard and then jump into a high-stakes heist without a second thought. But by the time the series finale rolled around in 2022, Craig in Animal Kingdom had transformed from a liability into the most heartbreakingly human member of the Cody clan.
It’s weird to think about now, but Craig, played by the towering Ben Robson, was the only one who really tried to build something outside the family’s shadow. While Pope was drowning in Smurf’s psychological games and Deran was trying to hide his soul in a bar, Craig was just... Craig. He wore his heart on his sleeve, even when that sleeve was soaked in sweat and adrenaline.
The Adrenaline Junkie with a Secret Heart
Craig was the middle son. In any family, that’s a tough spot, but in a crime family run by a manipulative matriarch like Smurf (Ellen Barkin), it’s a recipe for disaster. He was the "muscle," the guy you sent in when things needed to be broken. But if you look closer at those early seasons, he wasn't just a thug. He was a guy looking for a high because the reality of his life—being a tool for his mother's greed—was pretty much unbearable.
There’s this one scene in Season 1 where he finds his girlfriend, Renn, overdosing. Most criminals would’ve bolted. Craig? He panics, sure, but he cares. Even when he’s being a total "douche bag" (as fans on Reddit often call him), there’s a flicker of a "sweetheart" underneath. He was impulsive, yeah, but his impulses often leaned toward protecting the people he loved, even if he did it in the most chaotic way possible.
Expert Insight: Actor Ben Robson once mentioned in an interview with Interview Magazine that he didn't think Craig saw his behavior as "bad." To Craig, he was just reacting. It was only when he looked in the mirror after the dust settled that the guilt would actually hit him.
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What Really Happened with Craig and Renn?
The relationship between Craig and Renn Randall (played by Christina Ochoa) was the definition of toxic. They were two addicts circling the drain together. Yet, somehow, it became the most "real" relationship on the show. When Nick was born, everything shifted for Craig.
Suddenly, the guy who couldn't remember where he parked his motorcycle was worrying about diaper changes and "straight life" stability. He actually tried to get clean. He tried to be a father. That’s the tragedy of Craig in Animal Kingdom; he was the only one who caught a glimpse of a normal life and actually wanted it. He didn't want Nick to grow up the way he did—as a weapon for a grandmother who used love as a leash.
The Real-Life Inspiration Behind the Chaos
A lot of people don’t realize that the Cody family is loosely based on a real-life Australian crime family called the Pettingills. While the TV show moved the setting to Oceanside, California, the DNA of the characters comes from some pretty dark places.
- The "Real" Craig: In the Australian underworld, the character Craig is based on was reportedly Dennis Allen, a man known for being a massive drug dealer with a terrifying streak of violence.
- The "Sanitized" Version: The TV show actually made Craig much more likable. While the real-life inspiration was a "psycho" (to put it lightly), the showrunners gave Craig a vulnerability that made us actually root for him to escape.
The Tragic End: Why Craig Cody Had to Die
If you haven't seen the finale "Fubar," stop reading. Seriously.
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Craig’s death was the ultimate gut punch. After six seasons of surviving shootouts, drug overdoses, and Smurf’s various betrayals, he gets taken out by a kid. It wasn't a grand police standoff. It was a convenience store robbery gone wrong during the escape after breaking Pope out of jail.
J (Finn Cole) had betrayed them all, leaving Craig and Deran (Jake Weary) stranded. They needed cash. They needed a way out. In the middle of the heist, the store owner’s son—just a kid trying to protect his dad—shoots Craig.
The scene that followed is arguably the most emotional in the whole series. Deran carries a dying Craig to the beach. It’s full circle. They’re back at the ocean, the place that defined their lives. Craig tells Deran to take care of Nick and Renn. He dies in his brother's arms, looking at the water.
Why his death felt "earned" (even if we hated it)
- Redemption through sacrifice: He died helping his brothers, the only people who ever truly had his back.
- The "Cody Curse": The show always maintained that you can't outrun the things you've done. Craig was a killer and a thief; the "karma" of a child being the one to kill him was a poetic, if brutal, touch.
- Safety for Nick: By dying, Craig effectively severed Nick's ties to the Cody criminal legacy. With Deran promising to take the family away, the cycle finally had a chance to break.
Why Craig Still Matters to Fans
People still talk about Craig in Animal Kingdom because he was the most relatable "bad guy" on TV. He struggled with addiction in a way that felt messy and authentic—he relapsed, he lied, he tried again. He wasn't a mastermind like J or a tactical genius like Baz. He was just a guy trying to figure out how to be a "man" in a world that only taught him how to be a criminal.
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He was the "beating heart" of the brothers. When he died, the Cody family truly died with him. Pope followed shortly after, and Deran was left as a ghost, forced to live out Craig’s dreams of a quiet life in Indonesia because he couldn't have his own.
How to Apply the "Craig Cody" Lens to Your Own Watch-Through
If you're rewatching the show or jumping in for the first time, look for these specific "Craig moments" that prove he was more than just the family's brawn:
- Watch the eyes: Ben Robson plays Craig with a lot of "lost puppy" energy in scenes where Smurf is praising him. It shows how much he craved validation.
- The Renn Factor: Notice how he treats Renn when no one else is watching. Despite the stealing and the drugs, he genuinely sees her as his equal, something no other Cody man does with their partners.
- The "Wedding Heist" in Season 2: This is the moment Craig proves he could have been a leader if he wasn't so busy sabotaging himself.
The truth about Craig is that he was a good man born into a terrible family. He spent six seasons trying to wash the Oceanside salt and Smurf's influence off his skin, only to realize that the only way to truly "get out" was to let go entirely.
If you want to dive deeper into the Cody family's messy history, start by analyzing the Season 1 dynamics versus the Season 6 fallout. You'll see that while J was calculating his move from day one, Craig was the only one actually evolving. Look into the "Oceanside filming locations" to see the real spots where Craig's most iconic scenes were shot—it adds a layer of reality to the heartbreak.