Under the alias of Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler wrote several novels, including his most famous and successful: A Series Of Unfortunate Events. The first installment in the series was published in 1999, and the next twelve books followed soon after, with the series concluding in 2006. A Series Of Unfortunate Events was beloved by many, including the generation that grew up reading it. With Daniel Handler’s witty, sharp, sardonic writing as Lemony Snicker, and Brett Helquist’s unique illustrations, the book series was an iconic piece of history. The news of Netflix’s adaptation, helmed by Neil Patrick Harris, was well-received.

Netflix’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events concluded with three seasons in January of 2019, but it’s a show that viewers won’t soon forget. Neil Patrick Harris’ performance of Count Olaf was highly praised, and a big part of what made the series so successful. With unforgettable one-liners, hilariously awful evil plans, and of course, evil disguises, Count Olaf is utterly iconic. Let’s explore some of his best disguises, and which one you would be, based on your MBTI®.

ISFP: CAPTAIN SHAM

In the season 1 episode, The Wide Window - adapted from the third book in the series - Count Olaf takes on a disguise and calls himself Captain Sham. He claims to be a sea captain, and tricks Josephine - the Baudelaire siblings’ current guardian - into “falling in love with him”.

This, of course, is all just an elaborate plan to kidnap the Baudelaires once again, but the reason this ridiculous disguise works is that Olaf pretends to be this fearless adventurer. If your MBTI® is ISFP, you are known as The Adventurer, the go-getter of the personality types, and this is exactly what Count Olaf’s character of Captain Sham was an attempt to be.

 ISTP: DETECTIVE DUPIN

ISTPs are known as The Virtuoso, and are often regarded as natural problem-solvers. Count Olaf is definitely a problem-solver, but not necessarily a good problem solver. So when he takes on the identity of Detective Dupin in The Vile Village, he very much mimics the ISTP personality.

Count Olaf really gets in character when it comes to his disguise, Detective Dupin. He surprises the Baudelaire orphans with his ridiculous persona, and all in all, the performance is pretty hilarious.

ISTJ - GUNTHER

The ISTJ personality type is known as the most common of the MBTI alignments, so it comes as no surprise that Olaf eventually takes on a character that has this very personality. ISTJs are regarded as The Logistician, and often thought to have a no-nonsense attitude.

Count Olaf takes on the disguise of Gunther, who infiltrates the Squalor household while Esmé and her then-husband Jerome are acting as the Baudelaires’ guardians. Gunther was one of Count Olaf’s more competent, rather dangerous personas, and it was under this disguise that he won over Esmé

ENFP - SHIRLEY

Possibly the most hilarious Count Olaf disguise, the villain dresses up as Shirley in The Miserable Mill, and claims to be Dr. Georgia Orwell’s receptionist. Even though it’s obvious to the viewers and the Baudelaires that Shirley is a man and that man is Count Olaf, everyone else is fooled by this ludicrous disguise.

People who fall under the ENFP personality type are often known for expressiveness and creativity. These are certainly two words that come to mind when describing Shirley, as she was probably Count Olaf’s most unique disguise.

 ENTP - MATTHATIAS MEDICALSCHOOL

ENTP is an analyst personality, and people with this alignment are often referred to as The Debater. ENTPs are known for being argumentative, bold, and always on a quest for knowledge. While Count Olaf is most definitely not portrayed as being the smartest character on the show, his character of Dr. Matthatias Medicalschool acts a little wittier.

While in the books, Dr. Medicalschool never actually makes a physical appearance and is only heard making announcements over the intercom, the TV series does a hilarious job of portraying this character, 1900s surgical get-up and all.

 ESTP - COACH GENGHIS

Probably the most controversial disguise of Count Olaf’s, Coach Genghis is most well-known for the fact that he wears a turban, which sparked significant backlash. The TV series doesn’t omit this detail, but they do have Coach Genghis speak in a Southern accent, which brought some humor to the character.

ESTPs are known as The Entrepreneur.  Their common traits include impulsiveness and overeagerness, and they are frequently known for having a very “loud” personality. Coach Genghis fulfills this by being very outgoing and full of himself. He was the self-renowned gym coach at Prufrock Prep, and ultimately ended up befriending fellow antagonist, Carmelita Spats.

ESTJ - STEFANO

Stefano was a poorly constructed alias of Count Olaf’s, bumbling yet ultimately lethal. In The Reptile Room, he finds the Baudelaires in their new home with their current guardian and reptile enthusiast, Monty Montgomery. Count Olaf introduces himself as Stefano and pretends to be Montgomery’s assistant.

The ESTJ personality is a strong one, and they are known as being The Executive. ESTJs are regarded as natural leaders. Olaf may be a leader, but he was not a very good one. When he took on the role of Stefano, the disguise was shown to have a much stronger personality than Olaf actually did.

 INTJ - YESSICA HAIRCUT

This was probably the Count’s lamest disguise to date. There was no elaborate planning put into it, and Olaf simply put on a hat and called it a disguise. But what makes this alias so funny, is the fact that Count Olaf comes up with it when he’s put on the spot by Mr. Poe. And unlike almost all of the other disguises on this list, Yessica Haircut is one that never appeared in the book series.

The INTJ personality type is described as being “the most starry-eyed idealists and the most bitter of cynics.” INTJs are known as The Architect. The fact that Yessica Haircut was created completely on a whim by Count Olaf, shows what spontaneous mindset he was in at the time.

INFJ - RINGLEADER

Props to Count Olaf for one thing; he was pretty good at creating personas that blended in quite naturally with wherever the Baudelaires were currently staying. When the orphans eventually had no choice but to run off and join a local circus, Count Olaf wasted no time in dreaming up the most fitting disguise: a Ringleader.

The INFJ personality alignment is one of the rarest ones, and is said to only make up one percent of the population. INFJs are known as The Advocate, and the Ringleader was certainly a persona that advocated for himself.

1. INFP - TOURIST DAD

This was one of Count Olaf’s last and funniest disguises. It was an original creation of Neil Patrick Harris’, as Tourist Dad never made an appearance in the books. But this persona was very memorable nonetheless, as was Olaf’s lame attempt at being some clueless, harmless tourist.

INFPs are known as The Mediator. They are intuitive, perceptive, and creative - which is exactly the persona that Olaf seemed to be going for in his role of the Tourist Dad.