Joseph Albert Nefario, most commonly referred to as Dr. Nefario (born August 12, 1928), is one of the two overarching protagonists (alongside Silas Ramsbottom) of the Despicable Me franchise. He is Gru's gadgeteer, residing in his underground lair and laboratories. He builds and designs most of Gru's machines. Gru and Dr. Nefario seem to have been trying to shock the world with "The True Crime of the Century" for several years. Although Dr. Nefario has doubts about Gru's plans due to lack of funds, and his newfound love for his adopted daughters, Dr. Nefario still considers him to be "one of the greats" in the supervillain world. Dr. Nefario also has terrible hearing, mistaking Gru's orders for "dart gun" and "cookie robots" as "fart gun" and "boogie robots", respectively in the first film. Dr. Nefario is briefly El Macho's right-hand man and main henchman. In Despicable Me 3, Dr. Nefario is frozen in carbonite, probably due to a Minion accident. In Minions: The Rise of Gru, he is portrayed as the owner of a record store that Gru goes to called Criminal Records, where he crafts gadgets as a side-gig. In Despicable Me 4, Dr. Nefario is seen at the end turning Gru. Jr back to normal before going back to his lab.