Tristan McLean

"They're going to remember me as Piper McLean's father, and that's the best legacy I can imagine."

- Tristan McLean

Tristan McLean is a famous film star of Cherokee descent. He was one of Aphrodite's lovers and is the father of Piper McLean.

History
Tristan grew up as a poor child in a two room house in Oklahoma with his father Tom; his mother is never mentioned.

The Lost Hero
Tristan McLean is held hostage by the giant Enceladus, who blackmails his daughter, Piper, to lead a group of demigods into a trap. Although he is not seen for most of the book, Piper has many flashbacks to times when they were together. The first time Tristan is brought up is when Leo makes a comment about how if the popular girls at the Wilderness School knew who her father was, they would be worshiping Piper and saying things like "We're not worthy." It is later learned that Tristan is a popular movie star and has played many important parts, one of his first being the King of Sparta. He thinks the movie poster of the particular film looks funny, but it has became very popular and has sold many copies. When Piper arrives at Camp Half-Blood, there is a poster of him hanging up on the wall, but it is later torn down by Drew after learning that Piper was his daughter. In one of Piper's flashbacks, she remembers when he told her why he didn't play any Cherokee parts, as it would be too close to home. He also doesn't believe in any god(s) because if he knew they did exist, he would always blame them if things went wrong. In another flashback, he finds out from his assistant Jane that Piper stole a BMW, but instead of talking to her about it, he goes along with everything that Jane says and sends her to the Wilderness School.

Eventually, Medea uses charmspeak to control Jane, who tells Tristan that his daughter is in danger and he needs to go to San Francisco to save her. He does, but is captured by Enceladus and chained. Piper has a dream about his capture and tries to call him with no success. When she calls Jane to find out where he is, she brushes her off and reveals that even if she doesn't know where he is, she has yet to call the cops or file a missing persons report. Piper, Jason Grace, and Leo Valdez make it to the lair of the giant Enceladus to save Piper's dad, who has been chained and beaten in the far corner of the room. While Piper sets him free, Jason and Leo fight off the giant and his Earthborn. As the Earthborn hold a grudge against Jason, Enceladus says that McLean is Jason and the ogres want to kill him. After Leo had killed most of the Earthborn, the most powerful charges at him, but Piper for the first time uses her knife and kills the monster. The heroes manage to win the fight with some help from Zeus. Tristan is lifted to a nearby airport where he is almost driven mad by the idea that gods are real, and from the torture the Encelaudus inflicted on him. Using the potion given to her by her mother, Aphrodite, Piper erases her father's memory of the past days in which he was imprisoned. Coach Hedge takes care of him and acts as his new bodyguard while he recovers. Tristan also fires Jane after she had failed to call the police while he was missing. He hires Mellie as his new assistant soon after. He calls Piper using a webcam while she is at Camp Half-Blood and wants to know if she likes her new school (having forgotten about her being a demigod and the gods themselves), which she says she does.

Appearance
He is described as a handsome man of Cherokee descent with a perfect smile, dimpled chin, twinkly dark eyes and closely cropped black hair. When in the captivity of Enceladus he is described as wearing torn slacks, with bare, mud-caked feet. While he was held hostage, his chest was scratched and his hands were handcuffed behind his back.

Personality
Tristan cares about his daughter, Piper and he loved Aphrodite deeply although he was unaware that she was a goddess. He is very busy with his work, but tries to keep in contact with Piper as much as possible, even letting her help with his research for a movie role. He does not however believe in any kind of god or gods as if he did, he would always be looking for someone or something to blame for things. Even though he cares for his daughter, he is scared of making mistakes and will leave the tough choices to Jane, his assistant.