Dame Vaako, played by actress Thandie Newton, is the secondary antagonist in the film and is the wife of the Necromonger Empire commander Lord Vaako. Dame Vaako is consumed by, even defined by, overweening ambition. She is not a comfortable wife, constantly pushing Vaako to higher office, even hinting at murder to advance his career. After her husband is sent to follow and destroy Riddick, Lord Marshal Zhylaw tasks her with interrogating Aereon in the hope of finding out what it is the Elementals are up to. Aereon resists Dame Vaako's threat of defenestration.