List of Oz (TV series) characters

For characters of the Oz children's book series, see List of characters in the Oz books.

The characters of Oz, fictional characters on the television series about prison life, are a diverse mixture of inmates from various gangs and prison staff.

Main inmates

Key

  Muslim inmates
  Homeboy inmates

  Aryan inmates
  Latino inmates

  Irish inmates
  Other inmates

Character: Portrayed by: Appears in seasons:
Augustus Hill Harold Perrineau 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Socially astute narrator of the show. Paralyzed from the waist down. Although he died at the end of season 5, he remained on the show throughout season 6 as the narrator.
Tobias Beecher Lee Tergesen 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Was a middle class lawyer in denial about his alcoholism until landing in prison forced him to confront himself and become self-sufficient. His character undergoes the most drastic changes throughout the seasons, during which he becomes a drug addict and falls in love with a man. His relationship with Keller and blood feud with Schillinger is the series' dominant story arc, beginning in the first episode and being resolved during the series finale, when he accidentally kills Schillinger in an acted fight in a play.
Vernon Schillinger J. K. Simmons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Leader of the Aryan Brotherhood, Schillinger commits atrocities against other inmates because of race, sexual orientation, or overall weakness. However, he is double-crossed by Keller and accidentally killed by Beecher during a production of the play "Macbeth".
Ryan O'Reily Dean Winters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
An Irish hoodlum who does what it takes to survive. Compared to Othello's Iago by show creator Fontana, he is responsible for almost every death in the first season.
Bob Rebadow George Morfogen 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
An elderly inmate serving life for murder. He was originally sentenced to death, but in 1965, he survived a botched execution and had his sentence commuted. He is fantastically intuitive (some think as a result of the botched execution), which in the first couple of seasons he explains by nonchalantly saying "God told me"; later he begins doubting the source and veracity of his insights.
Kareem Said Eamonn Walker 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
A brilliant Muslim leader with a powerful voice and a conviction that other people's racism will absolve him. He is responsible for the death of Simon Adebisi; however, it was ruled self-defense. He is shot and killed by Lemuel Idzik, played by Joel Grey.
Miguel Alvarez Kirk Acevedo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Undergoes a process of losing masculine credibility within the Latino gang, then tries to redeem himself after cutting out a respectable prison guard's eyes. He briefly escapes from prison, but is eventually recaptured.
Cyril O'Reily Scott William Winters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Ryan O'Reily's mentally handicapped-brother, who was incarcerated after blindly following Ryan's orders to murder the husband of Dr. Gloria Nathan, with whom Ryan is obsessed. He was mentally incapacitated in a gang fight. He kills an inmate out of self-defense of his brother, but gets sent to death row and is finally executed, after a long legal battle.
Chris Keller Christopher Meloni 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
A bisexual serial killer who preyed upon gay men in the outside world while hiding his sexual orientation through a series of marriages. Perhaps the most amoral figure in the entire milieu, he is a master of emotional manipulation and only seems to really enjoy himself when those who care about him are made to suffer. His relationship with Beecher is also a big part of many episodes. He commits suicide by jumping off the top level of Em City in front of Tobias Beecher in the show's finale episode, in an effort to frame him for murder.
Simon Adebisi Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje 1, 2, 3, 4
A gigantic, deranged maniac of Nigerian descent; incarcerated for decapitating a police officer with a machete. His flirtations with insanity and religion are transient. However, Adebisi remains one of the most powerful inmates within the walls of Oz, until his death when he is killed by Kareem Said.
Omar White Michael Wright 4, 5, 6
White is an African-American drug addict who murdered a key witness against his cousin in front of her daughter's eyes. White proves to be very troublesome throughout his stay at Oz, most of which ends up with him in solitary confinement. Unit Manager Tim McManus believes he can help White until he messes up for a last time in Season 5 where he ends up in solitary again. White is eventually killed by fellow inmate Lemuel Idzik. Omar is violent (sometimes against his own will) and has never lost a fight to anyone in Oz besides Said, who attacks him after Omar swears at him.
William Giles Austin Pendleton 2, 3, 4, 5
Though not considered to be insane or otherwise mentally deficient by the prison system, or prison psychiatrist Sister Peter Marie, he speaks in one word riddles and does not carry on normal conversations. He spends the majority of his time in Oz in solitary confinement due to violent outbursts. He helps Sister Peter Marie find out more about the murder of her husband years earlier by repeating a series of words that she is able to decipher. She discovered that not only did Giles see who killed her husband, but Giles actually killed the man who murdered her husband. Once she finds out, she gives him a box full of toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouthwash as a thank you present.

Prison staff

The corrections officers (COs) are mostly white (predominantly Irish and Italian) with many black and some Latino officers. The warden, Leo Glynn, is African American and started off his career as a CO at Oz. Most of the COs come from lower socio-economic classes. Some are amoral and prone to corruption. The main unit manager, Tim McManus, is the only authority figure who has not started off as a guard and this therefore gives him a different point of view about how to deal with the inmates. The rest of the non-correctional staff, such as Dr. Gloria Nathan and psychiatrist Sister Peter Marie ("Sister Pete") Reimondo, have a much more humane view of prisoners, and often push Glynn and the others to see the inmates as human beings. Overall, different factions within the staff are almost always at odds, trying to manage internal problems while keeping the public calm regarding the way the prison is being managed.

Others

Sponsors

Due to Emerald City's unconventional configuration and routine, each new inmate is given a sponsor to help acclimate. Inmates are generally paired with sponsors of similar nationality, background, race, and/or religion, to help acclimate, with the help of someone with similar interests and beliefs. Specific requests for current Emerald City prisoners to be paired up with inbound inmates have occasionally been made and granted. Below is a list of inmates and sponsors.

Inmate Sponsor
Tobias Beecher Dino Ortolani
Donald Groves Bob Rebadow
Paul Markstrom Jefferson Keane
Kenny Wangler Simon Adebisi
Scott Ross Mark Mack
Ryan O'Reily Vernon Schillinger
Jackson Vahue Augustus Hill
Chris Keller Tobias Beecher
Raoul 'El Cid' Hernandez Miguel Alvarez
Jiggy Walker Bob Rebadow
Jaz Hoyt Jim Burns
Antonio Nappa Chucky Pancamo
Hamid Khan Kareem Said
Vincent Simon Adebisi
Carlo Ricardo Raoul 'El Cid' Hernandez
Andrew Schillinger Fred Wick
Malcolm Coyle Kenny Wangler
Supreme Allah Kareem Said
"Desmond Mobay" Augustus Hill
Ralph Galino Chucky Pancamo
Guillaume Tarrant Jaz Hoyt
Ronald Barlog Tobias Beecher
Adam Guenzel Tobias Beecher
Daniel Meehan Ryan O'Reily
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