On a mission, Keller arrives at Oz to win Beecher's trust. Beecher is hesitant at first, but the two soon get close. Beecher shares intimate stories — and fears — with Keller, who responds by comforting and defending him against other Aryans.

An Aryan, Vern who uses intimidation to keep his powerful leadership in tact. Taking advantage of Beecher’s frailty, Vern convinces Beecher to move into his pod. Once done, Vern begins his reign of horrid intimidation over Beecher by forcing Beecher to submit to a host of horrible acts.

Oz's warden always has his plate full. Glynn also has to constantly appease his staff of corrections officers and administrative staff without losing too much face.

Sister Peter evaluates the psychiatric condition of the inmates and provide counseling to keep them mentally stable and healthy. She’s in charge of assigning conjugal visits, which gets shut down after the Governor puts a halt to them. She also leads a group therapy session for former drug addicted inmates.

Oz's only female inmate arrives on death row for killing her daughter. Although Shirley is demure and slightly charming, she hides tremendous emotional instability.

Cold blooded killer Hernandez comes to Oz and instantly takes control away from Alvarez.

Oz's first female guard is a single mom with a sickly mother.

Father Mukada's a fair man who tries to keep his flock in Oz as spiritually sound as possible. He tries to keep an open mind but sometimes his personal feelings can get in the way.

When he first arrives at Oz, Enrique immediately plots to take control from Hernandez, whom he deems “old school.”

Ryan O’Reily’s dim-witted brother, Cyril arrives at Oz after murdering Dr. Nathan's husband. He's put into Gen Pop and given Vern Schillinger as a cellmate.

Chucky takes over control of daily operations after Nappa finds out he's HIV positive and is moved to the AIDS ward.

Dr. Nathan is Oz's chief physician who does her job with as much compassion and fairness as possible. She has a good working relationship with her fellow staff but Tim McManus decides he wants more from her.

A Biker for life, Jaz Hoyt enters Oz and is assigned to work in the mailroom with Schillinger.

After arriving at Oz, Robson stirs up trouble with Beecher, before getting more closely involved with Schillinger and his schemes with the Aryans.

The Governor is a hardline politician who's only out to keep his job as long as he can. He simply wants things to run his way with no problems. That goes out the window when he orders conjugal visits and cigarette smoking banned in Oz.

One of the youngest inmates to come to Oz, Kenny arrives with plenty of attitude for all.

The charismatic leader arrives at Oz ready to assume control of the Muslims and possibly all other inmates of color.

Alvarez, an expecting father, gets a cold welcome to Oz by getting shanked by a rival.

Officer Howell reports for duty and immediately makes her dubious mark on everyone. She first dismisses Wittlesey's offer to show her the ropes by making it clear she needs no help from anyone.

Murphy joins Oz after his good friend Tim McManus recommends him. Murphy instantly proves his mettle by diffusing a situation with Ryan O'Reily.

The Emerald City experimental unit in Oz is McManus’ project that is supposed to focus on rehabilitation. Of course, that doesn't always happen. Because this is Tim’s project, he sometimes let's personal feelings cloud his judgement.

Poet often performs his pieces during whenever the inmates are gathered — during meals and TV time. His poetry reflects the happenings in Oz and is peppered with language that reflects his struggle to stay focused on writing and away from his drug-influenced past. However, he's also down with the Homeboys, some of whom are drug dealers. He's got a gift — and not just for poetry.

A disturbed soul, Omar arrives at Oz with a lot on his mind — particularly how to feed his drug habit. O'Reilly recognizes White's plight and offers him a free sample — and more — if he does him a favor.

Formerly an attorney, Beecher’s sheltered life provides him no preparation for his new life at Oz. After being transferred from Adebisi’s pod, he lands with Vern Schillinger — a power-hungry, yet intelligent leader of the Aryans. Beecher's relief is short-lived when he realizes he must submit to Vern's seemingly endless abuses. To help him cope, Beecher turns to drugs and spends hours with O'Reily getting high.

A loyal follower of Said — though prison politics complicate their relationship.

Intelligent and tactical, O’Reily uses his connections with the prison CO's to get transferred to Emerald City. Once arrived, Ryan immediately goes to Nino Schibetta, who runs the drug trade in Oz, and declares his loyalty.

Adebisi sells drugs with Markstrom for the Italians. He also forms a bond with Wangler in a twisted mentor-mentee relationship.

Fascinated by tunnels and digging, Busmalis immediately begins his handiwork after arriving at Oz creating a new escape tunnel in his and Rebadow’s shared pod. He even gives creation a name: Mary.

With Alvarez as their leader, Guerra keeps wanting to make a move against other groups for total control of the drug trade. Alvarez warns him to be patient because a plan is brewing.

Upon arriving to Oz, Nappa immediately takes over operations.

A former crack addict, Augustus is in Oz for selling it, along with other drugs. He keeps a cautious distance from the other inmates and spends his time working in the dress factory, going to group therapy sessions and dispensing advice to Beecher and other new inmates on how best to get along.

Oz’s oldest inmate, Rebadow was spared execution when a power outage caused the electric chair to fail. Since then, he believes God talks directly to him. He keeps to himself, offering comments about happenings around the prison only when asked — though sometimes, trouble finds him.

Burr Redding comes to Oz and immediately takes over the gangsters’ end of the drug trade.

Cast & Characters

See the full list of cast and characters

Cast and Character

Chris Meloni

J K Simmons

Ernie Hudson

Rita Moreno

Kathryn Erbe

Luis Guzman

Edie Falco

B D Wong

David Zayas

Scott Winters

Chuck Zito

Lauren Velez

Evan Seinfeld

R E Rodgers

Zeljko Ivanek

J D Williams

Eamonn Walker

Kirk Acevedo

Kristin Rohde

Robert Clohessy

Terry Kinney

Mums Mums

Michael Wright

Lee Tergesen

Granville Adams

Dean Winters

Adewale Akinnouye Agbaje

Tom Mardirosian

Otto Sanchez

Mark Margolis

Harold Perrineau

George Morfogen

Anthony Chisholm

About the Series

Oz