Several Orphan Black cast members at NerdHQ in 2014. (L-R: Millen, Bruun, Doyle Kennedy, Bruce, Gavaris, and Maslany).

Orphan Black is a Canadian science fiction television series broadcast on Space in Canada and on BBC America in the United States.[1][2] The series' first season stars Tatiana Maslany, Dylan Bruce, Jordan Gavaris, Kevin Hanchard, Michael Mando, and Maria Doyle Kennedy, with the addition of Evelyne Brochu to the regular cast in the second season, Kristian Bruun and Ari Millen in the third, and Josh Vokey in the fourth.[3][4][5] Orphan Black revolves around the main character of Sarah Manning as she discovers the existence of several of her genetic identicals.[3] Numerous actors appear in the series as recurring cast members, but some guest actors are featured in only a few. Particularly, Skyler Wexler often recurs as Sarah's daughter Kira.[3]

Appearances

List indicator(s)

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in each season.

Overview of starring and supporting appearances
Portrayer Character(s) Number of appearances
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 Total
Starring
Tatiana Maslany Sarah Manning 10 10 10 10 10 50
Cosima Niehaus 9 10 10 10 10 49
Alison Hendrix 8 9 9 9 7 42
Helena 7 8 10 5 8 38
Rachel Duncan 2 8 6 6 9 31
Elizabeth "Beth" Childs 1 1 5 1 8
Krystal Goderitch 3 3 1 7
Veera "M.K." Suominen 6 1 7
Pupok (voice)[a] 5 5
Katja Obinger 1 1
Tony Sawicki 1 1
Jennifer Fitzsimmons 1 1
"Church Clone" 1 1
Camilla Torres 1 1
OVERALL 10 10 10 10 10 50
Ari Millen Mark Rollins 8 7 3 18
Ira Blair 8 5 13
Rudy 1 9 10
Styles Miller 1 5 6
Seth 2 2
Parsons 1 1
OVERALL 8 9 8 8 33
Jordan Gavaris Felix "Fee" Dawkins 10 10 10 10 7 47
Maria Doyle Kennedy Siobhán "S" Sadler 9 7 8 8 8 40
Kristian Bruun Donnie Hendrix 6 9 9 9 7 40
Kevin Hanchard Arthur "Art" Bell 8 8 4 8 8 36
Josh Vokey Scott Smith 3 7 9 8[b] 9 36
Evelyne Brochu Delphine Cormier 6 9 6 2 5 28
Dylan Bruce Paul Dierden 10 5 4 3[c] 22
Michael Mando Victor "Vic" Schmidt 6 3 9
Supporting
Skyler Wexler Kira Manning 9 9 4 7 10 39
Cynthia Galant Young Rachel Duncan / Charlotte Bowles 4 2 6 7 19
Zoé de Grand'Maison Gracie Johanssen 7 8 2 17
Millie Davis Gemma Hendrix 4 5 5 1 1 16
Inga Cadranel Angela "Angie" Deangelis 8 6 1 15
Kyra Harper Virginia Coady 9 6 15
Calwyn Shurgold Hell-Wizard 1 6 8 15
Rosemary Dunsmore Susan Duncan 2 8 3 13
Matt Frewer Aldous Leekie 5 4 1 1 11
Ron Lea Gavin (or Mike) Hardcastle 8 1 2 11
Drew Davis Oscar Hendrix 4 5 1 10
James Frain Ferdinand Chevalier 3 3 2 8
Lauren Hammersley Adele 4 4 8
Terra Hazelton Sarah Stubbs 4 2 2 8
Gord Rand Martin "Marty" Duko 8 8
Nicholas Rose Colin 5 1 2 8
Jessalyn Wanlim Evie Cho 8 8
Ryan Blakely Reverend Mike 1 1 3 2 7
Natalie Lisinska Aynsley Norris 5 1 1 7
Tom McCamus Alan Nealon 1 6 7
Stephen McHattie Percival "P.T." Westmorland/John Paterick Mathieson 7 7
Andrew Moodie Simon Frontenac 7 7
Julian Richings Benjamin Kertland 4 3 7
Matthew Bennett Daniel Rosen 1 5 6
Kristin Booth Bonnie Johanssen 4 2 6
Andrew Gillies Ethan Duncan 5 1 6
Michiel Huisman Cal Morrison 5 1 6
Géza Kovács The Messenger 3 3 6
Elyse Levesque Detective Maddy Enger 6 6
Ksenia Solo Shay Davydov 6 6
Eileen Sword Sister Irina 6 6
Amanda Brugel Marci Coates 5 5
Miranda Edwards Roxie 5 5
Jenessa Grant Mud 5 5
Sirena Gulamgaus Aisha Yasin 5 5
Daniel Kash Tomas 3 1 1 5
Peter Outerbridge Henrik Johanssen 5 5
David Richmond-Peck Olivier Duval 4 1 5
Diana Salvatore Bobby 1 1 2 1 5
Alison Steadman Kendall Malone 2 3 5
Scott Wentworth Ian Van Lier 3 2 5
Raymond Ablack Raj Singh 3 1 4
Tom Barnett David Benchman 4 4
Justin Chatwin Jason Kellerman 4 4
Carlos Gonzalez-Vio Dr. Silva 4 4
Stuart Hughes Cooper 4 4
Joel Thomas Hynes Dizzy 4 4
Anika Johnson The "Blood Ties" pianist 3 1 4
Barbara Johnston Kelsey 3 1 4
Homa Kameh Aisha's Mother 4 4
Allie MacDonald Trina 4 4
Ian Matthews Frank 4 4
Alex Ozerov Ramone 1 1 1 1 4
Priya Rao Meera Kumar 3 1 4
Jean Yoon Janis Beckwith 3 1 4
Kathryn Alexandre Alexis McGann 1 2 3
Kristi Angus Charity Simms 2 1 3
Sarain Boylan Astrid 1 2 3
Christy Bruce Young Susan Duncan 2 1 3
Tony Cianchino Pouchy Pouzihno 1 2 3
Raven Dauda Yvonne 3 3
Michelle Forbes Marion Bowles 3 3
Elie Gemael Hashem Al-Khatib 3 3
Victor Gomez Salvador 3 3
Carter Hayden Paul 3 3
Eric Johnson Chad Norris 2 1 3
Alex Karzis Alexander 3 3
Trenna Keating Vera 3 3
Allen Keng Painmaker 1 2 3
Danny MacDonald Martin Funt 3 3
Earl "Bubba" McLean Teddy 1 1 1 3
Andrew Musselman Yanis "The Creature" 3 3
Earl Pastko Bulldog 3 3
Joe Pingue Troy Collier 3 3
Vas Saranga Amar 3 3
Kent Sheridan Conrad 3 3
David Vena João 1 2 3
Patrick J. Adams Jesse 1 1 2
Michelle Arvizu La Camarera 2 2
Marqus Bobesich Rockabilly Bob 2 2
Dmitry Chepovetsky Henry Bosch 2 2
Jamila Fleming Sherry 2 2
Gavin Fox Lionel 2 2
Humberly Gonzalez Ana 2 2
Lucie Guest Zoie 1 1 2
Natalie Krill Patty 2 2
Melanie Nicholls-King Amelia 2 2
Louise Nicol Mrs. Chubbs 1 1 2
Jessica Salgueiro Luisa 2 2
Elizabeth Saunders Anita Bowers 2 2
Taylor Trowbridge Tabitha Stewart 2 2
Allan Turner Young Ethan Duncan 1 1 2
Ivan Wanis-Ruiz Alonzo Martinez 2 2
Kirsten Williamson Detective Lindstein 2 2
Azdin Zaman Mr. Kumar 1 1 2
  1. ^ Pupok is the only character played by Maslany who is not a Leda clone. Pupok is a hallucination of Helena's of a talking scorpion voiced by Maslany.
  2. ^ Josh Vokey is credited as a special guest for his first two appearances of the season in episodes 2 and 3. Subsequent appearances are credited as series regular.
  3. ^ Dylan Bruce is only credited for appearing in the first two episodes of season 4. Subsequent appearances are uncredited.

Main characters

Recurring characters

Grouped by associated storyline, and listed in order of first appearance:

Acquaintances of Sarah, Felix and Mrs. S
Acquaintances of Beth and Art
Acquaintances of Alison and Donnie
Acquaintances of Cosima and Scott
Acquaintances of Helena
Acquaintances of Krystal
Acquaintances of M.K.
Project Leda (including The Dyad Institute, Topside, BrightBorn and Revival)
The Proletheans
Project Castor and associated characters
Civilian Neolutionists

While the Neolution movement is most notable represented by the scientists and businesspersons connected to Projects Leda and Castor, the Neolution ideas and ideals are also shared by many civilians, hoping to improve their lives in one way or another using its methods and technique, ranging from body modification to medical treatment.

Minor recurring cast

Additionally, real-life news anchor Janette Luu appeared as a reporter in the series' pilot episode as well as the fourth-season finale. Season one also included Dom Fiore as a police captain and Ivan Sherry as an agent of the Internal Affairs, both serving at Beth's precinct, as well as Joanne Reece as Beth's lawyer. In season two Allison Wilson-Forbes appeared as a trauma nurse caring for Helena, and in season three Monica Dottor portrayed as a soccer mom buying drugs from Alison. During season four Jonathan Purdon appeared as an associate of Benjamin Kertland, and Francisco Trujillo played the surgeon operating on Alonzo Martinez. While they all were credited for their roles, and appeared in two episodes each, their parts were very limited.

Guest characters

Notable guest characters, listed in order of appearance.

Clones

By the end of the first season, 10 clones are revealed. They are of various nationalities and stations in life. Additional clones are revealed in the second season, including Jennifer, who died from the same respiratory illness that affected Katja and Cosima.[11] In episode 8 of season 2, Tony, a transgender clone is introduced.[12] In the season one finale, Cosima discovers each clone has a different DNA tag based on ASCII coded basepairs. In addition to the identification code is the text "THIS ORGANISM AND DERIVATIVE GENETIC MATERIAL IS RESTRICTED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY" followed by a series of patent numbers. Sarah is given a photograph whose caption suggests that the cloning project that produced her was called "Project Leda". In the season 2 finale, Charlotte, an 8-year-old clone with a leg disability, is introduced. At the start of Season 3 a non self-aware clone, Krystal, was almost kidnapped by the military. In Season 3 episode 8, a Polish clone is revealed to have recently died from the clone illness.

Season 2's finale reveals that the military carried on with a male cloning project called Project Castor, which created Mark (the Prolethean), Miller (the soldier clone), Rudy (a male clone held in the home of Marion Bowles), Seth (a mustachioed clone) and Parsons a clone kept barely alive by the military to study the cognitive defect. All of the Project Castor clones are self-aware of their clone nature[13] and were raised together in a military-like environment.[14]

In the Season 3 premiere it is revealed in 2006 Ferdinand of Topside was involved in the execution of six self-aware Project Leda clones in the Helsinki area. All were believed to be dead within 24 hours with another 32 people killed as collateral damage. Comics depicting the event would later clearly place it during 2001.

In the third episode of Season 3 it is revealed the originals for Projects Leda and Castor were brother and sister, making all the clones genetic siblings.

It is also revealed the DNA of the original Castor donor was stolen by Henrik Johanssen who wanted a son. This created Abel Johanssen who died as an infant.

The Castor and Leda original genetic source is revealed at the end of season three. It is Siobhan's mother, Kendall Malone, a genetic chimera who provided DNA for both the Leda and Castor lineages of clones, explaining the clones' relationship as genetic brother and sister.

In August 2015, at the conclusion of the Orphan Black comic book, a survivor of Helsinki was revealed: Veera Suominen. She will star in her comic series starting in November 2015 called Orphan Black: Helsinki [15] and then appear in Season 4 of the show in 2016.

In March 2016, the new Castor clone Ira was revealed on the website for the show.

The seventh episode of Season 5 mentions a Leda clone, Lisa Glynn, in Rachel's childhood flashback and reveals another, Miriam Johnson, in young adulthood. Miriam was a homeless artist sick with the Leda defect; Rachel arranged her death so research into the illness could progress. The ninth episode of the season shows an unnamed Leda clone praying in a church, the first one Helena killed.

The final episode of the series reveals there are 274 Leda clones in the world. Stephanie Loyd and Gillian West are mentioned directly while other names are seen briefly on a list. The final clone of the series is Camilla Torres, seen being cured by Delphine.

References

  1. ^ "BBC AmericOrders Original Sci-Fi Adventure 'Orphan Black'" (Press release). BBC America. June 26, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  2. ^ "Orphan Black". Space. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "About the Show". BBC America. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Ng, Philiana (December 29, 2014). "BBC America Renews 'Orphan Black' for Season 3". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Goodwin, Jess (December 9, 2014). "'Orphan Black' Season 3 Spoilers: Plot, Cast, Premiere Date, And Everything Else We Know So Far". Fashion & Style. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  6. ^ "Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany talks choking and spanking in the season premiere". Entertainment Weekly. April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  7. ^ Jensen, Jeff (June 19, 2014). "Orphan Black Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  8. ^ Wired.com: That Crazy Musical in Orphan Black? Yeah, It Exists in Real Life
  9. ^ "Q&A with Michelle Forbes". BBC America. January 22, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  10. ^ Framke, Caroline (June 14, 2014). "Orphan Black: "Things Which Have Never Yet Been Done"". A. V. Club. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  11. ^ Ross, Dalton (March 13, 2014). "'Orphan Black': Meet the new clone! – EXCLUSIVE VIDEO". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  12. ^ Bentley, Jean (June 7, 2014). "'Orphan Black' creators dish on Tony the trans clone, Tatiana Maslany's latest masterpiece'". Zap2it. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  13. ^ Abrams, Natalie (January 10, 2015). "'Orphan Black' scoop: The Castor clones are self-aware". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  14. ^ "Orphan Black: First Look at 2 Clone Clubs, Project Leda and Project Castor". People.
  15. ^ "IDW's November 2015 Solicitations Include 'Orphan Black: Helsinki,' 'Our Expanding Universe & More". Comic Book Resources. 19 August 2015. Archived from the original on 20 August 2015.