Justified (TV series)/Characters
Justified
Main Cast
Raylan Givens
Played By: Timothy Olyphant
- Abusive Parents
- The Ace: Women love him, men fear him. He never loses his cool, and always dresses to the nines.
- Badass
- Car Fu: A criminal draws his gun when he sees Raylan drive up so Raylan simply drives forward and hits the guy with his car. When the guy gets up from this and still tries to shoot Raylan, Raylan reverses and hits the guy with the car again.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome
- Cowboy Cop: This is the driving point of the series, too.
- Determinator
- Deadpan Snarker
- Fair Cop
- Fearless Fool: He REALLY likes to get in way over his head. He gets his ass beaten twice for it when he gets into fistfights - the first time, he's drunk and against two bigger men, the second he takes on Coover Bennett.
- Genre Savvy: One of the reasons he's so dangerous to the Harlan criminals. He's able to easily anticipate the goons' movements and if something slips by, he's quick to fix his mistakes.
- The Hero
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Narrowly averted in season 3 where his various stunts come back to bite him when he is framed for Gary's murder. Throwing bullets at bad guys to send a message might be a cool thing to do but it also leaves them in possession of a bullet with your fingerprints on it.
- Loophole Abuse: Raylan is quite willing to abuse loopholes in the law to thwart the plans of criminals.
- Nice Hat
- Not So Different: From Boyd.
- Perma-Stubble
- Properly Paranoid: He survived this long by distrusting situations that seem too easy and thus being able to spot when someone is setting a trap for him.
- Sharp-Dressed Man
- Tranquil Fury
- Unaccustomed as I Am to Public Speaking: Subverted. When Raylan tells Art that he is not very good at testifying in court, Art dismisses it as this trope since he knows how good Raylan is in talking himself out of trouble. It turns out that Raylan really is very bad at speaking in official settings.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: with Art, moreso in season 2.
Boyd Crowder
Played By: Walton Goggins
"My name is Boyd Crowder. You can come after me if you want but it will be the last thing you ever do, I promise you that."
- Abusive Parents
- Affably Evil
- Anti-Hero / Anti-Villain
- Badass
- Catch Phrase: Fire in the Hole!" which is usually followed up by him using his favorite weapon: a rocket launcher
- Calling the Old Man Out
- The Charmer: When he starts talking he can charm a crowd and it's easy to see how he gets people to follow him.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Double-crosses the mining company and the Bennetts in quick succession.
- Church Militant
- Deadpan Snarker: a conversation between Boyd and Raylan is a glorious thing to behold
- Despair Event Horizon
- The Determinator
- Embarrassing Tattoo: His Neo-Nazi tattoos are a reminder of a period of his life he is not proud of.
- Friendly Enemy: with Raylan
- Heel Faith Turn
- I Will Fight No More Forever: Boyd decides to give up the violent criminal life and goes to work in the coal mine. It's a Ten-Minute Retirement
- Loophole Abuse: Whenever he realizes that he cannot get what he wants through direct means he finds a loophole that allows him to get to his goal through indirect means.
- Never Speak Ill of the Dead: Boyd speaks of his late father Bo respectfully, even though Bo committed many ruthless acts against Boyd and others in life. Boyd also spoke kindly of the late Devil, even though he killed Devil in self-defense. He even delivered a short prayer before burying Devil, much to Arlo's annoyance.
- Not So Different: from Raylan.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: He likes to give people those before he actually resorts to violence. You tend to do what he wants when he starts reminiscing about your mother never locking her back door.
- Vigilante Man
- Villain Ball: In the pilot he really has no reason to attack Raylan and the other marshals. He does it primarily to prove a point to Raylan and to show that he is not afraid of the marshals. He suffers the consequences for this but learns from his mistake and becomes very Genre Savvy.
Ava Crowder
Played By: Joelle Carter
"If I start counting down from ten, I may lose my patience at five."
- Action Girl
- Berserk Button: If you are a man who likes to abuse women, you better watch where she is pointing her shotgun
- Subverted in "Slaughterhouse" when she slaps around Ellen May, showing herself to be no less violent than Ellen May's former pimp, Delroy.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She is extremely nice and polite but if you push her to her limit, she will push back with extreme prejudice
- Broken Bird
- Deadpan Snarker
- Damsel in Distress
- The Dragon: To Boyd by Season 3.
- Hypocrite: Ava has gone from someone who despised men who abuse women, to someone who abuses other women herself (i.e., becoming a madame, brutalizing Ellen May).
- Ms. Fanservice
- Not So Different: from Delroy.
- Took a Level in Badass: Just prior to the series. She enters the series just after shooting her abusive husband dead at the dinner table. She takes another level when she kills Delroy to protect Ellen May.
- You Are What You Hate: Throughout the series, Ava demonstrated contempt for men who abuse women, killing her abusive husband Bowman and shooting Delroy after he threatened to kill Ellen May. In "Slaughterhouse," however, she showed no qualms about pushing and slapping Ellen May herself.
- You Kill It, You Bought It: She takes over the local brothel after she is forced to kill Delroy, its current pimp
Winona Hawkins
Played By: Natalie Zea
- Deadpan Snarker: Especially towards Raylan.
- Fan Nickname: There are some people that call her "Whineona".
- Genre Savvy: As of Season 3, she's been much better at recognizing what to do in high stress situations. Particularly calling Raylan immediately when she finds the gun used to murder Gary.
- Hot Mom: Becomes pregnant with Raylan's child in Season 3.
- Hello Court Stenographer
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: When she was still with Gary.
- Working with the Ex
Art Mullen
Played By: Nick Searcy
- A Father to His Men: A sarcastic, grumpy father.
- Badass Grandpa
- Badass in Charge
- Bald of Awesome
- Benevolent Boss
- Da Chief
- Deadpan Snarker
- Drinking on Duty
- Vitriolic Best Buds: with Raylan, moreso in season 2.
Tim Gutterson
Played By: Jacob Pitts
"I can't carry a tune. I don't know how to shoot a basketball and my handwriting is, uh, barely legible. But I don't miss."
- Abusive Parents: At least his dad. He says that he hated the man and jokes that one of his biggest regrets is not killing him himself.
- Badass
- Cold Sniper
- Deadpan Snarker
- Drowning My Sorrows: Subtly implied that he is a mild case - looks like his job shakes him enough to drink after particularly tense standoffs, but it's not enough to make it a problem.
- Troll: Sometimes he just likes to mess with people, especially Raylan.
Rachel Brooks
Played By: Erica Tazel
- Action Girl
- A Day in the Limelight: In "For Blood or Money".
- Badass
- Dead Little Sister
- Twofer Token Minority: She has to deal with being a woman AND black in Harlan. She notes that the town people treat her with a bit of reserve.
- Mistaken for Racist: A hilarious subversion - she tries to play the racial card when interrogating a black witness when in Florida with Raylan and the man instead blasts her for "serving the white man" and accusing her of being sent to appease a fellow black.
Givens Family and Associates
Arlo Givens
Played By: Raymond J Barry
- Abusive Dad
- Archnemesis Dad
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder
- The Consigliere: This seems to be his primary role in Boyd's new gang. He figuratively and literally knows where the bodies are buried in Harlan County.
- Dirty Coward
- Domestic Abuser: to his first wife, Frances. Averted with his second wife Helen since she would not hesitate to shoot him if he raised a hand to her.
- Evil Old Folks
- Hallucinations: In "Coalition," Arlo speaks to a hallucination of his dead wife Helen. Earlier episodes show him talking to himself, suggesting that he may have been hallucinating at the time.
- It's All About Me
- Hair-Trigger Temper
- Jerkass
- No Medication for Me: Arlo goes off his medication at several points in season three, with very unpleasant consequences.
- Perilous Old Fool: After going off his medication, Arlo storms into Noble's Holler and demands that Limehouse bring him his wife Francis, who died years before.
- In "Coalition," Arlo insists that he's as strong and tough as he was in his youth. After hallucinating that his dead wife Helen was chiding him for being cut out of the loop, he locks Ava in a cellar at gunpoint and runs off to prove himself.
- Sanity Slippage: He was never the most stable of individuals but with Helen's death he stopped taking his medication and his grip on reality seems to be loosening. He forgets that certain people are dead and goes looking for them.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: His Hair-Trigger Temper is attributed to undiagnosed PTSD from his time as a soldier in the Vietnam War.
- True Companions: With Boyd, whom he sees as a son. In "Slaughterhouse," he takes the fall for Devil's murder so that Boyd would be spared prison time.
- Wild Card
Helen Givens
Played By: Linda Gehringer
- Action Mom
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Why else would she have married Arlo in the first place?
- Killed Off for Real
- Reasonable Authority Figure
- Open Minded Mother
Crowder Family and Associates
Bo Crowder
Played By: MC Gainey
"That there is Crowder gospel. You mark them damn words, son."
- Affably Evil
- Archnemesis Dad
- Badass in Charge
- Big Bad: of season one.
- Beard of Evil
- The Chessmaster
- Deadpan Snarker
- Evilly Affable
- Genius Bruiser
- Killed Mid-Sentence
- Manipulative Bastard
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Before going to jail his main source of income was providing 'protection' to the other local criminals. If you did not hire him to protect your drug shipment, it might 'disappear' on the way to its destination.
- Southern-Fried Genius: At first glance he looks like an idiot redneck, but he's crafty, smart and someone you don't want to cross.
Johnny Crowder
Played By: David Meunier
- Anti-Villain: Somewhat. He clearly doesn't hate Raylan as the rest of his family or the Bennett's, he's loyal to Boyd and once he warns Ava to get out of town when situation between her and Bo Crowder gets too hot - it's implied he did that on his own accord.
- Handicapped Badass
- The Starscream
Bowman Crowder
Derek Lennox AKA Devil
Played By: Kevin Rankin
- The Brute
- The Dragon: To Boyd.
- Killed Off for Real
- Politically-Incorrect Villain: He was a member of Boyd's Neo-Nazi Commandos gang and still holds a lot of those beliefs. He is also extremely disrespectful to Ava when she takes an active role in the operations of Boyd's new gang.
- The Starscream: He no longer trusts Boyd's motivations and hates that he is relegated to a secondary role in Boyd's group. Decides to kill Boyd and take over when Quarles approaches him with a business offer
- Tattooed Crook
- Too Dumb to Live
Dewey Crowe
Played By: Damon Herriman
"I know you think I'm stupid, Boyd. But... (very long pause) I ain't."
- A Date with Rosie Palms: The reason he got kicked out of Boyd's church.
- A Day in the Limelight: "Thick As Mud."
- Butt Monkey: He's reaching The Chew Toy status as per season three,and its getting worse.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: He's an ex-Neo-Nazi crook, but he's just so stupid you can't not have sympathy for the idiot.
- Harmless Villain
- Hookers and Blow: When he robs two thugs of their ill-gotten Oxycontin stash, his first stop is the local brothel where he is very generous with the pills.
- Politically-Incorrect Villain: It can be easy to forget how he got his start in crime, until you see the big Nazi chest tattoo.
- Refuge in Audacity: His attempt to impersonate Raylan in order to rob some thieves of their Oxycontin. When Raylan confronts him about it, he claims that he was going to hand the drugs over to him, and that he was working on Raylan's behalf, given that Raylan had deputized him in the previous season on a completely unrelated matter.
- Those Whacky Neo-Nazis
- Tattooed Crook: Easily recognized by his Neo-Nazi tattoos.
- Too Dumb to Live: And yet he still manages to.
Bennett Family and Associates
Mags Bennett
Played By: Margo Martindale
"I had every intention of living a simple life."
- Abusive Parent
- Affably Evil
- Beware the Nice Ones
- Big Bad: Of season two.
- Book Ends: In the first and last episode of season 2, Mags shares a jar of her " apple pie" (i.e. moonshine) with someone, and says almost exactly the same words, revealing that while the apple pie wasn't poisoned, one of the glasses was. In the first episode. the poisoned person was Loretta's dad, in the last episode it was Mags herself.
- The Chessmaster
- Driven to Suicide
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones
- Evil Matriarch
- Fat Bastard
- Manipulative Bitch: at first she appears to be a simple shopowner (admittedly, one with a prosperous marijuana sideline). As the story goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that this is very much not the case.
- Mama Bear
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: If you do not want to sell your land to her, she will send her sons over to convince you otherwise. They might use bear traps or wild animals to do the convincing.
- Laser-Guided Karma
Dickie Bennett
Played By: Jeremy Davies
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg
- Bad Boss
- Batter Up
- Big Bad Wannabe
- Deadpan Snarker
- Dirty Coward
- Eighties Hair: In season three, his hair goes from being a dishevelled mess to an outrageous mohawk.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He tries to stop Coover from killing Loretta. Although this was to protect Coover from Raylan and his mother more than out of concern for Loretta.
- Evil Cripple
- Jerkass
- Karma Houdini: He steals from the Dixie mafia, jeopardizes his mother's big plans, kills Helen and wounds Ava. Raylan, Arlo and Boyd all want him dead but he still somehow manages to survive.
- Not So Harmless: He might be a crippled, skinny idiot, but he still manages to kill Helen, shoot Ava and trap Raylan.
- Psychopathic Manchild: He tends to behave like a vicious, spoiled teenager. Word of God is that he is mentally and emotionally 'stuck' in the moment in high school when Raylan broke his leg.
- Smug Snake
- Too Dumb to Live: Although from time to time, he has his moments.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy
Coover Bennett
Played By: Brad William Henke
"Ma ain't never left me in charge..."
- The Brute
- Dumb Muscle
- Idiot Savant: While not terribly bright in other circumstances, Coover is very good at creating new cultivars of marijuana. After his death, Hotrod reminisces about how skilled Coover was in raising new strains with specific properties (i.e., raising or lowering levels of THC).
- Jerkass
- Politically-Incorrect Villain
- Psychopathic Manchild
- The Unfavourite
- Too Dumb to Live / Obfuscating Stupidity: his decision to keep Loretta's father's watch seems to be an example of the first trope, but he reveals it was actually a ruse to drive a wedge between Mags and Loretta, who he is jealous of
- Unstoppable Rage
- "Well Done, Son" Guy
Doyle Bennett
Played By: Joseph Lyle Taylor
- Affably Evil
- Boom! Headshot!
- Dirty Cop
- The Dutiful Son
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones
- Smug Snake
- "Well Done, Son" Guy
- Yes-Man: He's one to his mom.
Tonin Family and associates
Robert Quarles
Played By: Neal McDonough
- Abusive Parents / Monster Sob Story: Quarles' father pimped him out as a child to get money for heroin.
- An Arm and a Leg: Gets killed by Limehouse by chopping off his arm.
- It wasn't entirely clear if he died at the end of "Slaughterhouse," or was just severely injured. He was still breathing at the end of the scene in question.
- Ax Crazy: Has gone completely off the deep end, killing drug dealers, wiping blood off his face and saying "What A Dick!!!!". Not to mention using his own Oxycontin.
- Awesome Yet Practical: His sleeve gun gives him a big edge since it lets him outdraw most people and most people don't think to search him for a gun hidden in his sleeve.
- Awesome Yet Impractical: The apparatus requires constant maintenance and if it malfunctions at the wrong time, it will likely get you killed.
- Badass in a Nice Suit
- Blatant Lies: He keeps telling people that he is unarmed.
- Blond Guys Are Evil: Well, it IS Neal McDonough.
- Briefcase Full of Money: He likes to deliver his bribes in those as it proves how serious he is.
- Chained to a Bed: At the end of "Measures."
- Cheshire Cat Grin: There is something very disturbing about the way he smiles. On the other hand if he stops smiling, you are in deep trouble.
- Depraved Bisexual: He has a wife back home, but also enjoys abusing male hustlers. It isn't completely clear, however, what exactly he does to them, except that it's painful and occasionally leads to death. From the tone of the scenes involving Quarles and his captives, it seems to be a question left deliberately open as to whether or not he sexually abuses them. Given what happened to him as a kid it could easily be sexual, or it could simply be Quarles acting on the unimaginable amounts of rage he built up during the time when he was being pimped out by his dad for drug money.
- In "Slaughterhouse," Duffy tells Raylan that Quarles has a thing for young boys, suggesting that Quarles' violence toward his captives had a sexual element.
- Duffy,just like the viewer knows very little about quarles, he probably assumed that, because he saw a kid chained in the bathroom.
- Dragon with an Agenda: While he seems to deeply respect the main boss, it is no secret that he hates the boss's son and plans on replacing him as the heir to the criminal empire.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He has a wife and children back home. Two episodes have shown him talking to his son on the phone.
- Faux Affably Evil
- Finger Gun: When he points his finger at you it is actually a serious threat because he has a sleeve gun strapped to his arm and at any point the finger can be replaced by a real gun.
- Freudian Excuse: Quarles' father pimped him out as a child, and he tortures male hustlers in a depraved attempt to process what happened to him.
- From Nobody to Nightmare
- Functional Addict: His ability to function while on drugs reaches Made of Iron levels. He consumes Oxycontin like it is candy but still remains clear headed and extremely dangerous.
- Genre Savvy: That's what makes him dangerous, he knows when stuff will work and when it will not.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: When he learns about Raylan's relationship with Boyd, and that his father Arlo is a criminal, Quarles immediately jumps to the conclusion that Raylan is corrupt. This reinforces the point that he doesn't fully understand the rural South or its people.
- The Heavy: He might be in charge of operations in Kentucky and the biggest direct threat to Raylan and Boyd in season 3 but ultimately he still has to answer to his bosses in Detroit who are implied to be even more dangerous.
- Large Ham: He can get very theatrical when trying to prove a point
"GIMME A GODDAMN AMEN!"
- Let's You and Him Fight: He sends a group of mooks who were becoming a liability after Raylan. Either they kill Raylan and there is one less meddlesome marshal to worry about or Raylan kills them and Quarles does not have to do it himself.
- Major Injury Underreaction: When Limehouse severs Quarles' left arm with a meat cleaver in "Slaughterhouse," Quarles and Raylan just stare at the severed arm in amazement. He even tries to get it back!
- Motivational Lie: He is very charismatic and really good at using false assurances to motivate people into doing his dirty work. He is not happy when Boyd calls him out on it.
- Mr. Fanservice: Has a brief nude scene in "Guy Walks Into a Bar," as well as a shirtless scene in "Coalition."
- Depending on your perspective, the scene in "Guy Walks into a Bar" could be Fan Disservice, given the scene's disturbing context.
- Nothing Up My Sleeve
- Quick Draw: He uses a sleeve gun to get the drop on people who think he is unarmed.
- Pride
- Psycho for Hire: Once he runs out of options he offers to trade his services as a hitman to Limehouse in exchange for protection
- Rape as Backstory
- Reassigned to Antarctica: While the idea to go to Kentucky was his own, his nastier habits were drawing so much heat that his bosses in Detroit probably were not sad to see him go. When he again draws the attention of the authorities his bosses don't hesitate to cut him off and leave him stranded in Kentucky with no money or support.
- Ruthless Foreign Gangsters: Boyd refers to him as a carpetbagger in reference to the fact that he is a Northerner who came to the southern community of Harlan to make his fortune by exploiting the locals. Word of God is that the character is referred to as "The Carpetbagger" in the scripts for the third season.
- Self-Made Orphan: When Theo learned that young Quarles was being sexually abused, he arranged for 14 year-old Quarles to kill his father.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: The man really knows how to wear a suit. Becomes even more explicit when he is in the same room as a redneck like Devil.
- The Unfavorite: When he was orphaned he was raised by a mob boss and treated as an adopted son. He always though of himself as the favorite and he is extremely angry that he fell out of favor and the boss's real son took his spot. His main motivation seems to be to become the favorite son once again.
- Villainous Breakdown: Quarles is quickly spiralling downward, now that the Detroit mob has cut him off and his plans for Harlan County are unravelling.
- Toward the end of season three, Quarles has become a pathetic, desperate man, screaming into his cell phone at Theo, carjacking a family at a camp site and showing signs of Oxycontin withdraw.
- Waistcoat of Style
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: He wants to show the mob boss who raised him that he is the best choice to take over the business.
- You Are What You Hate: As a child, his father forced him into prostitution. As an adult, his violence toward male hustlers may represent his own self-hatred.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He has big plans for Harlan County and he has no qualms killing any mook or pawn that is not useful in furthering those plans.
Theo Tonin
Played By: Adam Arkin
- The Don
- Even Evil Has Standards: He took drastic action when he found out what Quales' father was doing and he is seriously disturbed by what Quarles does to male prostitutes.
- Kavorka Man: He's shown lounging by the pool with a beautiful, bikini-clad woman in tow.
- Papa Wolf: Theo was NOT amused when Quarles pointed a gun at his son Sammy. He has since put a bounty on Quarles' head and sent mooks after him.
- Thicker Than Water: Even though he knows that Sammy is an idiot, Theo still looks out for his son's honor. He did not hesitate to put a bounty on Quarles head after Quarles pointed a gun at Theo's "real son".
Sammy Tonin
Played By: Max Perlich
- Conspicuous Consumption: He likes thoroughbred horses, expensive clothes, and fine food.
- Extreme Doormat: He's surprisingly submissive when Raylan confronts him at the horse stables.
- Grew a Spine: When Quarles points a gun at him, Sammy remains calm and assertive, warning him that his life will be lonely and short if he pulls the trigger.
- Inadequate Inheritor: As the son of Theo Tonin, Sammy is the logical inheritor of his crime syndicate. Unfortunately, he is neither strong-willed or savvy.
- Man Child: He's a spoiled mob prince who hides behind his crimelord father and loves to spend his father's money.
- Rich in Dollars, Poor In Sense
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Subverted. He wears beatiful custom made suits but as Raylan lampshades he does not project the right image and the suits look like they do not fit properly.
Sarno
Played By: Michael Ironside
- Affably Evil: Extremely and genuinely polite even when being arrested. But you can sense that he is a ruthless assassin.
- One-Scene Wonder: Appears for only 10 mins or so but utterly owns them.
Dixie Mafia and associates
Emmitt Arnett
Played By: Steven Flynn
- A Glass of Chianti: He had a special batch of Kentucky whiskey made for his own consumption and likes to impress visitors by offering them a glass of it.
- Boom! Headshot!
- Dangerous Workplace: Shot in his own office.
- Killed Off for Real
- Loan Shark
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Subverted. He likes to present himself as a reasonable businessman but when things are not going his way he uses people like Wynn Duffy or Fletcher Nix to do his dirty work for him.
- Sharp-Dressed Man
Wynn Duffy
Played By: Jere Burns
- Affably Evil
- Ax Crazy
- Deadpan Snarker
- The Dragon: To Emmett Arnett, and now seems like he will fulfill this role for Quarles now that Arnett is dead.
- Dragon-in-Chief: He was portrayed as much more dangerous than his boss Arnett. However, when Quarles takes over Duffy seems quite tame in comparison.
- Dragon with an Agenda: He is ambitious enough to want to take over the Dixie Mafia operations in Kentucky from his bosses but is smart enough to realize that without Detroit's approval he will never succeed.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He is rather shocked by some of Quarles' more viscerally disturbing shenanigans, though he keeps his mouth shut about it. However, in "Slaughterhouse," Duffy admits to Raylan that he was behind the anonymous tip on Brady's murder.
- Friendly Enemy: He and Raylan get along relatively well when they're not at each other's throats. Raylan seems to regard him as the voice of reason in the Dixie Mafia, though perhaps only relative to Quarles' slide into desperation. Duffy, for his part, is properly wary of and seems to understand Raylan.
- Genre Savvy: Not quite dangerously so, but very aware of the tropes. Specifically, he scrupulously avoids all of the pitfalls that doom Quarles (much more on these in Quarles' own entry). Perhaps most tellingly, when Boyd offers to become his 'partner' in taking down Quarles, Duffy tells Boyd the full bounty on Quarles' head, rather than, and as Boyd assumes, giving him a much lower amount so as to get a larger share.
- Grew a Spine: For much of season three, Duffy was Quarles' reluctant henchman. Toward the end of the season, Duffy grew tired of Quarles and agreed to have him killed so as to collect Theo Tonin's bounty. He also puts his foot down about Quarles' drug use in the motorcoach office, ordering Quarles to smoke his drugs in his own vehicle.
- Loan Shark
- Only Sane Employee
- Psycho for Hire
- The Sociopath
- Soft-Spoken Sadist: For a ruthless Dixie Mafia man, he has a very unassuming voice.
- The Starscream: He hates working for Quarles but is smart enough to wait and see how things turn out before making any move against him. Now that Theo Tonin (The Don) has offered Duffy an opportunity to move up in the Dixie mafia by bringing in Quarles (plus a cash incentive), he seems to be moving decisively against Quarles, even apparently working with Boyd Crowder.
Fletcher Nix
Played By: Desmond Harrington
"How about we play a game?"
- Dangerously Genre Savvy: He correctly predicts that a meeting with his boss in a secluded location might be a trap and he prepares accordingly.
- Evil Counterpart: to Raylan. A gunslinger with a Nice Hat and old-fashioned ideas of settling things.
- The Gunfighter Wannabe
- Hoist by His Own Petard: He likes to play a sick game with his victims but Raylan figures out his trick and turns it around on him
- Knife Nut: His trademark weapon is an icepick and he is even nicknamed "Icepick".
- Nice Hat: A darker, smaller version of Raylan's hat to show the Good vs Evil conflict.
- One-Scene Wonder: Many want this character to come back and hope he didn't die from being shot by Raylan. Word of God states he isn't.
- Psycho for Hire: When Raylan asks him that why he didnt run off with the watches and instead came back to kill raylan, he merely replies "Do I look like i know anything about watches?"
- Villain Ball: He has no reason to go after Raylan but he has heard of Raylan's reputation and can't resist testing himself against him.
Tanner Dodd
Played By: Brendan McCarthy
- The Dragon: He runs the Harlam side of Quarles's operation.
- Dragon with an Agenda: He attacks Boyd's Oxy clinic even though Quarles has not ordered it and he knows it will start a Mob War.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: It's probably his only redeeming feature. He is more than willing to sacrifice his own life to make sure that his mother stays unharmed.
- Failed a Spot Check
- Killed Off for Real
- Land Mine Goes Click
- Psycho for Hire: He has no qualms brutally murdering three people as a side job for some quick cash.
Tillman Napier
Played By: David Andrews
- Corrupt Politician: The sheriff position is elected
- Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat: He was a popular incumbant virtually guaranteed to win reelection but as soon as another candidate showed up he started cheating.
- Dirty Cop: He barely hesitates when Quarles shows up with a Briefcase Full of Money
- Hoist by His Own Petard: He is almost guaranteed to win the election but his attempts to discredit Shelby inspire Boyd to think of new, ingenious ways of stealing the election from under him.
- The Sheriff: A corrupt version
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: He makes it look like Boyd tried to kill him so he can get voter sympathy and discredit Boyd's candidate at the same time.
Noble's Holler
Ellstin Limehouse
Played By: Mykelti Williamson
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Limehouse chops off Quarles' left arm with a meat cleaver in "Slaughterhouse."
- Briefcase Full of Money: He likes to transport large quantities of cash in coolers.
- The Butcher
- But for Me It Was Tuesday: He gave once gave Arlo the beating of a lifetime, but when Raylan refers to the event Limehouse does not seem to remember it.
- Turns out, Limehouse lied. He later admits to remembering the entire incident to Raylan, and earlier alluded to it when talking with Boyd.
- Chekhov's Meat Cleaver: And what an Act Three usage THAT turned out to be...
- Family Business: He is just the latest of his family to act as protector of Noble's Holler.
- Heel Face Revolving Door: There is simply no way to tell what side Limehouse is on at any given time.
- I Gave My Word: He might actually be in the process of backstabbing you but if he made you a promise, he will keep it.
- Knowledge Broker: He has informants all over the area and always knows what is going on. If you are a client of his unofficial bank he will share this information with you.
- Let's You and Him Fight: He did not want to get involved in the Boyd-Quarles conflict but now that he is part of it, he will play both sides against each other to make sure that they wipe each other out.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: If you screw things up for him, he might give you one of these rather than having you hurt or killed.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He is quite willing to give a subordinate a second chance but if the subordinate screws up again, he will treat it as a personal betrayal and act accordingly.
- Refuge in Audacity: His plan to take down Boyd, Quarles and Dickie Bennett all at once relies on the fact the setup is so crazy that noone will suspect it was all pre-planned. Boyd and Raylan see right through it
- Scary Black Man: Boyd was not afraid of Bo Crowder or the Bennetts, but Limehouse is an entirely different matter. Even as a young man he was able to give Arlo a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that neither Arlo or Raylen have forgotten.
- Simpleton Voice: He uses a 'country bumpkin' accent when talking to outsiders. It is most noticable when he is talking to Quarles and he does not use it when talking to Boyd. When he tries to pull the routine on Raylan, Raylan tells him to knock it off.
- Team Switzerland: His base is in a remote mountain community, he maintains neutrality in the various gang wars and acts as a banker for many of the criminals in the area. He believes that the only way for his community to survive is not to take sides in the disputes of the white gangs in the area.
- Throwing Your Meat Cleaver Always Works: In "Measures," he hurls his meat cleaver across the room, lodging it into the wall and narrowly missing Quarles' head.
Errol
Played By: Demetrius Grosse
- The Dragon: To Limehouse
- Dragon with an Agenda: He goes against Limehouse's wishes and involves Noble's Holler in the Quarles-Boyd conflict because he feels it is their time to take over crime in Harlan County
- Scars Are Forever: He has a nasty chemical burn scar on his left hand.
- Scary Black Man: He is Limehouse's main enforcer.
- The Starscream: Seems at first, though he's either thwarted by circumstances or simply realizes he's not that good.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Limehouse's pork tongue, marinated in mustard seeds, cider, and a little vinegar. Limehouse reminisced about Errol's father bringing him pork tongue after slaughterings pigs when Errol was a little boy.
Other Characters
Gary Hawkins
Played By: William Ragsdale
- Butt Monkey
- Killed Off for Real
- Romantic False Lead
- Too Dumb to Live: What else do you call it when you keep getting into business with Wynn Duffy? In his defense, though, he did apparently escape Duffy's clutches, managing to flee to Oklahoma. Duffy and Quarles went out to get him to send a message to Raylan, and to try to frame him up as a dirty cop.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness
Hunter Mosley
Played By: Brent Sexton
Loretta McCready
Played By: Kaitlyn Dever
- Little Miss Badass
- Little Miss Snarker
- Morality Pet: for Mags.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: She's pretty smart and mature for a fourteen-year old.
Carol Johnson
Played By: Rebecca Creskoff
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: how most of the people in Harlan County see her
- Fiery Redhead
- Out-Gambitted: She really should not have tried to use Boyd Crowder against the Bennetts when she did not even realize what the real stakes were
- Punch Clock Villain: She has no ill will towards the residents of Harlan County but it is her job to make sure that the mining company gets the land it needs to start a new mine. She does not think it her concern that the mine will pollute the area and that an activist died documenting this. When all the deals are closed she will simply go where the company sends her and do it all over again.
Judge Mike Reardon
Played By: Stephen Root
- Badass in Charge
- Bunny Ears Judge: Very eccentric, his underwear choices are funny, and he always armed (especially in court),but he is competent and can't be corrupted. In his first episode he basically admits that his kookiness is a put-on: if people think he's loco they're less likely to oppose him.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Good Is Not Soft: He has a reputation for delivering maximum sentences to criminals. He's called "The Hammer" for a reason.
- Hanging Judge
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Kavorka Man: Always around beautiful women.
Dan Grant
Played By: Matt Craven
- Deadpan Snarker
- Reasonable Authority Figure
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Raylan, whenever he's in town.
Ellen May
Played By: Abby Miller
- Ascended Extra
- Broken Bird
- Man Child: A female version. Her relationship with Delroy often resembled that of an abusive father and child.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold
- Trauma Conga Line: She ended up in prostitution, gets beaten up and threatened with death by her pimp Delroy, watches her friends Trixie and Krystal die violent deaths, and now endures violence from her current pimp/madame, Ava. Ellen May has endured a LOT of suffering.
Delroy
Played By: William Mapother
- Asshole Victim
- Bad Boss
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: At first, he appears to be sympathetic to Ellen May...at first.
- Domestic Abuser
- Kick the Dog: His mistreatment of Ellen May quickly establishes him as one of the least sympathetic characters on the show.
- Manipulative Bastard: He manipulates the prostituted women in his brothel into doing his criminal dirty work, such as securing Oxy or robbing banks.
- Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: When he abuses Ellen May he makes her feel that it is all her fault and that she deserves it.
Donovan
Played By: Marshall Allman
- Bound and Gagged: He ends up like this in Quarles' bathroom the end of "Guy Walks into a Bar."
- It's Personal
- Revenge: In "Guy Walks into a Bar," he intends to murder Quarles for abducting and killing his friend Brady. Things don't go exactly as he planned.
- Say It: He demands that Quarles admit to killing Brady. Quarles denies it, insisting that he set Brady "free."
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After Raylan and Art rescue him from Quarles' bathroom, we never hear about him again. Did he tell law enforcement about Quarles' depravity? Was he too afraid to talk? We never learn what became of him.
Shelby
Played By: Jim Beaver
- Badass: He catches two deputies trying to plant evidence in his truck so he points a shotgun at them and gets them to back by telling them that he is dying and is not afraid to die in a shootout
- Blatant Lies: During an armed standoff he tells his opponents that he is dying of cancer and thus has nothing to lose
- Nice Guy
Tom Bergen
Played By: Peter Murnik
- Jurisdiction Friction: Averted, despite being a State Trooper, he has no problem working alongside Raylan and tends to be quite helpful.
- Mauve Shirt: Shot dead by Arlo near the end of season 3.