List of The O.C. characters
It has been suggested that Charlotte Morgan be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2008. |
This article contains recurring character information for the American Teen comedy-drama television series The O.C..
Recurring Across Multiple Seasons
In General
Dawn Atwood (Season 1 and 4)
Trey Atwood (Season 1 - 3)
Sophie Cohen (Season 1 - 4)
Theresa Diaz (Season 1 - 3)
Holly Fischer (Season 1 and 4)
Hailey Nichol (Season 3 - 4)
Neil Roberts (Season 1- 4)
Anna Stern (Season 2 and 4)
Veronica Townsend (Season 3 - 4)
Kevin Volchok (Season 1 - 2)
Taryn Baker (Season 1 - 4)
- Played by: Kim Oja, Samantha Figura
- Appears in: "The Gamble" , "The Outsider" , "The Secret" , "The Countdown" , "The Risky Business", "The Cliffhanger " , "The Man of the Year" , "The Avengers" , "The Metamorphosis", "The Case of the Franks" (flashbacks) (10 episodes)
Taryn is one of the "Newpsies;" wealthy, bored women who live in Newport Beach and spend their days lunching, shopping and gossiping. Many of her appearances centered on her sexually adventurous side. In the first season episode ("The Countdown"), she attended a swingers' party, claiming that such events had "saved [her] marriage." Later, she helped spread the rumour that Luke Ward's father had been having an affair with his male business partner ("The Secret"), and that this was why he had turned her down when she propositioned him. In the fourth season, it was revealed that swinging eventually didn't save her marriage, which ended in divorce. Since her divorce, she had been sleeping with as many young men as possible. She also appeared in flashback, in the fourth season episode ("The Case of the Franks"), where it was revealed that she attended high school with Kirsten Cohen and Jimmy Cooper.
Heather (Season 3 - 4)
- Played by: Erin Foster
- Appears in:"The Last Waltz”, "The Anger Management”, "The Dawn Patrol”, "The Graduates", "The Cold Turkey," (5 episodes)
Heather attends Newport Union and disliked Marissa Cooper from the very beginning, harassing her and doing all she can to make Marissa’s life as difficult as possible.She is seemingly highly jealous of marissa asuming she still lives the posh life despite marissa and julie got nothing from caleb's will. She helps Kevin Volchok to kidnap Marissa in order to get Ryan Atwood to fight Volchok. She reappears at a party at Volchok’s place where she takes drugs and is nearly raped before Marissa rescues her. In the third season finale, Heather helps Volchok to leave Newport in a stolen car. She is in the car when Volchok drives into Ryan’s car, leading Ryan to drive off a cliff which results in Marissa’s death. In "The Gringos" in Season 4, she appears briefly and apologizes to Ryan about the night of Marissa's death but claims to have had no control over Volchok's actions.
Dr. Kim (Season 1 and 3)
- Played by: Rosalind Chao
- Appears in: "The Rescue", "The Heights", "The Rivals", "The Shape of Things to Come", "The Safe Harbor", "The Graduates" (6 episodes)
Dr. Kim is the Dean of the Harbor High School. She gives Ryan Atwood a chance to enter Harbor if he passes an admission exam, which he does. She persuades Marissa Cooper to continue her role as social chair despite Marissa's tarnished reputation after overdosing on painkillers. She later returns to have a meeting with Kirsten , Sandy and Ryan, after Ryan reads Oliver Trask's files in the file storage room. In 2005, she was confronted by Julie Cooper and Sandy, claiming that she does not have the power to decide to expel Marissa and Ryan, after the gunshot incident. However, she assists in re-admitting Marissa into Harbor by revealing a precedent in 1996, in which a similar incident to Trey's shooting had occurred with a formerly suspended student.
Though never confirmed, it is possible she was replaced by Dean Torres in season 4.
Jess Sathers (Season 2 - 3)
- Played by: Nikki Griffin
- Appears in: "The Rager”, "The OC Confidential”, "The Return of the Nana" ,"The Showdown”, "The O Sea" , The Dearly Beloved, The Undertow (7 episodes)
Jess Sathers was a student at Harbor who overdoses at Trey Atwood's 21st birthday party. She survives and begins a relationship with Trey that leads him to start using drugs. After botching an attempted drug deal, Jess decides to leave town with Trey but remains when he is shot by Marissa Cooper. In the third season, Jess asks Trey's brother Ryan to help her with boyfriend troubles.
Brad Ward (Season 1 and 4)
- Played by: Austin Dolan (Season 1), Wayne Dalglish (Season 4)
- Appears in: "The Secret", "The Avengers", "The Gringos", "The Metamorphosis", "The Sleeping Beauty", "The Summer Bummer", "The Chrismukk-huh?", "The My Two Dads'", "The French Connection", "The Groundhog Day", "The Case of the Franks" (11 episodes)
Brad is one of Luke Ward's younger twin brothers. When Brad first appeared, he was around 12. He later returned in season 4 and Brad and his brother are friends with Kaitlin Cooper. Brad is not popular with the ladies in Harbor as Eric.
Carson Ward (Season 1 - 2)
- Played by: Brian McNamara
- Appears in: "The Secret", "The Proposal", "The Distance" (3 episodes)
Carson Ward is the husband of Meredith Ward, and the father of Eric, Brad, and Luke Ward. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in history. He owns three auto dealerships. Carson and his family appeared happy, but in a sad twist, the family was not really "perfect". At one of his auto dealerships, Luke and Ryan discover Carson making out with another man and after relizing his son caught him, Carson decides to tell his wife who then files for divorce shortly after. Months later, Carson and Meredith's divorce has been finalized and Carson moves to Portland with Luke moving with him, but Brad and Eric staying behind in Newport with their mother.
Carson later returns in the season 2 episode "The Distance", where Seth was staying at Luke and Carson's house in Portland.
Note: By some mistake, in The Gamble when Luke is getting out of jail in the pre-opening credits at the beginning, their appears to be an older man with grey hair in his early-to-mid 50's that fans assumed to be Luke's father and yet Carson appeared to be in his late 30's/early 40's with black or brown hair, not grey. This man it can be presumed is Luke's lawyer
Eric Ward (Season 1 and 4)
- Played by: Shane Haboucha (Season 1), Corey Price (Season 4)
- Appears in: "The Secret", "The Avengers", "The Gringos", "The Metamorphosis", "The Sleeping Beauty", "The Summer Bummer", "The Chrismukk-huh?", "The My Two Dads'", "The French Connection", "The Groundhog Day", "The Case of the Franks" (11 episodes)
Eric is one of Luke Ward's younger twin brothers. When Eric first appeared, he was around 12. He later returned in season 4 and Eric and his brother are friends with Kaitlin Cooper. They both play water polo and Eric resembles Luke more than Brad does. Eric appears to be popular with the ladies in Harbor.
Other Notable Guests
- José Zúñiga plays Jason Spitz, a colleague of Sandy when he returns to the Public Defender's office. (Season 3 - 4)
- Lamont Thompson plays Greg Hoades, a former colleague of Sandy who tries to press charges against Henry Griffin. (Season 1 and 3)
Former Main Cast Members as Recurring Characters
Jimmy Cooper (Seasons 3 and 4)
Luke Ward (Season 4)
Cast Members That Used to be Recurring Characters
Julie Cooper (Episodes 1-13)
Summer Roberts (Episodes 1-13)
Caleb Nichol (Season 4)
Taylor Townsend (Season 3)
Kaitlin Cooper (Season 1 and 3)
Recurring in a Single Season
Season 1
Eddie
- Played by: Eric Balfour
- Appears in: "The Telenovela”, "The Goodbye Girl", "The Nana" (3 episodes)
Eddie is introduced as Theresa's fiancé. He shows up outside the Cohens' house asking Ryan Atwood if he has seen Theresa, and Ryan denies. Eddie tells Ryan that he and Theresa are engaged. Later, Ryan drives to Chino to tell Eddie he lied, and that he has indeed seen Theresa ("The Telenovela"). Later Eddie shows up at Harbor High questioning Ryan about his intimate relationship with Theresa. Eddie punches Ryan in a party after discovering Ryan and Theresa are together ("The Goodbye Girl"). Eddie later appears again at the engagement party, annoyed because Ryan shows up, but later understands Ryan came for Marissa Cooper ("The Nana"). Ultimately, his relationship with Theresa doesn't work out because he repeatedly abuses her. He is allegedly the father of Theresa's child, as Theresa claims to have taken a paternity test.
Rachel Hoffman
- Played by: Bonnie Somerville
- Appears in: "The Escape", "The Rescue", "The Heights", "The Perfect Couple", "The Homecoming" (5 episodes)
Rachel is a former colleague of Sandy Cohen in the District Attorney's office. She invites him to work with her in a private firm called Partridge, Savage and Kahn. Sandy takes the offer, and later Sandy's wife, Kirsten, finds Rachel and Sandy enjoying a drink, causing tension between Sandy and Kirsten. Rachel shares the case of Balboa Heights with Sandy, because the plaintiff is Caleb Nichol's company. While negotiating with Caleb, Caleb accuses Sandy and Rachel of having an affair. Some time afterwards, when Sandy and Rachel work until late in Rachel's apartment, Rachel flirts with Sandy but he rejects her advances. When the chemistry between the two fizzles out, Sandy and Kirsten attempt to set her up with Jimmy Cooper, but fail.
Cindy
- Played by: Holly Fields
- Appears in: "The Shower", "The Ties That Bind" (2 episodes)
Cindy is the sister of Julie and is also the aunt of Marissa, Kaitlin and the unnamed boy Julie had with Frank.
Oliver Trask
Other Notable Guests
- Christopher Cousins appears in the episode 'The Debut' as Greg Fischer, the father of Holly Fischer. He beat up Jimmy Cooper at Cotillion when Jimmy told him he lost all of Greg's money, and Greg yelled out to everyone at Cotillion Jimmy was a thief.
- Adam Grimes appears in early season 1 episodes as Nourlund, a friend of Luke Ward's who would help Luke beat up Ryan Atwood.
- Colin Hanks plays Grady Bridges, star of the fictional show 'The Valley' in the episode 'The L.A.'.
- Bret Harrison appears in the episode 'The Rivals' playing Danny, Summer's boyfriend for a brief time who had a great sense of humour and everyone found him funny but Seth and Sandy. However, Summer breaks up with him when Danny goes "Big" with his comedy when he took Seth's advice.
- Paris Hilton appears in the episode 'The L.A.' playing Kate, who catches Seth's attention momentarily in a L.A. nightclub.
- Nichole Hiltz appears in the episode 'The Girlfriend' playing Caleb Nichol's young girlfriend, Gabrielle, who has a little affair with Ryan Atwood in the pool house. Marissa catches them and later in the episode the incident helps him to realize what he felt for Marissa.
- Jem plays herself in the episode 'The Ties That Bind', singing at Caleb Nichol and Julie Cooper's wedding.
- Josh Kloss appears in early season 1 episodes as Chip Saunders, a friend of Luke Ward's who would often help Luke beat up Ryan Atwood.
- Kate Rodger appears in the episode 'The Secret' playing Meredith Ward, the wife of Carson and the mother of Luke Ward, Eric and Brad. She divorced Carson once he admitted to her he was gay. That morning she told a couple of friends who let the secret get out. Meredith presumably got custody of their children because Eric and Brad were constant characters in the Season Four. Once Carson and Meredith's divorce was finalized months later, Luke moved away with his dad while Brad and Eric remained with their mother.
- Paul Wesley appears in 'The Outsider' playing Donnie, who befriends Ryan Atwood at the crab shack when Ryan got a job there Donnie is an outsider and likes to party. When he and Seth Cohen went to Holly Fischer's party, Donnie was being taunted by party people including Luke Ward, but Donnie then pulled out a gun and shot Luke in the arm. It is unknown if he fled after shotting Luke or was charged by the police after the incident.
- Ruth Williamson appears in the episodes 'Premiere and 'The Debut' as Peggy. She hosted The Fashion Show and Cotillion.
Season 2
Lindsay Gardner
Alex Kelly
Zach Stevens
Lance Baldwin
- Played by: Johnny Messner
- Appears in: "The Mallpisode”, "The Blaze of Glory" , "The Brothers Grim" , "The Rager" , "The OC Confidential" (5 episodes)
Lance is Julie Cooper's ex-boyfriend. Back in the 80's, when she was in desperate need of money, she starred in a porn flick he directed, entitled "The Porn Identity". Although the film was never published, a desperate Lance suddenly shows up, and threatens Julie to pay $500,000 or else he would leak the film onto the internet. Julie asks her husband, Caleb Nichol, for help, but instead of paying Lance, Caleb sends two thugs to attack Lance. Furious, he sabotages the launch of Julie's new magazine, "Newport Living", by replacing the promotional video with archive footage from "The Porn Identity." A devastated Julie flees Orange County, and later returns after the controversy dies down.
After Lance redeems himself, he and Julie reminisce over their past together, and share a kiss which is caught on camera. Caleb subsequently asks Julie for a divorce, and reveals to his wife that he has had people spy on her since before their marriage.
Rebecca Bloom
- Played by: Kim Delaney
- Appears in: "The Accomplice”, "The Second Chance”, "The Lonely Hearts Club", "The Test”, "The Rainy Day Woman" (5 episodes)
Rebecca is an ex-fiancée of Sandy Cohen, who is described as Sandy's "love of [his] life" by Kirsten Cohen. Twenty years ago, she was accused of burning down a lab and killing a man in the fire. Rebecca denies that and claims that she fled the site because she did not want to testify against her friends.
Her father, Max, asks his former student Sandy to find Rebecca, as he is dying and wants to see his only daughter one last time before passing away. Rebecca shows up, and Max asks Sandy to clear her name; soon after this, he dies. Sandy continues to assist Rebecca, thus placing his marriage in jeopardy. Sandy and Rebecca finally realize that their love was a thing of the past, and Rebecca flees yet again.
Carter Buckley
- Played by: Billy Campbell
- Appears in: "The Mallpisode”, "The Blaze of Glory”, "The Brothers Grim”, "The Risky Business”, "The Rager”, "The OC Confidential”, "The Return of the Nana" (7 episodes)
Carter Buckley is introduced as a new editor of Newport Living. He has edited several magazines before, The Ugly American and GQ being two of them, and self-published Revolution. Carter is in a middle of divorce and becomes lugubrious. Kirsten Cohen puts an issue of Revolution into his mailbox in order to encourage him to restart his life. Carter accepts the job and spends a lot of time working with Kirsten who develops a crush on him. Carter's alcoholism helps develop Kirsten's, as they drink much during work. Carter leaves Orange County when offered a job in New York. At the farewell dinner at the Cohen's house where Kirsten and Carter are alone, they admit to each other that they considered having an affair and share a kiss. Kirsten is apparently upset about his departure, and her drinking increases.
Reed Carlson
- Played by: Marguerite Moreau
- Appears in: "The Rager”, "The OC Confidential”, "The Showdown”, "The O Sea" (4 episodes)
Reed is the Vice President of the graphic novel company Bad Science. She was an assistant of Carter Buckley and he arranges a meeting after getting to know Seth Cohen and Zach Stevens who co-created Atomic County. She likes the comic so she helps them to publish. Seth deliberately misleads Summer Roberts that Reed is a man, infuriating Summer. Later, Reed asks Seth to bring Summer, the real Little Miss Vixen, to a party. Summer does not like the place and asks Seth to leave, but Reed stops Seth from leaving, making Summer even angrier. Reed then threatens to sue Zach when he wants to pull out. Reed offers Summer a chance to be the star of the comic to ensure that Summer will stop convincing Seth and Zach of giving up on it. Summer shows up at the launch party wearing costume, but the party ends with Seth and Zach literally fighting for Summer. Reed is outraged about the debacle so she just let one person to meet George Lucas, who is interested in Atomic County.
D.J.
- Played by: Nicholas Gonzalez
- Appears in: "The Distance”, "The Way We Were”, "The New Era”, "The SnO.C.” "The Family Ties”, "The Power of Love" (6 episodes)
D.J. is introduced as the Nichols' gardener. Later, however, it is revealed that Marissa Cooper has struck up a relationship with him after Ryan Atwood left Orange County. Marissa and DJ kept their trysts secret to prevent Marissa's mother Julie from finding out and firing D.J. When Ryan returns to Newport and asks Marissa if she was seeing anyone, Marissa lies to him and says she's single. However, Ryan discovers the truth when he finds Marissa and D.J. kissing. D.J. is angry with Marissa when he learns out about her lie, saying he felt like a back-up she only came to when Ryan was not around. Marissa apologizes and the two reconcile shortly afterwards, with Marissa revealing their relationship to her mother by announcing that as he was her boyfriend, D.J. should appear with them in family portrait photographs to be taken with Caleb Nichol. As expected, this enrages Julie, who felt D.J. was socially beneath her daughter. Arranging a secret meeting with him, Julie gives D.J. a blank check to leave Marissa. D.J. does so, but first gives the check to Marissa, suggesting she fill it out and use it to go shopping. He then leaves her, saying he had no regrets about their relationship, but he feels Marissa was with him less because she liked him, and more because she hated Julie.
Renee Wheeler
- Played by: Kathleen York
- Appears in: "The New Era" , "The SnO.C." , "The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn't" , "The Test" , "The Rainy Day Women" (5 episodes)
Renee Wheeler once had an affair with Caleb Nichol which led to her having a child, Lindsay Gardner. Caleb continues to pay her money and the DA misunderstand that, thinking that Caleb is bribing Renee for a building permit, for which Caleb is arrested ("The New Era"). Sandy figures out that the reason Caleb pays Renee is that she is the mother of his illegitimate child ("The SnO.C."). Caleb admits to having had an affair so he will be released from prison but the news angers his daughter, Kirsten Cohen ("The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn't"). Renee later returns, asking Ryan Atwood to help her stop Caleb from adopting Lindsay as Caleb wants a paternity test and Renee isn't sure if Caleb really is Lindsay's father ("The Test"). The test results confirm Caleb's paternity but Lindsay ultimately decides that she doesn't want Caleb to adopt her because of how he treats her and she and her mother leave Newport for Chicago ("The Rainy Day Women").
Other Notable Guests
- Emmanuelle Chriqui plays Jodie, the ex-girlfriend of Alex Kelly, for 2 episodes.
- Barry Newman plays Max Bloom, who asks his former student Sandy to find his daughter Rebecca, as he is dying and wants to see his only daughter one last time before passing away.
Season 3
Johnny Harper
Charlotte Morgan
Sadie Campbell
- Played by: Nikki Reed
- Appears in: "The Heavy Lifting" ,"The Road Warrior" , "The Journey" , "The Undertow" , "The Secrets and Lies" , "The Day After Tomorrow" (6 episodes)
Sadie is Johnny Harper's cousin and comes to Orange County to help Johnny's mother Gwen after her son dies ("The Heavy Lifting"). Ryan Atwood befriends Sadie, helping her to decorate the house and get money from Johnny's father ("The Road Warrior"). After some trouble, Sadie and Ryan start dating as Marissa Cooper and Ryan have broken up once again after Johnny's death ("The Undertow"). The relationship is doomed however, as Ryan is soon afterwards accepted to Berkeley and Sadie doesn't want to be the reason Ryan doesn't live his college life as he should and breaks up. She then leaves Newport to re-start her jewelery-making business ("The Day After Tomorrow").
Casey
- Played by: Kayla Ewell
- Appears in: "The Last Waltz”, "The Perfect Storm”, "The Swells" (3 episodes)
Casey attends Newport Union and dates Johnny Harper. She befriends Marissa Cooper when she enrolls at Union. She helps Marissa dodge the insults of Heather, the school bully, but when she notices that Johnny and Marissa are growing closer and closer, she feels jealous and suspicious, finally cheating on Johnny and making out with his rival Kevin Volchok. Johnny walks in on them and breaks up with her.
Dennis "Chili" Childress
- Played by: Johnny Lewis
- Appears in: "The Last Waltz" , "The Perfect Storm" , "The Swells" , "The Anger Management" , "The Game Plan" , "The Safe Harbor" , "The Sister Act" , "The Cliffhanger" , "The Heavy Lifting" (9 episodes)
Chili is Johnny Harper's best friend and one of the kids Marissa Cooper befriends at Newport Union. He introduces himself to Marissa as "Chili" and his similarities to Seth Cohen, earned him the short-lived nickname "Bizarro Seth" from Ryan Atwood.
Chili is good friend and aids Johnny, especially when he has to deal with Casey cheating on him and when he is injured by a car accident. Chili lies to Marissa about Johnny, telling her that he got back on the surfing team and will be leaving Newport Union to travel with them, as he and Johnny know that Johnny is the only reason Marissa is staying at Newport Union. Chili wants Johnny to confess to Marissa how he feels about her but when he does, Marissa tells him that she doesn't love him. After Johnny's death, Chili stops going by the name Chili and wants to be called Dennis instead, as Johnny never liked the nickname.
Henry Griffin
- Played by: Shaun Duke
- Appears in: "The Undertow”, "The Secrets and Lies”, "The Day After Tomorrow”, "The Dawn Patrol" (4 episodes)
Henry is the Head of the Hospital Board. His daughter, Maya, dated Matt Ramsey before and date and briefly before breaking up, as Matt agrees Sandy Cohen's request to get Maya's help in giving a proposal to Henry. Henry asks Sandy to fire Matt for Maya which he does. Matt accuses Henry of taking kickbacks from ventures, and tries to sell the story to newspapers. In return, Henry orders three ruffians to vandalise Matt's apartment and beat him. After knowing what Henry did, Sandy threatens Henry to resign to he will "take [him] down". To stop Sandy, Henry bribes Sandy with a recommendation of a revitalising project. Later Matt asks Henry to pay him in exchange of evidence, and Henry brings a goon when they are ready to "make" the deal, but Sandy stops it. Sandy takes the evidence and pays Matt instead. Henry later is investigated by D.A. and banned from the board. Sandy finally gives up the hospital and supports D.A to charge Henry, by giving the documents D.A. needs.
Jack Hess
- Played by: Eric Mabius
- Appears in:"The Shape of Things to Come”, "The End of Innocence”, "The Last Waltz”, "The Perfect Storm" (4 episodes)
Jack Hess who has a master degree in education and who taught six years at boarding schools, is the new Dean of Discipline at Harbor High and is responsible for the measures to be taken after the gunshot incident. He wishes to punish Marissa Cooper but is only able to expel her. When Ryan Atwood punches him in the face, Jack uses that to have expelled Ryan as well. He is also responsible for Summer Roberts losing the social chair to Taylor Townsend by tricking her to admit that she stole a theatrical set. At the Summer Dance, Summer sees Taylor and Jack sharing an intimate tryst and Sandy uses the information to blackmail Jack into leaving Harbor to save his career.
Matt Ramsey
- Played by: Jeff Hephner
- Appears in: "The Swells", "The Anger Management", "The Disconnect", "The Safe Harbor”, "The Pot Stirrer”, "The Cliffhanger”, "The Heavy Lifting”, "The Road Warrior”, "The Journey”, "The Undertow”, "The Secrets and Lies”, "The Day After Tomorrow”, "The Dawn Patrol" (13 episodes).
Matt is a 26-year old associate of the company that will take over the Newport Group. He convinced Sandy Cohen to keep the company so that they can run it as co-partners and is then named Vice President and Director of Development. He doesn’t have any trouble bribing to get green light for projects which are against Sandy’s principles. Sandy tries to "do it his way" but has to give in to Matt’s way as the latter has most of the board members on his side. Matt has a brief relationship with Maya, daughter of the head of the hospital’s board, Henry Griffin, but breaks up with her when Sandy proposes a deal with Henry. Henry asks Sandy to fire Matt because of his relationship to his daughter. Matt warns Sandy about Henry who takes kickbacks from vendors and tries to sell the story to newspapers but stops doing so after being beaten up by goons Henry has hired. Matt asks Henry for compensation as he has evidence that incriminates Henry. The deal is stopped by Sandy who pays Matt for the evidence. Matt then leaves for Chicago.
Other Notable Guests
- Morena Baccarin plays Maya Griffin, the daughter of Henry Griffin who dates Matt Ramsey briefly.
- Matt Barr plays Wes Seifer, Ryan's college orientation buddy who developed an attraction for Marissa.
- Nicole Garza plays Chloe, a co-worker of Ryan's mom in Albuquerque. She and Ryan have a one-night stand.
- Lucy Hale plays Hadley Hawthorne, a friend of Kaitlin's.
- Chase Kim plays Seung Ho, presumably Taylor Townsend's boyfriend. He was her date to the prom.
- Jackson Rathbone plays Justin, Kaitlin's ex-boyfriend from boarding school.
- Lisa Rotondi plays Gwen Harper, Johnny's mother.
- Lisa Tucker plays herself, an American Idol singer who lives in Orange County.
- Richard Voll plays Glen Morgan, the husband of Charlotte and co-conspirator in her scams.
Season 4
Frank Atwood
- Played by: Kevin Sorbo
- Appears in: "The Earth Girls Are Easy" "The My Two Dads", The Groundhog Day, "The Case of the Franks", "The Shake Up", "The Night Moves" "The End's Not Near, It's Here" (7 episodes)
Frank Atwood initially appears as a business associate of Gordon Bullit, calling himself Frank Perry. He starts working at Kirsten's and Julie's matchmaking agency. Later Sandy finds out that Frank is Ryan's father. He wants to reunite with Ryan, but Ryan tells Sandy that he does not want to see him. Frank is invited to dinner at the Cohen's. However the night ends with Sandy punching Frank in the face after a confrontation over a lie Frank told about dying of cancer in order to get Ryan to meet with him. He begins a relationship with Julie Cooper which is broken off when she decides to date Bullit for her daughter's sake because she and Gordon develop a close relationship. She later decides that Frank is the one she wants to be with and they begin dating again.
Gordon Bullit
- Played by: Gary Grubbs
- Appears in: "The Sleeping Beauty", "The Summer Bummer", "The Earth Girls Are Easy", The Groundhog Day, "The Case of the Franks" "The End's Not Near, It's Here" (6 episodes)
Gordon Bullit, who refers to himself as The Bullit, is a colorful oil merchant from Texas. Although he has been involved in bad deals, he is extremely wealthy. In prison, he met Frank Atwood, who he later hired to be in charge of his finances. He soon after developed a crush on Julie Cooper, and after some intimate e-mails he thought he was sharing with Julie (which was later revealed to be from Kaitlin Cooper pretending to be her mother) he proposed to Julie. She rejects him, as she is already in a relationship with Frank Atwood. She initially breaks up with Frank and dates Bullit when Kaitlin reveals how much she would like Bullit to be her stepfather, but realizes that Frank is the one she wants to be with and reunites with him on Valentine's Day. In the series finale, set six months after the earthquake, Julie is engaged to Bullit after Frank panicked and left her when he discovered she was pregnant. Ultimately, when she has to choose between Frank and Bullit Julie decides to stay single. Despite Julie's decision to not marry Bullit after all, he and the family remain good friends. He also has 12 sons, all of which are named after cities in Texas where he has oil refinery, with the exception of Hanoi (Named after Vietnam's capital), where he also has a refinery, & Spencer.
Spencer Bullit
- Played by: Brandon Quinn
- Appears in: "The Sleeping Beauty", "The Summer Bummer", "The Earth Girls Are Easy", "The French Connection", "The Dream Lover" "The End's Not Near, It's Here" (6 episodes)
Spencer is Kaitlin Cooper's tennis instructor and Gordon Bullit's son. In "The Sleeping Beauty" Kaitlin develops a crush on Spencer, who refuses to get involved with her as she is jailbait. Instead, he has a brief affair with Julie Cooper, which ends when Kaitlin tricks him into interrupting Julie on a date with his father. Later, he joins Julie's and Kirsten Cohen's agency, New Match, and uses their match-making to work as a gigolo. He has 11 brothers, most named after Texan cities.
Winchester "Che" Cook
- Played by: Chris Pratt
- Appears in: "The Avengers", "The Gringos", "The Metamorphosis", "The Sleeping Beauty", "The Summer Bummer, The Chrismukk-huh?", "The French Connection", "The Dream Lover", "The Groundhog Day" (9 episodes)
Winchester Cook, more commonly known as Che, is a friend of Summer Roberts who attends Brown University with her. He was the driving force behind Summer's left wing activism. When he and Summer break into a science lab and are interviewed by the Brown board, he blames all his illegal activities on Summer. As a result of Che's actions, Summer was suspended from Brown. Che later feels guilty and regretful for his actions and travels to Newport to ask her forgiveness. Later it's discovered he is actually extremely rich - his father owns a pharmaceutical company. In "The Chrismukk-huh?", he appears in an alternate universe when Ryan Atwood and Taylor Townsend are in a coma. In this universe, he took what would have been Ryan's spot for admission at Harbor High School, and was engaged to Summer Roberts, and having an affair with Julie Cooper and any woman he could get his hands on. In this universe, he wasn't an activist, as he is in real life.
Later, in an attempt to repay Summer for her forgiveness for his misdeeds, Che tries to help Seth feel harmony with himself and takes him to the woods to connect with his spirit animal. During this trip, Che is convinced by a dream that Seth is his soul mate. Che attempts to test this idea in "The Groundhog Day" with mixed results eventually winding up with the pair in prison. His last name, Cook, is revealed as the officer announces his release. However, Che realises that Seth was not his soul mate, it was actually the enviromantalist girl who in placed in the cell next to them. Together, Che and his soul mate leave Newport.
Other Notable Guests
- Chris Brown plays Will Tutt, a Harbor student "band geek" who pursues a brief relationship with Kaitlin.
- Tia Carrere plays Dean Torres, whom Kaitlin frequently visits.
- Scott Krinsky plays Darryl, a vagrant.
- Henri Lubatti plays Henri-Michel de Momourant, Taylor's French ex-husband. He comes to Newport to support his new book. Taylor moves in with him, but he leaves when he realizes Ryan and Taylor really love each other.
- Michelle Ongkingco plays Summer's former roommate Amber. She is known for being very promiscuous.
- Steve-O makes a cameo appearance in the second episode as a Marine who talks Seth into getting a tattoo.