A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main focus.
Overview[]
A character that does not appear in every episode, but is in enough of them to affect the storyline on a regular basis. Sometimes called a "semi-regular" character to contrast with the regular characters.
A Living Prop or Spear Carrier who appears repeatedly may become a Recurring Character.
A character that starts out as a recurring character but eventually joins the main cast is a case of them getting a Promotion to Opening Titles. If this promotion happens mainly because of fan popularity, then you've got yourself a Breakout Character. Conversely, for a character who starts out as a regular but becomes recurring over time, see Commuting on a Bus. Finally, if they appear in so many episodes that they get more appearances than even some of the show's regular characters, yet the credits insist on only giving them guest billing, then they're a Fake Guest Star.
Season 1[]
Recurring Cast[]
- Hrach Titizian as Danny Galvez (8 episodes)
- Navid Negahban as Abu Nazir (7 episodes)
- David Marciano as Virgil Piotrowski (7 episodes)
- Chris Chalk as Tom Walker (6 episodes)
- Jamey Sheridan as William Walden (5 episodes)
- Maury Sterling as Max Piotrowski(5 episodes)
- Amy Hargreaves as Maggie Mathison (5 episodes)
- Marin Ireland as Aileen Morgan (4 episodes)
- Afton C. Williamson as Helen Walker (3 episodes)
- Alok Tewari as Latif Bin Walid (3 episodes)
- Omid Abtahi as Raqim Faisel (3 episodes)
- Sarita Choudhury as Mira Berenson (3 episodes)
- Linda Purl as Elizabeth Gaines.(3 episodes)
- Ramsey Faragallah as Mansour Al-Zahrani (3 episodes)
- James Rebhorn as Frank Mathison (2 episodes)
- Scott Bryce as Major Foster (2 episodes)
- Amir Arison as Farid Bin Abbud (2 episodes)
- Brianna Brown as Lynne Reed (2 episodes)
- Reggie Austin as Matt (2 episodes)
- Jaden Harmon as Lucas Walker (2 episodes)
- Sammy Sheik as Imam Rafan Gohar (2 episodes)
- Charles Borland as Sanders (2 episodes)
Season 2[]
Recurring Cast[]
- Zuleikha Robinson as Roya Hammad (9 episodes)
- Rupert Friend as Peter Quinn (9 episodes)
- Timothée Chalamet as Finn Walden (8 episodes)
- Hrach Titizian as Danny Galvez (7 episodes)
- Valerie Cruz as Joy Mendez (5 episodes)
- Maury Sterling as Max (5 episodes)
- Talia Balsam as Cynthia Walden (4 episodes)
- Marc Menchaca as Lauder Wakefield (5 episodes)
- Mido Hamada as M.M. (3 episodes)
- James Rebhorn as Frank Mathison (2 episodes)
- Clara Khoury as Fatima Ali (2 episodes)
- F. Murray Abraham as Dar Adal (2 episodes)
Season 3[]
Recurring Cast[]
- Nazanin Boniadi as Fara Sherazi (6 episodes)
- Shaun Toub as Majid Javadi (6 episodes)
- William Abadie as Alan Bernard (5 episodes)
- Tim Guinee as Scott Ryan (5 episodes)
- James Rebhorn as Frank Mathison (4 episodes)
- Gary Wilmes as Troy Richardson (3 episodes)
- Jason Butler Harner as Paul Franklin (3 episodes)
- David Marciano as Virgil (3 episodes)
- Maury Sterling as Max (3 episodes)
- William Sadler as Mike Higgins (3 episodes)
- Martin Donovan as Leland Bennett (2 episodes)
- Manny Pérez as El Niño (2 episodes)
- Amy Hargreaves as Maggie Mathison (2 episodes)
- Houshang Touzie as Danesh Akbari (2 episodes)
- Diego Klattenhoff as Mike Faber (1 episode)
- David Aaron Baker as Dr. Harlan (1 episode)
- Donnie Keshawarz as Hafez Azizi (2 episodes)
- Jared Ward as Yousef Turani (2 episodes)
- Walid Amini as Josh Modarres (2 episodes)
- Jaylen Moore as Eric Baraz (2 episodes)
Season 4[]
Recurring Cast[]
- Michael O'Keefe as John Redmond (8 episodes)
- Mark Moses as Dennis Boyd (7 episodes)
- Raza Jaffrey as Aasar Khan (7 episodes)
- Numan Acar as Haissam Haqqani (7 episodes)
- Suraj Sharma as Aayan Ibrahim (6 episodes)
- Maury Sterling as Max (6 episodes)
- Shavani Seth as Kiran (6 episodes)
- Art Malik as Bunran Latif (4 episodes)
- Amy Hargreaves as Maggie Mathison (4 episodes)
- F. Murray Abraham as Dar Adal (4 episodes)
- Tamer Burjaq as Farhad Ghazi (4 episodes)
- Sarita Choudhury as Mira Berenson (3 episodes)
- Alex Lanipekun as Hank Wonham (3 episodes)
- Emily Walker as Eden (2 episodes)
- Akshay Kumar as Rahim
Season 5[]
Recurring Cast[]
- Atheer Adel as Numan (9 episodes)
- Allan Corduner as Etai Luskin (6 episodes)
- Sven Schelker as Armand Korzenik (4 episodes)
- Micah Hauptman as Millis (4 episodes)
- Mehdi Nebbou as Hussein (3 episodes)
- Morocco Omari as Conrad Fuller (4 episodes)
- John Getz as Joe Crocker (2 episodes)
- Steve Nicolson as Boris (2 episodes)
- René Ifrah as Bibi Hamed (7 episodes)
- Alireza Bayram as Qasim (7 episodes)
- Makram J. Khoury as Samir Khalil (3 episodes)
- Darwin Shaw as Ahmed Nazari (2 episodes)
- Rachid Sabitri as Dr. Aman Aziz (2 episodes)
- Rus Blackwell as Dr. Emory (2 episodes)
- Stefanie Mueller as Erna Richter (2 episodes)
Season 6[]
Recurring Cast[]
- Hill Harper as Rob Emmons (12 episodes)
- Robert Knepper as Gen. Jamie McClendon (4 episodes)
- Dominic Fumusa as Ray Conlin (6 episodes)
- Patrick Sabongui as Reda Hashem (6 episodes)
- C.J. Wilson as Porteous Belli (9 episodes)
- Shaun Toub as Majid Javadi (4 episodes)
- Hadar Ratzon Rotem as Tova Rivlin (2 episodes)
- J. Mallory McCree as Sekou Bah (4 episodes)
- Zainab Jah as Aby Bah (4 episodes)
- Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut as Simone Bah (4 epsisodes)
- Leo Manzari as Saad Mahsud (4 episodes)
- Mickey O'Hagan as Clarice (3 episodes)
- Bernard White as Farhad Nafisi (3 episodes)
- Jacqueline Antaramian as Dorit (2 episodes)
- James Mount as Agent Thoms (8 episodes)
- Jake Weber as Brett O'Keefe (6 episodes)
- Seth Numrich as Nate Joseph (3 episodes)
- Marin Hinkle as Christine Lonas (4 episodes)
- David Thornton as George Pallis (3 episodes)
Season 7[]
Recurring Cast[]
- Sandrine Holt as Simone Martin (8 episodes)
- Dylan Baker as Sam Paley (8 episodes)
- Catherine Curtin as Sandy Langmore (7 episodes)
- Peter Vack as Clint Prower (6 episodes)
- James D'Arcy as Thomas Anson (6 episodes)
- Mackenzie Astin as Bill Dunn (6 episodes)
- Courtney Grosbeck as Josie Dunn (5 episodes)
- Clé Bennett as Doxie (5 episodes)
- Ellen Adair as Janet Bayne (5 episodes)
- Ari Fliakos as Carter Bennet (4 episodes)
- William Popp as Stein (4 episodes)
- Beau Bridges as Ralph Warner (3 episodes)
- Sakina Jaffrey as Dr. Lori Meyer (3 episodes)
- Elya Baskin as Viktor Makarov (3 episodes)
- Merab Ninidze as Colonel Sergei Mirov (3 episodes)
- Damian Young as Jim Laughlin (3 episodes)
- David Maldonado as Bo Elkins (3 episodes)
- Colton Ryan as J.J. Elkins (3 episodes)
- Lesli Margherita as Sharon Aldright (2 episodes)
- Matt Servitto as Agent Maslin (2 episodes)
Season 8[]
Recurring Cast[]
- Mohammad Bakri as Abdul Qadir G'ulom (7 episodes)
- Tim Guinee as Scott Ryan (10 episodes)
- Andrea Deck as Jenna Bragg (11 episodes)
- Cliff Chamberlain as Mike Dunne (10 episodes)
- Charles Brice as John Durkin (5 episodes)
- Sam Chance as Drew Soto (5 episodes)
- Octavio Rodriguez as Arturo Gonzales (5 episodes)
- Victor Almanzar as Justin Wenzel (3 episodes)
- Jason Tottenham as Alan Yager (7 episodes)
- Emilio Cuesta as Charlie Stoudt (4 episodes)
- Art Malik as Bunran Latif (3 episodes)
- Sam Trammell as Benjamin Hayes (8 episodes)
- Elham Ehsas as Jalal Haqqani (4 episodes)
- Seear Kohi as Balach (6 episodes)
- Eugene Lee as General Mears (3 episodes)
- Terry Serpico as General Owens (3 episodes)
- Tracy Shayne as Janet Gaeto (3 episodes)
- Mustafa Haidari as Firooz (5 episodes)
- Karen Pittman as Vanessa Kroll (3 episodes)
- Hugh Dancy as John Zabel (5 episodes)