Characters

This is a list of the main characters in the Emmy-nominated TV series Everybody Hates Chris. The fictional family is loosely based on that of the real-life Chris Rock.

Main characters[]

Name:Chris

Series:Everybody Hates Chris

Creator:Chris Rock, Ali LeRoi

Actor: Tyler James Williams

Gender:Male

First: "Everybody Hates the Pilot"

Last:"Everybody Hates the G.E.D."

Nickname:Little Dude from Across the Street, Chrissy The Black, DJ Chrissy Chris, Fool

Relatives: Julius (father), Rochelle (mother), Drew (brother), Tonya (sister)

Chris[]

Tyler James Williams as Chris (b. 1969), the protagonist and the ambitious, normal, responsible, kind-hearted, but unlucky, unpopular, untalented, hapless, awkward, vulnerable eldest child. He wishes he was more like his younger brother : mean, handsome, attractive, talented, popular, or anything positive. Regardless of whether Chris possesses any of these traits, he's certainly never treated as if he does. He tries hard to be well liked by his peers but often finds himself a victim of circumstance. Chris is bullied by everyone at school (with little help from teachers or faculty members), tortured by his sister, shown up by his brother, victimized by the racist teaching staff, gets his money stolen by neighborhood thugs, underpaid at work, receives tough love from his mother and distressing treatment from his father. As the eldest child, he is often put in charge of his younger siblings but they usually disobey him. Next to all this, Chris is always the butt of the last jokes on each show. People just seem to hate him for inexplicable reasons. One of his talents is playing Asteroids and the other is calling basketball games. As he gets older, Chris becomes interested in stand-up comedy and begins telling jokes in school.

Julius[]

Terry Crews as Julius (b. 1938), the caring, levelheaded and easygoing, but worrisome, cheap, and cost-conscious father. Throughout the series Tonya is his favorite child and believes the only reason she is a girl is because he wanted a boy. Julius has two jobs as a newspaper delivery man and a security guard. He can instantaneously add up the exact value of items. He is scared of rabbits because the movie Night of the Lepus, shown in "Everybody Hates DJs" when he passed out when the magician showed him the rabbit he was going to use with him for a magic trick. As a result of being worried about spending too much money, Julius' behavior becomes particularly inconsiderate of his family, frequently to the point of his appearing ridiculous - one example of this is Julius' forcing of his family members to stop using certain devices that require electricity (he even took a picture of the inside of the refrigerator so his wife will spend less time with the refrigerator open). Though Julius does things that put his family through a great deal of hardship, he does it to protect them financially. Although he seems easygoing when it comes to punishment, it is revealed in one episode that he has a belt for every misdemeanor. His favorite baseball team is the Los Angeles Dodgers and his favorite TV show is The Young and the Restless. At one point, it is implied that Julius is no longer alive (when the narrator says "If my dad were alive to see the price of gas today, it'd kill him!"). The real-life Chris Rock's father, Julius, died in 1988, after ulcer surgery. Template:-

Rochelle[]

Tichina Arnold as Rochelle (b. 1939), the intimidating, short-tempered, cranky, ghetto-snobbish and humorously sassy mother. As an example, Rochelle once tenderly resolved a conflict between Drew and Tonya; immediately afterward, she took off her belt and instructed them both to "take it upstairs". In addition, she makes exaggerated threats of physical punishment, such as telling Chris how she'll "slap him into next week" (in an imagination scene, Tonya asked "Where's Chris?", and Rochelle replied "Oh, I slapped him into next week. He'll be back on Tuesday."), or if he ever lies to her, she'll "slap him into another nationality" (in another imagination scene, it seems to be Asian); and vice versa (e.g. "I'll smack the black out of you"). This short-tempering behavior can sometimes gets her in trouble whe she go too far (she once gets expelled out of Drew and Tonya's school when she starts to nag everyone due to their literary taste). Although Rochelle sometimes overreacts and scolds with little reason, she's mild-mannered, affectionate, and lenient more often than not. When treated with proper respect (apologies and yes, ma'am, no ma'am generally soften her up), she's kinder. Among her many antics and quirks, she cares too much about what others think, quits jobs for little to no reason, obsesses over turtle chocolates, recommends Robitussin for every ailment, blames Chris when Tonya or Drew do something wrong, and always makes sure her children aren't selling drugs or having any babies anytime soon - for her to raise anyway. When Rochelle thinks Julius is acting suspicious, she assumes he is cheating on her with a white woman. She hates gambling (in the episode Everybody Hates the Port Authority, it is revealed that she would help her dad (Jimmy Walker) con people in a rigged game of Three-card monte). Her favorite football team is The New York Jets. Throughout the series she is called a "ghetto-snob" by the narrator such as 'Back at home my mother installed the ghetto alarm system'. Template:-

Drew[]

Tequan Richmond as Drew (b. 1971), the middle child who is much more confident and popular than his older brother, Chris. Drew is popular, talented, lucky, confident, attractive, well liked, handsome, and cool. Though younger than Chris, he is noticeably larger. In real life, Tequan, was born 21 days after Tyler James Williams. (Chris once commented that he was the only kid in the country who had "hand-me-ups"). Drew can effortlessly attract all the girls on whom Chris has crushes. He even attracts women that are much older than he is. However, most of the time Drew is oblivious to how much attention he gets from girls. Although Drew is good at many things, singing is not one of them. Drew is mischievous and often tries to get his little sister, Tonya, in trouble. Whenever Chris gets in trouble, Drew is always there to let Chris know just how deep in trouble he's in. Despite this, Drew looks up to his older brother and wishes he could do some things Chris could do (such as be in charge when their parents are not home and take three buses to school every day). Drew is also a fan of Michael Jackson and the NHL, particularly the Edmonton Oilers' Wayne Gretzky. His character is based on Chris Rock's real brother. A running gag is usually when a character (mostly Chris) has a problem and tells Drew he makes them feel worse (when Julius told Drew about Rochelle going out with one of her friends on their anniversary, when Chris got fired from his job, etc.). His catchphrase is "Wasn't me." what he says when character says something, like when Chris couldn't find the clothes at the laundromat. This doesn't get Drew in trouble. Template:-

Tonya[]

Imani Hakim as Tonya (b. 1973), the spoiled, smart-mouthed, immature, rambunctious youngest child and the antagonist of her older brothers. She bothers Chris more than she bothers Drew. As the youngest sister of Chris and Drew, she is able to get anything out of her father. Ever the troublemaker, Tonya is often seen causing trouble particularly for her siblings (such as by snitching on them) while getting away with trouble herself. This is referenced in "Everybody Hates Greg," when Tonya's troublemaking causes Chris to visit Greg's after school in order to avoid going home. As a result, Tonya gets into trouble twice when she blames Chris for a misdeed and he is not there. Despite her personality being spoiled and immature, she usually gets what she deserves. She is a huge fan of Billy Ocean (to go as far to say that Michael Jackson stole the Moonwalk from him) and Danny Glover. Her favorite football team is The New York Giants. Tonya is the special child and therefore gets whatever whenever she wants it. She gets out of trouble by giving her parents a sad look and a cute voice followed by an "Im sorry, daddy/mommy!". Template:-

Greg[]

Vincent Martella as Gregory "Greg" Wuliger, Chris's weird, optimistic, nerdy, and anxious best friend. He is the only kid at Corleone Junior High who doesn't hate Chris. He is about as unpopular as Chris is. Chris always comes to Greg for advice, even though Greg is usually terrible at coming up with solutions. On top of being a good student, Greg also has a series of odd quirks (such as going to bed dressed as different superheroes), but considers himself cool. He has a book about almost everything in his locker. He is an only child and is of Italian and Swedish descent. His mom married his dad because she lost a bet but ran off with his uncle. After graduating from Corleone, Greg went to a different high school than Chris in Season 4, but got kicked out due to poor grades when he tried to portray a more tough image. He transfers to the same high school that Chris attends and the two continue their friendship. Even though his father was seen in one episode his mother is never actually seen. Greg's catch phrase is "You're so in there". He was absent from only two episodes in the entire series. Template:-

The Narrator[]

Chris Rock as The Narrator (voice), a sarcastic older Chris looking back at his youth, like that of The Wonder Years. His narration is usually the opposite of what his younger self says, but is actually thinking. The Narrator also mentions his disdain for George W. Bush as he frequently says sarcastic things about him. For instance in one episode the narrator talks how Greg has gone from bad to worse like "America under Bush".

Recurring characters[]

Bed-Stuy Residents[]

Mike Estime as Risky, a street dealer who sells items that are always faulty or stolen. His real name is Richard. Whenever he appears, a chorus of people whispering "Risky!" is heard in the background in the early episodes. He later works at Manny's barbershop. He also tried working with Julius for a night, but found the job not be as exciting as he hoped for, and then quit working with Julius.
Antonio Fargas as Doc Harris, the local grocery store owner. Chris later works for Doc. He is kind to Chris and gives him advice. When Chris is unable to work, Drew fills in for him. On Halloween, he dresses a pimp named "Sweet Tooth" and takes children's candy.
Todd Bridges as Monk, Doc's nephew, who manages the store when his uncle is away. Monk used to be part of the military, likely having seen a tour in Vietnam, as well as operations in the Middle East. He is severely paranoid and often espoused crazy conspiracy theories. He may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Monk is married to a Korean woman.
Kevontay Jackson as Jerome, an older teenager in the neighborhood who takes money from smaller kids by saying "Lemme hold a dollar". He nicknames Chris "little dude from across the street". In Jerome's first appearances on the series, he was a predatory, minor antagonist, but soon after, he befriends Chris, although he still takes money from him. On occasion, Chris will go to him when in need of some useful teenage advice. The family once caught him breaking into their apartment with a credit card.
Ernest Lee Thomas as Mr. Omar, a funeral director, who rents an upstairs room in the family's building. He is seen with a different newly widowed woman for almost every appearance he makes. He claims just to be consoling these attractive women in their time of grief. He frequently says "Tragic! TRAGIC!" He also frequently requests to "borrow" things and takes advantage of Rochelle's need to keep up appearances to the chagrin of Julius. For example, he uses their phone and racks up a huge phone bill, invites himself to dinner, and even borrows his way into a Thanksgiving dinner invitation.
Jeris Lee Poindexter as Kill Moves, an insane, senile homeless man who practices martial arts and once taught Drew some karate moves. His real name is Edgar Devereaux. Kill Moves' mother is actually a millionaire, but he prefers to live freely on the streets. After being laid off by Ronald Reagan and despite having a breakdown he sometimes reveals himself to be highly intelligent and cultured. In his first appearance, he is named Mr. Jackson. He occasionally gives Chris a hard time, for example when Chris is collecting empty cans for a school project, Kill Moves appears in trash bins before Chris can even run to them and leaves no cans for Chris.
Blake Hightower as James, a 12-year-old neighborhood kid. James is flirty towards Tonya and wishes to have a relationship with her. He hangs alongside with the other supporting male characters at Manny's barbershop. The adult males treat James like he is their equal although he is a child. Another time, Chris volunteered to be a "Brother from Another Mother" for the sake of the school, and the child he mentors turns out to be James. Chris learns that James' real name is Cleavon Barris.
Aree Davis as Keisha Ridenhour, the girl next door and Chris's dream girl, who unfortunately fancies Chris' younger brother Drew. In Season 2, Keisha moved away to Compton, ironically believing it to be a crime-free city.
Keesha Sharp as Sheila Ridenhour, Keisha's mother and a good friend of Rochelle's. Julius usually feels uncomfortable around her because she's an attractive woman. Sharp however left after nine episodes to play the role of Monica on Girlfriends.
Paige Hurd as Tasha Clarkson, the girl who moves in next door in season 2. Chris is in love with her but she wants to keep their relationship platonic. She dated and dumped him near the end of Season 4. According to Chris, she is the only girl who doesn't hate him.
Whoopi Goldberg as Louise Clarkson, the evil and nosy next door neighbor and Tasha's maternal grandmother. She insults Chris and infuriates Rochelle.
Tisha Campbell-Martin as Peaches Clarkson, Louise's daughter and Tasha's mother. Peaches is very loud, ignorant and eccentric. She is an ex-con who befriends Rochelle in her first appearance. She also dates Malvo during her later appearances. She is a kindhearted person despite her bad past.
Jackée Harry as Vanessa, Rochelle's bubbly, wise-cracking girlfriend and the gossipy owner of the local beauty salon after winning the lottery and buying it from Pam. She has dated Kill Moves and Rochelle's brother, Michael.
Tasia Sherel as Pam, co-owner of the beauty salon. In season 4, it is stated that Pam sold her share of the salon to Vanessa. Rochelle takes Pam's place as the salon's manager.
JB Smoove as Manny, the local owner of the barbershop who appeared in Season 3. He is always shown giving helpful advice and joking around. He says that his real name is Lester but he changed his name to Manny so he didn't have to change the sign on the shop. In the fourth season, it is said that Manny moved away to Detroit. Smoove left to join the cast of 'Til Death.
Jazz Raycole as Lisa, a neighborhood girl. She threw a Halloween party in Season 1. Chris briefly developed a crush on her when she danced with him after being rejected by Keisha. She later appeared in Season 3 having a spin the bottle party that Chris wants to get into with Tasha.
Jim Lau as Mr. Fong, the owner of the Chinese restaurant where Chris works briefly. He works Chris very hard and shows no sympathy for Chris's problems. He calls Chris "Lionel Richie". He is first seen trying to operate the restaurant out of the family's upstairs room.
Ricky Harris as Malvo, a petty criminal who robs Chris at Doc's and threatens to kill him if he identifies him. Later, after he gets out of jail, he forces Chris to chain-snatch a gold medallion. After he gets out of jail again, he enlists Chris to help him go back to high school.
Myzel Robinson as Fat Mike, a neighborhood kid who protects Chris from local thugs and makes friends with him.

Corleone Junior High/Tattaglia High School staff and students[]

Travis T. Flory as Joey Caruso, the Irish-Italian-American, racist school bully who routinely picks on Chris. He is the main antagonist of the series. In each episode, he refers to Chris by a different nickname such as "Satchmo", "Kareem", "Tito" or "Cornbread. In the series finale, it is revealed that Caruso actually admires Chris and the only reason he has picked on Chris in school is because he has been jealous of his determination and achievement and had crushed Chris's spirit only so he himself would not feel inferior.
Jacqueline Mazarella as Ms. Vivian Morello, Chris's naiively racist teacher, and later his high school principal. Due to her apparent attraction to African American men, she holds a soft spot for Chris and tries to support him at every opportunity (such as giving him a Valentine's Day card out of sympathy, or giving him advice on running for the class president). In her efforts to be sweet, kind, and supportive, she makes statements that come off as racist - such as saying that "black people" must wake up and work up fields before sunrise, that they have tendencies towards vandalism, criminality and drugs, that they often lay use of lies and blackmail to rise in life, that Chris has no father and his mother is crack-addicted, and when Chris tries to tell her the truth, she assumes Chris is lying because "he is on drugs" -, most of which Chris tolerates. Chris Rock's narration often consists of him wanting to physically hurt her as well as making sarcastic remarks on her ethnicity as she does to him. It was revealed in Everybody Hates Chris that her full name is Vivian Morello.
Lynda Scarlino as Mrs. Abigail Milone, the elderly school monitor who is later promoted to Assistant Principal of Corleone because, according to the adult Chris, she proved that the one thing that she hated a lot more than kids was working with them. She's often seen disciplining someone. Her way of "hating" Chris, is that she disciplines Chris even when he hasn't done anything wrong.
Jude Ciccolella as Dr. Julius Raymond, the stern principal at Corleone Junior High. He makes racist assumptions about Chris and thinks that Chris is a crack baby. He normally is always grumpy because, according to the adult Chris, the school didn't pay him enough for his job. It is implied that he is gay when he is shown dancing with men in a bar dressed in leather.
Jason Alexander as Principal Edwards, the eccentric new principal of Corelone who replaced Dr. Raymond in the second season. He is possibly the only non-racist staff member. He first appeared in Everyobdy Hates The Buddy System when he caught Chris and Caruso fighting and then tricks them into being buddies during a field trip. In Everybody Hates Snow Day, Chris and Edwards are the only ones who come to school on a snow day. In Everybody Hates Gretzky he calls to inform Julius that Chris did not show up for school. Additionally, Alexander directed two episodes for the series Everybody Hates Gambling and Everybody Hates The Last Day.
Paul Ben-Victor as Coach Roy Thurman, Chris' home room teacher in Tattaglia and also the coach for the football team. He hires Chris as the team's manager. He does not like Chris, and it is implied that he is racist. He once helped Chris by teaching how to box.
Monica Anne Parales as Lisa, a hard-working Asian student and the head of the school's newspaper. She criticizes Chris very harshly about his writing when he joins the school's newspaper. When Chris is elected school president, she writes negative stories about him in effort to get him impeached.
Peter Onorati as the Janitor and Coach Brantley. The janitor works at Tattaglia, and it is said in the show that if you give him 5 bucks he can help you with anything. He refers to Chris as "Hey, you're that black kid." He has an identical twin brother who is the coach of the wrestling team in Tattaglia. The coach gets Chris to join the team because no other schools have wrestlers in his weight class resulting in an automatic win.
Johnny Palermo as Frank DiPaolo, a popular but dimwitted student. Chris picked him to be his school vice president in Corleone. He became president after Chris got impeached.
Shelby Young, as Jennifer Thompson, a student at Corleone who at first is attracted to Chris when he joins the basketball team. In later episodes, she is seen being mean to or ignoring Chris.
Mackenzee Donham as Jennifer, another Corleone student who is attracted to Greg. Greg is attracted to her as well but always accidentally says something that makes her angry and storm away.
Brooke Mackenzie as Sydney, a Corleone student who is mean to Chris.
B.J. Britt as Walter Dickerson, the popular, self-absorbed star of Tattaglia's football team whom befriends Chris when he becomes the team's manager. His catchphrase was "My man!" when Chris accepts one of his commands or says no.
Chris Rock as Mr. Abbott, a unhelpful school guidance counselor with a familiar voice. He tells Chris that he does not have the skills to make it to college. He advises Chris to take time to find himself instead of worrying about college. His dream was to serve America by becoming a crash test dummy.
Marcel Lam as Bernard Yao, a Corleone student who beats Caruso up using martial arts. Bernard refuses to take Caruso's place as the school bully which causes anarchy in the school. Chris convinces Bernard to fight Caruso again and lose on purpose. Later, Bernard forces Chris to do his math homework for him much to Chris's surprise who assumed Bernard was good at math because he is Asian.
Sam Mandel as Fisher, who helps forge Chris's report card. He later helps Chris retrieve Chris's father's Playboy magazine from Mrs. Milone. Though he is usually seen with friends while sitting at a desk, he has a mysterious ability to make it instantly disappear by diverting people's attention.
Mario Quinonez Jr. as the Puerto Rican Kid in Corleone who only speaks Spanish. Was once Greg's science fair partner. He spoke English once in an episode.
Hector A. Garcia as Angel (actually pronounced "On-hell" but people address him by how it's spelled), an androgynous male student at Tattaglia High, who is in Chris's cooking class. He helps Chris meet a girl in exchange for Chris helping him with his homework. Because of Angel's androgyny, he and Chris prefer not to be seen together in public. Angel appears a few times in Season 4.
Kwame Boateng as Albert, the new black kid at Corleone who befriends Chris, which makes Greg jealous. Actually a street vandal, Albert committed several acts of vandalism inside Corleone High and Chris was framed. Greg helps Chris prove his innocence by exposing Albert's wrong deeds, resulting in Albert's expulsion.

Chris' extended family[]

Earthquake as Uncle Mike, Rochelle's lazy, freeloading and obnoxious older brother. He knows how to get on Julius' bad side, such as by roaming about the house in Julius' clothes without asking him, giving him out-dated tickets for sport events or even shouting his trademark salutation "Big man!" at Julius - a thing that drives Julius into wrath or causes him to imagine that Mike wants something (generally unpleasant or unacceptable) from him. "Hey 'Chelle, y'all got somethin' to eat?" or " I didn't know y'all was about to have dinner," as his repeated phrases.
Tony Rock (real-life brother of Chris Rock) as Uncle Ryan, Julius' younger brother and Drew's favorite uncle who frequently asks him to invest in his shady business ventures. He has an office where he makes fake ID cards and X-ray glasses. His dream is to run a successful business, which can be difficult because all his attempts get shut down for one reason or another.
Loretta Devine as Maxine, Rochelle's soft-spoken, critical mother. She and Rochelle don't always get along because she's critical of Rochelle and likes to take over. She also caused chaos when she visited for her husband's funeral. In a later episode Rochelle tries to set her up on a date, but it didn't go so well. Maxine is also a mathematician and taught Rochelle everything she knows about math and helped out Chris with his math. It was said on one episode, that she's an even bigger "ghetto snob" than Rochelle.
Monica Calhoun as Charlotte, also known as "Grievy", Rochelle's sensitive, sad, cynical, and unhappy younger sister who never stops crying. She's only seen at funerals. On her first appearance, She just cries about her father Gene's death, She's very worried about his death. In 1 episode, Rochelle claims that Charlotte cries at every holiday: Easters, Halloweens, and Flag Days.
Ikonastarr as Mousey, Maxine's sister, and Rochelle's aunt. She speaks inaudibly and she talks less. According to Julius, in Everybody Hates Bomb Threats, she knows how to cure the mojo.
Jimmie Walker as Gene, Rochelle's hilarious father, who dies of a heart attack at the dinner table on his first appearance on the show. Gene reappeared in flashbacks in "Everybody Hates Gambling", where Rochelle says that Gene gambled on just about anything and "Everybody Hates the Port Authority", where he is shown teaching little Rochelle how to play three card monte.
Wayne Brady as Uncle Louis, Julius' successful, highly skilled and charismatic younger brother, of whom Julius is very jealous of.

Minor characters[]

Gary Basaraba as Art Wuliger, Greg's divorced father who never lets him have friends over.
Mario Joyner as Dr. Information who explains to the audience phrases and concepts of African-American culture.
P.J. Marino as Detective Marino, the inept but persistent neighborhood detective who never seems to remember Chris. Marino frequently appears in Chris's mind when he imagines getting busted.
Shon Little as the Cop who usually shows up whenever there is a disturbance in Chris' neighborhood and sometimes in Chris' mind.
Julie Lancaster as a Reporter who is seen on television covering news events that usually involve Chris or his family
Robert Wuhl as Abe Himelfarb, a pawnbroker who gives Chris everything he needs to be a DJ.
Orlando Jones as Mr. Newton, the substitute teacher, who's exacting towards Chris, and Chris only, because he wants him to get A's. Jones also plays Dr. Clint Huckstable, a Bill Cosby-esque dad who insists on meeting Chris when his daughter Jenise invites him to the Tattaglia Homecoming Dance.
Steve Landesberg as Stan Levine, an elderly man who is the last white person living in Bed-Stuy and rarely leaves his apartment. He helps Chris during a city-wide blackout and Chris tries to repay for his kindness by helping him meet new friends. But the next day thanks to Chris he passed out on the floor for forgeting to take his pills. His daughter threatens to relocate him because it wasn't the first time he forgot to take his pills but Chris convinces her to let him stay
Jim Lampley as a Sportscaster in Tonya vs Drew in Checkers.
DJ Quik as Hilton "Hilly Hill" Reed, the DJ, who takes over Chris's DJing duties at a party. He is frequently taken to jail for some reason, it is unknown how he knows jerome. He killed a cop in order to escape prison
Richard Lewis as Kris, a mysterious man whom Chris befriends at the hospital. It is possible Kris is either a Christmas angel or an illusion (because Chris was delarious at the time).
Michael Spellman as Magician the Magician, a magician who once scared Julius with a rabbit.
Christina DeRosa as Trixie, a young, tough New York stripper that Chris falls for.
Vincent Pastore as Paulie, a mean bookie who threatens "Chrissy the Black" unless Doc loses a basketball game.
Phylicia Rashād as Kathleen Devereaux, Kill Moves' estranged mother whom Chris helps him find.
Tommy Davidson as Eddie, a bank robber whom Julius takes to Las Vegas while working as a cab driver despite his initial reluctance to do so.
LaVan Davis as Rev. Terrence Willstom, the local Church preacher.
Shar Jackson as Alyson, the mother of one of Tonya's friends, Latrinda. Rochelle convinces her to be like her
Devika Parikh as Blair Huckstable, Clint's wife who also insists on meeting Chris. She is a layar
Robin Givens as Stacy Deveaux, Doc's crazy, conceited, rude, egotistical new girlfriend who makes Chris do all sorts of insane chores around the store. She had many boyfriends who cheated on her
Kadeem Hardison as Judge Harry Watkins, he and Rochelle bumped heads in court and he was also on the board of Hanzel and Greatel.

References[]

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External links[]

Full Cast and crew for Everybody Hates Chris at Imdb.com