Oz
American prison drama television series
HBO's violent men-behind-bars drama is an addictive, testosterone-driven soap opera for guys. The eight episodes of the first season set the style for the show: a massive cast of a vivid characters on both sides of the bars, four or five stories unleashed at a breakneck pace and framed by angry, oddball introductions, and a soaring casualty rate. Created by Homicide producer Tom Fontana, this drama quickly earned its rightful reputation as the most brutal show on TV. It's simple chemistry: combine volatile ingredients in a confined space, shut tight, and shake.
Cast ages at the series premiere (July 12, 1997)
- Ernie Hudson, as Warden Leo Glynn: 51
- Terry Kinney, as Tim McManus: 43
- Harold Perrineau, as Augustus Hill: 33
- Rita Moreno, as Sister Peter Marie "Sister Pete" Reimondo: 65
- Lee Tergesen, as Tobias Beecher: 32
- Dean Winters, as Ryan O'Reily: 32
- George Morfogen, as Robert Rebadow: 64
- Eamonn Walker, as Kareem Said: 35
- Granville Adams, as Zahir Arif: 33
- Lauren Vélez, as Dr. Gloria Nathan: 32
- Kirk Acevedo, as Miguel Alvarez: 25
- B.D. Wong, as Father Ray Mukada: 36
- Tom Mardirosian, as Agamemnon "The Mole" Busmalis: 49
- Scott William Winters, as Cyril O'Reily: 31
- Robert Clohessy, as Officer Sean Murphy: 40
- Christopher Meloni, as Chris Keller: 36
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, as Simon Adebisi: 29
- David Zayas, as Enrique Morales: 34
- Edie Falco, as Officer Diane Whittlesey: 34
- Željko Ivanek, as Governor James Devlin: 39
- Anthony Chisholm, as Burr Redding: 54
- Michael Wright, as Omar White: 41
- Kathryn Erbe, as Shirley Bellinger: 32
- Betty Buckley, as Suzanne Fitzgerald: 50
- Seth Gilliam, as Officer Clayton Hughes: 28
- Philip Casnoff, as Nikolai Stanislofsky: 47
- Lance Reddick, as Desmond Mobay: 35
- Luis Guzmán, as Raoul "El Cid" Hernandez: 40
- Erik King, as Moses Deyell: 34
- Rick Fox, as Jackson Vahue: 27
- Austin Pendleton, as William Giles: 57
- Luke Perry, as Jeremiah Cloutier: 30
- Mark Margolis, as Antonio Nappa: 57
- Sean Whitesell, as Donald Groves: 34
- Reg E. Cathey, as Martin Querns: 38
- Tony Musante, as Nino Schibetta: 61
- Patti LuPone, as Stella Coffo: 48
- Charles Busch, as Natalie "Nat" Ginsburg: 42
- Joel Grey, as Lemuel Idzik: 65
- Leon, as Jefferson Keane: 35