| Character |
Actor |
Seasons |
Information |
| Sean McNamara |
Dylan Walsh |
1 - present |
A plastic surgeon nearing middle age and trying to come to terms with his formerly 'perfect' life falling apart. Sean and Julia, who recently reconciled after a brief separation, have three children, including one who's physically handicapped. Runs the McNamara/Troy plastic surgery practice with his best friend, Christian Troy, who has been revealed to be the biological father of Sean's son Matt. Fathers a second child, Conor, with Julia after their reconciliation. After Julia leaves him, Sean re-evaluates his life and sells his portion of the practice to Christian and Michelle Landau. |
| Christian Troy |
Julian McMahon |
1 - present |
A womanizing plastic surgeon also approaching middle age, Christian serves as a foil to the more family-minded Sean McNamara, his best friend and business partner. He is the biological father of Matt McNamara with whom he has a tempestuous relationship. Kimber Henry is his on-again/off-again girlfriend. Christian's hope that selling ownership of the practice would lead to fewer stresses has proved to be unfounded. Begins a romantic relationship with a married Michelle Landau, which becomes an engagement following the death of her husband. Buys out Sean's part of the practice only to sell his own stake in the practice to Michelle when he decides to leave her. |
| Character |
Actor |
Seasons |
Information |
| Julia Noughton |
Joely Richardson |
1 - present |
Sean McNamara's wife of 18 years, mother to Matt McNamara, Annie McNamara, and Conor McNamara. Dropped out of medical school to raise her children, became extremely bitter about this, which lead to the tension that ultimately resulted in the end of her first marriage to Sean. They have since remarried. Former co-owner of De La Mer, a day spa for surgery patients in recovery. Recently gave birth to a third child - her second with Sean - who suffers from ectrodactyly, "lobster claw syndrome." Julia leaves Sean after his revelations about the affair with Monica Wilder, as well as her own affair with Marlowe Sawyer and her resolution to raise Conor and Annie away from the turbulence of her old life. |
| Matt McNamara |
John Hensley |
1 - present |
Sean and Julia's extremely troubled teenage son. His vast list of crimes include running over and disfiguring a classmate, gaybashing a transsexual, and filing false child abuse reports with child welfare against his father, Sean. Later during Season 2, Matt finds out Christian is his biological father. He was also involved with a post-op transsexual, whom he believed to be a woman, and briefly believed he was in love with. He is currently in a quasi-romantic relationship with Kimber Henry, who was romantically involved with both Sean and Christian and who has introduced him to Scientology, which he has enthusiastically embraced. Since his conversion, and possibly partially because of his involvement with Kimber, he has cut Christian out of his life for the time being, labeling him as an "SP," or suppressive personality. |
| Liz Cruz |
Roma Maffia |
1 - present |
Anesthesiologist for McNamara/Troy, and former general practitioner at De La Mer. Often the 'voice of reason' at McNamara/Troy, Liz is a 40-something-year-old lesbian and feminist who often serves as a sarcastic foil for Christian Troy, though she occasionally shows concern and even admiration for Christian. She seems to have a proclivity towards physical injury, once being shot in the leg by Escobar Gallardo, and, more recently, having one of her kidneys stolen by organ thieves after being seduced and drugged by an attractive young woman. |
| Kimber Henry |
Kelly Carlson |
1 - present |
Christian's on-again/off-again girlfriend whom he met in the pilot episode. A former model, pornographic actress, drug addict, and pornography producer, she is extremely self-conscious about her looks and has severe low self-esteem problems. Christian's general apathy towards Kimber's feelings - which was expressed most notably in season one, when he attempted to "trade" Kimber to a rival plastic surgeon who was in love with her in exchange for the rival's new sports car - has contributed to her poor self-image. She was a victim of the Carver, a crazed plastic surgeon, and former partner ar McNamara Troy. She also had a brief sexual relationship with Sean McNamara when he was split up with Julia. In season 4, she is an enthusiastic Scientologist who helps Matt deal with his problems through counseling. She seduced and married Matt as revenge against Christian, became pregnant with Matt's child, and eventually leaves him for Ram Peters, a former boss of hers from when she was an adult film actress. |
| Gina Russo |
Jessalyn Gilsig |
1 - 5 |
A troubled, bitter HIV positive sex addict in her mid-30's who has a very adversarial relationship with Christian Troy, who she refers to as "asshole" as opposed to using his actual name. She is also the mother of Christian's "son" Wilber, aka Gabriel. Became the full owner of De La Mer surgical recovery spa when Julia sold her share of the business to help raise her new son. In the fifth season, she is hired as the new receptionist at McNamara/Troy. Gina was killed after falling from the roof of an apartment building while trying to seduce Christian during this same season. (deceased) |
| Grace Santiago |
Valerie Cruz |
1 |
Former staff psychologist at McNamara/Troy |
| Quentin Costa |
Bruno Campos |
2, 3 |
An openly bisexual plastic surgeon originally from Atlanta, who flew down to Miami to perform surgery on Sean McNamara after being attacked by the Carver.. Briefly a limited partner at McNamara/Troy and dated Julia McNamara when she and Sean were going through their divorce. |
| Character |
Actor |
Seasons |
Information |
| Escobar Gallardo |
Robert LaSardo |
1, 2, 4 |
A ruthless, violent, and somewhat Scarface-esque drug lord from South America who the doctors become entangled with during season one. Has a thing for 1980s music and ultimately blackmailed Sean and Christian into giving him a new face so he could leave the drug business behind and start again. Instead, Sean and Christian gave him the face of another wanted criminal and he was arrested at the airport while attempting to flee the country. Appeared briefly in a dream in the season 2 finale, encouraging Sean to kill the Carver. He also appeared in season 4 as a hallucination of Sean's, encouraging him to repeat his sexual exploits with a young babysitter. Apparently has taken on the symbolic role of Sean's inner voice for aggressive behavior. Later, Escobar convinces Christian and Sean to restore his original face. He then breaks out of security while in the clinic, and kills his accomplice to remove a threat to Sean and Christian. It is revealed later in the season that James has been working for him. In the fourth season finale, he is killed by his wife, Gala Gallardo. (deceased) |
| Ava Moore |
Famke Janssen |
2, 3 |
A life coach who routinely manipulates her clients for her own amusement. Is hired by Sean to fix his marriage to Julia only to seduce their son Matt and reveal Christian as Matt's biological father (a result of Julia's one night stand with Christian while she was engaged to Sean and still attending medical school). At the end of season two, Ava was revealed to be transsexual who left her husband/doctor before the final surgery was performed on her; Ava was able to barter with Sean and Christian into performing one last surgery to complete her transformation into womanhood in exchange for her ending her relationship with Matt. Stepmother to Adrian Moore and was married to Dr. Barrett Moore. Also known as Avery Tanner. |
| The Carver |
Bruno Campos |
2, 3 |
The mysterious masked serial rapist known as The Carver, disfigures his victims by cutting a deep slash on either side of their mouths, resembling a smile. Sean McNamara, Christian Troy, Kit McGraw, Kimber Henry and Quentin Costa were the principal characters who fell victim to the Carver attacks. The identity of the Carver was revealed during the Season 3 finale. |
| James |
Jacqueline Bisset |
4 |
An extortionist that knows Michelle Landau, she apparently seems to have some kind of sexual relationship with her. Michelle Landau worked under her as an escort to pay her way through medical school. James is also the mastermind of the organ theft ring that targeted Liz, and she uses Michelle as a decoy for this purpose. It is revealed that James herself has a boss, one Escobar Gallardo. James later kills herself in front of Michelle, rather than turn Wilber's kidneys over to Escobar. (deceased) |
| Eden Lord |
AnnaLynne McCord |
5 |
An 18 year old student that is the daughter of Julia's girlfriend, Olivia Lord. When she is first introduced she tries to seduce Sean McNamara. |
| Colleen Rose |
Sharon Gless |
5 |
A talent agent working with Sean due to his role in Hearts & Scalpels. The legitimacy of her practice is brought into questioned by her lack of familiarity with CAA and her false claims of representing various actors, and is later confirmed to be unlicensed. She is shown to be both capable of murder and to have suicidal tendencies. |
| Character |
Actor |
Seasons |
Information |
| Nurse Linda |
Linda Klein |
1 - 5 |
Nurse at McNamara/Troy. Moved to LA with them. |
| Annie McNamara |
Kelsey Batelaan |
1 - 5 |
Julia and Sean's daughter. |
| Erica Noughton |
Vanessa Redgrave |
2, 3 |
Julia's controlling mother and a practicing doctor of clinical psychology. Believes Julia has wasted her potential by choosing not to becoming a medical doctor, instead spending her time at home as the primary caretaker. |
| Adrian Moore |
Seth Gabel |
2 |
Adopted son of Ava Moore and biological son of Dr. Barrett Moore. He was briefly involved with his stepmother. (deceased) |
| Kit McGraw |
Rhona Mitra |
3 |
A British detective brought in to solve The Carver case. It was later found out that she was the sister of Quentin Costa and helped him escape. |
| Ariel Alderman |
Brittany Snow |
3 |
A racist girl from Matt's high school. Briefly romantically involved with Matt. |
| Burt Landau |
Larry Hagman |
4 |
The new owner of McNamara/Troy and the husband of Michelle Landau. Later in the fourth season, he is left to die by his wife. (deceased) |
| Michelle Landau |
Sanaa Lathan |
4 |
A beautiful thirtysomething woman married to a wealthy, much older man who is now the owner of McNamara/Troy. She is a tough supervisor who harbors a deep secret from her past which involves an older woman (James) who is blackmailing her--her old boss from when Michelle was an escort. Even though Michelle has paid her debts, she is still being followed. Michelle is also part of the organ theft ring that has moved into Miami. Michelle kills her husband to give his kidneys to James, temporarily filling her quota. She and Christian become engaged, but the relationship ends soon after her revelations to Christian concerning her participation in the organ-theft ring. Eventually, she buys out both Sean and Christian, ending the Miami-based practice of both surgeons. |
| Marlowe Sawyer |
Peter Dinklage |
4 |
Nanny for Conor McNamara. He has dwarfism and is opposed to performing surgery on Conor, and as such is frequently at odds with Sean. Later in the fourth season, Julia begins to have an affair with Marlowe. |
| Wilber |
Joshua Henry |
2, 4, 5 |
Adopted son of Christian Troy, biological son of Gina Russo. |
| Olivia Lord |
Portia de Rossi |
5 |
Julia's girlfriend. |
| Character |
Actor |
Seasons |
Information |
| Bliss Berger |
Leslie Grossman |
1, 5 |
A woman who on the first season had a waddle on her arm removed. She now works at Fiona McNeil's publicist agency, thanks to Christian and offered them to do a reality show which was a failure. |
| Dr. Merrill Bobolit |
Joey Slotnick |
1, 2, 4 |
Former classmate and competitor of Sean and Christian. Bottom of his class in med school, shady, and jealous of Christian and Sean. Once tried to cut off his face in order to attach Troy's handsome features to himself. Became Escobar Gallardo's "prison wife" while incarcerated. Attempted to kill the once drug-lord while on the operating table. |
| Suzanne Epstein |
Nancy Cassaro |
1, 2 |
Julia's self-absorbed friend. Her daughter is Annie McNamara's friend. |
| Mrs. Hedda Grubman |
Ruth Williamson |
1, 2, 4 |
A client of McNamara/Troy with a plastic surgery addiction. She is extremely clever and manipulative. Mrs. Grubman also appeared in Season 4 where she died of complications brought on by lung cancer. (deceased) |
| Sophia Lopez |
Jonathan Del Arco |
1 |
A male-to-female transsexual who developed a friendship with Liz. |
| Jude Watson |
Phillip Rhys |
1 - 3 |
A college student who befriended Julia when she went back to undergrad. Deceptive. Briefly an intern at McNamara/Troy. Appears earlier in the story with a British Accent, but later confessed to have faked it to impress women. |
| Megan O'Hara |
Julie Warner |
1, 2, 4 |
Woman who had cancer and a mastectomy and came to McNamara/Troy for breast reconstruction. Had a brief affair with Sean. Eventually committed suicide when her cancer came back. Appears in tandem with Escobar when Sean is faced with the choice of whether to continue his affair with a young babysitter, encouraging Sean to restrain himself. Apparently has taken on the symbolic role of Sean's inner voice for compassionate behavior. (deceased) |
| Henry Shapiro |
Andrew Leeds |
1, 2 |
Matt's friend from high school. Ended up in jail after raping a girl he had developed an obsession on after he had a hit and run on her. |
| Natasha Charles |
Rebecca Gayheart |
2, 4 |
A blind patient who had a brief relationship with Christian. Returns as a fantasy to haunt Christian in season 4. |
| James Sutherland |
Georg Stanford Brown |
2 |
Biological father of Wilber, the baby Christian thought he had with Gina. (deceased) |
| Cherry Peck |
Willam Belli |
3 |
A transsexual who Matt attacks after finding out she is pre-op. He later befriends her. |
| Abby Mays |
Rebecca Metz |
3, 4 |
A patient of Christian's. Undergoes liposuction and then meets Christian for a date, where she consents to having sex with him while wearing a bag on her head. Later tells Christian she's a masochist and wants to do it again, he agrees. Returns as a fantasy to haunt Christian in season 4. |
| Dr. Faith Wolper |
Brooke Shields |
4 |
Christian's new psychiatrist who suggested that he may be in love with Sean. Later in that episode, Christian and Wolper have sex on her desk. She later learns of Christian's affair with Michelle, and informs Burt Landau of it. Following this, she is shown getting a lower back tattoo of Christian's name, inferring that she may in part be motivated by envy toward Michelle. |
| Monica Wilder |
Jennifer Hall |
4 |
A nanny who seduced Sean and threatened to inform the police and his wife Julia if he didn't return her affection. Killed by a bus. |
| Dr. Mike Hamoui |
Mario López |
4 |
A surgeon whom Christian is jealous of because of his good physical shape he performs a lipo on him and they become friends. He later buys Christian's apartment when he moves out and reveals that he admires him for his countless conquests. |
| Dawn Budge |
Rosie O'Donnell |
4, 5 |
A "rags to riches" patient who pays for extensive plastic surgery for her and her family and a one night stand with Christian. O'Donnell has agreed to star in a Nip/Tuck spin-off about her character Dawn Budge.[1] Came to L.A. after a n incident with an eagle to get surgery from McNamara/Troy. Became a desequilibrate's 4th victim. |
| Poppy |
Alanis Morissette |
4 |
Liz's girlfriend. |
| Fiona McNeil |
Lauren Hutton |
5 |
A powerful Hollywood Publicist and McNamara/Troy's agent. |
| Freddy Prune |
Oliver Platt |
5 |
The creator of the television drama "Hearts n'Scalpels." Was briefly Dawn Budge's lover before being outed. Became a desequilibrate's 5th victim. |
| Aidan Stone |
Bradley Cooper |
5 |
Lead Actor on a television drama called "Hearts n'Scalpels." He is quite immature and often sleeps with young girls. He also advises Sean on how to stay young without surgery. |
| Kate Tinsley |
Paula Marshall |
5 |
Lead Actress on a television drama called "Hearts n'Scalpels." Briefly dated Sean McNamara. |
| Ram Peters |
John Schneider |
5 |
Porn director and Kimber's lover. Once tried to get Matt to do gay porn. |
