Dollhouse/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


The Dolls

Did I fall asleep?

"For a little while."

"Shall I go now?"

"If you like."

Dolls are people who have effectively sold themselves to the Rossum Corporation for a period of five years. During this time their memories and personalities are wiped clean and then rewritten in order to cater to the needs of Rossum's megarich customers. All Dolls qualify as Blank Slates in their unimprinted modes.

Echo/Caroline Farrell

I have 38 brains, and not one of them thinks you can sign a contract to be a slave.

Played by: Eliza Dushku

One of the Los Angeles Dollhouse's most popular dolls. Echo has begun to develop a self-awareness independent of her original personality.

Sierra/Priya Tsetsang

I love him so much more than I hate you.

Played by: Dichen Lachman

One of the newest additions to the Dollhouse. Formerly an Australian artist named Priya. The Dollhouse believes they helped her; five years of service in return for curing her severe paranoid schizophrenia. In reality, a high ranking Rossum employee drugged her into psychosis after she rejected his advances, sent her to the House, and rented out her services regularly. She eventually gets her payback.

Victor/Anthony Ceccoli

Played by: Enver Gjokaj

One of the most popular male dolls of the Dollhouse. His love for Sierra survives even in his unimprinted state. Formerly Tony, an Iraq war veteran who was recruited after The Dollhouse promised to cure his PTSD.

November/Madeline Costley

When someone's free they get to make mistakes. Am I free?

Played by: Miracle Laurie

November is another female doll in the LA Dollhouse. She spends much of the first season as a sleeper agent, imprinted with the personality of Paul Ballard's lovable neighbor Mellie.

  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: She's a "sleeper agent" possessing lethal martial arts abilities when triggered by a code phrase.
  • Driven to Suicide: she shoots herself in the head when her Mellie imprint comes up against her sleeper imprint, saving Ballard's life
  • Hollywood Pudgy: Somewhat subverted. She on occasion makes reference to her weight. Others (particularly Ballard) do not treat her as anything other than the attractive woman that she is.
  • Manchurian Agent
  • The Mole: As Mellie
  • Shallow Love Interest: Her imprinted personality as Mellie.

The Dollhouse staff

Adelle DeWitt

Illusions aren't worthless. They're at the heart of most relationships.

Played by: Olivia Williams

The Dollhouse's 'madam,' in charge of the Los Angeles branch. Outwardly cool, stoic and very British, in her private moments she has revealed a melancholy and loneliness she would die rather than show to her employees.

"You have made me an accomplice in something vile... and it ends now."

Dominic: You played a good hand, ma'am.
Adelle: I played a bad hand very well. There is a distinction.

Boyd Langton

We're pimps and killers, but in a philanthropic way.

Played by: Harry Lennix

Echo's gruff but kind handler. An ex-cop, he has serious reservations about the work the Dollhouse does, yet constantly shows unswerving loyalty to Echo. Acts as the moral lodestone of the Dollhouse. Later promoted to head of security. Ultimately revealed to be the head of Rossum

Topher Brink

If I think I can figure things out, is that curiosity or arrogance?

Played by: Fran Kranz

The Los Angeles Dollhouse's genius head programmer. He creates and implants the personalities used by the actives, but has little regard for the morality of what he is doing... at first.

Laurence Dominic

It's easy to be attached to your assigned active. In fact it's necessary, but don't think of them as children; think of them as pets. When your child starts talking for the first time, you feel proud. When your dog does, you freak the hell out.

Played by: Reed Diamond

The Dollhouse's original head of security and DeWitt's number two. He takes his job very seriously but is contemptuous of the dolls themselves. Saves a special dislike for Echo, whose autonomy he considers a security risk. Revealed to be The Mole, wiped and put in The Attic.

Dr. Claire Saunders/Whiskey

My entire existence was constructed by a sociopath in a sweater vest; what do you suggest I do?

Played by: Amy Acker

Chief medical officer at the Dollhouse, she was attacked by Alpha during his composite event and left with bad facial scarring. She is the Dollhouse employee with the most concern for the emotional well-being of the actives. Revealed to be Whiskey, a doll, implanted with a personality based partially off the previous (male) Dr. Saunders, who was killed by Alpha.

Ivy

My talents go beyond asking if he wants chocolate chip or oatmeal.

Played by: Liza Lapira

Topher's assistant in the imprint room. She thinks she's here to use her knowledge and technical skills to work the cutting-edge imprinting technology. Topher thinks she is here to bring him snacks. The male fans of Dollhouse think she's here because who doesn't love a cute Asian techie. Joss Whedon thinks she's here so she can become a suspect for the spy in "A Spy in the House of Love."

  • Beautiful All Along: It's notable that by the second season, her character both gets more screen time and starts to get better attention from wardrobe and makeup and playing up her attractiveness a lot more. Particularly notable in "A Love Supreme" when she's wearing eye shadow and lipstick as well as sporting a perm/hairstyle.
  • Girlish Pigtails
  • Hollywood Nerd
  • Hot Scientist: Even if Topher won't let her play.
  • Me's a Crowd: In the comic series, as shown by this cover:
  • The Igor: Played with in that even though she's Topher's assistant, she's very attractive and far from subservient.
  • Only Sane Woman: easily the most stable programmer we meet.
  • Punch Clock Villain: To the point were you forget she's moaning about not being allowed to Strip people of different identities and create Sex Slaves.
  • Ship Tease: Between her and Topher.

Bennett Halverson

Now's not the time for 'why.' I like this void. This evil, simple world. Just pain. Over and over again. No reason, no end, no in-between. You can't even pass out. We shut down everything that stands between you and blinding, searing pain.

Played by: Summer Glau

Topher's counterpart at the Dollhouse located in Washington, D.C. A former friend of Caroline, who was left to die by her in the past,[1] which has made her bitter - understandable since Caroline's abandonment left Bennett with a paralyzed left arm. Extremely shy and awkward, and has a huge geek-crush on Topher.


Other Rossum Employees

Matthew Harding

Everyone likes to take a little something home from the office once in a while.

Played by: Keith Carradine

Adelle's direct superior in the Dollhouse.

Clive Ambrose

You won't give up this body. That's fine, I won't resist. Right now I'm having this same conversation in ten other bodies in ten other Dollhouses around the country.

Played by: Philip Casnoff, and also others ? see below

Face of the Rossum Corporation.

  • Body Surf: As of "Epitaph One," he's in at least eleven separate human bodies. Later he joins Harding in constantly jumping from body to body to maintain his power over the ruined world of "Epitaph Two: Return."
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive
  • Trademark Favorite Food: His original body was allergic to shellfish, so after that's no longer a concern, he develops a real sweet tooth for them.

Nolan Kinnard

Played by: Vincent Ventresca

Highly skilled neuro-chemist working for the Rossum Corporation. Knew Priya before she became a doll; when she refused his advances, he drugged her to make her appear psychotic and manipulated the Dollhouse into taking her on as a "humanitarian" case.

Clyde Randolph

Played by: Adam Godley

The inventor of the imprinting process and co-founder of Rossum. Original Recipe Clyde was betrayed by his business partner and became the attic's first occupant-victim. An imprint of him, modified to be unambitious and obedient, now runs things at Rossum.

  • Awesome McCoolname: "Arcane." Lampshaded: "I thought it sounded badass."
  • Big Bad, well, at least the second or third copy is. The original is locked in the Attic and very bitter.
  • Body Surf: There have been at least five versions of the modified Clyde, plus the original in the Attic.
  • Knight Templar. In the Attic, original Clyde is killing people (a) to put them out of their misery, and (b) to help take down the computer mainframe their brains comprise.

Others

Alpha/Carl William Craft

I'm not kidding. He's not fooling. We're not bluffing. (I'm bluffing.) But the rest of us, we mean business.

Played by: (Alan Tudyk)

A former Active, he had 48 personalities downloaded into his brain during a "composite event." He proceeded to get slash-happy and killed his handler, Echo's handler and a dozen other people before escaping. He has an obsession with Echo. He remains a looming presence throughout the first season, and has been known to contact Paul Ballard with information concerning the Dollhouse.

Paul Ballard

The Dollhouse is real!

Played by: Tahmoh Penikett

FBI agent striving to investigate the truth about The Dollhouse, a job described as "the nicest version of fired the bureau has." Like Alpha, he has developed an unhealthy obsession with Echo/Caroline, but you know, a less slashy one.

Senator Daniel Perrin

Loomis

It's a good thing I'm relatively sure you're not crazy.

Played by: Aisha Hinds

Graham Tanaka

Played by: Mark Sheppard

The Future

These are characters we first meet in "Epitaph One" and any other future-set episodes. Any characters met in the present day who later appear in these episodes go up top.

Iris

Played by: Adair Tishler

Mag

Played by: Felicia Day

Zone

Played by: Zack Ward

  1. ↑ okay, not really; Caroline had Bennett's best interests in mind--it's complicated
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