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Jessica Jones is an American streaming television series created for Netflix by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise, and is the second in a series of shows that lead up to a Defenders crossover miniseries.
The series stars Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, with Rachael Taylor, Eka Darville, and Carrie-Anne Moss also starring. They were joined by Mike Colter, Wil Traval, Erin Moriarty, and David Tennant for the first season, J. R. Ramirez, Terry Chen, Leah Gibson and Janet McTeer for the second season, and Benjamin Walker, Sarita Choudhury, Jeremy Bobb and Tiffany Mack for the third season. In addition to original characters, several characters based on various Marvel properties also appear throughout the series.
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Jessica Jones
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Jessica Jones (portrayed by Krysten Ritter) is a former superhero with the abilities of superhuman strength and flight, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after Kilgrave enslaved her for eight months and made her kill Luke Cage's wife, Reva Connors; after Jones gives up the superhero life, she opens her own detective agency,[1][2] Alias Investigations.[3]
By November 2014, Ritter, Alexandra Daddario, Teresa Palmer, Jessica De Gouw and Marin Ireland were being tested for the role of Jessica Jones,[1] with Ritter having been auditioning since October and on the top of executive producer and showrunner Melissa Rosenberg's list for playing Jones, even when Rosenberg was earlier developing the series for ABC.[4] The next month, Ritter was cast in the role. Ritter and Palmer had been the final candidates, with both auditioning opposite Mike Colter to test chemistry.[2] Ritter stated that she read through Alias in preparation for the role and expressed delight in working with Rosenberg.[5] On adapting the character from the comics, Jeph Loeb stated, "Jessica Jones [i]s based on a much more adult comic. The source material came that way. She has real problems with a number of things that she abuses! And we're not shying away from that. There's no tidying her up."[6] Ritter called playing the character the "biggest acting challenge" in her career and praised the character development.[7] She explained that when she was playing the character, she took "a lot from the comics because she's so well-drawn. We have some lines that are pulled from the comics, but then the script—she's as developed for television as she is in the comics".[4] Ritter put on 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of muscle for the role and trained for two months before filming began.[8] Elizabeth Cappuccino portrayed a young Jessica.[9]
Series costume designer Stephanie Maslansky was assisted on the first episode by Jenn Rogien, who crafted Jessica Jones' leather jacket, faded jeans, and boots costume. On Jessica's costume, Maslansky said she "considers her clothing to be an armor and a shield and something that helps her maintain a distance from other people and privacy. It keeps her from having to deal with the rest of humanity in a certain sort of way." At least 10 versions of Jessica's jacket were made, which started as an Acne Studios leather motorcycle jacket that had any "bells and whistles and any additional superfluous design details" removed, while 20 pairs of jeans were used, with both being aged and distressed.[10]
Ritter described the character by saying that "she goes about things in a very odd way, she's very rough around the edges, and dry and sarcastic and a total asshole sometimes. But I think at her core she's a good person."[4] Comparing the character to Matt Murdock in Marvel's Daredevil, Rosenberg said, "They're very different kinds of characters. Jessica is about paying rent and getting the next client. She's dealing with a fairly dark past. She's trying to get through the day. She's not really trying to save the city. She's trying to save her apartment. At her core, she does share something with Matt Murdock, and he's a little more aware of it, that she wants to do something good. She wants to contribute to the world. But, there are a lot of personality issues for her that can get in the way. ... Matt Murdock has been studying martial arts. He has extraordinary fighting skills. Jessica Jones is a brawler. She gets drunk, she gets pissed off and boom, you're down. She doesn't wear a costume. She doesn't have a mask. She's just who she is. She's an extremely blunt, direct person, and that applies to the action, as well."[11]
Ritter was nominated for the 6th Critics' Choice Television Awards' Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Jones.[12]
Luke Cage
Luke Cage (portrayed by Mike Colter) is a man with superhuman strength and unbreakable skin, with a mysterious past that Jones encounters in the course of an investigation and who changes her life immensely.[13][14]
In November 2014, Lance Gross, Colter, and Cleo Anthony were in contention for the role of Luke Cage, which was envisioned as a recurring role in the series before headlining Marvel's Luke Cage.[1] Colter was confirmed in the role the next month,[13] having signed on for the series, and others, without reading any scripts,[15] and being drawn to the series because of its opportunity to have character exploration, which he felt was lacking in the MCU films.[16] He put on 30 pounds (14 kg) of muscle for the role.[17] Rosenberg noted that because Cage has his own series to explore who he is, she represents him as "a man of few words" rather than trying to say anything about who he is in particular.[4] Colter was pleased and surprised that the audience "got" the character, as Luke "was a man of few words and a lot of subtext," which "was refreshing because we were going for this character in a way that said little but spoke volumes because of their past history together. I felt people got the subtleties." When Loeb described the character to Colter, he said "that Luke doesn't have to try hard at anything. It just happens." This helped Colter form the character, along with using his opposite personal experience of having to work hard for everything. Colter also credited Rosenberg and S. J. Clarkson with helping him "get on the right track" with the character in the early episodes.[18] Maslansky felt that Cage was also someone "who wears his clothing like an armor," with his wardrobe consisting of T-shirts, jeans, leather jackets or an army jacket.[10]
Colter described the character as "a neighborhood hero, very much linked to New York and Jessica Jones. [He] is a darker, grittier, more tangible character than Iron Man or Thor. He likes to keep things close to his chest, operate on the hush-hush. He has these abilities but he's not sure how and when to use them."[14] Loeb said the character "is important to the show, and he is certainly important to the story of Jessica Jones and who she is. It would not be Jessica Jones unless you at least understood how Luke affected her life and where she is." He also added that the series sees Luke Cage "not quite in the middle, but in the early part of the middle" of his story, and that Luke Cage allows Marvel to "tell a great deal of story that happens before, and a great deal of story that happens afterwards."[11]
Trish Walker / Hellcat
Patricia "Trish" Walker (portrayed by Rachael Taylor) is a former model and child star known as "Patsy" who is Jones' adoptive sister and best friend and now works as a radio host. Trish is depicted as the main antagonist of the third season of Jessica Jones as the vigilante serial killer "Hellcat".[19]
Taylor was cast in January 2015.[19] The role of Jones' best friend was intended for the character of Carol Danvers when Rosenberg was developing the series at ABC,[20][21] but was changed to Walker due to the changing nature of the MCU and that Danvers would appear in her own film. Rosenberg ultimately found this to be "much more appropriate...it was better that [Jessica's] best friend was not someone with powers. It actually ends up being a really great mirror for her."[21] Speaking about the character, Loeb said, "what's most important is the relationship between her and Jessica, and how these two women who are, in some ways, sisters, in terms of their friendship, could be that different, and yet believe in the same kinds of things. That question of, what is it to be a hero and the responsibilities that you have when you have abilities, is something that brings them together, but also continually pushes them apart. I think we're very lucky to have Melissa as a writer because she really grasps the insight of what it is to have a friendship with a woman, and the way that two women can actually be competitive and friendly, and love each other and hate each other, and have a history with each other."[11] Taylor added that Jessica "was the first person to not care about the exterior parts of Patsy Walker or Trish Walker. She was the first person to see her for who she really was".[22] Catherine Blades portrayed a young Trish.
To prepare for the role, Taylor "looked into a bunch of child stars" and determined "that the main source of [their] damage comes from feeling that they're loved for what they do and not who they are. The maternal/paternal or familial love or any kind of love is dependent on them being successful, making money, being sparkly, being famous, whatever the thing is." On the multiple alias Trish wields in the series, Taylor said, "Trish has a number of them. I think there is a part of her that is alpha that actually, if she had the kind of abilities that Jessica had, she would probably be President of the United States in that world or the equivalent. She would take it as far as she could because she has that in her."[22]
Will Simpson
Will Simpson (portrayed by Wil Traval) is an NYPD sergeant who is very serious about his job.[3][15] He was later killed by Alisa Jones.
Traval joined the cast in February 2015.[3] He felt that Simpson sees everything in "black and white" and that "justice can be served easily," an opposite to Jessica, who "deals in a world of gray" that causes the two to have friction between them.[23] Traval described the character as "reinvented" and "reshaped" for the series from the one in the comics, where the character is known as Frank Simpson, as the comic character was "a little bit too hard to handle. [H]e was just a psychotic crazy guy."[23][24][25]
Hope Shlottman
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Hope Shlottman (portrayed by Erin Moriarty) is a student-athlete attending New York University who is a client of Alias Investigations, upon her parents hiring Jessica to find their missing daughter. Later made to murder her parents by Kilgrave, proving her innocence becomes Jessica's objective for much of the first season; during this time, Hope discovers that she was impregnated by Kilgrave during her time as his slave, whereupon she has the fetus aborted. Exhausted by the ordeal and feeling that Jessica's drive to help her has caused more lives to be destroyed by Kilgrave, she takes her own life willingly to ensure that Jessica has nothing standing in her way of stopping Kilgrave permanently.[3][23][25]
Moriarty joined the cast in February 2015.[3] She called her character a "polar opposite" to Jessica Jones, describing Hope as "an all-American girl, [innocent and] really earnest". Over the course of the series, the two form a bond, with Jessica becoming protective of Hope, due to a shared experience they have with Kilgrave.[26]
Malcolm Ducasse
Malcolm Ducasse (portrayed by Eka Darville) is Jones' neighbor who struggles with drug addiction, resulting in his personal journey intertwining with hers.[3][23]
Darville joined the cast in February 2015.[3] He stated that Malcolm was a new character for the series, though inspired by "seed characters" from the comics. He also felt playing the character with the drug addiction "was pretty intense and dark" and that Malcolm's relationship with Jessica "is like a flip-flop between victim and savior... much more [sibling-like] than anything else."[23]
Jeri Hogarth
Jeryn "Jeri" Hogarth (portrayed by Carrie-Anne Moss) is an attorney and potentially powerful ally to Jones, who hires Jones for cases.[27][28]
Moss was announced as cast in early February 2015,[27] with her character revealed in October to be a gender-swapped (changed from male to female) version of the comics character Jeryn Hogarth.[29] The character was also made a lesbian.[29] Moss signed on to the series after reading the first two scripts, having been pitched the character by Loeb and Rosenberg. Moss described the character by saying that "she's fierce, she's strong, she's powerful, and she likes that power." She worked "a few days every episode", which allowed her to grow the character throughout the series, while not knowing what the character would become as she played each moment, which she noted was how real-life is.[30]
Moss reprised her role in the second season of Daredevil and in Iron Fist. Comparing those experiences to her much larger role on Jessica Jones, Moss said, "You want to come in and have something powerful. For Jessica Jones, that's where I get to have that experience. With the other shows, I'm having fun."[31]
Kevin Thompson / Kilgrave
Kevin "Kilgrave" Thompson (portrayed by David Tennant) is a mysterious man from Jones's past who can control minds and whose reappearance shakes up her life.[32] He was born with a neural disease and experimented on as a young child, which resulted in his acquiring an airborne virus that gave him his powers. He later changed his name to Kilgrave.
Rosenberg stated that Tennant was the choice for the character when the series was originally developed for ABC, but he was unavailable at that time, so the production made sure to "jump on him" when the series moved to Netflix.[33] To pitch Tennant on this version of the series, Rosenberg and Loeb spoke with him and gave him the scripts for the first two episodes (in which Kilgrave does not appear much) and drafts of some scenes from later in the series, including of the flashback where Kilgrave and Jones first meet.[34] Tennant was cast in January 2015.[32] Maslansky, who had originally planned to custom-make Kilgrave's wardrobe, used many suits created by designer Paul Smith from the previous fashion season for him since Smith "was all about purple." On his outfits, Maslansky added the designers "wanted to find a place where we could utilize clothing in shades of purple, but not go so over the top that it would look silly and that he would stop feeling ominous or menacing."[10] James Freedson-Jackson portrayed a young Kilgrave.
Tennant stated, "Kilgrave is the classic character who is abused and therefore perpetuates abuse. It was just a terrible, horrible cycle."[34] Loeb called Kilgrave "a terrible man who doesn't see himself as terrible" and compared him to Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk in Daredevil, saying, "There are going to be times [watching Daredevil] when you're uncomfortable because you're not quite rooting for Matt, you're kind of rooting for Wilson, and it's the same kind of thing you're going to find in Jessica. There's going to be moments where some of the things that she does [are] pretty questionable. And some of the things that, when you learn about Kilgrave's character and the way that David Tennant plays that character, it's really extraordinary."[6][15] Tennant noted that at first the idea of mind control seems "quite a rather splashy, kind of comic book idea" but that in reality, "the idea that everyone should bend to your every whim and that no one should ever contradict you, that you can have whatever you want whenever you wanted it....it's rather aspirational and rather desirable at first glance, but the fact of it is then rather horrifying, because you could never have a genuine human relationship with anyone...that starts touching on what kind of personality that would create, what kind of person that would make you, how that would pollute your worldview."[34]
Oscar Arocho
Oscar Arocho (portrayed by J. R. Ramirez) is the new building superintendent in Jones' building, and a single father whose son becomes enamored with Jones and her powers.[35]
Ramirez was cast in March 2017, which was revealed that July after the airing of his character's death on Power.[35][36]
Pryce Cheng
Pryce Cheng (portrayed by Terry Chen) is a rival private investigator.[37]
Inez Green
Inez Green (portrayed by Leah Gibson) is a "street-wise" nurse.[38][39]
Alisa Jones
Alisa Jones (portrayed by Miriam Shor in season one,[40] Janet McTeer in season two) is Jessica's mother who was seemingly killed in a car crash when she was young. It was later revealed that Karl Malus of IGH saved her life and has been going around targeting anyone involved with IGH.[41] Alisa was later killed by Trish while she was on the ferris wheel with Jessica. Detective Costa gave Jessica the credit of putting her mother out of her misery.
Erik Gelden
Erik Gelden (portrayed by Benjamin Walker) is a gambler with empathic super abilities. He blackmailed other individuals with his powers until he crossed paths with Gregory Sallinger. Erik becomes Jessica's newest love interest and ally.
Kith Lyonne
Kith Lyonne (portrayed by Sarita Choudhury) is the wife of law professor Peter Lyonne and the former flame of Jeri Hogarth.
Gregory Sallinger
Gregory Sallinger (portrayed by Jeremy Bobb) is a psychotic killer with high intelligence and an unusual obsession with wanting to kill Jessica and other powered beings.
Zaya Okonjo
Zaya Okonjo (portrayed by Tiffany Mack) is an employee of Hogarth's and Malcolm's new girlfriend.
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Introduced in season one
Pam
Pam (portrayed by Susie Abromeit) is Jeri Hogarth's assistant and lover.[42]
Abromeit worked with her manager, who is gay, to portray Pam as a lesbian, and created her own backstory for the character. This included childhood trauma and Pam's realization during college that she is attracted to women.[43]
Wendy Ross-Hogarth
Wendy Ross-Hogarth (portrayed by Robin Weigert) is a doctor and Jeri Hogarth's wife, whom Hogarth is divorcing.[44]
Nicole
Nicole (portrayed by Nichole Yannetty)[45] is an intern on Trish Walker's talk show.
Ruben
Ruben (portrayed by Kieran Mulcare) is Jones' upstairs neighbor and the twin brother of Robyn. He is later mind-controlled to kill himself by Kilgrave.[46]
Oscar Clemons
Oscar Clemons (portrayed by Clarke Peters) is an NYPD detective at the 15th Precinct. He is later killed by Will Simpson to keep him from getting the police involved in the search for Kilgrave.[25]
Robyn
Robyn (portrayed by Colby Minifie) is Jones' upstairs neighbor and the twin sister of Ruben.[46]
Clair
Clair (portrayed by Danielle Ferland) is a cellist and a victim of Kilgrave who becomes a member of a support group established by Jones.
Emma
Emma (portrayed by Gillian Glasco) is an actress and a victim of Kilgrave who becomes a member of a support group established by Jones.
Jackson
Jackson (portrayed by Ryan Farrell) is a victim of Kilgrave who becomes a member of a support group established by Jones.
Donald
Donald (portrayed by Paul Pryce) is a victim of Kilgrave who becomes a member of a support group established by Jones.
Louise Thompson
Louise Thompson (portrayed by Lisa Emery) is a scientist and Kilgrave's mother. She is later forced to commit suicide by Kilgrave.
Dorothy Walker
Dorothy Walker (portrayed by Rebecca De Mornay) is Trish Walker's abusive mother and talent agent who becomes Jessica's foster mother when she was young.[47] She was later killed by Gregory Sallinger.
Albert Thompson
Albert Thompson (portrayed by Michael Siberry) is a scientist and Kilgrave's father. After Albert tried to amplify his son's powers, Jessica later found him dead.
Introduced in season two
Griffin Sinclair
Griffin Sinclair (portrayed by Hal Ozsan) is Trish's new boyfriend and a news anchor.
Steven Benowitz
Steven Benowitz (portrayed by Maury Ginsberg) is one of the lead attorneys of Hogarth Chao & Benowitz.
Char
Char (portrayed by Rachel McKeon) is the professional, trusted assistant of Jeryn Hogarth at Hogarth & Associates.
Vido Arocho
Vido Arocho (portrayed by Kevin Chacon)[48] is the son of Oscar Arocho who befriends Jessica.
Eddy Costa
Eddy Costa (portrayed by John Ventimiglia) is a detective investigating the deaths of anyone involved with IGH who has crossed paths with Jessica Jones.
Ruth Sunday
Ruth Sunday (portrayed by Lisa Tharps) is Eddie Costa's detective partner. She was killed when Alisa fell out of the window with her.
Karl Malus
Karl Malus (portrayed by Callum Keith Rennie)[41] is a scientist who is one of the leaders of IGH. He was the one who saved the lives of Jessica Jones and Alisa Jones following a car accident and later gave powers to Trish. He committed suicide by blowing up his lab.
Shane Ryback
Shane Ryback (portrayed by Eden Marryshow) is a con artist working with Inez Green.
Introduced in season three
Gillian
Gillian (portrayed by Aneesh Sheth) is Jessica's newest assistant who is sarcastic and friendly. She is transgender.
Grace
Grace (portrayed by Jessica Francis Dukes) is Trish's co-host on Style with Trish.
Brianna Gelden
Brianna "Berry" Gelden (portrayed by Jamie Neumann) is the sister to Erik Gelden and a prostitute.
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The following is a supplementary list of recurring guest stars that appear in lesser roles or make significant cameo appearances. The characters are listed, in order of appearance on the show, by the other MCU media or season in which they first appeared.
Introduced in other TV series
- Brett Mahoney (portrayed by Royce Johnson; first appears in season one): A sergeant in the NYPD's 15th Precinct.[25]
- Claire Temple (portrayed by Rosario Dawson; first appears in season one): A nurse in Hell's Kitchen.[49]
- Franklin "Foggy" Nelson (portrayed by Elden Henson; first appears in season two): A lawyer at Hogarth, Chao & Benowitz.[50]
- Turk Barrett (portrayed by Rob Morgan; first appears in season two): A common thug who specializes in guns.[51]
- Thembi Wallace (portrayed by Tijuana Ricks; first appears in season two): A news reporter at WJBT News.[52]
Introduced in season one
Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance through an on-set photograph, the same one seen in Daredevil.[56] In Iron Fist, Lee's character is identified as NYPD Captain Irving Forbush.[57] |
Introduced in season two
Lee once again makes a cameo appearance through an on-set photograph, on an advertisement for the law firm Forbush and Associates.[48] |
Introduced in season three
- Cassie Yasdan (portrayed by Rileigh Skye McDonald): A young girl who was taken to Mexico by her father. Jessica returned Cassie to her mother.
- Mitch Yasdan (portrayed by Greg Abbey): A man who took his daughter Cassie from her mother after not getting custody of her causing an amber alert.
- Cody Willamet (portrayed by Dante Costabile): A sports figure and client of Hogarth's who keeps getting out of trouble.
- Andrew Brandt (portrayed by Matt Weiss): A minor criminal sought after by Trish and Jessica.
- Adrian (portrayed by Blake Morris): Trish's personal trainer.
- Peter Lyonne (portrayed by John Benjamin Hickey): Kith Lyonne's law professor husband, who is in an open relationship. He committed suicide in his bathtub while uploading a video that gave a bad name to Hogarth & Associates.
- Sal Blaskowski (portrayed by Barbara Tirrell): A female bookie that Erik owed money to. She was accidentally wounded by a disguised Trish.
- Dwayne Blaskowski (portrayed by Airon Armstrong): Sal's son and enforcer.
- Gor (portrayed by Ivica Marc): Brianna Gelden's pimp.
- Laurent Lyonne (portrayed by Michael Hsu Rosen): Peter and Kith Lyonne's elder son
- Caspar Marx (portrayed by Curran Connor): A chef and one of Salinger's victims who survived his time with him.
- Ronnie Velasco (portrayed by Mary McCann): The police chief of Wappinger Falls who causes trouble for Jessica. When Jessica tipped over the Silva's gazebo and started punching the ground, Ronnie tried to stop her only for Trish to hold her back by threatening to upload her interference. When Jessica was done, Ronnie witnessed the unearthing of a body bag containing Nathan Silva's corpse.
- Ana Silva (portrayed by Mateo Gomez): The mother of Nathan Silva who resides in Wappinger Falls who was reluctant to tell Jessica about Gregory Sallinger's friendship her son. When Jessica unearthed the corpse of Nathan from underneath the Silva family's gazebo, Ana was devastated by her son's death.
- Manuel Silva (portrayed by Leticia Castillo): The father of Nathan Silva who resides in Wappinger Falls who informed Jessica about Gregory Sallinger's friendship his son. When Jessica unearthed the corpse of Nathan from underneath the Silva family's gazebo, Manuela was shocked that his son was killed and buried in his backyard.
- Russell Costa (portrayed by Paco Lozano): Eddy Costa's husband.
- Joby (portrayed by Scott Stangland): A decoy hired by Sallinger.
- Mona Lee (portrayed by Ellen Mah): A worker at GT Agrochemical that was Sallinger's possible target.
- Officer Carl Nussbaumer (portrayed by Larry Mitchell): A corrupt police officer who Erik Gelden threatened to expose.
- Detective Imada (portrayed by Tina Chilip): A detective who suspects that Jones murdered Nussbaumer.
- Detective Defford (portrayed by Anthoula Katsimatides): A detective who suspects that Jones murdered Nussbaumer.
- Jace Montero (portrayed by Chaske Spencer): A property developer who committed arson around the city.
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