Main characters
Carl Lucas / Luke Cage
Carl Lucas (portrayed by Mike Colter), a former convict who was given superhuman strength and unbreakable skin, now fights crime under the name Luke Cage. [1] [2] [3] [4]
By November 2014, Lance Gross, Colter, and Cleo Anthony were in contention for the role of Luke Cage, a recurring role on the series Marvel's Jessica Jones followed by a headlining role on Luke Cage. [5] Colter was confirmed in the role the next month, as a series regular in both series. [1] He signed on for the two shows without reading any scripts. [6] Colter had been reluctant to sign on due to the comics depiction of the character, [7] which he was familiar with already, [8] saying "when I saw the tiara, all the 1970s blacksploitation stuff, I was like, 'oh my God...' But they assured me, '...we're doing a modern day version.'" [7]
Colter discussed the differences in his portrayal in the two series, saying, "You're not always the same person around everyone you know ... you might not necessarily behave the same way around your mom that you would with your wife or your boss or your fraternity brothers." In Jessica Jones, Cage was vulnerable and "in a bit of a freefall", but in Luke Cage "he's trying to regroup and trying to figure out what's his next move. And then the events that happen in the first few episodes get him going, they catapult him into action." [9] On factoring in race when playing the character, Colter said, "The approach with the character for me is more about the human qualities and the things that make Luke Cage tick ... the writers have to then decide to bring in the race of the character, if there's an angle there. But I don't look at it as something I have to prep differently for ... it's more of an aside". [8] Colter put on 30 pounds (14 kg) of muscle for the role. [10] David Austin and Clifton Cutrary portray a young and teenage Lucas, respectively.
Describing Cage, Colter said, "He's a neighborhood hero, very much linked to New York and Jessica Jones. It's all part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but Luke Cage is a darker, grittier, more tangible character than Iron Man or Thor ... He has these abilities but he's not sure how and when to use them. [3] Later elaborating, Colter said, "He's a renaissance man, he's trying to better himself and there's something to be said about someone who's always trying to make themselves better, trying to change." [11] Colter noted that the character's catch phrase 'Sweet Christmas' is used in the series, saying "I was afraid of that phrase, but it actually fits so well, I don't know why, I don't know why it fits so well into Luke's mouth." [7] The phrase is used sparingly though, with the character often "opting instead for pensive silence"; composer Adrian Younge said, "He's a black superhero, but he's a different type of black alpha male. He's not bombastic. You rarely see a modern black male character who is soulful and intelligent." [12]
Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes
Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes (portrayed by Mahershala Ali) is the owner of the Harlem's Paradise nightclub and the cousin of Mariah Dillard, who deals in illegal operations. [13] [14] [15] He is later killed by an enraged Mariah who first framed Luke Cage for the murder and later shifted it to Diamondback.
Ali joined the cast as Stokes in September 2015, [13] despite knowing that the character would die early on in the series. He compared the experience to "shooting a film, as opposed to stepping into another marriage that you never know how long is going to work out" explaining that when Netflix approached him "about Luke Cage, they gave me the arc, and for the first time, I found myself excited by a character's departure, because I felt like this was something I could give my all to for a period of time before saying 'peace' to him... It gave me a certain freedom to try to do my best work and make peace with it once he experiences his demise." [16] Elijah Boothe portrays a young Stokes.
Ali described Stokes as "a Godfather -type villain", [17] while Head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb referred to him as "the other hero of the story", continuing the tradition of previous Marvel Netflix villains Wilson Fisk and Kilgrave. [18] Ali felt that Stokes is "complicated in his own way. He's somebody who goes about things in a different way than the normal person, including myself." [19] Showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker, a former music journalist, said that the attitude of rapper Biggie Smalls, whom Coker had been friends with, permeates Luke Cage but particularly influenced his version of Cottonmouth. [18] [20] Ali, who creates mixtapes for each of the characters he portrays so "sonically, the character has a soundtrack", stated that his mixtape for Cottonmouth took into account the fact that he was from Harlem, and included songs from Big L, Diamond D, Brand Nubian, D'Angelo, Mobb Deep, Kanye West, and Erykah Badu. [21]
Misty Knight
Mercedes Kelly "Misty" Knight (portrayed by Simone Missick) is a Detective at the 29th Precinct and partner of Rafael Scarfe with a strong sense of justice, who is determined to learn about Cage. [22] [23] After losing her right arm in an encounter with Bakuto, she returns to the police force as Claire Temple and Colleen Wing help her cope with having one arm. She is later given a robotic arm by Danny Rand and Colleen Wing.
Missick, who was announced in the role of Knight in September 2015, [22] [23] described the character as "her own person. She's not the wife. She's not a girlfriend. She's not a sidepiece or a sidekick." [18] Missick continued that Misty Knight is "a person who has a very strong moral compass who is absolutely dedicated to protecting her community", adding her proudest moment in playing the character, was the fact that she "believes in the system, even though... [with] our current times, it's difficult to believe in the system." [24] In approaching the character, Missick chose to not read the comics to avoid the expectations of fans, and instead focus on creating her version of the character. In the series, Knight has what Missick called a "superpower" referred to as 'Misty Vision' that allows her to look at a crime scene and deduce what happened. [25]
Hernan "Shades" Alvarez
Hernan "Shades" Alvarez (portrayed by Theo Rossi) is a relentless, menacing, smooth and manipulative, street smart criminal working for Diamondback with ties to Cage's past where they were inmates at Seagate Prison. [26] [23] [27] [28] By the end of season two, Shades is arrested for the murder of Candace Miller and Comanche.
Rossi was announced as being cast as Shades in September 2015. [23] [27] Loeb called Shades "kind of the Littlefinger of Luke Cage", "the ultimate opportunist". [18] He wears sunglasses for most of the series, and used Marvel's Daredevil and Charlie Cox's acting as research, since he could not use his eyes to act, similar to Cox as Matt Murdock. [19]
Willis Stryker / Diamondback
Willis Stryker (portrayed by Erik LaRay Harvey) is a powerful arms dealer who is Cage's half-brother and the one who framed him for the crime that sent him to Seagate Prison. [29] [30] He later has a showdown with Luke Cage outside of Pop's barbershop while sporting an exo-suit. Luke manages to defeat Diamondback, who is arrested by the police. Luke later tells Jessica Jones he had Stryker sent to the Raft. [31]
In March 2016, set photos revealed that Harvey had been cast as Stryker in the series. [29] This was not officially announced by Marvel prior to the series' release, and Harvey agreed not to do any publicity for the show, to not "ruin the twist" of Stryker being the series' main villain. [32] Harvey chose not to read the comics to learn more about the character in order to not "interfere with what we were trying to do and cloud my judgment," instead relying on Coker to develop the 2016 version of Stryker, including adjusting his backstory to be the half-brother of Carl Lucas. However, Coker did try to bring as much of the comics' version of the character to the series as he could, including adapting the character's comic costume into armor that allows Stryker to match Cage's super strength. [30] Jared Kemp portrays a teenage Stryker.
Harvey talked about the character's illegitimacy, saying, "My character had been called a bastard his whole life. How does that make a person operate? How would you feel if your childhood was illegitimized and ignored and swept under a rug? That's what drives Willis ... He gets sent away because of his father's actions and then once he's in the jail system, he just gets tortured. After all that, his mind's been twisted and warped, and he's developed this sensitivity that's almost psychopathic." Regarding the character's fighting style, Harvey worked with the series' fight coordinator to give Stryker "quick, really fast dabs and slithers" in his movement "because he's very elusive", given "Diamondback" is named after a species of snakes. The character is always seen smiling when killing or defaming Cage's name, which is "just his way of dealing with his pain. He smiles through his pain." [30]
Claire Temple
Claire Temple (portrayed by Rosario Dawson) is a nurse in Hell's Kitchen, whose friendship with Cage will affect both of their lives. [23] [27]
In November 2015, Dawson was confirmed to be reprising her role of Temple from the previous Marvel Netflix series. [23] [27] "Because she plays a nurse that basically seems to be in the right place at the right time, and she's very good at helping out superheroes who are in need, and I think you will see some of that in Luke Cage," said Colter. "Ultimately I think she's going to be a very good companion for Luke. I think she's someone that Luke needs in his life at this time." [33]
Mariah Stokes-Dillard
Mariah Stokes-Dillard (portrayed by Alfre Woodard) is a local councilwoman, Stokes' cousin, and Tilda Johnson's mother looking to bring change to Harlem, whose life is "thrown into turmoil" by the actions of Cage and Stokes. [34] [18] By the end of season two, having embraced her birth name of Stokes, Mariah is arrested for her illegal activities secretly poisoned by Tilda in her jail cell and dies from the poison.
In August 2015, Woodard, who portrays Miriam Sharpe in the MCU film Captain America: Civil War , [35] was in talks to join the cast, [36] and the following month she was confirmed as a series regular, portraying Dillard, a different character. [34] [18] Woodard, who lives in Harlem, [12] felt that the scripts for the episodes were some "of the smartest pieces of writing [I'd] ever come across", [19] and was convinced to join the project after Coker proved his love of Harlem and its culture. [12] The series' version of the character is significantly different from the comics' Black Mariah, with her portrayed as not necessarily a criminal herself, though she does feel a responsibility to her family which includes Stokes. [26] [37] To pay homage to her origins, Coker wanted to give the character the nickname "Black Mariah", which Woodard agreed with if it was used sensitively. The nickname is ultimately used by Stokes as a personal insult from their past growing up together, in retaliation to Dillard verbally attacking him. [37] Megan Miller portrays a young Dillard.
Tilda Johnson
Tilda Johnson (portrayed by Gabrielle Dennis) is an holistic doctor who cannot stay out of trouble in Harlem. [38] She is the daughter of Mariah Dillard as the result of one of her rapes at the hands of Pistol Pete.
Dennis was announced as cast for the second season in July 2017. [38]
John McIver / Bushmaster
John McIver (portrayed by Mustafa Shakir) is a natural leader focused on Harlem and vengeance. [38] He is the leader of the Yardies offshoot called the Stylers where he has a personal vendetta against the Stokes family for their double-crossing on his family. Using a drug called Nightshade, Bushmaster gets super-strength enough to go up against Luke Cage. By the end of the second season, Bushmaster is taken back to Jamaica with his uncle's corpse to recuperate and to assist his aunt into giving his uncle a proper funeral.
Shakir was announced as cast for the second season in July 2017. [38]
Colleen Wing
Colleen Wing (portrayed by Jessica Henwick) is a former member of the Hand, Rand's lover, and the owner of a New York City dojo. [39]
Colleen helps Misty Knight by training her to fight with one arm. As she and Misty Knight are having drinks in the bar, they are attacked by Mr. Fish. Colleen takes out Mr. Fish's minions as Misty Knight defeats Mr. Fish. Colleen later assists Danny Rand into giving Misty Knight a robotic arm to replace the one that she lost.
Danny Rand / Iron Fist
Danny Rand / Iron Fist (portrayed by Finn Jones) is a billionaire Buddhist monk, co-CEO of Rand Enterprises, and martial arts expert with the ability to call upon the mystical power of the Iron Fist, who Luke partnered with during his investigation of the Hand during the events in The Defenders . [40]
Danny Rand and Colleen Wing give Misty Knight a robotic arm to replace the one that she lost. He later helps Luke Cage in searching for Bushmaster.
Blake Tower
Blake Tower (portrayed by Stephen Rider) is a New York assistant district attorney. [41] He was first seen outside Harlem's Paradise where Diamondback was holding hostages. In Season Two, he prosecuted against Mariah Dillard at her arraignment.
