List of Wizards of Waverly Place characters

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The Wizards of Waverly Place cast of season two. (Left to right) David Henrie as Justin Russo, Jake T. Austin as Max Russo, Jennifer Stone as Harper Finkle, Selena Gomez as Alex Russo, David DeLuise as Jerry Russo and Maria Canals-Barrera as Theresa Russo. WOWPcast2.jpg
The Wizards of Waverly Place cast of season two. (Left to right) David Henrie as Justin Russo, Jake T. Austin as Max Russo, Jennifer Stone as Harper Finkle, Selena Gomez as Alex Russo, David DeLuise as Jerry Russo and Maria Canals-Barrera as Theresa Russo.

The Disney Channel original series Wizards of Waverly Place was created by Todd J. Greenwald. The series first aired on October 12, 2007, and ended on January 6, 2012.

Contents

The series centers on the fictional characters of the Russo family, which includes Alex (Selena Gomez), her older brother Justin (David Henrie), and their younger brother Max (Jake T. Austin). The three Russo siblings are wizards in training and live with their Italian-American father, Jerry (David DeLuise), a former wizard, and their Mexican-American mother, Theresa (Maria Canals-Barrera), who is a mortal.

The siblings have to keep their magical powers secret while living in the mortal world. When they complete their wizard training, the three siblings have to compete in the wizard competition to decide who will become the next family wizard and keep their powers. [1]

A sequel series, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place , began airing October 29, 2024. The series follows middle school principal Justin living with his wife Giada (Mimi Gianopulos), and their sons Roman (Alkaio Thiele) and Milo (Max Matenko), while he teaches magic to the young wizard Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown), who also attends Greenwald Middle School with Roman and their friend Winter (Taylor Cora). [2]

Overview

CharacterPortrayed by Wizards of Waverly Place Alex vs. Alex Wizards Beyond
Season 1 Season 2 The Movie Season 3 Season 4 Season 1Season 2
Alex Russo Selena Gomez Main Guest
Justin Russo David Henrie MainMentionedMain
Max Russo Jake T. Austin MainMentioned
Harper Finkle Jennifer Stone Main
Theresa Russo Maria Canals Barrera MainGuestTBA
Jerry Russo David DeLuise MainGuestTBA
Archie Steve Valentine Main
Javier Xavier Torres Main
GiselleJennifer AldenMain
Mason Greyback Gregg Sulkin Mentioned Recurring Main
Dominic Beau Mirchoff Main
Billie RussoJanice LeAnn BrownMain
Roman RussoAlkaio ThieleMain
Milo RussoMax MatenkoMain
WinterTaylor CoraMain
Giada Russo Mimi Gianopulos Main

    Main

    Alex Russo

    Alexandra Margarita Russo (Selena Gomez) is the only female of the three Russo siblings and the middle child. She is sly, rebellious, outgoing, and usually underachieves when it comes to school. She often gets into trouble because of her constant schemes (usually involving magic). [3] Alex and Justin Russo are the only characters to appear in every episode of the series and the shows focus tends to be on her and her journey being/becoming a wizard

    Justin Russo

    Justin Vincenzo Pepé Russo (David Henrie) is Alex's and Max's older brother and the oldest of the three Russo siblings. He is very smart and is often considered a "nerd" because he is in numerous clubs and has learned over 5000 spells. He continues his wizard studies in a Monster Hunting course. For his knowledge of wizardry, he takes after his father, Jerry, who originally won the Wizard Family Competition against Kelbo and Megan.

    Max Russo

    Maximilian Alonzo Ernesto Russo (Jake T. Austin) is the youngest of the three Russo siblings. Although Max is an underachiever in the beginning, he advances more during the series. During season four, Alex and Justin accidentally turn Max into a little girl who is then given the name "Maxine" (Bailee Madison). Maxine remains as such for five episodes starting from "Three Maxes and a Little Lady" and ending with "Back to Max" when the spell is reversed.

    Harper Finkle

    Harper Finkle (Jennifer Stone) is Alex's best friend. She used to have a crush on her brother, Justin Russo, but eventually falls in love with Justin's best friend, Zeke Beakerman. Harper is a typical teenager: self-expressive but a little insecure at times. Unlike Alex, she is a hardworking student and a fairly positive person. During season 2, Harper finds out about the Russo family's wizard powers.

    Theresa Russo

    Theresa Russo (Maria Canals-Barrera) is the mother of Justin, Alex and Max Russo and co-owner of the Waverly Sub Station, with her husband Jerry. Theresa is the slightly more serious one of the couple and doesn't like magic being used in the house. Theresa is Mexican American (as a Latina, Canals Barrera has Spanish ancestry through her Cuban parents). [4]

    Jerry Russo

    Jerry Russo (David DeLuise) is the father of Justin, Alex and Max Russo and co-owner of the Waverly Sub Station with his wife Theresa. He is also a former wizard who chose to give up his powers to marry his wife Theresa, a mortal, due to a rule forbidding wizards to marry mortals. Jerry is Italian American (DeLuise also has Italian ancestry). [5]

    Billie

    Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown) is a wizard-in-training who comes to live with Justin and his family in the sequel series. She is a young and very powerful wizard.

    Roman Russo

    Roman Russo (Alkaio Thiele) is the oldest son of Justin and Giada Russo and older brother of Milo. He is an intelligent and awkward twelve-year-old boy.

    Milo Russo

    Milo Russo (Max Matenko) is the youngest son of Justin and Giada Russo as well as Roman's younger brother. He is a creative and goofy fifth grader. His nemesis is his young neighbor, Bella Bianchi.

    Giada Russo

    Giada Russo (Mimi Gianopulos) is Roman and Milo Russo's mother and Justin's mortal wife. She is a television journalist for WOWP, which is also the acronym for the original series.

    Winter

    Winter (Taylor Cora) is Billie and Roman's best friend. She loves unicorns and is a very cheerful girl.

    Recurring

    The following is a list of recurring characters in the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place.

    Other recurring

    Minor

    Film

    Characters only appear in Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie .

    TV special

    Characters only appear in The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex .

    Guests

    References

    1. Wizards of Waverly Place , retrieved October 26, 2022
    2. Hipes, Patrick; Tapp, Tom (January 18, 2024). "Yes, Selena Gomez Is Back For The 'Wizards of Waverly Place' Sequel: Here's Everything We Know About Its Cast, Plot, Release Date & More". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved February 4, 2024.
    3. "21 Reasons Alex Russo From 'Wizards Of Waverly Place' Is Your Ideal BFF". MTV. Archived from the original on October 26, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
    4. Wizards of Waverly Place episode: "You Can't Always Get What You Carpet"
    5. Wizards of Waverly Place episode: "Quinceañera"
    6. "Smarty Pants", season 2, episode 1 has Zeke in the credits; in "Movies", season 1, episode 9 he is called "Zack".
    7. Sharf, Zack (March 28, 2023). "Selena Gomez's 'Waverly Place' Character Would've Been Bisexual, Head Writer Says 'We Weren't Able' to Make It Explicit: 'We Got as Close as We Could'". Variety. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
    8. "The Supernatural", season 1, episode 15, has "Kari Landsdorf" in the credits.