List of Deadwood characters
This article contains fictional character biographies from the HBO original series Deadwood.
Major characters
Seth Bullock
Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) left his Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada home at 16 and wound up a Marshal in Montana. Soon he heard stories of gold in Deadwood. Rather than searching for gold, he wanted to open a hardware store with best friend and longtime partner, Sol Star. At the camp, he met Wild Bill Hickok. When Hickok was murdered, Bullock pursued the killer into the Black Hills and captured him, taking him back to Dakota for trial. After his return, he became sheriff of Deadwood. Bullock, one of the few honest men in the camp, was enlisted to look after a gold claim for Alma Garret, an upper class East Coast woman whose husband was killed by Swearengen's men over that claim. Eventually, they became sexually involved despite the fact that Bullock is married to his brother's widow and is the stepfather of their son.
He decides ultimately to end his relationship with Alma when his wife Martha and son William come to Deadwood, though later he learns that Alma is pregnant with his son. The relationship between Bullock and Martha continues to be rocky in the aftermath of her arrival until they are struck by tragedy, when William is killed by a wild horse. Though the tragedy is devastating it brings the two closer together and Martha chooses to stay with him in Deadwood.
Although his honest character is instinctively repulsed by Swearengen (and vice versa) the two have formed an uneasy alliance to defend the camp against outside interests (e.g., the Hearst mining interests, the territorial government, Alma Garret's in-laws) who have begun to appear in the camp, now that Deadwood shows the potential of some degree of wealth. His fiery temper however, often clouds his judgement, distancing him from his friends. He makes a dangerous enemy of George Hearst because he is determined to stand against his criminal conduct. This put him in considerable danger, as Hearst does at one point try to create circumstances in which Bullock might accidentally be killed.
Error in show compared to reality, in the pilot episode he states he came from Manitoba, which is an obvious mistake as Seth Bullock was born in Etobicoke, Ontario today it is part of Toronto, Ontario.
Al Swearengen
Albert Swearengen (Ian McShane) is the proprietor of the Gem Saloon and the founder and de facto head of Deadwood. Apparently born in England, raised in a Chicago orphanage under an abusive figure known as Mrs. Anderson whom he insults and derides on numerous occasions during drunken rants, and having spent time in Australia, Swearengen has forged a formidable position in Deadwood. The most popular place for drinking, gambling, and prostitution in Deadwood, the Gem also acts as Swearengen’s base of operations for various criminal endeavours.
Swearengen is cunning, manipulative and initially appears to be the most cynically amoral of all the characters, showing no hesitation in resorting to violence and murder when it serves his business interests; this is highlighted in the first season by his orchestrating of the cheating and then killing of dandy Brom Garrett, and the drugging of his widow Alma, in order to secure their gold claim; and by his willingness to have a child killed to elimate witnesses to the unauthorized murders of her family by road agents in his employ. He also noticeably distances himself from the more tragic events of the camp, such as the death of William Bullock, under the excuse that it is 'not his department'; but his cynicism, as well as his profane sense of humor, may also be the outward displays of the knowledge that to show weakness would be to render himself and his operations vulnerable to the violent interference of others.
Swearengen has been able to establish himself as the undisputed kingpin of the camp until the arrival of equally ruthless businessman Cy Tolliver in Season 1, with whom he is willing to share the different demographics of the town's market in drink, gambling and women, rather than engage in a turf war. When former U.S. Marshal Seth Bullock comes to camp to sell hardware, his upright and law-abiding manner seems a threat to Swearengen, and they initially butt heads until Swearengen decides to make Bullock the "face" of Deadwood and encourages him to pick up the badge again, turning respectability to his advantage in securing the camp's future. Interestingly, developments show Swearengen to be the most pragmatic of Deadwood's denizens, showing at most times a far cooler head than the quick-to-anger Bullock.
Swearengen’s central goal is to retain his own business interests in Deadwood and keep the camp stable and secure in the future, an attitude seemingly born not of altruism but of the desire for control. As the camp is set upon, first by political interests and then by big capital, Swearengen comes to the realization that the preservation of his own interests depends on collaboration with others in the camp, and this turning outward reveals him capable of kindness as well as self-interest. He displays an almost paternalistic affection for his three main henchmen, Dan Dority, Johnny Burns, and Silas Adams, that is simultaneously offset, and disguised, by his often belligerent attitude towards them. He is affectionate toward Trixie, one of the prostitutes of the Gem, and is deeply offended when she sets out for independence, though eventually he lets slip from under his wing and orchestrates a living arrangement for her and Sol Star, her new lover. This is in stark contrast to Tolliver's relationship with Joanie Stubbs, his own favorite whore, whose departure leads him to commit frustrated acts of cruelty and violence.
While his alliances suit his own purpose, Swearengen does show great loyalty to allies such as Cochran, Merrick, and even E.B. Farnum; and his interest in Mr. Wu belies his superficial display of the racism that is vehemently demonstrated by others in the camp. His sense of morality and justice is most demonstrated in the way he feels bound to protect the vulnerable even while seeming to disparage them. While he professes to keep the crippled Jewel around in case someone with only nine cents wants a whore, Trixie tells Jane his employment of Jewel is really his 'sick way' of protecting her. Swearengen also shows compassion when the Rev. Smith is afflicted by a brain tumor--when Swearengen smothers the Rev. Smith to end his suffering, it becomes the first solid example of his willingness to do whatever has to be done for the good of others in the camp, even when he has no personal or business interest in the outcome. Similarly, when he picks a fight with Bullock to dissuade him from his entanglement with Alma Garrett, and later admonishes him to return to his home rather than pursue her, he does so not only to restore Bullock's sense of authority, but also because he knows that the stability of Bullock's family strengthens the greater camp organism. This interest in others is in contrast to Tolliver, who shows no compassion whatsoever. When "celestial" prostitutes brought in by a new Chinese boss are starved and their dead bodies burned, Tolliver can turn away because he denies their humanity; Swearengen, however, is compelled to take action to restore Wu's dominance in "Chink Alley," at least in part to stop the burning of the whores. In short, Swearengen may murder when his business interests or the interests of the camp demand it; but he is no bully.
The second season sees him become ill and nearly die on the floor of his office from kidney stones rather than allow himself to appear vulnerable; after Dan finally breaks down his locked door, he is tended by Doc Cochran and others until he finds the strength to pass the stone without surgery, for which he is congratulated on his stubbornness. In recovery he shows no weakness and maintains his position on top of the Deadwood pecking order as the camp's future annexation looms along with the increase in outside interests, finding frequent recourse, however, to strategy meetings with the other "elders" of the camp, as well as founding alliances with unlikely friends such as the widow Garrett when she is threatened by advancing Pinkerton agents who attempt to blackmail her over her purported involvement in the murder of Brom.
Confused by his own motivations and unaccustomed to his impulse toward collaboration, he begins having lengthy sounding conversations with a wooden box purportedly containing the severed head of an Indian, going so far as to take the box out onto the balcony to watch the spectacle of a bicycle negotiating Deadwood's thoroughfare. He is fully aware of the eccentricity this represents, wryly ascribing it to advancing age. However, his mental facilities are in no way hampered, as he is able to negotiate with Commissioner Hugo Jarry to secure Yankton's assurance that Deadwood gold claims will be honored and that elections will be allowed, and backs Bullock and Sol Star as candidates for sheriff and mayor, respectively.
The arrival of George Hearst at the end of Season 2 foreshadows the intervention of big business interests in Deadwood, and Season 3 is devoted to following navigations as Swearengen and his allies attempt to preserve the independence of the camp. While Swearengen has always shown willingness to resort to violence to preserve his own interests, he is also satisfied to keep to his side of the street, as was demonstrated in his negotiations with Tolliver and his giving over of political administration of the camp to more suitable parties. When Hearst clearly demonstrates, and takes action toward, a desire to control completely the riches of the Deadwood finds and the political offices of Deadwood, Swearengen is visibly confounded in his attempts to understand Hearst's motivations. As Hearst starts a panic in the camp in order to buy cheap the hoople-heads' claims, he attempts to annex Swearengen and Tolliver as his agents. While Tolliver readily agrees to be Hearst's "dog," Al shows an uncharacteristic resistance to easy cynicism, refusing to surrender his own independence and that of the camp, despite the outcome. Thus commences an unequal power struggle.
When Hearst has some of his men killed in The Gem, Swearengen tries to reassert his authority, to prove to Hearst that he cannot simply do as he likes. Hearst teaches him a lesson by cutting off one of Al's fingers. This has a profound effect on Al's character, as his normal impulse to come back with violence is restrained and subsumed by a more careful approach, turning once again to others in the camp to find a more politic way to combat Hearst. When Hearst orchestrates the murder of union organizers, rather than "send for the guns" or endorse his arrest Al approves the newspaper's publication of a letter to one of the dead miner's families, and afterward cannot understand why he seems so "unmanned" in his dealings with Hearst.
After the letter is published, Hearst hires Pinkertons to intimidate those who would stand against him; when they shoot at Alma, and then kill Ellsworth, in order to force her to sell him her claim, Swearengen offers her protection and then advises her to sell in order to preserve her life and the life of the "foundling" in her care, the same orphan he once ordered killed. And when Trixie makes an attempt on Hearst's life he safeguards her, recognizing their mutual affection. These acts, that hold no apparent business advantage for Al, seem to complete his transition from camp boss to camp father, even as he has another prostitute murdered so her body may be substituted for Trixie's in an attempt to make restitution to Hearst. Ultimately he knows he is helpless against Hearst, so he, Adams and Wu gather men in preparation for a standoff. The standoff never materializes, as Hearst decides to leave camp, his objectives complete.
Ian McShane won a Golden Globe in 2005 for his portrayal of Swearengen.
Alma Garret
Alma Russell Garret Ellsworth (Molly Parker), a beautiful 30-year-old New Yorker, moved to Deadwood with her new husband Brom Garret, who left the high society of New York to experience frontier life by buying a claim in the gold rich territory, bringing his new wife with him. It is not long until Brom Garret falls foul of Al Swearengen after the gold claim he purchases in a deal brokered by Swearengen appears worthless - threatening the saloon owner with Pinkerton involvement should his money not be returned to him. He is promptly murdered on Swearengen’s orders - only for the claim to turn out a rich one. Now stranded in Deadwood and dealing with attempts by Swearengen to buy the claim back, the widow Garret decides to try her luck on the new frontier and then sell the claim to return back East. She hires Wild Bill Hickok to investigate both the claim and Swearengen’s interest. Hickok soon nominates Bullock to assay her gold claim prior to his murder; an event that places Bullock as the sole guardian of her interests. Eventually, the two begin an affair that is cut short by the arrival of Bullock's wife and stepson and their mutual revulsion at the prospect of marital infidelity. Alma is, however, broken-hearted and jealous, as well as furious with both Seth and Martha, although she knows that feeling is irrational. Her mood is not aided by her being pregnant by Bullock. In the meantime, she has had to fend off not only her own father, who has heard of the newfound wealth and come seeking a share, but also a surreptitious plan by her husband's family to frame her for her husband's murder and therefore take the claim over for themselves. The additional intense interest of the Hearst mining empire in her claim also poses future problems. To ensure she is not ridiculed during her pregnancy, Trixie tells Ellsworth that he should propose to Alma. After a period of hesitation, Alma accepts Ellsworth's proposal and marries him the following week in front of several Deadwood citizens and friends. In the initial episodes she had an addiction to laudanum, which she overcame with the assistance of Trixie. She has also taken Sofia Metz, an orphan whose family was murdered, under her wing as a foster daughter.
In the third season, Alma's loses her baby and returns to her drug addiction. Seeing her addiction as a sign of her unhappiness, Ellsworth decides that they should separate. She opens up Deadwood's first bank but is under increasing pressure to sell to Hearst. She tries to negotiate with him but he will only accept full ownership of the claim. He tries to intimidate her by shooting at her in the street, to provoke Ellsworth to be killed in a fight. Swearengen stops this from happening but Ellsworth is later assassinated by one of Hearst's men. With no other alternative other than to flee the camp, she sells to Hearst.
Cy Tolliver
Cyrus Tolliver (Powers Boothe) is the owner of the upscale Bella Union saloon and Al Swearengen’s main rival. Cy has an 18-year relationship with former prostitute and madam Joanie Stubbs, who later leaves the Bella Union to form her own brothel, leaving a mix of friendship and anger between them. Ruthless and with a veneer of class and polish, Cy soon proves that while he may lack his rival’s skill in cunning duplicity he makes it up in ambition, becoming temporarily allied with the Hearst combine in Season 2. He also becomes partners with Mr. Lee, the newly arrived Tong leader from San Francisco, in “Celestial’s Alley”; a low priced house of gambling and Chinese prostitution that sees women placed in unspeakably horrid conditions, a fact Cy dismisses as a mere “cultural difference”. However he does accept the offer of Doc Cochran to treat them for free, as a condition of Cochran's continuing to treat Tolliver's white prostitutes. As Season 2 climaxes Swearengen ends out on top, leaving Cy Tolliver in a weakened position; with both Francis Wolcott and Mr. Lee dead and Cy receiving a knife to the stomach courtesy of Andy Cramed.
He survives but becomes increasingly desperate and unstable. Though he clearly despises Tolliver, Hearst employs him to act as his agent but Tolliver finds Hearst difficult to work with. When he hands him an advantage, having discovered that Leon is dealing dope to Alma, Hearst rants angrily that he should have told him sooner. When Hearst leaves camp, he puts Tolliver in charge of his interests. But with chaos in the camp, he curses Hearst for leaving him to clean up his mess and points a gun at him from the Bella Union balcony after murdering Leon. He is unable to shoot him, however, and threatens one of his whores by putting a pistol to her forehead. Finally he releases her and returns to inside the Bella Union.
George Hearst
George Hearst (Gerald McRaney), nickname "Leviathan", does not make his appearance on screen until the finale of season two, but his name is in the minds and on the lips of many as his geologist, Wolcott, attempts to buy up and otherwise acquire gold claims for him throughout the second season. He is known as "Boy-The-Earth-Talks-To" due to his skill and obsession with finding gold ("the color" as he calls it). He is based on the real George Hearst, mining magnate and father of William Randolph Hearst.
In Boy the Earth Talks To (Season 2 Finale), Hearst makes several arrangements with figures in the camp, including purchasing the Grand Central from Farnum. An avowed misanthropic sociopath (as revealed in Season 3), he acknowledges the necessities of social propriety by firing Wolcott for cutting the throats of three prostitutes. Tolliver attempts to blackmail Hearst for a 5% commission by claiming he possesses a letter containing Wolcott's admission to the murders. Hearst also allows Wu to take over Chinese arrangements from Lee when he learns Lee is burning the bodies of dead whores.
In the third season, Hearst remains in Deadwood — personally overseeing his interests in the camp, including his attempt to possess the Garret claim and suppressing attempts by his miners to organize and form unions. Obsessed with 'the color', Hearst's ultimate goal is total control of Deadwood, or to have it destroyed if he cannot consolidate his power over the camp. To this end he murders several of his own miners when they attempt to form a Union and is determined to have control over the Garrett claim. When he finds he cannot control or intimidate Swearengen and Bullock (cutting off one of Swearengen's fingers at one point) he hires Pinkertons to come to the camp and actively stir up trouble. He tries to provoke Ellsworth to violence by shooting at Alma in the street, as a pretext to have him killed. When this fails he has him assassinated in his tent by Alma's claim. He is shot by Trixie in retaliation but the bullet goes into his shoulder and does not kill him.
Alma is forced into selling the claim to him and he decides to leave the camp shortly after. He is fooled by Al one last time when Al kills a whore resembling Trixie to save Trixie from death. Hearst leaves Tolliver in charge of his interests and leaves the camp with all his tasks completed.
Secondary characters
Sol Star
Sol Star (John Hawkes) is Seth Bullock's best friend and partner in the hardware business and the only Jew in camp. Imperturbable and sensible, Sol has become a rising force in the camp; originally seeing the potential wealth in providing tools to the mass of prospectors in Deadwood, the second season sees Sol set his sights on forming the first bank in Deadwood alongside Alma Garret. Though mocked by Swearengen at every turn for his being Jewish, particularly during the initial phase of buying the future site of the Bullock and Star hardware from the Saloon Owner, Sol never rose to the bait; showing not only his business acumen but his level headedness against his friend's occasionally rash nature. Though he seems meek in nature, he has proven to be capable of standing up for himself when provoked.
He also formed a relationship with Trixie, Swearengen's favored girl at The Gem, after becoming acquainted through Alma Garret - originally born of a mutual sexual attraction, his feelings toward her have grown stronger. She helped nurse him back to health from a gunshot wound sustained as a bystander to the fight between Swearengen and Bullock in the opening episode of Season Two, but Sol has become frustrated at the fondness and loyalty she still retains for Swearengen.
By the third season, Star has become such a respectable figure of the camp that he runs for mayor against Farnum. Knowing that he will win, Swearengen connives to sell Star a house and has Trixie housed in the hotel next door where she can enter his room through a secret passage in the wall, to make their relationship less of an open secret and make Star appear a more respectable candidate.
Trixie
Trixie (Paula Malcomson) is Al Swearengen's favorite girl at the Gem. Swearengen is often abusive toward her, but she always returns to him and he in turn often shows great affection for her, though not openly.
Despite her rather frank and foul mouthed nature, she is one of the more compassionate members of the camp. When she is nursing Alma and Sophia, she helps Alma kick her dope habit against the wishes of Swearengen. She attempts suicide afterward believing that Al will kill her for going against his wishes. Despite her insubordination, Swearengen is most angry because of this attempt to kill herself.
In an effort to get out from under Al, she acknowledges Sol Star's affection toward her and sleeps with him, the symbolic ending of her relationship with Al, though Al keeps the two apart by forcing Star to pay for their time together.
The relationship between Trixie and Star is rekindled when she nurses him back to health after he is shot and with whom she eventually finds employment and romance, but remains devoted to Swearengen and reports back to him on Star's and Bullock's activities and disguising her true feelings for Star. She starts to work at the Hardware store learning accounts. By Season 3 she is working for Alma at the bank.
She is friends with Ellsworth and on learning that he has been killed marches to the Grand Hotel to shoot Hearst in retaliation, with her top undone to take attention away from her face. She shoots him in the shoulder but does not kill him. Hearst wants her killed in retaliation but Al will not allow it. Instead he kills another whore, Jen, who resembles her to placate Hearst.
Although the character is not based on a single real-life person, the scene of her putting a bullet through the skull of a violent client who astounds all by clinging to life for another half hour, is based on an actual report by John S. McClintock of such an occurrence involving a prostitute at the Gem Theater named "Tricksie", including the doctor's inserting a probe through the hole in the man's skull.
E. B. Farnum
Eustace Bailey Farnum (William Sanderson) is the proprietor of the Grand Central Hotel and self-appointed mayor of the town, a role he inhabits with comic opera buffoonish seriousness. He is totally controlled by Swearengen, although he harbors delusions of potential grandeur for himself. He delivers a line which perhaps summarizes the series best: "One hopes for the best. One perseveres. One reevaluates constantly. One is an asshole if one doesn't." He is incredibly greedy — costing Al the chance to buy Alma Garret's claim due to low offers — and continually asks prying questions to people around town, leading to numerous abuses and threats directed towards him. He was the agent in helping establish the Bella Union in town, although Al chose to let him live as an informant.
He is disliked and insulted by most members of the camp and is beaten by Bullock at one point when he believes that Farnum has betrayed information of his relationship with Alma to Hearst, who buys the Grand Central from Farnum, offering him $100,000 and position as manager. This distances him from Swearengen's operations and makes him an isolated figure.
His one and only confidant is his servant, Richardson, whom he scolds and insults on many occasions, but as Season 3 progresses even he is distanced from him as Richardson becomes friends with Hearst's cook, Aunt Lou. Hearst's attitude towards him drives him to the brink and Farnum finally tries to stand up to him and return to Al's good graces.
Joanie Stubbs
Joanie Stubbs (Kim Dickens) is Cy Tolliver's former madam at the Bella Union. Joanie has a more important role than Trixie, as she is the hostess, not acting as a prostitute herself; however, she is still abused. Although she is a lesbian, she has a long relationship with Cy and she is one of the few people he cares for, though his increasingly unpredicatable and violent behaviour has soured their friendship.
Cy encourages her to spread her wings and form her own brothel, though he may not be very committed to the idea. She leaves the Bella Union to form her own brothel, the Chez Amis, importing high-class and experienced prostitutes from back East with her friend Maddie. Unfortunately, Maddie has funded the operation with funds from Francis Wolcott who is violent toward women and has killed prostitutes before. When Tolliver discovers this and tries to blackmail Wolcott, he kills several of the women including Maddie. Joanie arranges for the surviving prostitutes to be spirited to safety by Charlie Utter, but remains sitting alone in her now-shuttered place of business with her dreams of independence destroyed. Her spirits are restored by smashing a bourbon bottle on Wolcott's head when he returns to the scene, and she also finds comfort in her burgeoning romantic attachment to Calamity Jane. She attempts to rebuild her life by making the Chez Amis into a school house. It is also the refuge of Mose who recovered there after being shot in the Bella Union.
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok (Keith Carradine) has a reputation as one of the fastest gunslingers around. He arrives in Deadwood as a weary man who seems determined to let his compulsive drinking and gambling take over him. With him are his friend, Charlie Utter, and devotee, Calamity Jane. He has apparently come to prospect but despite Charlie Utter's attempts to persuade him to do so, he shows no interest and scolds Charlie for not leaving him be. He becomes friends with Bullock after they save Sophia from the forest and shoot down one of her attackers. Charlie thinks that Bullock will have a positive effect on him, and the two certainly have a great deal of mutual respect for each other.
He becomes involved with Alma's affair, first by turning down her husbands request to help him get money back from Al Swearengen after he has been tricked into buying a dry claim. He represents Alma when Brom is killed and gold is in fact discovered on the claim. He enlists Bullock to help him find a prospector to look at the claim.
He locks words with another gambler, the gutter mouthed drunk Jack McCall. During a card games at Nuttal's salloon, McCall approaches Hickok and shoots him dead from behind. Charlie Utter and Calamity Jane remain in town. They continue to be influenced by Hickok throughout the series, and visit his grave often. Jane in particular seems to have lost all direction with Hickok gone.
Francis Wolcott
Francis Wolcott (Garret Dillahunt), the chief geologist of wealthy San Francisco mining magnate George Hearst, has arrived in camp in order to ascertain whether any of the claims might be of value to the Hearst empire, and if so, to set about acquiring them by any means necessary. He enlists Cy Tolliver to operate as the front for his operation. Wolcott is a self-deprecating and unstable character. He has a sexually violent attitude towards women and has murdered prostitutes. He seems unable to control these impulses and struggles to explain them. Wolcott and McCall, arguably the two members of the cast with the most degraded character, are played by the same actor, a source of some discussion and speculation among fans of the series over whether the producers are communicating a philosophical message. Wolcott's violent appetite emerges in camp when he kills three prostitutes, including Joannie's friend Maddie, at the Chez Amis. Tolliver disposes of the bodies and covers for Wolcott.
When Tolliver saw that his operations with Wolcott had failed to bring him standing with Hearst, he tells Hearst about Wolcott's activities. Hearst dismisses Wolcott from his organisation, and Wolcott hangs himself from the window of his room in the Grand Hotel shortly thereafter. There has, however, been some question among the fans as to whether Wolcott may have been killed by Captain Turner; the more likely scenario is suicide by hanging.
Calamity Jane
Jane Canary (Robin Weigert), a former scout for General Custer, arrived in camp with Wild Bill Hickok and Charlie Utter. She idolized Hickok, is still friends with Charlie Utter, and has forged a grudging friendship with Doc Cochran, after their joint efforts in protecting Sofia Metz and the doctor's enlistment of her aid in fighting a smallpox epidemic.
Known for her hard drinking and swearing, Jane is truculent and abrasive upon first impression, but her character has a loopy humor and an upright moral center that grows on people in the camp. After Hickok's murder, she sinks even deeper into depression and alcoholism; Utter is seen voicing "grave doubts" about Jane's future to Hickok's grave. She recovers somewhat due to her relationship with Joanie Stubbs. Joanie invites Jane to live with her, and they begin a romantic liaison.
Charlie Utter
Charlie Utter (Dayton Callie) is the good friend of Hickok and Jane, and Hickok's sometime business partner. He runs a mail and freight business in the camp and is also one of Bullock's deputies. He is an honest and uncomfortable person with a kind and generous nature. He is also tough and fearless in the face of adversity and not afraid to speak his mind clearly.
He is friends with Joannie Stubbs and is approached by her in desperation upon the murders of three of her prostitutes by Wolcott, and smuggles the rest out of town to safety. Sworn to secrecy about the matter, Utter nevertheless takes the opportunity to administer a terrible beating to Wolcott on the pretext of Wolcott's having stepped on Utter's toe.
He continues to have an up and down relationship with Jane as she continues to decline into alcoholism, despite the abuse she gives him. He displays his fearlessness again in Season 3 when he harassess Hearst in his cell after he is arrested by Bullock. He later threatens his life at the door of his hotel room.
Doc Cochran
Dr. Amos Cochran (Brad Dourif) is the only doctor in the camp of Deadwood and for this reason is respected and revered, despite apparently having a problem with substance abuse in the initial episodes (probably to help bury traumatizing professional experiences from the Civil War which are occasionally elliptically referred to). He is relatively invulnerable to the risk of violence in Deadwood, as he is valuable to Swearengen and Tolliver for his medical maintenance of the prostitutes and as a result is unafraid to speak his mind to both of them, as their behaviour is often cold and cruel. At one time Cochran admitted that he dug up dead people to experiment on their bodies. Therefor, it is possible that he was charged with grave robbery and had no other choice then fleeing to Deadwood, where there are no laws.
He maintains an interest in medical research which would put him more in sympathy with modern physicians than his contemporaries. When Chinese prostitutes appear in town, he is shocked by the inhumane conditions in which they are kept and begins to treat them for free, but much to his distress he is unable to save them from dying.
In Season 3, he shows symptoms of tuberculosis.
Dan Dority
Dan Dority (W. Earl Brown), probably based on the real-life Dan Doherty, is Al Swearengen's right-hand man. A former bushwhacker, he has been with Al for years and serves him as bodyguard, enforcer and killer (he kills Alma's first husband, Brom). While violent and short-tempered he is not a heartless killer. In the first season he defies Al with the help of Doc Cochran, helping spirit Sofia Metz out of town instead of killing her and decides not to harm Ellsworth, even though he witnessed his murder of Brom Garret. Many others have fallen victim to his short temper, though. When Al is sick at the start of season 2, Dan tells Trixie that he would've been a good-for-nothing scumbag if he would've never met Al.
Dan is jealous of Silas Adams' favor with Al, leading Adams to comment, "Any chance you and me don't end in blood?" The two have an uneasy alliance, however, and Adams saves Dan from a throat-cutting in the second season finale. Though Al's choice to use Adams in his negotiations with Hearst also draws resentment.
In Season 3 he is challenged to a fight by Hearst's bodyguard, Captain Turner. He wins, killing Turner, but only just.
Martha Bullock
Martha Eccles Bullock (Anna Gunn) is Seth Bullock's wife and former sister-in-law. Seth's brother Robert had been a cavalryman and died while fighting comancheros in Texas. Bullock felt obliged to marry and take care of the widow and orphan, although he is not actually romantically involved with her. She feels a confusing mix of gratitude towards Bullock, perhaps even romantic love for him, but wishes that he not sacrifice his own happiness any more than necessary to provide for her and her son. However, she still harbors great deal of jealousy towards her husband's feelings for Alma Garret.
She is devastated by the death of her son William, the grief however, brings her and Seth together and they continue to live together in Deadwood. She later becomes the teacher of the camps children.
The real-life Martha Bullock was not the widow of Seth Bullock's brother, but was Bullock's childhood sweetheart.
A. W. Merrick
A. Walter Merrick (Jeffrey Jones) is the proprietor of the local newspaper, the Black Hills Pioneer. Somewhat pretentious in his bearing, he prides himself as a newspaperman with a duty to print the truth, but must navigate a twisty path of remaining friends with all the major players in town and being privy to their plans and confidences.
Though not a man of great courage, Merrick is a man of principle. He refuses to print Commissioner Jarry's notice which puts claims in the camp under doubt, and as a result comes under attack from Tolliver, who send Leon and Stapleton to trash his press. After this, Swearengen makes him his ally and conspires with him to print articles in the paper to draw back his control and bring elections to the camp. Merrick comes under attack again in Series 3 when he publishes a letter designed to embarrass Hearst. Hearst has him beaten up as a result. As a result, Merrick is hardly able to move too much and can't even put on his clothes by himself. He is also one of the few people Al really seems to like, he even kills the one responsible for Merrick's beating.
Blazanov
Blazanov (Pavel Lychnikoff) is Deadwood's Russian immigrant telegraph operator. His character develops from one who is scrupulous about his customers' privacy to one who makes exceptions to the rules as he sees the danger of Hearst to Deadwood. At one point, he discusses how his parents had sacrificed financially to send him to school, and how they were subsequently murdered by thugs comparable to Hearst's goons. Blazanov's telegraph office is located in the newspaper office of A.W. Merrick.
Ellsworth
Whitney Conway Ellsworth (Jim Beaver) is an experienced prospector who has pursued the color all over the country, even having once worked as a miner at wage and an overseer on sites owned by the Hearst mining company. Having left his position with the company, disgusted at the nonchalant attitude to the well being of the miners, he is introduced in the first season as one of the many individuals who has travelled to the town with the promise of wealth in the gold rich hills, revealing himself to have a 'dead-eye' for the color having successfully managed to eke out a comfortable living in this profession.
He was a regular of the Gem Saloon like many of the town's prospectors and was liked by the Gem's employees including Trixie and Dan Dority. Also understanding the dangerous nature of their employer, he keeps his witnessing of Brom Garret's murder to himself lest he meets a similarly unfortunate accident; in return for his silence Dan Dority does not make known to Swearengen Ellsworth's status as a witness.
After being hired by Seth Bullock to manage Alma's claim to keep her title active, he begins growing an attachment and a strong sense of loyalty towards her and the young orphan Sofia in her care with whom he begins to form a father-daughter bond. By the second season Ellsworth has gone from a mere prospector to completely overseeing Alma's claim and the digging operations as well as a trusted friend and confidant. He defends her claim by chasing off Hearst's Geologist, Francis Wolcott, when he comes to spy out the territory - the two familiar with one another from Ellsworth's days working for the company - and advises Alma to stand her ground when rumor is spread about the camp about the future stability of gold claims once the town is annexed. He also seems to grow distanced from the Gem as well, refusing to genuflect in the presence of the likes of Dority as he once did - a sign of his moving away from his older life and his growing self-assurance and confidence. He has formed friendships with Joanie Stubbs and Sol Star.
Later he is advised by Trixie to wed Alma once it is clear she has become pregnant by Sheriff Bullock. Trusting it is the right thing to do and with a genuine wish to help her save face and help raise both Sofia and the future child, he proposes. She demurs but soon accepts his proposal and marries him the following week in front of their gathered friends and towns people.
When George Hearst attempts to force Alma to sell him her gold claim, Ellsworth is one of the few in town who will stand up to him. But his relationship with Alma falls apart when she loses her child and begins using dope. The final straw comes when she gets herself high in an attempt to consummate their relationship. Despite this, they remain friends. Near the end of Season 3, he is shot to death by one of Hearst's agents while supervising Alma's claim. His body is brought to camp with a carriage and many people seemed very shocked by his death.
Silas Adams
Silas Adams (Titus Welliver), also known as "the bagman from Yankton", who comes to camp to bring bribe money to Magistrate Clagget. Swearengen hires Adams to join his operation, paying him to slice Clagget's throat for extorting money from Swearengen. Adams serves Swearengen as his contact in Yankton to bring him news of the territorial changes, as well as relying on his legal counsel when dealing with Commissioner Jarry and his election proposals. He also serves as middleman between Hearst and Swearengen.
He is a rival of Dan Dority for Swearengen's favor, although he saves Dan's life from a Chinese knife-wielder in the Season 2 finale and the two have formed a tentative alliance.
Johnny Burns
Johnny Burns (Sean Bridgers) is a worker at the Gem Saloon and one of Al's lackeys. His main jobs are as bartender, cleaner and hauling corpses to Wu's pig sty. Young and ambitious, Johnny is also not too bright, leading Al to continually abuse him verbally and physically. He shoots Charlie Utter and Sol Star in the second season but does not kill them and expresses severe remorse - unlike Adams and Dority. Though he is very loyal to Al, he refuses to kill the whore Jen when Al is trying to trick Hearst into thinking he has killed Trixie. Johnny tries but can't put himself up to the deed and says to Al he won't do it. Therefor, Al knocks him out and they tie him up. Later Dan frees him and Johnny asks Al if Jen suffered. Al says he did trie to do it as painless as possible, when Johnny leaves the room he adds the comment "He wants me to tell him something pretty."
Though Johnny is portrayed as very stupid, he has shown forms of intelligence. He can read and teach it to others, he was also the only one who understood what Wu was trying to drawn. When he explains it to Al, he is simply knocked out. Probably because Al couldn't figure it out himself. He also seems to be one of the only people in camp who has some sort of morals, he doesn't want to hurt anybody and is very worried after he shot Sol Star and Charlie Utter. But it is oftenly stated that he'll kill somebody when Al wants him too.
Leon
Leon (Larry Cedar) Cy Tolliver's general informant and lackey, is addicted to opium. Formerly employed as a double agent to give Swearengen false information, he and the dope fiend Jimmy Irons robbed and murdered Mr. Wu's opium courier, leading to Jimmy being fed to Wu's pigs. Leon worked to incite anti-Chinese sentiment in the camp following this event, and now serves as Tolliver's eyes around town. He begins to deal dope to Alma Garrett in Season 3 and Tolliver finds out. Afraid that he will be implicated in any attempt to murder Alma, he stops dealing to her soon after.
In the final episode of Season 3, Cy Tolliver, in a fit of frustration over Hearst's treatment of him, stabs Leon in the leg. The knife cuts through his femoral artery, and Leon soon bleeds to death on Tolliver's balcony shortly after.
Con Stapleton
Con Stapleton (Peter Jason) the dim-witted card dealer at the No. 10 saloon, is briefly installed as sheriff when the Number 10's owner, Tom Nutall, began to fear that the camp was "leaving him behind" and asked Al Swearengen to set up his employee in a position of power.
However, Stapleton quickly let himself be bribed by Tolliver to stir up anti-Chinese sentiment and was stripped of his badge by an enraged Bullock. While Nutall renounced him following the incident, Stapleton has remained in Tolliver's employ, working odd jobs such as security at the Bella Union and trashing Merrick's printing press. He is seduced by one of Langrishe's theatre troupe in Season 3 and continues to pay for her services.
Jewel
Jewel (Geri Jewell) is the severely disabled cleaning woman at the Gem, Al Swearengen's saloon and brothel. (She is played by Geri Jewell, who is affected by cerebral palsy.) Al makes a public show of barely tolerating her, often publicly referring to her as "the gimp" or complaining about her noisily dragging her stiff leg. Jewel responds with a cheerful, mocking disrespect Al would tolerate from no one else (when Al was briefly disabled after a minor stroke, Jewel was heard to loudly comment, "He's always dragging that fucking leg!"). In private, Al has enough consideration (complaining loudly all the while) to pay the town doctor to fit Jewel with a leg brace. Trixie, defending Swearengen to Calamity Jane, cites Jewel as an example of Al's kindness, which he publicly downplays: Al maintains that he only keeps Jewel around in case a customer "only has nine cents" (i.e., can't afford the usual price of a Gem whore), but Trixie calls this "his twisted ... way of protecting her" implying he may simply be fond of her. At one point Al remarks that he first met Jewel in a Chicago orphanage, suggesting that their relationship is akin to that of brother and sister.
Richardson
Richardson (Ralph Richeson) is an unkempt, seemingly simple-minded employee at the Grand Central Hotel whose duties include cleaning and cooking. He rarely speaks and is quite inarticulate on the occasions that he does, both in sharp contrast to his talkative employer Farnum. Richardson has a strange fixation with an old pair of deer's antlers given to him absent-mindedly by Alma (whom he told "I like you. You're purdy."). He clings to the antlers when frightened, carries them when sent by Farnum on an errand, and sometimes raises them to a larger pair of antlers, in prayer.
Farnum detests Richardson, regards him as a mental feeble, and frequently chastises him, sometimes comparing him to a frog or grotesque beast, yet ironically, Richardson is the only person Farnum can totally confide in. Late in the show's run, some indications are given that Richardson is not totally the completely uneducated idiot he seems; he is seen reading a newspaper in private, and reveals himself as an adept juggler at the newly opened theater's amateur night. In Season 3, his job as the Grand Hotel's cook is taken over by Aunt Lou, though Richardson continues as her assistant.
Mr Wu
Mister Wu (Keone Young) is the official or unofficial leader of Deadwood's substantial but mostly unseen Chinese ("Celestials") population, the Asian counterpart to Swearengen. He routinely interacts with Swearengen and other Caucasians over a few matters of business, such as the opium trade, and the seemingly daily efficient disposal of numerous human remains, through the route of his pigs. He knows almost no English beyond the words "San Francisco" and "cocksucker". He however communicates effectively with Swearengen (to whom he refers as "Swedgen!") with the aid of charcoal drawings and hand signals. Nonetheless, Swearengen considers his shaking hand signals and lack of eye contact to be disturbing.
In Season 2, he becomes highly anxious over the arrival in town of the much more polished Mr Lee from San Francisco, who appears to be the local representative of a large and shadowy tong organization allied with George Hearst, which henceforward supplies Deadwood with opium and low priced Chinese prostitutes, from a new establishment to be called "Celestials' Alley", in partnership with Tolliver.
In the second season's final episode, Wu strikes back with the blessing of Hearst and Swearengen, slitting Lee's throat and leading Swearengen's crew to kill Lee's men. Swearengen strikes a deal for Wu to take over Lee's position of finding laborers for Hearst's mining operation, easily supplanting Tolliver in running Chinese affairs. In a symbol of loyalty to Swearengen, Wu slices off his braid (an action punishable by death in China at the time) and declares he will remain in America forever.
In Season 3, he returns from business in San Francisco wearing Western dress (which, as multiple characters remark, he looks terrible in). Wu had been tasked by Al with recruiting Chinese laborers in San Francisco to work in Hearst's mines. Sensing that Swearengen and Hearst have become bitter rivals, he holds the workers in another town rather than bring them to Deadwood.
Tom Nuttall
Thomas Nuttall (Leon Rippy) is proprietor of the No. 10 saloon which is the site of Wild Bill Hickock's murder. One of the first settlers to arrive in Deadwood, arriving before even Swearengen, he has grown increasingly disillusioned with the camp and its future and has gone as far as to consider selling his saloon and leaving the camp.
Towards the end of Season 1, he convinces Swearengen to set up his saloon's card dealer, Con Stapleton, as the camp's first sheriff, but renounces him when he falls under Cy Tolliver's corrupting influence and is physically stripped of his badge by Bullock. In Season 2 he receives the first bicycle in camp, which he defends against ridicule by accepting a challenge to ride through the town over difficult terrain. In Season 3 he expresses interest in co-founding a Deadwood fire brigade with his barman, Harry Manning, who is standing for Sheriff..
Sofia Metz
Sofia Metz (Bree Seanna Wall) is the sole survivor of an attack on her family on the way home to her native Minnesota, a robbery by Swearengen's men disguised as an attack by hostile "Indians". Tramautized and unresponsive, possibly not even speaking English, her parents and two siblings murdered, she is nevertheless targeted for murder by Swearengen to eliminate the possibility of her identifying her family's killers; however, with the help and protection of Calamity Jane and Doc Cochran, she regains her health and becomes the ward of Alma Garret.
Jack Langrishe
John "Jack" Langrishe (Brian Cox) is a theater operator and leader of a troupe of traveling actors who come to settle in Deadwood long-term early in the third season. In Deadwood, which lacks any but the lowest forms of entertainment, he seeks both financial opportunity and a chance to bring art and culture to the town. He is a close, longtime friend of Al Swearengen. Langrishe's accent and name hint at Irish origins.
Possessing a dry wit, and prone to both flattery and self-deprecation, the flamboyant Langrishe charms most of the people he meets, including Martha, Alma, and Merrick. Scouting a location for his theater, he decides that Joanie's former brothel, the Chez Amis, now being used as a schoolhouse, would be perfect if redecorated. He makes her a generous offer to sell the building to him, and she accepts, on the condition that Langrishe have a new schoolhouse built at his own expense. The theater opens some days later in the renovated Chez Amis, with a very successful amateur night.
Al keeps Langrishe aware of the machinations between himself and Hearst. Langrishe discovers that Hearst suffers from back pain, and talks him into trying out a new form of treatment, administered by Langrishe himself in the form of pulls, prods, and thrusts. Later, he suggests to an interested Al the possibility of using these time-consuming but useless back treatments as a way of occupying Hearst's time.
Langrishe is based on the historical theater owner Jack Langrishe.
Recurring and Minor characters
Jack McCall
Jack McCall (Garret Dillahunt) was a drunkard who shot Hickok in the back of the head as he played poker. McCall was found not guilty by a hurried and impromptu court of locals on the grounds that he was merely avenging the prior murder of his (probably nonexistent) brother by Hickok; but due to Hickok's high regard and the presence of many of Hickok's good friends in town, he was made to realize it was best to leave. McCall is later tracked down and brought to Yankton, Dakota Territory for prosecution, by Seth Bullock and Charlie Utter.
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp (Gale Harold) rode into camp with his brother Morgan, supposedly after saving a stagecoach from robbery, although Earp later confesses to making the story up to enhance their reputation. Upon his arrival he is greeted by Sheriff Bullock. Wyatt tells him that he was a lawman in Kansas, but has come to camp to work a timber lease he won in cards. Wyatt and Morgan are hired by Cy Tolliver as gunmen but are fired when they see Hearst bring in the Pinkertons. After the Earps have a confrontation with one of Hearst's gunmen, and finding out that the timber lease is worth nothing, Sheriff Bullock tells Wyatt and Morgan that it's best they move on. Wyatt and Morgan leave town as allies, if not friends, of Bullock.
Morgan Earp
Morgan Earp (Austin Nichols) rides into camp with Wyatt after allegedly saving a stagecoach. Morgan has a knack for being a hothead and is always looking for ladies to be with. After some harsh words with one of Hearst's gunmen, he shoots him in the leg. Wyatt, fearing for his brother, pulls the gunman's pistol out of his holster and claims it's a fair fight. Morgan leaves town with Wyatt after Bullock suggests they move on.
Hostetler
Hostetler (Richard Gant) runs the livery stable. Hostetler is, by default, the primary source of company for Samuel Fields, by virtue of being the only other black man in camp. When Fields becomes an unwitting victim of an angry mob led by a hooligan named Steve Fields seeking to take out their frustration at the possibility of being bilked out of their claims, Hostetler provides brief shelter to him, and then immediately betrays him when faced with threat of violence. Fields, for his part, never blames him for this, saying "I'd have done the same thing, only quicker." See Samuel Fields, below.
He is forced to later flee the camp when a horse brought to him by Samuel tramples William Bullock to death. They later bring the horse back to camp in attempt to seek forgiveness from Bullock. In their absence, Steve has taken over the Livery. Bullock is forced to broker a deal between the two and Hostetler agrees to sell Steve the livery and leave camp. But Steve continually insults and verbally abuses Hostetler throughout the transaction. He finally pushes him over the brink and Hostetler shoots himself in the head.
William Bullock
William Bullock (Josh Eriksson) is Seth Bullock's nephew turned stepson. He is very polite and is respectful towards those with authority but on his arrival to Deadwood could not help but goggle at the prostitutes' dangling breasts, for which his mother scolded him. He shows much respect towards his step-father and admires his accomplishments. His introduction to Deadwood was a truly memorable scene; the stagecoach rolling to a stop next to the sight of his stepfather and Swearengen in a deadly serious brawl which had just propelled them off the second floor balcony onto the street, punctuated by partisan onlookers taking shots at each other, and Swearengen about to stab Bullock with a knife which he had produced from hiding, but pausing to raise his bloody head to grin demonically at the passengers and bellow "Welcome to fucking Deadwood! Can be combative!" One day while helping Tom Nutall with his new bicycle, young William was trampled and killed by Samuel Fields' horse after it escaped an attempted gelding.
Steve Fields
Steve Fields (Michael Harney) is one of the camps many drunks as well as being a loud mouth and racist. He is a continuing nuisance at Tom Nuttall's Saloon He leads a lynch mob against Jarry's notice in season 2 and ends up lynching Samuel Fields instead. Bullock hits him because of his behaviour, leading Fields to secretly masturbate onto Bullocks' horse in revenge. He is caught and blackmailed by Samuel and Hostetler. He is almost killed by the horse that kills William Bullock and continues to harbour a grudge against Hostetler. When Hostetler leaves town, Steve takes over the Livery but hostilities continue when Hostetler returns. Bullock negotiates the sale of the livery to Steve, but when the blackmail confession he made out to Hostetler and Samuel cannot be found he continues to verbally abuse Hostetler until he shoots himself. Shortly afterward, as new owner of the livery, he is kicked in the head and left in an apparently vegetative state by one of the horses (after attempting to remove one of the horse's shoes to detain Samuel Fields until he can learn more about how Hostetler ran the livery). Samuel is left to care for him and the livery.
Miss Isringhausen
Alice Isringhausen (Sarah Paulson) is hired from back East by Alma Garret to tutor Sofia. While Isringhausen remains unobtrusively in the background with Sofia throughout most of the drama between Alma and Seth, after Seth's family suddenly arrive, in Alma's newly upset state Alma and Isinghausen have an argument over Alma's perception of Isringhausen's lack of warmth towards the girl, and she is fired (albeit with a substantial severance package in view of the pronounced lack of job opportunities for tutors in this part of the world). Isringhausen does not leave town, however, and instead begins to spread tales of Alma's having been behind Swearengen's murder of Mr. Garret; Swearengen quickly realizes that she is not what she seems to be, and she confirms that she was indeed sent by Mr. Garret's family to wrest control of what promises to be a lucrative claim away from Alma, by any means necessary. Swearengen appears to go along with the plan to frame Alma, but correctly identifies Isringhausen as a Pinkerton, whom he despises as inferior to even his own admittedly low moral standards, and, more importantly, he calculates that the entrance of large and powerful interests from outside the camp would be inimical to his own interests. Therefore, he makes plans with Bullock to double cross Isringhausen by getting her to document her scheme rather than exposing it.
Samuel Fields
Samuel Fields (Franklyn Ajaye), loosely based on Samuel Fields, is befriended by Calamity Jane. He is nearly lynched during mob violence as an opportunistic diversion to the actions of Cy Tolliver by the drunk Steve Fields. He gets revenge on Steve however, when Steve is caught masturbating on Bullocks horse, as an insult after Bullock hit Steve. He and Hostetler blackmail Steve and make him write a confession on a blackboard.
A wild horse he and Hostetler are attempting to geld escapes the operation and tramples William Bullock, the adopted son of Seth Bullock. They flee the town for their safety and return with the horse to try and make things right with Bullock. After Hostetler's suicide he plans to leave town, but is held up by his promise to help Aunt Lou persuade her son to leave. Steve offers him a job at the Livery out of guilt, but verbally abuses him afterward. Samuel later discovers that Steve has been paralysed after being kicked by a horse. He lingers in camp looking after the horses and looks after Steve by pushing him around in a wheelbarrow.
Reverend Henry Weston Smith
Reverend Henry Weston Smith (Ray McKinnon) Reverend Smith is a minister who, among other tasks, leads the funerals of many of the individuals who die in the course of the first season. He fought in the civil war until he got a sign of God, he left his wife and children and became a reverend in Deadwood. All the while, he suffers from a brain lesion that gradually causes a mental and physical collapse. He is starting to halucinate (he is doubting if Star and Bullock are his friends or just demons disguised as his friends) and he loses parts of his memory. He spends some time in the Gem because the piano seems to soften his headaches, Al throws him out and says he's always welcome after hours if he would want a whore. When the plague arrives in camp Smith helps out Calamity Jane and Doc Cochran, though he oftenly hides for the latter so he won't see his sickness. He is eventually euthanized by Al Swearengen in an act of mercy. Dan Dority and Johnny Burns watch when Al closes the reverend's eyes and says "You can let go now, my brother". After that, the reverend's body is brought to Doc Cochran (who praid to God to take away the reverend's pain) and it is hinted that the Doc did some tests on him. It's not certain if Al liked him or pitied him, but it is hinted that someone Al knew died of this disease as well. In the second episode of Season 2, Al says that some men found the reverend in the woods, murdered by heathens.
The real Reverend Smith was killed on the road to a neighboring town, however Father Mackin, a later religious figure in the camp, did die of "softening of the brain" after a series of seizures.
Maddie
Maddie (Alice Krige) is a woman hired by Joanie Stubbs to be the Madame of the Chez Amis. She knows Wolcott kills prostitutes and sets him up for extortion, and is slaughtered by him during the extortion negotiation.
Andy Cramed
Andy Cramed (Zach Grenier) is a conman who has often worked with Cy Tolliver and is set to do so again until he arrives in Deadwood suffering from smallpox. He is taken to the woods and left to die on Tolliver's orders, but is discovered by Jane. After his convalescence in the smallpox tent and aiding in the distribution of the vaccine, he leaves.
He eventually returns as an ordained minister in the second season, conducting the funeral service of William Bullock and the marriage of Alma and Ellsworth. In the second season finale he attacks Tolliver for mocking God and his new found faith in front of him, stabbing him in the gut and walking away. He attempts to make recompence in Season 3 by asking for Tolliver's forgiveness. Tolliver threatens him with a gun, ranting about redemption, but Leon interrupts them and Cramed leaves, disgusted with Tolliver's behaviour.
Commissioner Hugo Jarry
Hugo Jarry (Stephen Tobolowsky) is the representative of Yankton in the camp. Bullock must protect him from an engraged mob of prospectors who fear their gold claims will be invalidated when the camp is incorporated into Dakota. Swearengen, with the assistance of Bullock, Star, and Adams, forces Jarry to make concessions to Deadwood in order to outbid Montana on annexation. He returns in Series 3 having bought the votes of soldiers for Hearst. He implies to Adams he may in some trouble for having defrauded the county of money for his own gain.
Mose Manuel
Mose (Pruitt Taylor Vince) owns a gold claim which Wolcott wishes to buy on behalf of Hearst. Knowing he must sell, he tries to persuade his brother that he will mismanage the operation and ought to sell. When he refuses, Mose murders him. The death of his brother weighs on him, however, and Mose becomes a continuing problem for Cy Tolliver as his already belligerent attitude worsens. Wolcott provokes him and Tolliver's men shoot him down. But because of his immense size, the bullets do not penetrate his vital organs and Cochran is able to save his life. He recovers on the Chez Ami's floor and once healed remains there as watchman.
Captain Joe Turner
Captain Joe Turner (Alan Graf) is an enforcer and bodyguard to George Hearst. First seen in the second season ruthlessly safeguarding Hearst's mining operation and dealing with thieves, he joins his employer by his side when he arrives in the third season. He helps Hearst assault Swearengen, and later taunts Swearengen's muscleman Dan Dority into a public brawl; a fight set up to prove Hearst's superiority over Swearengen. Despite initially gaining the upper hand, Dority tears out Turner's left eye in a move of desperation before beating him to death with a makeshift club.
Jen
Jen (Jennifer Lutheran) is one of Swearengen's prostitutes in the Gem Saloon. Petite, blonde, pretty, she is demure in a way that belies her occupation. She is learning to read with the help of Johnny Burns, who has a growing affection for her. He defends her against the coarseness of Morgan Earp and stands up to Swearengen when Al schemes to appease Hearst's demand for the death of Trixie by killing Jen and substituting her body for Trixie's. Johnny fails to stop Al, and the ruse is carried out successfully.
Eddie Sawyer
Eddie Sawyer (portrayed by Ricky Jay) appears in the first season. The character works as a card sharp at Cy Tolliver's Bella Union saloon.