'Fringe' Main Cast and Characters

FBI agent Olivia Dunham is a former investigator for the Marines with a reputation for being tough but fair. Distinguishing herself with her FBI work, she's recruited by the Department of Homeland Security to head a task force assigned to investigate The Pattern, a series of unexplained phenomena indicative of someone performing experiments on the world at large. Secretly, she dated her co-worker John Scott before he died in the line of duty.

Although he shares his father Walter's brilliant mind, Peter has spurned following in his neglectful dad's scientific footsteps and has instead hopped the globe, landing in various scrapes for fraud and gambling debts. He must face his father, however, when he's recruited by Olivia Dunham to take custody of the old scientist as part of her investigation of The Pattern. Despite his shady past, Peter is an honorable man who takes pride in the value he provides to the ongoing investigation, and despite his fleeting past relationships, he develops a genuine fondness for Olivia.

A brilliant scientific mind, Dr. Walter Bishop worked for the US Army in the '70s and '80s doing secret experiments in the realm of "fringe science," involving unexplained phenomena such as mind control, teleportation, invisibility, out-of-body experiences, genetic mutation and reanimation. However, he was discredited in 1991 after an assistant was killed in a lab accident. The doctor was declared mentally unstable and committed to a psychiatric institution, where his mind degraded until his release into the custody of his son in 2008 in order to take part in the FBI investigation of The Pattern. This work has rejuvinated him and given him a sense of purpose, although he maintains some of the emotional quirks he developed in the hospital.

Although he holds a position of authority in the Department of Homeland Security, no-nonsense agent Phillip Broyles isn't afraid to risk it by rankling the powers that be in pushing to find out the truth. To that end, he hires Olivia Dunham to build a team to investigate the mysterious Pattern, despite a grudge held against her from her past work in prosecuting a Marine friend of his. But does he have ulterior motives for choosing her?

Nina Sharp is the conniving Chief Operating Officer of billion-dollar corporation Massive Dynamic, owned by the reclusive William Bell, Walter Bishop's former partner. Bell provided Sharp with a robotic arm after she lost hers to cancer. Homeland Security's investigation into Fight 627 leads them to Sharp and the company. She knows about The Pattern and holds a keen interest in it, sitting on a committee that oversees its investigation. During the investigation, Sharp helps Olivia by using the company's resources, and she develops a strange maternal affection for young agent.

John Scott was an FBI agent who worked with, and dated, Olivia Dunham. Secretly, however, he had ties to an outside group that might have something to do with The Pattern. When he's severely injured investigating the mysterious Flight 627, Olivia desperately searches for a cure, but his allegiance turns out to be elsewhere. But with whom?

Charlie Francis is Olivia Dunham's coworker who is called in to investigate Flight 627 along with Olivia and John Scott. He periodically helps Olivia in her ongoing investigation of The Pattern but is frustrated by the lack of information he's privy to. He's a good agent, but he feels handcuffed and frustated with the politics of the situation. He even wonders if FBI agents like himself are obsolete. On a personal level, Charlie may have developed feelings for Olivia in the time they've worked together. He knew about her relationship with John but didn't say anything because he could tell that he made her happy.

Astrid Farnsworth is a junior FBI agent who serves as an assistant to Olivia Dunham in the investigation of The Pattern.