History Characters / WestSideStory2021

* Nice Hat: Sports one with a prominent brim.

* TheBruiser: Described in Kushner's script as "used to fighting."

* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent: Unlike the previous versions, where it's mentioned that Riff is staying with Tony's family, neither of Tony's parents are mentioned. Because he stays in the basement of Doc's, as he has nowhere to go, it's hinted that his parents are dead.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: He had gone to prison after he nearly beat a rival gang member to death, and the fact that he nearly killed someone is the main reason for him distancing himself from the Jets.

* FunnyBackgroundMoment: As "Gee, Officer Krupke" begins, Balkan can be seen in the background having no interest in partaking and instead reading his newspaper.

-->''"It's like I'm always just about to fall off the edge of the world's tallest building. I stopped fallin' the second I saw you."''

-->''"This is my first time dancing in New York City, so you tell me. Is it OK?"''

-->'''Bernardo:''' ''¡Te prohíbo ver a ese estúpido Polack!''[[note]]I forbid you to see that stupid Polack![[/note]]
-->'''María:''' Maybe Chino and your friends fall down at your feet and maybe you scare the ''Americanos'' when you make fists and angry faces, ''pero yo no estoy interesada ni en boxeo ni en peleas. ¡Y tú no eres mi jefe!'' [[note]]but I'm not interested in boxing or fighting. And you are not my boss![[/note]] And I'm not interested in what you have to say.

-->''"I wake up to everything I know either getting sold or wrecked or being taken over by people that I don't like and they don't like me."''

-->'''Tony:''' When are you gonna grow up?\\

-->'''Riff:''' That's gonna scar, buddy boy.\\

-->''"Last night I dreamed I was back in Puerto Rico. In my dream we had six kids."''

-->''"You want to know where my home is? It's where I pay rent. Right here, where I work my fingers raw mending pants and hemming neckties so that I can earn enough money to pay other girls to sew for me so that someday I can rent a shop of my own in this great big beautiful ''Nueva'' York!"''

-->''"I realize if any of you helps me out, you might spoil your chance to murder each other over control of this earthly paradise."''

-->''"Yer drivin me to my grave, ya pack a jackals!"''

-->''"They can't make us up and leave! We're'' here, ''ain't we?''"

-->''"I oughta be a Jet! Tony told me I could take on any four a you!"''

-->''"I wanna dance, goddammit!"''

-->''"María can't like a'' lambeojo'' who just works day and night and never stands up like her brother does."''

-->''"Be nice to each other, give us some hope, just for a little bit. Then you can revert back to your true feral selves."''

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:The gun that is used by Chino to kill Tony is obtained by Riff before the rumble and it falls into Chino's hands after he brings it there]].

[[caption-width-right:250:2021 film]]

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Upon a switchblade being dropped at the Rumble and Bernardo taking one out of his pocket in response, Baby John immediately throws it to Riff, leading to the fight that results in Riff's death.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:He grabs the gun out of Tony's hand and tosses it aside, where it's picked up by Chino]].

!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Andréa Burns (2021 film)

[[folder:Valentina]]
!!Valentina
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/valentina_43.jpg]]
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/RitaMoreno

->''"Life matters even more than love."''

A new character created for the 2021 film, she is Doc's Puerto Rican widow who runs the candy shop following his death and acts as a mentor for both the white and Puerto Rican communities.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: In the previous versions, Doc is rendered so furious [[spoiler:by the Jets assaulting Anita]] that he's unable to delicately tell Tony [[spoiler:the false news that Maria is dead.]] While Valentina is just as disgusted, she keeps her composure and breaks the news in a much more gentle manner.
* AscendedExtra: In playing Doc's role, she appears in more scenes than him and also gets the song "Somewhere."
* BigotryException: Is this for the Jets due to her being Doc's widow and having been a neighborhood fixture their entire lives. She's not comfortable with this, reminding Tony that marrying a white man doesn't make her not Puerto Rican.
* BriefAccentImitation: When Tony imitates her Puerto Rican accent while repeating her words about Riff and the Jets, she puts on an exaggerated New York accent right back at him.
* CanonForeigner: She was created for the 2021 film.
* CastingGag: She's played by Creator/RitaMoreno, who played Anita in the 1961 film.
* ChildOfTwoWorlds: {{Deconstructed}}. Her marriage to Doc resulted in the Jets, who grew up in the neighborhood and knew her all their lives, considering her one of them even though she's still a Puerto Rican and no different from the ones they've been harassing. Meanwhile, many in the Puerto Rican community saw her as a CategoryTraitor for marrying a white man and [[spoiler:Anita]] considers her one for associating with the Jets.
* ConvenientReplacementCharacter: She essentially fills Doc's role in the 2021 film, since he's a PosthumousCharacter in this version of the story.
* CoolOldLady: She's a quick witted woman who gives Tony genuinely good advice and helps him rebuild his life after serving time in jail.
* DeadpanSnarker: When Tony asks for help translating some of the things he wants to say to Maria in Spanish, she points out he might might to take it a bit slow to start off.
-->'''Tony:''' What's forever? Like, "I want to be with you forever."\\
'''Valentina:''' You don't want to start maybe with, "I'd like to take you out to coffee?"\\
'''Tony:''' No, come on, tell me how to-\\
'''Valentina:''' "I want to take you to Chock Full O Nuts for a cream cheese sandwich on raisin bread?"
* GetOut: She tells Riff to leave her store at once because he's been stealing from her since he was six.
* HonestAdvisor: Having been in a mixed race marriage, she understands the hostility Tony and Maria will have to endure and doesn't sugarcoat it to Tony.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Like Doc in the other versions, it's clear that she genuinely cares for Tony, giving him a place to live and a job as he tries to put his life back together.
* MalignedMixedMarriage: Her marriage to Doc, a white American, while mostly happy did result in some hostility from both of their communities.
* MamaBear: She's very protective of Tony, and tells Riff off for trying to get him involved with the Jets again. She also saves Anita [[spoiler:when the Jets assault her.]]
* ParentalSubstitute: Neither of Tony's parents are mentioned in the 2021 film, while Valentina takes on a motherly role in helping him get his life back together.
* PrecisionFStrike: This is what she says when [[spoiler:she finds the Jets assaulting Anita.]]
-->"''OH MY GOD!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU DISGUSTING PIECES OF '''SHIT'''?!''"
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: She calls out the Jets for [[spoiler:attempting to rape Anita.]]
-->"I know you. I know all of your names. Since you was born, I watched you grow up. You have grown up [[spoiler:into ''rapists''.]] You dishonor yourselves. You dishonor your dead!"

!!The Jets and Associated Characters

[[folder:The Jets in General]]

A New York City street gang comprised primarily of lower-class white men.

* AdaptationalJerkass: In the stage version and 1961 film, their fight is only with the Sharks and they're not shown partaking in any other crimes, apart from pinching an apple from a bodega. In the 2021 film, they are openly engaged in harassing the Puerto Rican community in general, including stealing from their shops and vandalizing their public spaces. The Jets are also openly transphobic, as they are dismissive of Anybodys and repeatedly misgender him.
* AscendedExtra: While the Jets are one of the main focuses of the story, they mostly just appear as a full ensemble and get little characterization by themselves. Here they are split up on the day of the rumble, with half being questioned by the police, which leads into "Gee, Officer Krupke," and half accompany Riff as he buys a gun, which leads into "Cool."
* GreaserDelinquents: They are styled as '50's delinquents in this film, as a number of the Jets wear leather jackets. In addition, their HQ prior to the rumble is a chop shop.
* TattooedCrook: Riff and a few other Jets sport tattoos in the 2021 film.

[[folder:Ice]]
!!Ice
!!!'''Portrayed by''': Kyle Coffman

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ice_2021.png]]

->''"Welcome to the North Pole."''

Second-in-command of the Jets.

* AdaptationalVillainy: Unlike the stage show both Ice and Diesel are present and take part in Anita's harassment and AttemptedRape. Specifically, they throw Graziella, Velma, and Tessa outside and lock the door so that they can't help and Anita can't escape.
* AmbiguouslyJewish: According to Tony Kushner and Kyle Coffman, Ice's real name is Isidor, which is a fairly common Jewish name.
* ChivalrousPervert: Ice wolf-whistles after Graziella as she walks away.
* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler:He serves as one of Tony's pallbearers, along with Diesel, Tiger, and Big Deal.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: He is unnerved when Riff suggests using knives during the rumble and is relieved when Bernardo declines.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:After Valentina gives her TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, Ice realizes that she's right and he tells the others they're done.]]
* PetTheDog: Ice shows a few moments of emotional intelligence. He stops Tiger from getting involved with Riff and Tony's argument about the rumble, recognizing they need to hash things out themselves. Later at Doc's, he understands and respects Tony's wish to be left alone with Valentina and keeps everyone else away from the basement despite their protests.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:After the Jets nearly rape Anita, Ice decides they're done and leaves, effectively disbanding the gang.]]

[[folder:Diesel]]
!!Diesel
!!!'''Portrayed by''': Kevin Csolak

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/diesel_2021.png]]

A senior member of the Jets.

* AdaptationalVillainy: Unlike the stage show, both Ice Diesel are present and take part in Anita's harassment and AttemptedRape. Specifically, they throw Graziella, Velma, and Tessa outside and lock the door so that they can't help and Anita can't escape.
* AllThereInTheManual: According to Tony Kushner and Kevin Csolak, Diesel's nickname comes from his love of cars. At one point, he was nearly killed while trying to steal one, but was saved by Riff and Ice, and ended up joining the Jets to repay them.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Diesel is the one who takes on the big brother role towards Baby John and helps the latter deal with his fears of going to jail.
* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler:He serves as one of Tony's pallbearers, along with Ice, Tiger, and Big Deal.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: While he still misgenders Anybodys, Diesel at least tells A-Rab to leave him alone.
* UndyingLoyalty: Diesel is one of the gang's most loyal members and doesn't engage in their VitriolicBestBuds behavior. [[spoiler:When the gang is forced to leave Riff's body at the salt shed, he feels an immense amount of guilt about it.]]

[[folder:Action]]
!!Action
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Sean Harrison Jones

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/action2021.jpg]]

-->''"They can't make us up and leave! We're'' here, ''ain't we?''"

Another senior member of the Jets.

* AscendedExtra: Otherwise a minor Jet, here he's one of Riff's lieutenants, along with Ice, as they agree the terms of the rumble with Bernardo.

[[folder:A-Rab]]


!!A-Rab
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Jess [=LeProtto=]

->''"American citizens, which them spics ain't! Them they can chase off, not us!"''
A hot-tempered member of the Jets.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: To Baby John, as he is no longer his best friend, but also to the Jets in general, as he is a more senior member, being introduced along with Ice, Action, and Diesel in the prologue.
* AdaptationalJerkass: In the 2021 film, he's much more of a jerk to Baby John, as he is unsympathetic to the kid's fears about going to jail and tells him to just get over it. He's also openly transphobic to Anybodys, and even mentions to have pantsed him at one point.
* AllThereInTheManual: According to Tony Kushner and Jess [=LeProtto=], A-Rab's real name is Gabriel and he has a Sicilian background.
* JerkassHasAPoint: He, along with Balkan, tries to convince Riff that Tony is done with the Jets, as he hasn't even hung out with them in the five months since he got out of prison.
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: During the opening of "Tonight (Quintet)", as the camera focuses on Riff, A-Rab can be seen in the background taking a pipe and banging it against the wrecked hood of a cab.
* PetTheDog: Despite being an unrepentant jerk for the rest of the film, he can be seen trying to console an injured Baby John after the opening scuffle.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain:
** He says a number of transphobic slurs to Anybodys.
--->'''Baby John:''' I can't go to jail, Deez!\\
'''A-Rab:''' Dry up, weepy, or else go sit on the ladies' bench with the other dickless wonder.\\
'''Diesel:''' Leave her be. Jesus, A-Rab.\\
'''Anybodys:''' Get stuffed, why doncha?\\
'''A-Rab:''' Go back to the zoo, why doncha?\\
'''Anybodys:''' Go suck on your sister's titty, why doncha, ya guinea hyena.
** Later, [[spoiler:when Anita asks to see Valentina, A-Rab's comment "She's too dark to pass" is what signals the beginning of their sexual harassment against her, as this is when Graziella realizes what they're going to do and tells them to stop.]]
* RambunctiousItalian: Tony Kushner's script describes A-Rab as Italian, and he is loud, rude, and angry.
* SkewedPriorities: He's more concerned about the fact the cops consider Anybodys an associate of the Jets than that they know about the rumble and are actively investigating it.

[[folder:Baby John]]
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Patrick Higgins

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/babyjohn2021.jpeg]]

The youngest and newest member of the Jets.

* ButtMonkey: As TheBabyOfTheBunch he's treated a lot like a kid brother. He's subjected to a lot of physical comedy by the other Jets during "Gee, Officer Krupke."
* CorruptTheCutie: His arc: his naïve persona is thrown aside during the "Gee, Officer Krupke" number and he more or less becomes a petty thug like the rest of the Jets by the Rumble, where he indirectly contributes to Riff's death; at Maria's ending speech, he is one of the many Jets absent, suggesting he will not necessarily give up a life of crime and bigotry.
* MommasBoy: Implied to be one, as he's freaking out at the idea of going to jail and says it will "kill his ma."
* NaiveNewcomer: He appears to be a relatively new member of the Jets, as he's hesitant to enter the Puerto Rican neighborhood and is extremely nervous when the police start questioning them about the rumble.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Upon a switchblade being dropped at the Rumble and Bernardo taking one out of his pocket in response, Baby John immediately throws it to Riff, leading to the fight that results in Riff's death.

[[folder:Big Deal]]
!!Big Deal
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' John Michael Fiumara

* AbledInTheAdaptation: He doesn't have glasses in the 2021 film, while he does in the musical.
%%* DeadpanSnarker
* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler:He serves as one of Tony's pallbearers, along with Ice, Diesel, and Tiger.]]
* TheGenericGuy: Described in Tony Kushner's screenplay for the 2021 film as "a little dull, but dependable."
* HighSchoolHustler: Introduced making a back-alley deal with a shady character in the prologue.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: His real name isn't revealed in the stage version or either film adaptation.
* TattooedCrook: Sports several tattoos on his arms.

[[folder:Tiger]]
!!Tiger
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Julian Elia

* AscendedExtra: He gets more focus in the 2021 film as well, as he [[spoiler:is with Riff when they buy the gun and then partakes in "Cool" with Ice, Action, and Numbers in addition to Tony and Riff.]]
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: When Tony tells Riff to call off the rumble in the 2021 film, Tiger asks why they should call it off when they have a gun.
* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler:He serves as one of Tony's pallbearers, along with Ice, Diesel, and Big Deal.]]
* HotBlooded: Described in Tony Kushner's script as "a fighter, eager to rise in the ranks."
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: His real name isn't revealed in the stage version or either film adaptation.

[[folder:Balkan]]
!!Balkan
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Kyle Allen

Another member of the Jets.

* BlatantLies: He's grilled by one of the detectives about the location of the rumble.
-->"I don't know where the rumble is! I don't even know ''what'' a rumble is!"
* CanonForeigner: He's a new Jet character in the 2021 film.
* CharacterTic: He's constantly shown to be flipping a coin.
* FunnyBackgroundMoment: As "Gee, Officer Krupke" begins, Balkan can be seen in the background having no interest in partaking and instead reading his newspaper.
* JerkassHasAPoint: When Riff tells the Jets he's going to get Tony to help with setting up the rumble, Balkan rightfully tells Riff that Tony is done with the gang and Riff needs to stop thinking Tony's going to come back and accept it. By the middle of the film, Riff reluctantly does.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: His real name isn't revealed in the 2021 film adaptation.

[[folder:Snowboy]]
!!Snowboy
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Myles Erlick
Another member of the Jets.

* HotBlooded: It's quite apparent that he's one of the more devoted and intensely criminal Jets.
* LackOfEmpathy: [[spoiler:Even after partaking in the attempted rape of Anita, Snowboy has the gall to tell her to "go back where she came from."]]

[[folder:Numbers]]
!!Numbers
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Harrison Coll

* BastardBoyfriend: PlayedForLaughs as he is introduced leaving his girlfriend for the Jets' opening number - in the middle of lighting her cigarette.
* TheBrute: Described as a veteran footsoldier in Tony Kushner's script.
* CanonForeigner: Created for the 2021 film.
* FlatCharacter: He gets little characterization in the film.
* TheGenericGuy: He's a background Jet.

[[folder:Little Moly]]
!!Little Moly
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Daniel Patrick Russell

* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Downplayed. The script mentions that he's the same age as Baby John, but he's described as more hardened.
* CanonForeigner: He's a new Jet character added for the 2021 film.
* {{Foil}}: Seems to have entirely been created as one for Baby John.
* PetTheDog: After Lt. Schrank pulls the nail out of Baby John's ear, Little Moly can be seen taking a look at the wound and comforting him.
* TheVoiceless: Along with Skink, he doesn't get any audible lines in the film. They appear in "Jet Song" and "Tonight (Quintet)," but don't partake in "Gee, Officer Krupke" or "Cool," both of which give a lot of focus to the rest of the Jets.

[[folder:Skink]]
!!Skink
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Garrett Hawe
Another member of the Jets.

* TheVoiceless: Does not get any audible spoken lines in the film, and does not partake in "Cool" or "Gee, Officer Krupke," which add some characterization to the ensemble Jets.

[[folder:Anybodys]]
!!Anybodys
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' iris menas

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anybodys2021.jpg]]

-->''"I oughta be a Jet! Tony told me I could take on any four a you!"''

A transgender young man[[note]]a deviation from the source material, where the character is a cis tomboy[[/note]] who aspires to join the Jets.

* AdaptationalGenderIdentity: A cis tomboy in the source material, a trans boy here.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: In the 2021 film, Anybodys doesn't take part in the Jets' harassment of Anita. In fact, when Anita is about to enter Doc's, Anybodys walks past her and gives her a sincere warning not to go inside for her own safety.
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: While Tony is generally nicer to Anybodys than the rest of the Jets in the stage version and 1961 film, the 2021 film makes it clear that they are genuinely friends, as they warmly hug each other at the dance and Tony is the only one who treats him with a degree of respect. It's also mentioned that Tony was in favor of Anybodys joining the Jets prior to getting sent to prison, whereas previously he didn't think a girl should get mixed up in a gang.
* AscendedExtra: He has a much greater presence in this film adaptation. He first appears wanting to join the Jets as they vandalize a Puerto Rican flag mural, and whistles a warning as the Sharks arrive. Anybodys gets a lot of focus at the dance, rather than just being in the background, and is present in the police station when the Jets are questioned about the rumble.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Riff tells him to beat it when the Jets start to vandalize a Puerto Rican flag mural. However, Anybodys stays behind and whistles a warning to them when the Sharks arrive, ensuring they don't completely get the drop on the Jets. Even then, they continue to push Anybodys aside during "Jet Song."
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:He sneaks into the gym where Bernardo trained, and sees that Chino has Riff's gun, while telling the Sharks not to follow him as he leaves to find Tony.]]
* TransTribulations: He's a trans boy whose gender identity is dismissed and made fun of by the other Jets.
* UndyingLoyalty: He is fiercely loyal to Tony in the 2021 film, as Tony is the only person who treats Anybodys with any degree of respect. It's mentioned in passing that, before Tony was sent to prison, he was in favor of Anybodys joining the Jets. [[spoiler:When Tony runs onto the street in despair and calls for Chino to kill him too, Anybodys desperately tries to convince Tony to hide with him. After Tony is killed, Anybodys leads the funeral procession.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:He grabs the gun out of Tony's hand and tosses it aside, where it's picked up by Chino]].

[[folder:Graziella]]
!!Graziella
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Paloma Garcia-Lee

-->''"I wanna dance, goddammit!"''

Tony's ex-girlfriend and Riff's current girlfriend.

* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: She used to date Tony before he went to prison. The script mentions that she still has a thing for him when she first sees Tony at the dance, something Riff is oblivious to.
* AdaptationDyeJob: She's a redhead in the 1961 film and blonde in the 2021 film.
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: Graziella being an ex of Tony's is unique to this film. [[spoiler:After the rumble and Riff's death, she says she wants to see Tony because he cared about her once before.]]
* AdaptationalHeroism: [[spoiler:She and the other Jet girls try to save Anita when the Jets begin to sexually assault her.]]
* AscendedExtra: Graziella has more prominence in the 2021 film. She appears in the opening with Riff, having apparently made out with him in the cab of a wrecking crane, and it's also established that she was originally Tony's girlfriend before he went to prison. [[spoiler:She also attempts to stop the Jets from assaulting Anita.]]
* BerserkButton: Anita calls for Valentina in Spanish, and Graziella lashes out at her for it.
* EveryoneHasStandards: She's just as bigoted as the Jets and hates Anita because she was Bernardo's girlfriend. [[spoiler:However, when the Jets' harassment of her turns sexual, Graziella and the other girls desperately attempt to put a stop to it.]]
* ForcedToWatch: [[spoiler: She's thrown out of Doc's when the Jets begin to assault Anita, and pleads through the door for them to stop.]]
* LooseLips: She berates Riff since he told her he wasn't going to fight until he challenged Bernardo to the rumble. Officer Krupke overhears the word "challenge," leading the police to start to investigate the gangs' plans.
* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler:She's wearing one of Riff's shirts after his death, which is likely the only thing she has left of him.]]

[[folder:Velma]]
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/MaddieZiegler

Mouthpiece's girlfriend.

* AdaptationDyeJob: She's blonde in the 1961 film, and in most stage productions, but brunette in the 2021 film.
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: Velma is usually portrayed as the girlfriend of Ice or Riff, but she's Mouthpiece's girlfriend here.
* AdaptationalHeroism: [[spoiler:She and the other Jet girls try to save Anita when the Jets begin to sexually assault her.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler:She's horrified when the Jets' harassment of Anita turns sexual and tries to stop it.]]

[[folder:Tessa]]

Baby John's girlfriend.

* AdaptationalNameChange: Baby John's girlfriend is usually named Minnie, but named Tessa here.
* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler:She's horrified when the Jets' harassment of Anita turns sexual and tries to stop it.]]

!!The Sharks and Associated Characters
[[folder:The Sharks in General]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sharks2021.jpg]]

A New York City street gang comprised of Puerto Rican immigrants.

* AdaptationalHeroism: They come across in a much better light in this film, as they're fighting to protect their community from the Jets' bigoted attacks and aren't shown going out of their way to provoke them like in the musical and 1961 film. In addition, [[spoiler:they don't help Chino hunt down Tony, and actually try to talk him out of revenge.]]
* AdaptationalNameChange: Most of the Sharks are given different names in the 2021 film.
* AscendedExtra: The Sharks more or less disappear from the stage version and 1961 film after the rumble, [[spoiler:up until Chino kills Tony and Maria scolds both gangs for the senseless violence]]. In the 2021 film, the senior members of the Sharks are given much more prominence in the final act, [[spoiler:including telling Valentina about the rumble, holding a prayer vigil for Bernardo, and trying to talk Chino out of killing Tony]].
* VigilanteMilitia: Here, the Sharks were formed in response to the Jets vandalizing their public spaces, stealing from their shops, and harassing their community. Officer Krupke chides them for trying to take the law into their own hands instead of calling the cops like good citizens, though Bernardo points out that the cops are more likely to arrest ''them''.
* WorkingClassHero: In this version, the Sharks are blue-collar workers who try to defend their shops from the Jets, and are cheered by their community for their valiant efforts.

[[folder:Chino]]
!!Chino
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Josh Andrés Rivera
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chino2021.png]]

-->''"María can't like a'' lambeojo'' who just works day and night and never stands up like her brother does."''

A good friend of Bernardo's, whom he tries to set up with Maria. Though he is not an official member of the Sharks in this version (as Bernardo forbids it), Chino allies himself with them throughout the film.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: He's not a gang member in this version, but a nice young man who's just trying to earn an honest living by going to school. After Bernardo angrily breaks up the dance between Tony and Maria, he calmly and politely asks if she'd like to stay or go home. He helps Tony get into the rumble at the salt shed and isn't overtly hostile to him [[spoiler:until after Tony kills Bernardo]].
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul:
** In the stage version and 1961 film, Chino is betrothed to Maria, which she is unhappy about because she wants to find her own romance. In the 2021 film, there's no mention of this. Bernardo sets Maria up with his best friend for the dance. In addition, Maria is flattered by Chino's politeness and amused by his geeky persona, and even joins in with him as he starts to dance, suggesting that, had Tony not noticed her at that moment, things probably would have gone well between them.
** In the 1961 film, Tony seems to already know Chino, while this film implies that they don't know each other. In addition, Chino doesn't seem to have any resentment towards Tony for Maria dancing with him.
* AdaptationalWimp: In the 2021 film, he's a much more geeky, soft-spoken and awkward person. He isn't even a member of the Sharks as Bernardo refuses to let him join so he can focus on night school. [[spoiler:His murder of Tony is literally the first and only act of violence he commits]].
* AntiVillain: To an extent. [[spoiler:While he spends the second act trying to and eventually managing to kill Tony, he's got an understandable motive in that Tony has murdered his best friend and is in a relationship with his fiancee.]]
* AscendedExtra: He gets little characterization in the stage version and 1961 film beyond being Maria's date to the dance and Bernardo's best friend. In the 2021 film, he's fleshed out as a sweet, somewhat geeky young man who's going to school to get an honest job fixing adding machines. He isn't even overtly hostile to Tony when Maria chooses him, and helps Tony get into the rumble when they both arrive late.
* BoringYetPractical: He is going to night school to study adding machine repair. Not glamorous, but with all the adding machines in New York City, from Wall Street to the local banks, he'll have a steady stream of work and make decent money.
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler: Quique tries to reason with him by saying that if he kills Tony, a gringo, he'll be killed too. Chino's grim response is "Sooner or later, the gringos kill everything."]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: He is disappointed, but understanding, when Maria chooses Tony over him. When Bernardo becomes enraged enough that it looks like he's going to kill Tony while he's trying to smooth things over, Chino momentarily tries to restrain the Shark leader.
* {{Foil}}: Of Tony, thanks to his AscendedExtra status. Both are the best friend of one of the gang leaders, both are in love with Maria, and both are initially distant from the gang conflict. However, Tony is deliberately separating himself from the gang war because of his past actions and understanding how senseless gang life is, while Chino wants to join the Sharks out of a genuine desire to protect his community and being naive to the dangers. [[spoiler:While both witness the death of their best friend at the rumble, Tony realizes the seriousness of his actions and initially intends to turn himself in before Maria talks him out of it, while Chino becomes consumed by a desire for revenge even though it means throwing away his entire future.]]
* IJustWantToBeBadass: He's not a member of the Sharks, but wants to join out of a desire to help protect their community from the Jets. He also thinks that being someone who stands up to bigotry will make María respect him.
* NerdGlasses: Keeping in line with his new personality, he wears a set of horn-rimmed glasses, [[TheGlassesComeOff which he loses]] [[spoiler:when he becomes determined to kill Tony.]]
* NonActionGuy: Despite his desire to join the Sharks and help protect the Puerto Rican community, Chino is not a particularly threatening or imposing guy. When the rumble breaks out into an all-out brawl, [[spoiler:he is only clutching Bernardo's dead body, clearly terrified of the violence happening around him.]]
* RevengeBeforeReason: [[spoiler:It's clear that he's terrified about killing Tony, but sees no other way to avenge Bernardo. Even when Quique points out the last thing Bernardo would want is for Chino to throw away his future, Chino refuses to back down.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Chino helps Tony get into the rumble after arriving late. [[spoiler:This results in the fight escalating, and ultimately leads to the deaths of Riff, Bernardo, and Tony, the last one at Chino's own hands.]]

[[folder:Braulio]]
!!Braulio
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Sebastian Serra

Second-in-command of the Sharks.

* AdaptationalNameChange: He's named Pepe in the stage version and the 1961 film, and Braulio in the 2021 film.
%%* AdaptationalNiceGuy: In the final scene of the 2021 film, [[spoiler:he gently helps María as the gangs get ready to take Tony's body away.]]
-->"''María, ya es tiempo. Vente con nosotros.''"[[note]]María, it is time. Come with us.[[/note]]
* BearerOfBadNews: He tells Valentina about the rumble [[spoiler:and that Tony killed Bernardo.]]
* MirrorCharacter: Like Ice, he is an intelligent young man who serves as second-in-command.
* TheSmartGuy: Tony Kushner's script describes Braulio as serious and political. He tries to tell Schrank that they are citizens and have rights, only to get slapped in response.

[[folder:Quique]]
!!Quique
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Julius Anthony Rubio
A senior member of the Sharks.

%%* TheBigGuy: One of the biggest members of the Sharks.
* CanonForeigner: He's a new Shark character added for the 2021 film.
* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler:When Chino reveals that he has Riff's gun, Quique tries to convince him that it's not worth throwing away his entire life for revenge over a single neighborhood. Chino doesn't listen.]]
* HeelRealization: [[spoiler:After Bernardo's death, he realizes it was foolish of them and Bernardo to let the Jets get under their skin and agree to the rumble. It's part of why he tries to convince Chino to drop his revenge plan.]]
* TheLancer: He leads the Sharks into battle during the prologue, along with Braulio.
%%* ManlyFacialHair: He has a very thick mustache.
* MirrorCharacter: He serves as one to Diesel, due to both of them being one of the biggest members of their gangs and trying to advise their friends when they're in a stressful situation.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He wants to fight the Jets as much as anyone, but he's deeply affected [[spoiler:by Bernardo's death. When he sees that Chino has Riff's gun, he desperately tries to reason with him, telling him it's not worth throwing away his future for revenge.]]
* ReligiousBruiser: He wears a large crucifix necklace.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Quique is a teenager like the rest of the Sharks, but looks significantly older than the others thanks to his mustache.

[[folder:Chago]]
!!Chago
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Ricardo A. Zayas

Another member of the Sharks.

* CanonForeigner: He's a new Shark character added for the 2021 film.
* HotBlooded: He hates the Jets for stealing from the Puerto Rican shops and vandalizing their public spaces, and thus is quick to want to fight. He also lunges at Chino [[spoiler:for saying that Bernardo was a fool.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: During the Prologue when the Sharks go after the Jets for vandalizing their mural, he leads a small group in ganging up on Baby John, the youngest and weakest of the Jets. They even go as far as ''shoving a nail through his ear''.
* MirrorCharacter: His HotBlooded nature and eagerness to fight basically makes him the Sharks' version of Action.
* OhCrap: All of his bravado instantly vanishes when [[spoiler:Chino pulls out Riff's gun.]]
* PatrioticFervor: When Bernardo leads the Sharks in singing "La Borinqueña," Puerto Rico's national anthem, Chago raises his fist and screams ''"¡Viva Puerto Rico libre!"'', or "Long live free Puerto Rico!"

[[folder:Flaco]]
!!Flaco
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Ricky Ubeda

A member of the Sharks.

* CanonForeigner: Created for the 2021 film.
* MirrorCharacter: With his happy-go-lucky bearing and NiceHat, he seems to be one to Mouthpiece.
* Nice Hat: Sports one with a prominent brim.

!!Other Characters

[[folder:Schrank]]
!!Schrank
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/CoreyStoll

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/schrank2021.jpg]]

-->''"I realize if any of you helps me out, you might spoil your chance to murder each other over control of this earthly paradise."''

A racist cop of the NYPD's 21st Precinct.

* BigotWithABadge: He's openly racist towards the Sharks and Puerto Ricans in general, and also classist towards the proletariat Jets.
* ItsAllAboutMe: He merely tries to keep the gangs from killing each other because they'll all be displaced once Lincoln Center is built, and he can have a cushy job patrolling a relatively crime-free rich neighborhood.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Despite being a racist, classist douchebag, he points out to both gangs that their war for control over the neighborhood is meaningless because the neighborhood isn't even going to ''exist'' in a few years due to the construction of Lincoln Center.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In the 2021 film, he talks about how other poor, white men were able to climb their way out of the slums, get good jobs, buy nice houses, drive cool cars, and marry beautiful women, while the Jets are the products of the men who couldn't.
-->"Most of the white guys who grew up in this slum climbed their way out of it: Irish, Italian, Jews. Nowadays their descendants live in nice houses and drive nice cars and date nice girls you'd want to marry. Your dads or your granddads stayed put, drinking and knocking up some local piece who gave birth to you: the last of the Can't-Make-It Caucasians. What's a gang without its terrain, its turf? You're a month or two away from finding out, one step ahead of the wrecking ball. And in this uncertain world, the only thing you can count on is me. I'm here to keep the civil peace until the last building falls, and if you boys make more trouble on my turf, Riff, hand to heart, you're headed to an upstate prison cell for a very long time. By the time you get out, this will be a shiny new neighborhood of rich people in beautiful apartments with Puerto Rican doormen to chase trash like you away."
* SmugSnake: This version of Schrank is much more smug than in the musical and 1961 film because [[ForegoneConclusion he knows the gangs are going to be displaced soon]].

[[folder:Krupke]]
!!Krupke
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/BrianDarcyJames

-->''"Yer drivin me to my grave, ya pack a jackals!"''
An officer under Schrank.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: He's much more civil to both gangs than previous iterations of the character and doesn't have any hints of racial bias. [[spoiler:He's also shown gently helping Anita fill out the necessary paperwork after Bernardo's death.]]
* AdultsAreUseless: He genuinely wants to help the teens avoid jail. Unfortunately, between the Jets being hardened by their poor home lives, the Sharks being distrustful of the police due to America's racism, and him having to answer to [[DirtyCop Lt. Schrank]], there's not much he can actually do other than beg the gangs to stop fighting.
* AgeLift: He's clearly much older than in the other versions and most of his incompetence stems from his age making him less physically adept than in his younger years.
* DisabledInTheAdaptation: He's mentioned to have a few physical ailments in this version. He complains about his ulcers after Anybodys kicks him in the stomach, while Riff makes a crack about his asthma (which may or may not exist) after he breaks up the opening fight.
* EveryoneHasStandards: He is disgusted by how the gangs can't even stop trying to fight while at the dance.
-->"Whatsa matter with you guys? Pretty girls wantin' a dance, 'n all yiz can think of is to beat up on each other?"
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure:
** In the 2021 film, he reprimands Riff and the Jets for going out of their way to harass the Puerto Ricans and tells them to leave the group alone while also chiding Bernardo and the Sharks for being vigilantes, telling them that if they have a problem, they should call the cops and not take it into their own hands. Though he himself upholds the very structures that oppresses both sides in the first place.
** Also in the 2021 film, he scolds Tony at the dance because he thinks he's trying to cause trouble with the Puerto Ricans. When Tony explains he was just dancing with María and Bernardo continues to act hostile, Krupke then tells Bernardo to back off since he's clearly acting as the aggressor in this instance.

* TheBigGuy: One of the biggest members of the Sharks.

* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: Like Tony, she's more cynical in the 2021 film, which is due to her frustration that Bernardo refuses to let her pursue her own dreams to go to college and find her own love. She's also more assertive than the usual, as shown when sheisn't afraid to call out Bernardo for embarrassing her at the dance with his behavior towards Tony.

%%* TheBigGuy: One of the biggest members of the Sharks.

* AdaptationalBadass: She isn't afraid to call out Bernardo for embarrassing her at the dance with his behavior towards Tony.

* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: Like Tony, she's more cynical in the 2021 film, which is due to her frustration that Bernardo refuses to let her pursue her own dreams to go to college and find her own love.

* AdaptationalBadass: Bernardo practices throwing punches with Quique during "America." Anita pushes him aside and throws a punch into the focus gloves, causing Quique to wince in pain afterwards (something that didn't happen with Bernardo). She also puts up one hell of a fight [[spoiler:when the Jets begin to assault her, though she's quickly overpowered.]]

* AdaptationalIntelligence: In the 2021 film, Diesel, Snowboy, and Baby John are vaguely aware that Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, and thus the Sharks are also American citizens like them.

* AdaptationalIntelligence: Previous versions of the character were straightforwardly DumbMuscle. Here Diesel is aware that Puerto Ricans are American citizens, which is backed up by Snowboy saying "Puerto Rico is like a state" and Baby John being aware it's something other than a state.

* AdaptationalIntelligence: Along with Diesel and Snowboy, Baby John is vaguely aware that Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, though he doesn't know the exact term.

* AdaptationalIntelligence: He's vaguely aware that Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, along with Diesel and Baby John.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: It's mentioned that she was Tony's girlfriend before he went to prison and then found comfort in Riff. [[spoiler:After the rumble and Riff's death, she says she wants to see Tony because he cared about her once before.]]

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: He's not a member of the Sharks here, but a nice young man who's just trying to earn an honest living by going to school. After Bernardo angrily breaks up the dance between Tony and Maria, he calmly and politely asks if she'd like to stay or go home. He helps Tony get into the rumble at the salt shed and isn't overtly hostile to him [[spoiler:until after Tony kills Bernardo]].

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: In the final scene of the 2021 film, [[spoiler:he gently helps María as the gangs get ready to take Tony's body away.]]

* TheBigGuy: One of the biggest members of the Sharks.

* ManlyFacialHair: He has a very thick mustache.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: He's much more civil to both gangs and doesn't have any hints of racial bias. [[spoiler:He's also shown gently helping Anita fill out the necessary paperwork after Bernardo's death.]]

* AdaptationalIntelligence: Here, he comes across as less naive and more frustrated by the constant conflict between the gangs.

[[folder:Balkan]]
!!Balkan
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Kyle Allen

Another member of the Jets.

* BlatantLies: He's grilled by one of the detectives about the location of the rumble.
-->"I don't know where the rumble is! I don't even know ''what'' a rumble is!"
* CanonForeigner: He's a new Jet character in the 2021 film.
* CharacterTic: He's constantly shown to be flipping a coin.
* JerkassHasAPoint: When Riff tells the Jets he's going to get Tony to help with setting up the rumble, Balkan rightfully tells Riff that Tony is done with the gang and Riff needs to stop thinking Tony's going to come back and accept it. By the middle of the film, Riff reluctantly does.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: His real name isn't revealed in the 2021 film adaptation.

[[folder:Snowboy]]
!!Snowboy
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Myles Erlick
Another member of the Jets.

* AdaptationalIntelligence: He's vaguely aware that Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, along with Diesel and Baby John.
* LackOfEmpathy: [[spoiler:Even after partaking in the attempted rape of Anita, Snowboy has the gall to tell her to "go back where she came from."]]

[[folder:Numbers]]
!!Numbers
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Harrison Coll

* BastardBoyfriend: PlayedForLaughs as he is introduced leaving his girlfriend for the Jets' opening number - in the middle of lighting her cigarette.
* TheBrute: Described as a veteran footsoldier in Tony Kushner's script.
* CanonForeigner: Created for the 2021 film.
* FlatCharacter: He gets little characterization in the film.
* TheGenericGuy: He's a background Jet.

[[folder:Little Moly]]
!!Little Moly
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Daniel Patrick Russell

* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Downplayed. The script mentions that he's the same age as Baby John, but he's described as more hardened.
* CanonForeigner: He's a new Jet character added for the 2021 film.
* {{Foil}}: Seems to have entirely been created as one for Baby John.
* PetTheDog: After Lt. Schrank pulls the nail out of Baby John's ear, Little Moly can be seen taking a look at the wound and comforting him.
* TheVoiceless: Along with Skink, he doesn't get any audible lines in the film. They appear in "Jet Song" and "Tonight (Quintet)," but don't partake in "Gee, Officer Krupke" or "Cool," both of which give a lot of focus to the rest of the Jets.

[[folder:Skink]]
!!Skink
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Garrett Hawe
Another member of the Jets.

* TheVoiceless: Does not get any audible spoken lines in the film, and does not partake in "Cool" or "Gee, Officer Krupke," which add some characterization to the ensemble Jets.

[[folder:Anybodys]]
!!Anybodys
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' iris menas

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anybodys2021.jpg]]

-->''"I oughta be a Jet! Tony told me I could take on any four a you!"''

A transgender young man[[note]]a deviation from the source material, where the character is a cis tomboy[[/note]] who aspires to join the Jets.

* AdaptationalGenderIdentity: A cis tomboy in the source material, a trans boy here.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: In the 2021 film, Anybodys doesn't take part in the Jets' harassment of Anita. In fact, when Anita is about to enter Doc's, Anybodys walks past her and gives her a sincere warning not to go inside for her own safety.
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: While Tony is generally nicer to Anybodys than the rest of the Jets in the stage version and 1961 film, the 2021 film makes it clear that they are genuinely friends, as they warmly hug each other at the dance and Tony is the only one who treats him with a degree of respect. It's also mentioned that Tony was in favor of Anybodys joining the Jets prior to getting sent to prison, whereas previously he didn't think a girl should get mixed up in a gang.
* AscendedExtra: He has a much greater presence in this film adaptation. He first appears wanting to join the Jets as they vandalize a Puerto Rican flag mural, and whistles a warning as the Sharks arrive. Anybodys gets a lot of focus at the dance, rather than just being in the background, and is present in the police station when the Jets are questioned about the rumble.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Riff tells him to beat it when the Jets start to vandalize a Puerto Rican flag mural. However, Anybodys stays behind and whistles a warning to them when the Sharks arrive, ensuring they don't completely get the drop on the Jets. Even then, they continue to push Anybodys aside during "Jet Song."
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:He sneaks into the gym where Bernardo trained, and sees that Chino has Riff's gun, while telling the Sharks not to follow him as he leaves to find Tony.]]
* TransTribulations: He's a trans boy whose gender identity is dismissed and made fun of by the other Jets.
* UndyingLoyalty: He is fiercely loyal to Tony in the 2021 film, as Tony is the only person who treats Anybodys with any degree of respect. It's mentioned in passing that, before Tony was sent to prison, he was in favor of Anybodys joining the Jets. [[spoiler:When Tony runs onto the street in despair and calls for Chino to kill him too, Anybodys desperately tries to convince Tony to hide with him. After Tony is killed, Anybodys leads the funeral procession.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:He grabs the gun out of Tony's hand and tosses it aside, where it's picked up by Chino]].

[[folder:Graziella]]
!!Graziella
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Paloma Garcia-Lee

-->''"I wanna dance, goddammit!"''

Tony's ex-girlfriend and Riff's current girlfriend.

* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: She used to date Tony before he went to prison. The script mentions that she still has a thing for him when she first sees Tony at the dance, something Riff is oblivious to.
* AdaptationDyeJob: She's a redhead in the 1961 film and blonde in the 2021 film.
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: It's mentioned that she was Tony's girlfriend before he went to prison and then found comfort in Riff. [[spoiler:After the rumble and Riff's death, she says she wants to see Tony because he cared about her once before.]]
* AdaptationalHeroism: [[spoiler:She and the other Jet girls try to save Anita when the Jets begin to sexually assault her.]]
* AscendedExtra: Graziella has more prominence in the 2021 film. She appears in the opening with Riff, having apparently made out with him in the cab of a wrecking crane, and it's also established that she was originally Tony's girlfriend before he went to prison. [[spoiler:She also attempts to stop the Jets from assaulting Anita.]]
* BerserkButton: Anita calls for Valentina in Spanish, and Graziella lashes out at her for it.
* EveryoneHasStandards: She's just as bigoted as the Jets and hates Anita because she was Bernardo's girlfriend. [[spoiler:However, when the Jets' harassment of her turns sexual, Graziella and the other girls desperately attempt to put a stop to it.]]
* ForcedToWatch: [[spoiler: She's thrown out of Doc's when the Jets begin to assault Anita, and pleads through the door for them to stop.]]
* LooseLips: She berates Riff since he told her he wasn't going to fight until he challenged Bernardo to the rumble. Officer Krupke overhears the word "challenge," leading the police to start to investigate the gangs' plans.
* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler:She's wearing one of Riff's shirts after his death, which is likely the only thing she has left of him.]]

[[folder:Velma]]
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/MaddieZiegler

Mouthpiece's girlfriend.

* AdaptationDyeJob: She's blonde in the 1961 film, and in most stage productions, but brunette in the 2021 film.
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: Velma is usually portrayed as the girlfriend of Ice or Riff, but she's Mouthpiece's girlfriend here.
* AdaptationalHeroism: [[spoiler:She and the other Jet girls try to save Anita when the Jets begin to sexually assault her.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler:She's horrified when the Jets' harassment of Anita turns sexual and tries to stop it.]]

[[folder:Tessa]]

Baby John's girlfriend.

* AdaptationalNameChange: Baby John's girlfriend is usually named Minnie, but named Tessa here.
* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler:She's horrified when the Jets' harassment of Anita turns sexual and tries to stop it.]]

!!The Sharks and Associated Characters
[[folder:The Sharks in General]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sharks2021.jpg]]

* AdaptationalHeroism: They come across in a much better light in this film, as they're fighting to protect their community from the Jets' bigoted attacks and aren't shown going out of their way to provoke them like in the musical and 1961 film. In addition, [[spoiler:they don't help Chino hunt down Tony, and actually try to talk him out of revenge.]]
* AdaptationalNameChange: Most of the Sharks are given different names in the 2021 film.
* AscendedExtra: The Sharks more or less disappear from the stage version and 1961 film after the rumble, [[spoiler:up until Chino kills Tony and Maria scolds both gangs for the senseless violence]]. In the 2021 film, the senior members of the Sharks are given much more prominence in the final act, [[spoiler:including telling Valentina about the rumble, holding a prayer vigil for Bernardo, and trying to talk Chino out of killing Tony]].
* VigilanteMilitia: Here, the Sharks were formed in response to the Jets vandalizing their public spaces, stealing from their shops, and harassing their community. Officer Krupke chides them for trying to take the law into their own hands instead of calling the cops like good citizens, though Bernardo points out that the cops are more likely to arrest ''them''.
* WorkingClassHero: In this version, the Sharks are blue-collar workers who try to defend their shops from the Jets, and are cheered by their community for their valiant efforts.

[[folder:Chino]]
!!Chino
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Josh Andrés Rivera
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chino2021.png]]

-->''"María can't like a'' lambeojo'' who just works day and night and never stands up like her brother does."''

A good friend of Bernardo's, whom he tries to set up with Maria. Though he is not an official member of the Sharks in this version (as Bernardo forbids it), Chino allies himself with them throughout the film.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: He's not a member of the Sharks here, but a nice young man who's just trying to earn an honest living by going to school. After Bernardo angrily breaks up the dance between Tony and Maria, he calmly and politely asks if she'd like to stay or go home. He helps Tony get into the rumble at the salt shed and isn't overtly hostile to him [[spoiler:until after Tony kills Bernardo]].
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul:
** In the stage version and 1961 film, Chino is betrothed to Maria, which she is unhappy about because she wants to find her own romance. In the 2021 film, there's no mention of this. Bernardo sets Maria up with his best friend for the dance. In addition, Maria is flattered by Chino's politeness and amused by his geeky persona, and even joins in with him as he starts to dance, suggesting that, had Tony not noticed her at that moment, things probably would have gone well between them.
** In the 1961 film, Tony seems to already know Chino, while this film implies that they don't know each other. In addition, Chino doesn't seem to have any resentment towards Tony for Maria dancing with him.
* AdaptationalWimp: In the 2021 film, he's a much more geeky, soft-spoken and awkward person. He isn't even a member of the Sharks as Bernardo refuses to let him join so he can focus on night school. [[spoiler:His murder of Tony is literally the first and only act of violence he commits]].
* AntiVillain: To an extent. [[spoiler:While he spends the second act trying to and eventually managing to kill Tony, he's got an understandable motive in that Tony has murdered his best friend and is in a relationship with his fiancee.]]
* AscendedExtra: He gets little characterization in the stage version and 1961 film beyond being Maria's date to the dance and Bernardo's best friend. In the 2021 film, he's fleshed out as a sweet, somewhat geeky young man who's going to school to get an honest job fixing adding machines. He isn't even overtly hostile to Tony when Maria chooses him, and helps Tony get into the rumble when they both arrive late.
* BoringYetPractical: He is going to night school to study adding machine repair. Not glamorous, but with all the adding machines in New York City, from Wall Street to the local banks, he'll have a steady stream of work and make decent money.
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler: Quique tries to reason with him by saying that if he kills Tony, a gringo, he'll be killed too. Chino's grim response is "Sooner or later, the gringos kill everything."]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: He is disappointed, but understanding, when Maria chooses Tony over him. When Bernardo becomes enraged enough that it looks like he's going to kill Tony while he's trying to smooth things over, Chino momentarily tries to restrain the Shark leader.
* {{Foil}}: Of Tony, thanks to his AscendedExtra status. Both are the best friend of one of the gang leaders, both are in love with Maria, and both are initially distant from the gang conflict. However, Tony is deliberately separating himself from the gang war because of his past actions and understanding how senseless gang life is, while Chino wants to join the Sharks out of a genuine desire to protect his community and being naive to the dangers. [[spoiler:While both witness the death of their best friend at the rumble, Tony realizes the seriousness of his actions and initially intends to turn himself in before Maria talks him out of it, while Chino becomes consumed by a desire for revenge even though it means throwing away his entire future.]]
* IJustWantToBeBadass: He's not a member of the Sharks, but wants to join out of a desire to help protect their community from the Jets. He also thinks that being someone who stands up to bigotry will make María respect him.
* NerdGlasses: Keeping in line with his new personality, he wears a set of horn-rimmed glasses, [[TheGlassesComeOff which he loses]] [[spoiler:when he becomes determined to kill Tony.]]
* NonActionGuy: Despite his desire to join the Sharks and help protect the Puerto Rican community, Chino is not a particularly threatening or imposing guy. When the rumble breaks out into an all-out brawl, [[spoiler:he is only clutching Bernardo's dead body, clearly terrified of the violence happening around him.]]
* RevengeBeforeReason: [[spoiler:It's clear that he's terrified about killing Tony, but sees no other way to avenge Bernardo. Even when Quique points out the last thing Bernardo would want is for Chino to throw away his future, Chino refuses to back down.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Chino helps Tony get into the rumble after arriving late. [[spoiler:This results in the fight escalating, and ultimately leads to the deaths of Riff, Bernardo, and Tony, the last one at Chino's own hands.]]

[[folder:Braulio]]
!!Braulio
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Sebastian Serra

Second-in-command of the Sharks.
----
* AdaptationalNameChange: He's named Pepe in the stage version and the 1961 film, and Braulio in the 2021 film.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: In the final scene of the 2021 film, [[spoiler:he gently helps María as the gangs get ready to take Tony's body away.]]
-->"''María, ya es tiempo. Vente con nosotros.''"[[note]]María, it is time. Come with us.[[/note]]
* BearerOfBadNews: He tells Valentina about the rumble [[spoiler:and that Tony killed Bernardo.]]
* MirrorCharacter: Like Ice, he is an intelligent young man who serves as second-in-command.
* TheSmartGuy: Tony Kushner's script describes Braulio as serious and political. He tries to tell Schrank that they are citizens and have rights, only to get slapped in response.

[[folder:Quique]]
!!Quique
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Julius Anthony Rubio
A senior member of the Sharks.

* TheBigGuy: One of the biggest members of the Sharks.
* CanonForeigner: He's a new Shark character added for the 2021 film.
* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler:When Chino reveals that he has Riff's gun, Quique tries to convince him that it's not worth throwing away his entire life for revenge over a single neighborhood. Chino doesn't listen.]]
* HeelRealization: [[spoiler:After Bernardo's death, he realizes it was foolish of them and Bernardo to let the Jets get under their skin and agree to the rumble. It's part of why he tries to convince Chino to drop his revenge plan.]]
* TheLancer: He leads the Sharks into battle during the prologue, along with Braulio.
* ManlyFacialHair: He has a very thick mustache.
* MirrorCharacter: He serves as one to Diesel, due to both of them being one of the biggest members of their gangs and trying to advise their friends when they're in a stressful situation.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He wants to fight the Jets as much as anyone, but he's deeply affected [[spoiler:by Bernardo's death. When he sees that Chino has Riff's gun, he desperately tries to reason with him, telling him it's not worth throwing away his future for revenge.]]
* ReligiousBruiser: He wears a large crucifix necklace.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Quique is a teenager like the rest of the Sharks, but looks significantly older than the others thanks to his mustache.

[[folder:Chago]]
!!Chago
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Ricardo A. Zayas

Another member of the Sharks.

* CanonForeigner: He's a new Shark character added for the 2021 film.
* HotBlooded: He hates the Jets for stealing from the Puerto Rican shops and vandalizing their public spaces, and thus is quick to want to fight. He also lunges at Chino [[spoiler:for saying that Bernardo was a fool.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: During the Prologue when the Sharks go after the Jets for vandalizing their mural, he leads a small group in ganging up on Baby John, the youngest and weakest of the Jets. They even go as far as ''shoving a nail through his ear''.
* MirrorCharacter: His HotBlooded nature and eagerness to fight basically makes him the Sharks' version of Action.
* OhCrap: All of his bravado instantly vanishes when [[spoiler:Chino pulls out Riff's gun.]]
* PatrioticFervor: When Bernardo leads the Sharks in singing "La Borinqueña," Puerto Rico's national anthem, Chago raises his fist and screams ''"¡Viva Puerto Rico libre!"'', or "Long live free Puerto Rico!"

!!Other Characters

[[folder:Schrank]]
!!Schrank
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/CoreyStoll

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/schrank2021.jpg]]

-->''"I realize if any of you helps me out, you might spoil your chance to murder each other over control of this earthly paradise."''

A racist cop of the NYPD's 21st Precinct.

* BigotWithABadge: He's openly racist towards the Sharks and Puerto Ricans in general, and also classist towards the proletariat Jets.
* ItsAllAboutMe: He merely tries to keep the gangs from killing each other because they'll all be displaced once Lincoln Center is built, and he can have a cushy job patrolling a relatively crime-free rich neighborhood.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Despite being a racist, classist douchebag, he points out to both gangs that their war for control over the neighborhood is meaningless because the neighborhood isn't even going to ''exist'' in a few years due to the construction of Lincoln Center.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In the 2021 film, he talks about how other poor, white men were able to climb their way out of the slums, get good jobs, buy nice houses, drive cool cars, and marry beautiful women, while the Jets are the products of the men who couldn't.
-->"Most of the white guys who grew up in this slum climbed their way out of it: Irish, Italian, Jews. Nowadays their descendants live in nice houses and drive nice cars and date nice girls you'd want to marry. Your dads or your granddads stayed put, drinking and knocking up some local piece who gave birth to you: the last of the Can't-Make-It Caucasians. What's a gang without its terrain, its turf? You're a month or two away from finding out, one step ahead of the wrecking ball. And in this uncertain world, the only thing you can count on is me. I'm here to keep the civil peace until the last building falls, and if you boys make more trouble on my turf, Riff, hand to heart, you're headed to an upstate prison cell for a very long time. By the time you get out, this will be a shiny new neighborhood of rich people in beautiful apartments with Puerto Rican doormen to chase trash like you away."

[[folder:Krupke]]
!!Krupke
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/BrianDarcyJames

-->''"Yer drivin me to my grave, ya pack a jackals!"''
An officer under Schrank.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: He's much more civil to both gangs and doesn't have any hints of racial bias. [[spoiler:He's also shown gently helping Anita fill out the necessary paperwork after Bernardo's death.]]
* AdultsAreUseless: He genuinely wants to help the teens avoid jail. Unfortunately, between the Jets being hardened by their poor home lives, the Sharks being distrustful of the police due to America's racism, and him having to answer to [[DirtyCop Lt. Schrank]], there's not much he can actually do other than beg the gangs to stop fighting.
* AgeLift: He's clearly much older than in the other versions and most of his incompetence stems from his age making him less physically adept than in his younger years.
* DisabledInTheAdaptation: He's mentioned to have a few physical ailments in this version. He complains about his ulcers after Anybodys kicks him in the stomach, while Riff makes a crack about his asthma (which may or may not exist) after he breaks up the opening fight.
* EveryoneHasStandards: He is disgusted by how the gangs can't even stop trying to fight while at the dance.
-->"Whatsa matter with you guys? Pretty girls wantin' a dance, 'n all yiz can think of is to beat up on each other?"
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure:
** In the 2021 film, he reprimands Riff and the Jets for going out of their way to harass the Puerto Ricans and tells them to leave the group alone while also chiding Bernardo and the Sharks for being vigilantes, telling them that if they have a problem, they should call the cops and not take it into their own hands. Though he himself upholds the very structures that oppresses both sides in the first place.
** Also in the 2021 film, he scolds Tony at the dance because he thinks he's trying to cause trouble with the Puerto Ricans. When Tony explains he was just dancing with María and Bernardo continues to act hostile, Krupke then tells Bernardo to back off since he's clearly acting as the aggressor in this instance.

[[folder:Glad Hand]]
!!Murray "Glad Hand" Benowitz
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Mike Iveson

-->''"Be nice to each other, give us some hope, just for a little bit. Then you can revert back to your true feral selves."''

The social worker who organizes the dance between the Jets and the Sharks.

* AdaptationalIntelligence: Here, he comes across as less naive and more frustrated by the constant conflict between the gangs.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: He tells the Sharks to "speak English at school-sponsored functions." Though in his defense, it was clear that [[HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier the Sharks had just insulted him]].

[[folder:Abe & Rory]]
!!Abe & Rory
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Curtiss Cook (Abe) & Creator/JamieHarris (Rory)

An African-American black market dealer and an Irish bartender, respectively, who associate with the Jets.

* ArmsDealer: Abe is a black market gun smuggler.
* BlatantLies: Abe asks Riff if he's ever fired a gun before. Riff replies that it was a Colt revolver, with .32 rounds. Abe takes this as a sign that he's lying by saying that Colts fire .22 rounds.
* CanonForeigner: Both were created for the 2021 film.
* GunPorn: Abe and Rory lovingly describe [[spoiler:the S&W revolver that the Jets want to buy.]]
* TheIrishMob: Rory is implied to have been involved with it in the past, along with Riff's father.
* ScaryBlackMan: Abe is a streetwise gun dealer, and he's able to easily intimidate the Jets when Rory pulls the gun on Riff.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: They only appear in one scene in which they [[spoiler:sell a Smith & Wesson Model 10 to Riff. That gun ends up killing Tony at the end of the night.]]
* StreetSmart: Abe is smart enough to namedrop MutuallyAssuredDestruction ([[AnachronismStew a term that wasn't even coined until 1962]]) when Riff explains that they need a gun because the Sharks are bringing a gun while they think the Jets are.

[[folder:Fausta]]
!!''Señora'' Fausta
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Andréa Burns (2021 film)

María's boss at Gimbels.

* LatinoIsBrown: Averted. While Rita Moreno was covered in {{Brownface}} in the 1961 film, even though she was the only cast member who actually ''is'' Puerto Rican, she retains her natural skin tone in the 2021 film.

* LatinoIsBrown: Averted, as Steven Spielberg cast Latino actors from a wide range of backgrounds. Rachel Zegler (Maria) is of Colombian ancestry, David Alvarez (Bernardo) is Cuban-Canadian, Ariana [=DeBose=] (Anita) is Afro-Latina, Sebastian Serra (Braulio) is Puerto Rican, Julius Anthony Rubio (Quique) is Dominican, and Andrei Chagas (Jochi) is Brazilian, while Rita Moreno (Valentina) appears with her natural skin tone.

* {{Foil}}: Thanks to his AscendedExtra status. Both are the best friend of one of the gang leaders, both are in love with Maria, and both are initially distant from the gang conflict. However, Tony is deliberately separating himself from the gang war because of his past actions and understanding how senseless gang life is, while Chino wants to join the Sharks out of a genuine desire to protect his community and being naive to the dangers. [[spoiler:While both witness the death of their best friend at the rumble, Tony realizes the seriousness of his actions and initially intends to turn himself in before Maria talks him out of it, while Chino becomes consumed by a desire for revenge even though it means throwing away his entire future.]]

-->'''Bernardo:''' (''in Spanish'') I forbid you to see that stupid Polack!\\
'''Maria:''' Maybe Chino and your friends fall down at your feet and maybe you scare the ''Americanos'' when you make fists and angry faces, (''in Spanish'') but I'm not interested in boxing or fighting. And you are not my boss! (''in English'') And I'm not interested in what you have to say.

* {{Foil}}: Thanks to his AscendedExtra status. Both are the best friend of one of the gang leaders, both are in love with Maria, and both are initially distant from the gang conflict. However, Tony is deliberately separating himself from the gang war because of his past actions, while Chino wants to join the Sharks out of a genuine desire to protect his community. [[spoiler:While both witness the death of their best friend at the rumble, Tony realizes the seriousness of his actions and initially intends to turn himself in before Maria talks him out of it, while Chino becomes consumed by a desire for revenge even though it means throwing away his entire future.]]

A racist cop.

* InformedFlaw: Invoked in the 2021 film. Bernardo tells Chino that Maria is bossy, but considering how controlling he is of her life, it's likely he's projecting his own flaws onto her and takes any attempt by Maria to assert herself as an example of her "bossiness."

The hero. He is the former leader of the Jets, who now works for Valentina after a year in jail. He falls in love with Maria.

[[folder:Maria]]
!!Maria Vasquez

!!Tony

!!Riff

!!Anita

[[caption-width-right:250:2021 film]]

* EveryoneHasStandards:
** He is unnerved when Riff suggests using knives during the rumble and is relieved when Bernardo declines.
** While he still misgenders Anybodys, Diesel at least tells A-Rab to leave him alone.

Bernardo's girlfriend and an older sister figure to Maria. She is an aspiring seamstress.

* AdaptationalBadass: In the 2021 film, she isn't afraid to call out Bernardo for embarrassing her at the dance with his behavior towards Tony.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: His friendship with Tony in the 2021 film. In the previous versions, it's clear that while Tony has left the gang life behind him, his friendship with Riff is still strong and they have each other's back no matter what. In this version, Tony being sent to prison and then leaving the Jets has caused a much deeper strain, resulting in multiple arguments between the two.

* IRejectYourReality: In the 2021 film, it's clear that all of the Jets have accepted that Tony is done with them, but Riff insists he'll eventually come back. He comes to realize this at the end of "Cool," when Tony tries to get him to stop the rumble.

-->'''Played by:''' David Alvarez

!!The Jets

!!The Sharks

!!The Sharks
[[folder:The Sharks in General]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sharks2021.jpg]]

* AdaptationalHeroism: They come across in a much better light in this film, as they're fighting to protect their community from the Jets' bigoted attacks and aren't shown going out of their way to provoke them like in the musical and 1961 film. In addition, [[spoiler:they don't help Chino hunt down Tony, and actually try to talk him out of revenge.]]
* AdaptationalNameChange: Most of the Sharks are given different names in the 2021 film.
* AscendedExtra: The Sharks more or less disappear from the stage version and 1961 film after the rumble, [[spoiler:up until Chino kills Tony and Maria scolds both gangs for the senseless violence]]. In the 2021 film, the senior members of the Sharks are given much more prominence in the final act, [[spoiler:including telling Valentina about the rumble, holding a prayer vigil for Bernardo, and trying to talk Chino out of killing Tony]].
* ThoseTwoGuys: Braulio and Quique both serve as Bernardo's lieutenants, accompanying him when Riff calls for a meeting to set the rumble.
* VigilanteMilitia: Here, the Sharks were formed in response to the Jets vandalizing their public spaces, stealing from their shops, and harassing their community. Officer Krupke chides them for trying to take the law into their own hands instead of calling the cops like good citizens, though Bernardo points out that the cops are more likely to arrest ''them''.
* WorkingClassHero: In this version, the Sharks are blue-collar workers who try to defend their shops from the Jets, and are cheered by their community for their valiant efforts.


[[/folder]]

[[folder:Chino]]
!!Chino
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Josh Andrés Rivera
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chino2021.png]]

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: He's not a member of the Sharks here, but a nice young man who's just trying to earn an honest living by going to school. After Bernardo angrily breaks up the dance between Tony and Maria, he calmly and politely asks if she'd like to stay or go home. He helps Tony get into the rumble at the salt shed and isn't overtly hostile to him [[spoiler:until after Tony kills Bernardo]].
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul:
** In the stage version and 1961 film, Chino is betrothed to Maria, which she is unhappy about because she wants to find her own romance. In the 2021 film, there's no mention of this. Bernardo sets Maria up with his best friend for the dance. In addition, Maria is flattered by Chino's politeness and amused by his geeky persona, and even joins in with him as he starts to dance, suggesting that, had Tony not noticed her at that moment, things probably would have gone well between them.
** In the 1961 film, Tony seems to already know Chino, while this film implies that they don't know each other. In addition, Chino doesn't seem to have any resentment towards Tony for Maria dancing with him.
* AdaptationalWimp: In the 2021 film, he's a much more geeky, soft-spoken and awkward person. He isn't even a member of the Sharks as Bernardo refuses to let him join so he can focus on night school. [[spoiler:His murder of Tony is literally the first and only act of violence he commits]].
* AntiVillain: To an extent. [[spoiler:While he spends the second act trying to and eventually managing to kill Tony, he's got an understandable motive in that Tony has murdered his best friend and is in a relationship with his fiancee.]]
* AscendedExtra: He gets little characterization in the stage version and 1961 film beyond being Maria's date to the dance and Bernardo's best friend. In the 2021 film, he's fleshed out as a sweet, somewhat geeky young man who's going to school to get an honest job fixing adding machines. He isn't even overtly hostile to Tony when Maria chooses him, and helps Tony get into the rumble when they both arrive late.
* BoringYetPractical: He is going to night school to study adding machine repair. Not glamorous, but with all the adding machines in New York City, from Wall Street to the local banks, he'll have a steady stream of work and make decent money.
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler: Quique tries to reason with him by saying that if he kills Tony, a gringo, he'll be killed too. Chino's grim response is "Sooner or later, the gringos kill everything."]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: He is disappointed, but understanding, when Maria chooses Tony over him. When Bernardo becomes enraged enough that it looks like he's going to kill Tony while he's trying to smooth things over, Chino momentarily tries to restrain the Shark leader.
* {{Foil}}: Thanks to his AscendedExtra status. Both are the best friend of one of the gang leaders, both are in love with Maria, and both are initially distant from the gang conflict. However, Tony is deliberately separating himself from the gang war because of his past actions, while Chino wants to join the Sharks out of a genuine desire to protect his community. [[spoiler:While both witness the death of their best friend at the rumble, Tony realizes the seriousness of his actions and initially intends to turn himself in before Maria talks him out of it, while Chino becomes consumed by a desire for revenge even though it means throwing away his entire future.]]
* IJustWantToBeBadass: He's not a member of the Sharks, but wants to join out of a desire to help protect their community from the Jets. He also thinks that being someone who stands up to bigotry will make María respect him.
* NerdGlasses: Keeping in line with his new personality, he wears a set of horn-rimmed glasses, [[TheGlassesComeOff which he loses]] [[spoiler:when he becomes determined to kill Tony.]]
* NonActionGuy: Despite his desire to join the Sharks and help protect the Puerto Rican community, Chino is not a particularly threatening or imposing guy. When the rumble breaks out into an all-out brawl, [[spoiler:he is only clutching Bernardo's dead body, clearly terrified of the violence happening around him.]]
* RevengeBeforeReason: [[spoiler:It's clear that he's terrified about killing Tony, but sees no other way to avenge Bernardo. Even when Quique points out the last thing Bernardo would want is for Chino to throw away his future, Chino refuses to back down.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Chino helps Tony get into the rumble after arriving late. [[spoiler:This results in the fight escalating, and ultimately leads to the deaths of Riff, Bernardo, and Tony, the last one at Chino's own hands.]]

[[folder:Braulio]]
!!Braulio
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Sebastian Serra

Second-in-command of the Sharks.

* AdaptationalNameChange: He's named Pepe in the stage version and the 1961 film, and Braulio in the 2021 film.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: In the final scene of the 2021 film, [[spoiler:he gently helps María as the gangs get ready to take Tony's body away.]]
-->"''María, ya es tiempo. Vente con nosotros.''"[[note]]María, it is time. Come with us.[[/note]]
* BearerOfBadNews: He tells Valentina about the rumble [[spoiler:and that Tony killed Bernardo.]]
* TheSmartGuy: Tony Kushner's script describes Braulio as serious and political. He tries to tell Schrank that they are citizens and have rights, only to get slapped in response.

[[folder:Quique]]
!!Quique
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Julius Anthony Rubio
A senior member of the Sharks.

* TheBigGuy: One of the biggest members of the Sharks.
* CanonForeigner: He's a new Shark character added for the 2021 film.
* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler:When Chino reveals that he has Riff's gun, Quique tries to convince him that it's not worth throwing away his entire life for revenge over a single neighborhood. Chino doesn't listen.]]
* TheLancer: He leads the Sharks into battle during the prologue, along with Braulio.
* ManlyFacialHair: He has a very thick mustache.
* MirrorCharacter: He serves as one to Diesel, due to both of them being one of the biggest members of their gangs and trying to advise their friends when they're in a stressful situation.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He wants to fight the Jets as much as anyone, but he's deeply affected [[spoiler:by Bernardo's death. When he sees that Chino has Riff's gun, he desperately tries to reason with him, telling him it's not worth throwing away his future for revenge.]]
* ReligiousBruiser: He wears a large crucifix necklace.
* ThoseTwoGuys: With Braulio in the 2021 film.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Quique is a teenager like the rest of the Sharks, but looks significantly older than the others thanks to his mustache.

[[folder:Chago]]
!!Chago
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Ricardo A. Zayas

* CanonForeigner: He's a new Shark character added for the 2021 film.
* HotBlooded: He hates the Jets for stealing from the Puerto Rican shops and vandalizing their public spaces, and thus is quick to want to fight. He also lunges at Chino [[spoiler:for saying that Bernardo was a fool.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: During the Prologue when the Sharks go after the Jets for vandalizing their mural, he leads a small group in ganging up on Baby John, the youngest and weakest of the Jets. They even go as far as ''shoving a nail through his ear''.
* MirrorCharacter: His HotBlooded nature and eagerness to fight basically makes him the Sharks' version of Action.
* OhCrap: All of his bravado instantly vanishes when [[spoiler:Chino pulls out Riff's gun.]]
* PatrioticFervor: When Bernardo leads the Sharks in singing "La Borinqueña," Puerto Rico's national anthem, Chago raises his fist and screams ''"¡Viva Puerto Rico libre!"'', or "Long live free Puerto Rico!"

!!Other Characters

[[folder:Schrank]]
!!Schrank
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/CoreyStoll

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/schrank2021.jpg]]

* ItsAllAboutMe: He merely tries to keep the gangs from killing each other because they'll all be displaced once Lincoln Center is built, and he can have a cushy job patrolling a relatively crime-free rich neighborhood.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Despite being a racist, classist douchebag, he points out to both gangs that their war for control over the neighborhood is meaningless because the neighborhood isn't even going to ''exist'' in a few years due to the construction of Lincoln Center.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In the 2021 film, he talks about how other poor, white men were able to climb their way out of the slums, get good jobs, buy nice houses, drive cool cars, and marry beautiful women, while the Jets are the products of the men who couldn't.
-->"Most of the white guys who grew up in this slum climbed their way out of it: Irish, Italian, Jews. Nowadays their descendants live in nice houses and drive nice cars and date nice girls you'd want to marry. Your dads or your granddads stayed put, drinking and knocking up some local piece who gave birth to you: the last of the Can't-Make-It Caucasians. What's a gang without its terrain, its turf? You're a month or two away from finding out, one step ahead of the wrecking ball. And in this uncertain world, the only thing you can count on is me. I'm here to keep the civil peace until the last building falls, and if you boys make more trouble on my turf, Riff, hand to heart, you're headed to an upstate prison cell for a very long time. By the time you get out, this will be a shiny new neighborhood of rich people in beautiful apartments with Puerto Rican doormen to chase trash like you away."

[[folder:Krupke]]
!!Krupke
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/BrianDarcyJames

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: He's much more civil to both gangs and doesn't have any hints of racial bias. [[spoiler:He's also shown gently helping Anita fill out the necessary paperwork after Bernardo's death.]]
* AdultsAreUseless: He genuinely wants to help the teens avoid jail. Unfortunately, between the Jets being hardened by their poor home lives, the Sharks being distrustful of the police due to America's racism, and him having to answer to [[DirtyCop Lt. Schrank]], there's not much he can actually do other than beg the gangs to stop fighting.
* AgeLift: He's clearly much older than in the other versions and most of his incompetence stems from his age making him less physically adept than in his younger years.
* DisabledInTheAdaptation: He's mentioned to have a few physical ailments in this version. He complains about his ulcers after Anybodys kicks him in the stomach, while Riff makes a crack about his asthma (which may or may not exist) after he breaks up the opening fight.
* EveryoneHasStandards: He is disgusted by how the gangs can't even stop trying to fight while at the dance.
-->"Whatsa matter with you guys? Pretty girls wantin' a dance, 'n all yiz can think of is to beat up on each other?"
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure:
** In the 2021 film, he reprimands Riff and the Jets for going out of their way to harass the Puerto Ricans and tells them to leave the group alone while also chiding Bernardo and the Sharks for being vigilantes, telling them that if they have a problem, they should call the cops and not take it into their own hands. Though he himself upholds the very structures that oppresses both sides in the first place.
** Also in the 2021 film, he scolds Tony at the dance because he thinks he's trying to cause trouble with the Puerto Ricans. When Tony explains he was just dancing with María and Bernardo continues to act hostile, Krupke then tells Bernardo to back off since he's clearly acting as the aggressor in this instance.

[[folder:Glad Hand]]
!!Murray "Glad Hand" Benowitz
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Mike Iveson

----
* AdaptationalIntelligence: Here, he comes across as less naive and more frustrated by the constant conflict between the gangs.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: He tells the Sharks to "speak English at school-sponsored functions." Though in his defense, it was clear that [[HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier the Sharks had just insulted him]].

[[folder:Abe & Rory]]
!!Abe & Rory
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Curtiss Cook (Abe) & Creator/JamieHarris (Rory)

An African-American black market dealer and an Irish bartender, respectively, who associate with the Jets.

* ArmsDealer: Abe is a black market gun smuggler.
* BlatantLies: Abe asks Riff if he's ever fired a gun before. Riff replies that it was a Colt revolver, with .32 rounds. Abe takes this as a sign that he's lying by saying that Colts fire .22 rounds.
* CanonForeigner: Both were created for the 2021 film.
* GunPorn: Abe and Rory lovingly describe [[spoiler:the S&W revolver that the Jets want to buy.]]
* TheIrishMob: Rory is implied to have been involved with it in the past, along with Riff's father.
* ScaryBlackMan: Abe is a streetwise gun dealer, and he's able to easily intimidate the Jets when Rory pulls the gun on Riff.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: They only appear in one scene in which they [[spoiler:sell a Smith & Wesson Model 10 to Riff. That gun ends up killing Tony at the end of the night.]]
* StreetSmart: Abe is smart enough to namedrop MutuallyAssuredDestruction ([[AnachronismStew a term that wasn't even coined until 1962]]) when Riff explains that they need a gun because the Sharks are bringing a gun while they think the Jets are.
* ThoseTwoGuys: They appear together to sell hardware to the Jets.

[[folder:Fausta]]
!!''Señora'' Fausta
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Andréa Burns (2021 film)

María's boss at Gimbels.

[[redirect:Characters/WestSideStory]]