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Joe Reaves
Portrayed by: Anthony LaPaglia
The manager of Empire Records.
- Benevolent Boss: Not even Lucas losing $9000 is enough for Joe to give up on him and fire him. Despite being utterly livid, he's surprisingly empathetic to him, and asks why he'd do something so obviously foolish.
- A Father to His Men: Acts more like his employees' dad than their boss. Particularly to Lucas. His attempt to try and talk Debra's struggles out are notable, even if Deb refuses.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Minor case. While commiserating with Jane about their disappointing life choices he accidentally inspires her to spontaneously quit causing his day to get much more frustrating.
- Only Sane Employee: How he is portrayed compared to the erratic, eccentric or just downright incompetent employees he oversees (admittedly they are all teenagers).
- Surrounded by Idiots: Seems to adopt this attitude when he gets really stressed, culminating in him ranting to the whole store about the impending buyout from Music Town. It's a facade, though, and he does want the best for the people who work under him.
Lucas
Portrayed by: Rory Cochrane
The assistant manager of Empire Records and a former ward of the state. His first night being allowed to close the store kicks off the plot.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: After his failed gamble with the store's money in an effort to stop the buyout he has been reduced to a "zen" state, which takes a lot of the staffers off guard as apparently he wasn't like this the day before.
- Feigning Intelligence: His "wisdom" and introspective monologues tend to come off like Ice Cream Koans. It's all somewhat undercut by the fact that the film begins with him making an unbelievably stupid decision.
- Karma Houdini: Is never held accountable for stealing money from the store.
- Joe does get rough with him, expressing his anger at Lucas' folly gambling away the store's money, but even then it's a light beatdown and Lucas only ends up with a small bleeding cut above his eye. Both of them basically acknowledge it had to happen.
Corey Mason
Portrayed by: Liv Tyler
A young worker at the store who struggles to maintain her perfect image and her father's approval.
- Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: Shows hers off under a little blue sweater.
- Break the Cutie: Seems like the sweetest person of the main cast, so of course, she goes on to have an emotional rollercoaster of a day.
- Didn't Think This Through: She did seem to have a crush on Rex Manning, and wanted to flirt with him as a celebrity when she brings him the lunch. But when Rex responds with a brusque demand for oral sex by unzipping his pants, Corey realizes it's going too far and freaks out.
- Freak Out: Her spat with Gina eventually leads to her having one of these in the middle of the store, flipping signs over and everything. She's calmed down by, of all people, Deb.
- Functional Addict: Played with. Is taking speed pills to increase her productivity and her ability to keep up with all her father's expectations. She eventually does break down but before that she was seen as the most competent among the staff.
- Suddenly Shouting: "I'M BRINGING REX HIS LUNCH!"
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Is constantly trying to live up to her father's very high expectations and it's clearly overwhelming her.
Mark
Portrayed by: Ethan Randall
An eccentric worker at the store who spends most of the movie in a daze.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Implied to be because of heavy marijuana use but still even for that Mark is...out there.
- Keet: By far the most energetic employee at Empire Records. This guy starts a mosh pit during work hours.
- Medium Awareness: Mark is the one who talks most often to the audience, as though aware of the fourth wall.
- Stoners Are Funny: His character's drug-fuelled antics are played entirely for comedy.
Rex Manning
Portrayed by: Maxwell Caulfield
A famous but fading musician and actor who comes to the store to promote his new album.
- Right Through His Pants: He and Gina have sex... somehow without him ever removing his underwear.
- Smug Snake: Rex is a complete snob, almost to cartoonish proportions and makes no effort to hide that he feels everything and everyone he comes across in Empire Records is beneath him.
- White-Dwarf Starlet: Male variant. Used to star on a show called the "Family Way" and once had a lucrative music career. Both seem to be over by the time the movie takes place and he grows more miserable as it becomes more and more apparent his heyday is well behind him.
Gina
Portrayed by: Renée Zellweger
A promiscuous young worker at the store who is Corey's best friend.
- Dark Feminine Light Feminine: Her dynamic with Corey. One is the good girl next door bound for Harvard the other is a Ethical Slut bad girl type who thinks nothing of stripping down in her workplace for a joke.
- Ethical Slut: Clearly enjoys the company of men but is not looked down for it by anyone, though they do sometimes take exception to how little she chooses to wear. (except one moment where Corey tried to slut shame her but this is portrayed as Corey being the one out of line).
- Good Bad Girl: The most promiscuous one of the cast, but she has feelings too, and does not tolerate being shamed for her lifestyle.
- Ship Tease: A bit in the end with Lucas, dancing quite romantically together.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Versus Deb. Also counts as Odd Friendship because in spite of their open antagonism they still work together and even team up to snark at Warren when he's caught shoplifting.
Debra
Portrayed by: Robin Tunney
A morose antisocial worker at the store who is going through a hard time.
- Bald Head of Toughness: Deb is hostile, anti-social, and shaves her head in the store bathroom near the beginning of the film. Her hairstyle (and personality) reflects how closed off she is emotionally and provides a counterpoint to the more stereotypical feminine behavior and appearance of the other female characters.
- Driven to Suicide: She made a half-hearted attempt at suicide just prior to the events of the film, says she did because she was tired of "being invisible".
- Important Haircut: It's our first impression of her — she shows up for work, walks into the bathroom, and buzzes her entire head right there at the sink. Combined with her standoffish attitude, everyone knows immediately that something's not right with Deb.
- Missing Mom: Admits to having no idea where she is.
- Nerves of Steel: Perhaps because of her near-death experience giving her a new outlook on life, she's not the least bit afraid of Warren waving a gun in her face.
- Odd Friendship: Morose goth girl Deb appears to be closest with the store "stoners": Mark and Eddie. Mark covering for her with Berko and telling her he loves her during her "funeral" and loud Innocently Insensitive Eddie quietly asking to see her wrists, which she casually allows despite barking insults at others throughout the film before asking him to play her a record to which he immediately complies saying he'd do anything for her.
- Perpetual Frowner: She spends most of the movie in a terrible state of mind (understandably given her crisis) but seems to find a second wind at the end of the film and opens up.
AJ
Portrayed by: Johnny Whitworth
A young lovelorn worker at the store who harbors a crush on Corey and has artistic ambitions.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Gives one of these to Corey at the worst possible time. It however does work...just belatedly.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Trying to get out of this status with Corey.
- Not Good with Rejection: Corey turning him down causes his mood to sink very low, to the point of making a public spectacle with Gina out of spite.
"Warren"
Portrayed by: Brendan Sexton III
A young shoplifter caught by Lucas.
- Easily Forgiven: First he robs the store, then he comes back with a gun (filled with blanks) and makes a show of holding up the place but the gang have forgiven before the police even have a chance to take him away and make up an employee nametag for him to use when he get's out of custody (which happens before the movie ends).
- Eating the Eye Candy: Very obviously enjoys Gina's PG "strip-tease".
- No Name Given: Calls himself "Warren Beatty" as a joke but comes to regret when that's all the employees refer to him as for the rest of the movie, most coming to believe it is his actual name. He comes to embrace it in the end. We as the audience never learn his real name.
Jane
Portrayed by: Debi Mazar
Rex Manning's assistant/manager who has a minor mid-life crisis while they're visiting Empire Records.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Having to appease Rex's ego and be the butt of jokes for working with him makes her this.
- Changed My Mind, Kid: After leaving earlier after a soul searching chat with Joe, she returns just in the eleventh hour to help out with the impromptu concert to save the store.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After dealing with all of Rex's demands plus all the mocking she gets for working for someone like Rex in the first place she decides to just quit and walks out without even telling Rex.
- Ship Tease: It's implied she and Joe are kindling a romantic relationship. They connect over their disappointing life choices and later when she comes back they dance together.
- Take This Job and Shove It: After getting taunted for her association with Rex Manning one too many times, she quits right in the middle of the day.
Berko
Portrayed by: Coyote Shivers
A punk musician who also works at the store and has some sort of relationship with Deb.
- Ambiguous Situation: Whatever happened between him and Debra before the movie's events is left unclear but whatever it was was enough for him to believe her suicide attempt was a result of his actions.
Eddie
Portrayed by: James Willis
A stoner who works at the store as a second job after his job at a pizza place.
- Stoners Are Funny: Similar to Mark almost his entire character is a punchline about stoners.
Mitchell Beck
Portrayed by: Ben Bode
The owner of the store, who despises it.
- Bad Boss: Every one of his employees detest him and the feeling is mutual.
- The Dreaded: His arrival at the store is met with sirens and warning over the PA by Gina.
