Characters / The Mindy Project

The Doctors

Dr. Mindy Lahiri

Played By: Mindy Kaling

• A-Cup Angst: Zigzagged. She's very inconsistent about her breasts, sometimes bemoaning their small size, at other times proudly calling them huge (despite everyone else considering them fairly small). The best way to put it is she doesn't like having small breasts, so she overcompensates by calling them huge.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Actually has this with most of the men she dates.
  • With Brendan Deslauriers it comes from having a relationship with her Sitcom Archnemesis.
  • Josh was introduced being very sleazy with he and Mindy both talking down to each other.
  • Casey's introduction was him attacking Mindy from a moral high ground.
  • Butts heads with Danny very frequently, but also has a great deal of sexual tension.
  • Her introduction to Ben was him leading a group of nurses in a strike due to unfair treatment from doctors like Mindy
• Big Beautiful Woman: The show is not shy about pointing out her curves. In her own words "I am not overweight, I fluctuate between chubby and curvy."
• Big-Breast Pride: Mindy alternates between being sad about her small bust size ("Somewhere between an A and a B cup") and proud of having "huge boobs."
• Bollywood Nerd: Zig-zagged.
• Crazy-Prepared: Most of the time she is this normally; her job as a doctor has her prepared to drop everything and go to the hospital when needed. Other times, her attempt to be prepared leads her to do weird things like wear a scary looking burlap bag over her head while she sleeps if a serial killer comes in.
• Deadpan Snarker: All consumingly.
• The Fashionista: Lacks the thin, long body type but every episode practically has her as a one-woman fashion show.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Not the most serious or responsible, but she is more settled and has her crap together compared to Rishi.
• Hot Guy, Ugly Wife: Subverted, Mindy is a very fine looking woman, but after a string of handsome boyfriends, particularly Danny and Ben, her insecurities make her think this will apply, which after gaining pregnancy weight, she has a breakdown believing she will continue growing fatter and grayer, while Danny will continue to get handsomer.
• The Idealist
• Informed Attribute: She's repeatedly said to be a gun-owner, but never is shown actually using one.
• It's All About Me: Very self-centered. Even when she's doing "altruistic" acts, it's usually all about her. For example, she was upset about the prison riot she she caused when doing volunteer work because it interfered with her altruistic act (which was done solely to show a guy she's a good person).
• Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: Occasionally. It's part of her being Wrong Genre Savvy. She's seen so many romantic movies that among the tropes she believes in leads her to pursue men that are not a good fit.
• Self-Deprecation: Frequently done. She knows she's not perfect, though she usually does try to hide it.
• Slapstick: Apart from her general tendency to fall over, Mindy has been soaked by an automatic shower in someone else's bathroom and also took a cake in the face.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Grew up watching way too many romantic comedies, and it really doesn't work out for her when she tries to emulate them.

Dr. Danny Castellano

Played By: Chris Messina

• All Men Are Perverts: Danny learned the hard way what happens when you look at porn when your wife's home and don't know what a browser history is.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Butts heads with Mindy very frequently, but also has a great deal of sexual tension.
• Berserk Button:
  • Does not take kindly to people dissing or misunderstanding Bruce Springsteen or any other classic rock band.
  • He has a lot of these. In one episode, he's ready to charge at the mid-wives because Brendan calls it the City of New York and not New York City. In another episode, he yells at his brother after he makes a comment about his pizza oven. "What did you just say? Don't you ever disrespect my pizza oven!"
• Big Brother Instinct: He's very protective of Richie's bone marrow...
• Brooklyn Rage: From Staten Island, and very loud, boisterous, and stereotypically Italian.
• Butt-Monkey: Humiliation seems to be just a regular part of his daily life.
• Cannot Tell a Lie: He really, really can't. He sweats, his story breaks down, and just becomes a mess.
• Deadpan Snarker: Possibly the show's crowning example. Mindy is a frequent target of his snarking.
• Disappeared Dad: Had one and mentioning him will set Danny off.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: It's part of his Brooklyn Rage.
• Hidden Depths: He's an amazing dancer, much to everyone's amazement.
• Hot-Blooded: Again, stereotypically Italian.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's mean to a lot of people (Mindy included) but his heart's in the right place, deep down.
• Joisey: Despite actually being from Staten Island.
• Mama's Boy: Love his ma. Sees her often, cares about her a lot, and plans to live with her when she's old.
• Mr. Fanservice: He worked as an exotic dancer named "Diamond Dan" to help put himself through Med School, and to Mindy's delight still has the moves.
• Platonic Life-Partners: With Mindy after season 1. Until it's not so platonic.
• Promoted to Parent: He basically raised his brother Richie. His father wants to dump Danny's half-sister onto him because she's a "troubled youth" and Danny did so well with Richie.
• Put on a Bus: After his and Mindy's relationship crumbles, he ends up leaving the practice after the awkwardness between him and the other doctors, and just the difficulty of continuing to work with Mindy, whom he still is in love with. However...
• The Bus Came Back: He returns in the series finale, where after butting heads, he and Mindy finally reconcile, realizing they never fell out of love, and are at better places in their lives, having matured past the issues that broke them up in the first place.
• Real Men Love Jesus: In falling with the Italian stereotype, he is extremely Catholic. In one episode, Mindy even refers to him as "Justice Scalia-level Catholic" in her narration.

Dr. Jeremy Reed

Played By: Ed Weeks

• Big Eater: He stress eats and he's gained weight from it by the time the second season starts.
• British Stuffiness: Sometimes. He's certainly the most professional of the Associates.
• Butt-Monkey: Has been heading in this direction in season 2 with characters either ignoring his authority or taking shots at his weight gain.
• The Casanova: He is very good with women.
• Characterization Marches On: In sort of a reverse-Flanderization way. He began the show with his only traits basically being "British and a man-whore." Later seasons has a basically unrecognizable character, being far more developed.
• Deadpan Snarker: His accent makes it all even snarkier.
• Freudian Excuse: Sometimes speaks of a less than great childhood with his older brothers, and when we meet his dad, he's clearly disapproving. Jeremy also told Morgan his family considers him the black sheep.
• Hilariously Abusive Childhood: How'd he get his beer pong skills? His was in charge of putting ice in his passed out father's drinks (who had a tendency to get "swatty" so he had to do it from a distance). Just one of many examples.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Beneath his stuffy exterior, he does genuinely care for people. How moved he was by Morgan's present for him at his conference is an excellent example.
• Only Sane Man: Often fills this role within the practice.
• Really Gets Around: In the pilot, another character says that he didn't believe "sex addiction was a thing until he met Doctor Reed.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Really wants his father's approval. He'll never get it.

Dr. Peter Prentice

Played By: Adam Pally

• Ambiguously Bi: Makes a comment about how he wouldn't mind having a man's hand on his junk when Danny freaks out about his, ahem, storytelling techniques.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Hasn't really grown out of his frat-boy party mentality, but he's still a great doctor.
• Commuting on a Bus: Leaves New York to pursue Lauren in Texas. Still makes appearances on the show via phone calls and video calls.
• Fratbro: Was one in college, still has massive shades of it. He includes writing the "Hippocratic Broath" on his resume.
• Genki Guy: Pretty much never shown not firing on all cylinders.
• He Cleans Up Nicely: Much to Mindy's surprise when she takes him as her date to Josh's wedding.
• Informed Judaism: Mindy and the gyno he recommended refer to him as their "favorite Jew"
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Probably the most obnoxious character on the show, but still tries to be a good friend and is a good doctor. He also slept with a newly married wife at the wedding reception!
• Platonic Life-Partners: He takes up this role with Mindy after Mindy and Danny's Relationship Upgrade and subsequent breakup.
• Stalker with a Crush: Followed Lauren to Texas. And then watches her and her son from afar.

Dr. Paul Leotard

Played By: James Franco

• Always Someone Better: Mindy feels like he's replacing her, being the best doctor at the practice, taking her office, and becoming the new "Dr. L."
• Cannot Hold His Liquor: Mindy wins her office back by outdrinking him. She's not noticably drunk but he's smashed.
• Put on a Bus: After he sleeps with Christina.
• Replacement Goldfish: Mindy sees him as this initially, thinking that the doctors at the practice hired him because they missed her.
• Smug Snake: He knows he's handsome, smart, funny, and charismatic. This usually gets him his way, but annoys others.

Non-Doctors

Morgan Tookers

Played By: Ike Barinholtz

• Adult Child: Believes that Saturdays are only for cartoons.
• Ambiguously Bi
• Big Brother Instinct: To Mindy. He is usually the first one to go to her when there's a chance she might be hurt, and has saved her from being attacked more than once. He is also often shown through dialogue to be very protective of her, possibly as she was the one to get him his job.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Is unpredictable and eccentric but proves to be a really good nurse when it comes down to it.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Borderline disconnected with reality. It's part of why he's so hard to predict. He once found a pair of glasses that the Salvation Army was going to throw out, so he started wearing them just because it was a great bargain. He doesn't need glasses.
• Go-Karting with Bowser: Is quite close with the mid-wives and hangs out with them outside of work.
• Running Gag: His inability to leave his boss's personal affairs alone. He was fired for it the first time, so you'd think he'd learned his lesson, but...
  • He's also quick to mention his time in prison.
  • His habit of keeping stray dogs in inappropriate places.
  • At the end of season two he starts awkwardly pausing mid-thought a lot, but he might have just been trolling Danny.
• Spanner in the Works: His incompetence and randomness means any plan involving him (either directly or indirectly) is likely to get derailed.

Betsy Putch

Played By: Zoe Jarman

• Adult Child: How her family and, to a less extent, most people in the office treat her.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Disappears without explanation between seasons 2 and 3. No one seems to notice.
• Nice Girl: She's genuinely nice and caring to everyone around her, and particularly admires Mindy.
• Shrinking Violet: Part of the reason she doesn't stand out as much is that she's much quieter than most of the cast.

Beverly

Played By: Beth Grant

• Ascended Extra: She had a minor role as a nurse in the early episodes, but when she came back as a receptionist she got a lot more screentime.
• The Bus Came Back: Fired from being a nurse very early on, she later came back as a receptionist.
• Livinga Double Life: Implied she might be or have been someone named "Susan Robbins" once.
• Racist Grandma: Not anyone's actual grandma, but as the oldest character her... lack of political correctness still qualifies her.
• Really Gets Around: Implied.
• Running Gag: See Livinga Double Life
• The Muse: Apparently she inspired the prostitute in The Catcher in the Rye

Tamra

Played By: Xosha Roquemore

• All Girls Want Bad Boys: She cites Morgan's past as an ex-con as one of the reasons she likes him.
• Sassy Black Woman: Skinnier than most, but no less sassy for it.
• Statuesque Stunner: She's taller than pretty much everyone except Jeremy and Morgan. She towers over Danny and Mindy.

Mindy's Boyfriends

Tom McDougall

Played By: Bill Hader

• Humiliation Conga: His post-Mindy life seems terrible.
• Jerkass: Generally rude to most people.

Josh Daniels

Played By: Tommy Dewey

• Functional Addict: His return revealed was on an exceptional amount of cocaine when he was a regular.
• Really Gets Around: He cheated on his girlfriend with Mindy. And cheated on Mindy with a third woman. There was a fourth one in there, too.
• Smug Snake: How such an insufferable douchebag attracted not one but two beautiful women at the same time is a complete mystery.

Jamie

Played By: B.J. Novak

• I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine: On The Office (US), B.J. Novak and Mindy Kaling's characters had an on-again, off-again relationship.

Casey Peerson

Played By: Anders Holms

• Derailing Love Interests: Goes from being a focused minister to... leaving the church to become a DJ. While engaged to Mindy. And not even telling her.
• Jesus Was Way Cool: A cool, young minister. Works modern youth culture into his sermons.
• Nice Guy

Cliff Gilbert

Played By: Glenn Howerton

• Casting Gag: Plays a lawyer whom the main cast keeps going to for legal advice (and not paying). He's on the other side of this relationship in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
• Omnidisciplinary Lawyer: His second appearance reveals he's a divorce lawyer, but he keeps doing non-divorce work for the cast.
• Only Sane Man: In contrast to the shenanigans of his clients.

Charlie Lang

Played By: Tim Daly

Family Members

Rishi Lahiri

Played By: Utkarsh Ambudkar

• Bollywood Nerd: Like Mindy, it's zigzagged.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The foolish to Mindy's Responsible, she's not the most serious person in the world but unlike Rishi she has her crap together and she manages to pay her rent.

Alan Castellano

Played By: Dan Hedaya

• Disappeared Dad: He abandoned Danny and Richie when they were kids

Annette Castellano

Played By: Rhea Perlman

• Italian Mother: Guilt trips Danny plenty to the point where Mindy said he's guilty enough already.
• Racist Grandma: Not a grandmother but she mistook Mindy for Danny's cleaning lady and admitted she'd like a certain ethnic group "if only they didn't have so many parades."
• Well Done Son Gal: Acts like anything Danny does isn't good enough because "he's tough enough to take it."

Richie Castellano

Played By: Max Minghella

• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish to Danny's responsible in season 3.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue to Danny's Red.
• Relationship Revolving Door: Seems to break up and get back together with Ramon several times over the course of season 2.
• Straight Gay: In personality, at least. He doesn't have any particularly flamboyant mannerisms, though according to Danny he has some fairly flamboyant hobbies.

"Little" Danny Castellano

Played By: Madison Mollers

• Birds of a Feather: She and Mindy bond immediately over boys.
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: In her second appearance. She's claiming to be legitimately troubled, but Mindy sees through it and realizes she's just normal acting out.
• Delinquent Hair: In her second appearance, she's got several colored stripes as part of her "rebellion."
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In her first appearance, she's a good kid who gets along with everybody. A year later and she's a Bratty Teenage Daughter that hates everything.
• We Named the Monkey "Jack": Looks like Danny's father likes the name.

Lou Tookers

Played By: Rob McElhenney

• Tattooed Crook: Played Straighter than it is with Morgan: Lou has a tattoo that reads "No More Killing People" and a sizable neck tattoo.
• The Ghost: He's been mentioned before but hasn't appeared (until season 3)

Cousin Sheena

Plated By: Laverne Cox

• Statuesque Stunner: Six feet tall and gorgeous.

Minor Characters

Brendan and Duncan Deslauriers (The Midwives)

Played By: Mark & Jay Duplass

• Deadpan Snarker
• Jerkass: Both of Them. But moreso Brendan than Duncan, since the latter hardly ever speaks.
• Older Than They Look: Brendan mentions celebrating Duncan's 60th birthday.
• Not So Above It All: After spending the episode denying they were trying to win the triathlon, they reveal they're just as petty as the Shulman cast.
• Satellite Character: Duncan doesn't do much but hover around Brendan or hang out with Morgan.
• Sitcom Archnemesis: To the doctors.
• Smug Snake: Duncan.
• Straw Feminist: Brendan.
• The Stoic: Both of them.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Brendan with Mindy.

Reagan "Ray Ron" Ronald

Played By: Josh Peck

• The Ditz: He interprets the traditional anniversary gift of "China" as the country.
• Lower-Class Lout: Is generally depicted as this. "Mindy Lahiri Is a Racist" deconstructs this though, as Tamra accuses Mindy of disliking Ray Ron because of their class differences, even though he has many good qualities too.
• Nice Guy: In spite of everything he really seems like a sweet guy.
• Only Known by Their Nickname

Christina

Played By: Chloë Sevigny

• All Women Are Lustful: Hers and Danny's second relationship goes down the tubes because she's more interested in sex than he is.
• New Old Flame: Danny's ex-wife who shows in the middle of the first season.
• Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: When she's with Danny, she's fairly reasonable (other than the fact she cheated on Danny in their past relationship). However, when they breakup, she snaps (literally, she breaks his computer in two), throws an art gala event of nude pictures of Danny calling him a devil, and forces herself on Dr. Leotard.

Heather

Played By: Ellie Kemper

• Kick the Dog: Yeah it was bad that her boyfriend cheated on her with Mindy, but did she really have to ruin her Christmas party out of nothing but sadistic spite when it wasn't really Mindy's fault?
• Jerkass: Ruining Mindy's Christmas party and breaking her down in the process cements her as this.

Ramon

Played By: Junes Zahdi

• Camp Gay

Gwen & Riley Grandy

Played By: Anna Camp & Avriella Ford

• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Gwen is a regular character during the first season, but she and her family inexplicably disappear from the show by season 2.
• Emotional Regression: Being childhood friends, Gwen and Mindy seem to have this effect on each other, as they often end up fighting like schoolgirls... Only to make up a soon after.

Shauna Dicanio

Played By: Amanda Setton

• Ambiguously Brown: Her exact ethnicity was never specified but her last name implies that she was Italian-American though her skin is much darker than Danny's. For what it's worth, Amanda Setton is of Syrian and Ashkenazi Jewish descent.
• Nice Girl: Very sweet natured and kind to everyone, except maybe Morgan who doesn't exactly help himself.
• Odd Friendship: With Betsy given Their wildly different backgrounds, demeanours and personalities.
• Put on a Bus: Halfway through season 1.