open/close all folders
Main Cast
Juliette
Juliette Nichols
Played By: Rebecca Ferguson
An engineer who works on the lowest level of the Silo.
- Almighty Janitor: She's a working-class engineer, but it's pointed out that her dedication to running the generator is a significant part of what keeps the Silo alive.
- Anti-Hero: She's cynical and blunt, but Juliette is very much dedicated to the well-being of the Silo as a whole.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Both her mother and brother died during her childhood, and it's heavily implied at least one of them committed suicide.
- Drowning His Sorrows: After Holston dies, Juliette spends the night getting drunk and winds up being late to work the following day when she oversleeps.
- Deadpan Snarker: Fitting with her irascible personality, she's quite sarcastic.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: She's very short-tempered and tends to lose her top at mild inconveniences. One of her defining moments early on is punching Cooper in the face for taking over her duties despite the fact she had shown up for work late.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Juliette chooses to go inside the steam pipe during the attempt to repair the generator to cool it down to prevent it from exploding, despite knowing she could potentially die. She nearly drowns before Shirley pulls her out.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Juliette is cynical, irritable, blunt, coarse, and short-tempered, but she's not a bad person. She's just better with machines than people, and always has the Silo's well-being in her mind.
- Morality Pet: She's cynical and brash, but flashbacks show she was quite warm to her boyfriend George.
- Tragic Keepsake: Keeping keepsakes is a character beat for Juliette, who keeps wearing her boyfriend George's watch past his death, even though it's nearly old enough to be an illegal relic and their relationship was unsanctioned. A flashback in the fourth episode reveals that she also kept one of her younger brother's stuffed animals as a memento.
- Unexpected Successor: After Holston dies, he posthumously nominates Juliette as his successor. It's a massive shock to everyone, since she's a lowly engineer who has no experience in law enforcement.
- Working-Class Hero: She's a humble engineer as well as the main protagonist.
Holston
Sheriff Holston Becker
Played By: David Oyelowo
The sheriff of the Silo and Allison's loving husband.
- The Ace: Holston is a talented lawman, and beloved by the community at large.
- Anti-Hero: Heavily downplayed. He's a generally nice guy and very committed to the law, but some of Sam's comments in the pilot imply witness intimidation isn't unusual for the sheriff's office.
- By-the-Book Cop: He follows the law to the letter and never lets his personal feelings interfere. Even when Allison volunteers to go outside - something that is a veritable death sentence - he lets her go through with it because the rules say she has to.
- Decoy Protagonist: He's set up as the main protagonist following Allison's death, only to die in the second episode.
- Deuteragonist: He serves as the secondary focus after Allison and then Juliette for the first two episodes. This ends when he dies midway through "Holston's Pick."
- Driven to Suicide: He chooses to go outside into the toxic wasteland outside the Silo to clean. He admits to being unsure if it will kill him or not, but Holston admits he's perfectly willing to die as long as he gets to be with Allison again.
- Happily Married: He's devoted to Allison and deeply loves her, treating her with constant affection. He's racked with grief when she seemingly dies.
- Nice Guy: He's always polite and serene with everyone, and he's beloved throughout the Silo.
- The Sheriff: He serves as the sheriff of the Silo, and is essentially the head of its' law enforcement.
- The Stoic: He is quite calm and serene most of the time. He is much more prone to joking around than the average example, but still holds his cards very close to his chest.
- Together in Death: While dying from the outside world's poisoning, Holston lays down next to Allison's body and dies holding her.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Holston is kind, polite, compassionate, and beloved by the Silo at large. Sure enough, he dies early on in the series.
- Universally Beloved Leader: Holston is well-respected by the Silo at large, and even Bernard thinks he's a great sheriff.
Allison
Allison Becker
Played By: Rashida Jones
An IT worker and Holston's loving wife.
- Dead Star Walking: Rashida Jones is a well-known actress and even credited as the lead of the first episode, but she seemingly dies at the end of it.
- Decoy Protagonist: Allison serves as the protagonist for the first episode, only to die after going outside into the toxic wasteland outside the Silo.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Allison undergoes severe Sanity Slippage both as she realizes the Silo's government has become a totalitarian nightmare and that they may be covering up that the outside world has recovered to keep their power intact.
- Law of Inverse Fertility: Darkly justified. Allison and Holston try to have a baby, but as Allison realizes her birth control implant was never removed because the Silo's authorities don't want someone like her - who questions the Silo's rules constantly - to have children.
- The Lost Lenore: For Holston after her death in the pilot.
- Sanity Slippage: Her mental health gradually declines throughout the pilot as she becomes increasingly aware of how dystopian and authoritarian the Silo's government really is. It culminates in her cutting out her birth control implant and demanding to go outside, widely believed to be a death sentence.
- Uncertain Doom: She seemingly dies from unknown causes after stepping outside the Silo, but given that she had earlier claimed that the video feed of the outside was altered by the Silo's government, it's ambiguous if her death was real or not. Holstom even speculates that she's still alive. The first season finale confirms she did, in fact, die.
Bernard
Bernard Holland
Played By: Tim Robbins
The strict head of IT.
- Authority Sounds Deep: He speaks with a deep, gravelly voice, and is the head of IT, which helps keep the Silo running. Not only that, but he secretly is the one controlling the Silo itself.
- Being Evil Sucks: During a private confrontation with Jules, he admits that he constantly considers quitting his job as the secret tyrant of the Silo, is aware that things going against his plans can be a good thing, and feels that every life has value, but that he feels obligated to do the things he does to keep everyone alive.
- Big Bad: While Judicial is responsible for the killings in the story, Bernard is directing everything and trying to uphold order within the Silo while suppressing the truth.
- Evil Old Folks: Bernard is an old man, but he's quite sinister and the secret tyrant of the Silo.
- Evil Is Petty: His primary reason for opposing Juliette being promoted to Sheriff is because she stole three decks of tape from the IT department. He admittedly points out that it was a specialized tape used to keep their servers from overheating, but he tries to use it to paint her as a dangerous renegade.
- Evil Sounds Deep: He has a quite deep, gravelly voice.
- Faux Affably Evil: He's quite polite and friendly on the surface, but it barely masks his malicious intent, and even when making niceties Bernard is quite sinister.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Bernard wears a pair of glasses, and he's quite ruthless.
- Mean Boss: He's disliked by most of his employees for his strict and condescending attitude.
Sims
Robert Sims
- Played by: Common
- Adaptational Job Change: He is the head of security for IT in the books but works for the Canon Foreigner Judicial department in the show, although in both versions Bernard is his real boss.
- Adaptational Villainy: He's just in charge of protecting Bernard in the books and is a fairly decent guy, but his show counterpart, while still well-meaning and sometimes compassionate, is a swaggering goon who knows some of the darker secrets of the Silo.
- Androcles' Lion: Of the various people who (in his eyes) threaten the Silo, he is most merciful toward Gloria, the fertility counselor who helped him and his wife Camille conceive successfully after Camille miscarried their first baby.
- The Dragon: He's technically the Dragon-in-Chief for Judicial but he's functionally The Dragon for Bernard, who is the one controlling everything in the Silo.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Antagonistic as he is, he is a loving father who comforts his son when the boy is afraid of the dark.
- Evil Sounds Deep: He is no friend of Juliette and her allies and has a firm baritone.
- Faux Affably Evil: Like Bernard, he can be polite and persuasive when he needs to be, but he's a dangerous enforcer and killer.
- Mouth of Sauron: He speaks with the other leaders of the Silo to let them know how his boss, the reclusive Judge Meadows, feels about things. Actually, Meadows is a frightened Puppet King, and Sims is actually speaking on behalf of Almighty Janitor Bernard.
Lukas
Lukas Kyle
Played By: Avi Nash
A computer worker who befriends and assists Juliette. He is an amateur astronomer.- Asian and Nerdy: He is an Asian computer technician who has made a star map.
- Put on a Prison Bus: In a surprising departure from the books, he ends season 1 by being sent to the mines for ten years.
Billings
Paul Billings
- Played by: Chinaza Uche
- By-the-Book Cop: He has won actual contests that focus on reciting the rules.
- Token Good Cop: He is the only notable member of the Judicial Branch (which handles riot suppression, other security, and maintaining the Enforced Technology Levels and ban on relics) uninvolved in the shadowy conspiracy.
Martha
Martha Walker
Played By: Harriet Walter
An elderly engineer who runs a workshop on the lower levels of the Silo.
- Cool Old Lady: Martha is wise, witty, and quite patient with Juliet. She's so respected even Mayor Jahns comes to her for advice.
- Parental Substitute: She serves as a mother figure for Juliette, and she often goes to Martha both for advice and reassurance. She's much closer to her than she is with her only living parent, Dr. Nichols.
- Straight Gay: Martha is gruff and tomboyish without being butch, and Mayor Jahns mentions she moved to the lower levels after she divorced her ex-wife.
Sheriff's Department
Sam
Deputy Samuel "Sam" Marnes
Played By: Will Patton
An aging deputy and Holston's right-hand man.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Marnes is deeply reluctant to support Juliette becoming sheriff but gradually comes to trust her, but was her biggest advocate from the start in the book.
- The Creon: Sam has been the Silo's top deputy for decades but has no wish to take the sheriff's job from his much-respected boss Becker, and even after Becker's death, Marnes refuses an offer to succeed his friend and plans to retire and become a shopkeeper.
- Deadpan Snarker: He's quite prone to sarcastic remarks.
- December–December Romance: He's old, and strikes up a romance with the similarly-aged Ruth. Unfortunately, she dies just after they consummate the relationship.
- Drowning His Sorrows: His reaction to Ruth's death is to get drunk and start picking fights with various suspects for her death.
- Fake Guest Star: Will Patton is credited as a guest star, but Sam appears in nearly every episode in the first season and is a main character in all but name.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: He's Holston's right-hand man and best friend, and Sam is astoundingly loyal to him. He's hit hard when Holston chooses to commit suicide by going outside.
- Hero of Another Story: Sam has spent most of his career stopping dangerous criminals and he mentions he's racked up several enemies. When Mayor Jahns is poisoned, he suspects one of the criminals he put away of having done it.
- Humble Goal: It's pointed out by Mayor Jahns that Sam is actually an ideal candidate for sheriff after Holston dies, but he balks at the prospect. As he explains, he simply wants to retire and own a shop, and has no interest in taking such a powerful position.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Marnes is crusty, cynical, and acerbic, but he's a dedicated lawman and a loyal friend.
- The Lancer: He serves as Holston and later Juliette's right-hand man. He also serves as a foil to both in intriguing ways. Sam's gruff and coarse manner contrasts with Holston's polite stoicism, and he's far more experienced and worldly than Juliette.
- Manly Tears: Sam's cynical, gruff personality is very masculine. However, when Ruth dies, he's left a weeping mess.
Hank
Hank
- Played by: Billy Postlethwaite
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Deputy Hank has a pretty minor role in the book and eventually carries out orders to place Juliette under arrest. In the show, he is a longtime friend of the mechanics and gives her support and advice as she settles into her job.
- Ascended Extra: He only has a couple of scenes in the book, but is a trusted Friend on the Force to the Mechanics and a loyal ally to Juliette in the show.
- Dirty Cop: Downplayed and played sympathetically, but he is shown gambling with the people he is supposed to keep from gambling, although he enforces more important rules.
Engineers
Knox
Knox
- Played by Shane McRae, Charlie Coombs (young)
- Adaptational Jerkass: While his decision to turn in Juliette when she's on the run is by no means a
Moral Event Horizon, he was willing to shelter her until she voluntarily surrendered in the book. - Genius Bruiser: Knox is the burliest mechanic in the Silo, as well as one of the most capable.
- I Did What I Had to Do: He deeply regrets turning in Juliette and only does it to avoid the very real danger of all of the mechanics, who are both his friends and the proponents of work the Silo needs to survive, being killed if they stand by Juliette.
- Slave to PR: He is a capable and well-meaning man, but he hesitates to turn off the generator for vital repairs because doing so would get him tagged with the reputation as the first-ever head of Mechanical to ever resort to those measures.
Shirley
Shirley Campbell
Played By: Remmie Milner
An engineer and Juliette's friend.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: She's very close with Juliette, and makes sure to look after her. Notably, she's the one to bid Juliette goodbye when she's promoted to Sheriff.
Cooper
Cooper
Played By: Matt Gomez Hidaka
An engineer and Juliette's shadow.
- Hero-Worshipper: He worships the ground Juliette walks on and is desperate to impress her, even after she punches him in the face with no provocation.
- New Meat: He's a rookie engineer still learning how to do the job.
Mayoral Staff
Ruth
Mayor Ruth Jahns
Played By: Geraldine James
The mayor of the Silo.
- Authority in Name Only: Downplayed. Ruth has quite a lot of control over the Silo and is the public face of its leadership, but it becomes clear that IT is really running the show. She's murdered by them when she becomes too uncontrollable for Bernard.
- Cool Old Lady: Ruth is kind, wise, and friendly with everyone.
- Deadpan Snarker: She's quite witty and prone to making sarcastic remarks.
- December–December Romance: She's a Cool Old Lady who eventually strikes up a romance with the similarly-aged Sam. Unfortunately, she dies shortly after they consummate the relationship.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She's willing to listen to her subordinates and trusts Holston and Juliette's judgement enough to make unpopular but necessary judgement calls. Unfortunately, Bernard has her poisoned when she starts screwing up his plans.
- Retirony: She eventually decides to retire after appointing Juliette as Sheriff, and marrying Sam. Unfortunately, IT murders her just after she resolves to do so.
Others
George
George Wilkins
Played By: Ferdinand Kingsley
A computer shop owner and Juliette's boyfriend. His suicide kicks off the main plot of the series.
- Adaptational Badass: In the book, George is targeted for wanting to expand the Silo laterally or downward while not grasping how badly this would mess up the status quo. In the show, he is actively investigating the secrets of the Silo and the outside world and is intentionally defying the authorities.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: He commits suicide rather than be tortured by Judicial agents.
- Morality Pet: Juliette is generally coarse, but treats George quite sweetly.
- The Needs of the Many: It is heavily implied that George seduced at least one woman solely for the help that she could give him, which led to her life being ruined (and may have also been doing this with Juliette) as part of his plans to investigate the secrets of the Silo and see if everyone could safely journey to the outside world again.
- Never Suicide: George died by falling off a rail with no witnesses. Juliette maintains that it was murder, not suicide, because he was intent on telling her something important the day before, and spends the show trying to verify her suspicion. It's eventually revealed that he killed himself after all — but only to avoid interrogation and torture by Judicial agents.
- Nice Guy: He's quite sweet and a loving boyfriend to Juliette.
Gloria
Gloria Hildrebrandt
Played By: Sophie Thompson
The Silo's paranoid fertility counselor.
- Conspiracy Theorist: Gloria isn't well-liked because of her various conspiracy theories on how the Silo is controlling its population. Unfortunately, she's right.
- Properly Paranoid: Gloria's suspicions that the Silo is performing birth control on the population is proven correct when Allison discovers her birth control implant was left inside her.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Gloria is a supporting character, but her warnings to Allison leads to her getting involved with George, kicking off the series.
Pete
Dr. Pete Nichols
Played By: Iain Glen
An obstetrician and Juliette's father.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In the book, his son Jacob died in infancy, causing him tremendous guilt over being an obstetrician and still unable to save his own child. In the series, it's implied that Jacob dies of complications from some sort of genetic condition that could not be treated without breaking the Silo's laws. He's still carrying serious guilt over being powerless to save Jacob, and being unable to keep Hanna from killing herself in the aftermath, but in this version it's not because he failed in his work.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: He tries to justify sabotaging fertility lotteries so the Flamekeeper bloodlines would die out by saying that he was ordered to do it for security reasons and never indicates that he protested those orders, although he clearly has some guilt. Then it's revealed that his own wife wasn't supposed to have children either, and it's heavily implied that he ignored those orders in the case of his own children.
- Parental Neglect: Due to his job, he frequently left Juliette alone and often would send her out into the Silo to do tasks for him while he was away - even into dangerous floors - to the point that other people called him out on it.
- Parents as People: He loves his daughter, but his neglect after the death of his wife and son has left his relationship with Juliette very fraught.
