Maria is an Italian immigrant and the driven associate producer at Mercury Pictures. Escaping Mussolini's Italy with her mother after a traumatic incident involving her father, she integrates fully into American life and prioritizes her career over marriage. Despite acting as the functional backbone of the struggling B-movie studio, she faces constant professional frustration due to being a woman in a male-dominated industry.

Nino is a young photographer from Calabria who grows up under the guidance of Giuseppe Lagana. Driven by a desire to document truth and oppose fascism, he manages life in Los Angeles under an assumed name. As an immigrant facing wartime restrictions, he carries a heavy burden of survivor's guilt while attempting to find a sense of belonging in his new country.

Anna is a skilled German miniaturist who relocates to Los Angeles after refusing an architectural commission from the Nazi regime. She works at Mercury Pictures building intricate scale models for film sets. Highly independent and haunted by the loss of her family, she attempts to maintain control over her life by creating perfectly ordered, tiny environments.

Artie is the flamboyant, Polish Jewish co-owner of Mercury Pictures. A charismatic showman who relies on different toupees to suit his shifting moods, he produces B-movies while attempting to outmaneuver industry censors. He frequently clashes with his pragmatic twin brother over the studio's direction and finances.

Eddie is a first-generation Chinese American actor with classical training and impeccable elocution. Despite his talent, a prejudiced film industry forces him to accept stereotypical roles. He struggles to balance his artistic integrity with the humiliating compromises required to earn a living in Hollywood.

Giuseppe is Maria's father and a formerly successful defense attorney in Rome. He falls out of favor with the fascist regime by continuously drafting defense statements for the wrongly imprisoned. He is sent to a confino internment camp in San Lorenzo, where he passes the time tutoring local children.

Annunziata is Maria's mother, shaped by the trauma of surviving a devastating earthquake in her youth. Finding herself culturally isolated in Los Angeles, she attempts to recreate a sense of stability through gardening and carrying earth from a Roman cemetery. She experiences a growing estrangement from her highly assimilated daughter.

Ned is Artie's twin brother and the pragmatic co-owner of Mercury Pictures. Operating primarily out of New York, he cultivates a genteel appearance and prioritizes financial expansion over artistic sentiment. He actively maneuvers to consolidate his own power within the company.

Concetta is Vincenzo's mother, a grieving woman who resides in San Lorenzo. After enduring the loss of multiple children, she provides a home for the orphaned Nino. She maintains a complex, maternal devotion while enduring the hardships of a politically oppressive society.

Vincenzo is Concetta's large, burly son who grows up alongside Nino in San Lorenzo. Despite his imposing physical presence and eventual involvement in organized crime, he possesses a fiercely protective streak toward his foster brother.

Rocco is the terminally ill police inspector of San Lorenzo. A dedicated fan of Sherlock Holmes, he continually attempts to view his chaotic, unjust environment through the lens of rational detective fiction. He harbors deep guilt over the fate of a former colleague.

Michele is a young man from Genoa interned in San Lorenzo under fascist laws. His tragic fate in the local river casts a long shadow over Inspector Ferrando, permanently altering the policeman's worldview.

Bela is a real-life actor struggling to find dignified work in Hollywood. Having famously rejected a major monster role to hold out for romantic leads, his career has stagnated. He shares moments of professional frustration with fellow actors marginalized by the studio system.

Vedette is Maria's secretary at Mercury Pictures. She closely observes her boss's career trajectory, admiring Maria's work ethic while hoping to advance her own position within the studio hierarchy.

Mildred is Artie's wife. She manages a strained marriage exacerbated by her husband's infidelities, his depressive episodes, and the constant stress of the movie business.

Billy is Artie and Mildred's young son. He struggles with behavioral issues and faces bullying at school due to his father's controversial public profile.

Ada is Artie and Ned's sister. She remains in Europe after funding her brothers' emigration to America, serving as a profound source of survivor's guilt for Artie.

Betty is a young bookkeeper and Artie's former mistress. She complicates Artie's personal life during a cruise trip originally meant to repair his failing marriage.

Hasso is a German director and Anna's ex-husband. He aligns himself with the Nazi party for professional advancement, ultimately causing a deep fracture within his family.

Kurt is Anna and Hasso's young son. He remains in Germany with his father, becoming the central focus of his mother's profound grief and anxiety.

Rudi is a screenwriter at Mercury Pictures. He maintains a complicated, long-standing romantic relationship with Anna while helping script propaganda films for the studio.

Louis is a young African American prisoner assigned to a chain gang at the Dugway Proving Ground. Despite being a native-born citizen, he faces severe racial prejudice that drastically alters the course of his life.

Ernst is the head of accounting at Eastern National. He leverages Mercury Pictures' financial troubles to propose aggressive corporate buyouts and credit line extensions.

Gerhard is a film director working with Eddie. He enforces racist casting directives, insisting that Eddie adopt a caricature accent to sound more "natural" to American audiences.

Dr. Chesterfield is a voice coach employed by the studios. He trains actors to mispronounce words and adopt exaggerated foreign accents to satisfy audience stereotypes.

Mimi is Annunziata's aunt living in a Los Angeles bungalow. She houses her niece and great-niece upon their arrival in America and eventually marries a local undertaker.

Lala is Annunziata's aunt. She shares a home with her sisters and helps plot acceptable Italian suitors for her fiercely independent great-niece.

Pep is Annunziata's aunt. She lives with her family in a bungalow filled with plastic saints, providing a culturally traditional environment for the newly arrived immigrants.

Ciccio is an undertaker who sells ineffective medicinal remedies. He becomes Maria's first employer in America before marrying her great-aunt Mimi.

Bellino is an elegant police officer in San Lorenzo. He serves as Inspector Ferrando's loyal second-in-command during local investigations.