FROM COAST

• Wentworth Miller as Michael Scofield (Season 1–4): Michael is Lincoln's brother and worked as a structural engineer before devoting full-time to his brother's case. In order to save his brother's life, Michael creates an elaborate plan to help his brother escape from prison. In an interview, Paul Scheuring recalled that most of the actors who tested for the role "would come in playing mysterious, but it was so cheesy and false." A week before the start of production, Miller auditioned for the role and impressed Scheuring with his performance; he was cast the following day.
• Dominic Purcell as Lincoln Burrows (Season 1–4): Lincoln is a high school drop-out and a convicted felon, who is wrongfully accused of and charged with the murder of Terence Steadman, the brother of the Vice President of the United States. Purcell was cast three days before the start of production and consequently, he was the last actor to join the original cast. He auditioned for the role while he had a recurring role as Tommy Ravetto on North Shore. Since working on John Doe, Purcell has had an amiable relationship with Fox. Hence, he was sent the pilot script of Prison Break. Scheuring's first impression of Purcell did not convince him as a fit for the role since the actor went to the audition with his hair styled and a tan. However, Purcell's acting won the role. He arrived on the set on the first day of filming with a shaved head, which amazed Scheuring with the physical likeness of the series' two leading actors.
• Robin Tunney as Veronica Donovan (Season 1–2): Veronica is Michael and Lincoln's childhood friend and decides to review Lincoln's case at Michael's insistence. She becomes Lincoln's lawyer and appears as a major character in the first season.
• Marshall Allman as Lincoln "L. J." Burrows Jr. (Season 1–4): L. J. is the teenage son of Lincoln Burrows and is greatly affected by his father's death sentence. He is forced into hiding after he becomes the target of the people who want Lincoln dead.
• Amaury Nolasco as Fernando Sucre (Season 1–4): Sucre develops a friendship with Michael during time at Fox River State Penitentiary, where he was his cell-mate. He becomes Michael and Lincoln's ally, and provides comic relief to the show. His character's story focuses mainly on his wish to reunite with his girlfriend. Upon receiving the pilot script, Nolasco's first thought was that it was "one of those failed pilots that the network did not really want" since most of the series pilots would have started production by that time. Admitting that he does not like to read, Nolasco was amazed that the script was a "huge page-turner". Prior to his last audition for the role, Nolasco recalled his nervousness, which grew when Paul Scheuring told him that he was their favourite choice. Subsequently, he was cast in the role.
• Robert Knepper as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell (Season 1–4): T-Bag appears in all four seasons of the series as a cunning, violent and manipulative psychopath, consistently underestimated by those around him. T-Bag will stop at nothing to get what he wants and lets nothing stand in his way.
• Peter Stormare as John Abruzzi (Season 1-2): Due to his role as the leader of a Chicago mafia, Abruzzi became a prominent figure at Fox River State Penitentiary. He agrees to provide an escape plane for Michael in exchange for the location of the eyewitness to his crimes, Otto Fibonacci. He appears regularly in the first half of the first season and makes selected appearances towards the end of the first season and the beginning of the second season.
• Rockmond Dunbar as Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin (Season 1–2, 4): Desperate for his family, C-Note blackmails Michael at Fox River to join his escape team. He appears in the series as a major character in the first and second seasons.
• Wade Williams as Brad Bellick (Season 1–4): Appearing in all four seasons, Bellick was introduced as the captain of Fox River's correctional officers. After reading the pilot script, Williams initially did not want to portray the role of Bellick because the character was "horrible and despicable". His reluctance stemmed from being the father of a four-year-old daughter. However, his manager persuaded him to audition for the role and Williams landed the role of Bellick.
• Sarah Wayne Callies as Sara Tancredi (Season 1–2, 4): Sara is the prison doctor at Fox River and the daughter of Governor Frank Tancredi, who is linked into the plot that brings Lincoln to Fox River. She takes a liking to Michael and eventually aids his escape. She ultimately joins them on the run. Callies was the first actress the producers saw at the audition for the role of Sara Tancredi and was also the first to become a principal cast member.^[30][32]
• Paul Adelstein as Paul Kellerman (Season 1–2, 4): Kellerman was introduced as a Secret Service agent working for the Vice President to make sure that the execution of Lincoln Burrows goes smoothly. Eventually, his character changes from that of a villain to an ally to Michael and Lincoln. He appears as a major character in the first and second seasons.
• William Fichtner as Alexander Mahone (Season 2–4): Introduced as an FBI agent in the second season, Mahone's assignment was to locate the fugitives. Mahone is intellectually matched with Michael and his background unfolds as the series progresses. In season 3 he finds himself incarcerated with Michael in Sona and is eventually forced to become his ally through season 4.
• Chris Vance as James Whistler (Season 3-4): Whistler is incarcerated in Sona for the murder of the Mayor's son and appears as a major character in the third season. He also stars in the first episode of Season 4.
• Robert Wisdom as Norman "Lechero" St. John (Season 3): Appearing as a major character in the third season, Lechero is a prisoner at Sona who rules the prison as a dictator and a Panamanian drug kingpin. And was killed by T-bag at the end of season 3
• Danay Garcia as Sofia Lugo (Season 3-4): Sofia was introduced in the third season as Whistler's girlfriend, at the beginning of season 4 it is revealed she has started to date Lincoln Burrows.
• Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as Gretchen Morgan (Season 3–4): Introduced as "Susan B. Anthony", Gretchen is an operative for the company who is in charge of ensuring the escape of James Whistler.
• Michael Rapaport as Donald Self (Season 4): Introduced in season 4, Self is a Department of Homeland Security special agent who teams up with the gang to take down The Company.

William Edward "Bill" Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on Invasion, as Alexander Mahone on Prison Break and as Ken Rosenberg in the video games Grand Theft Auto Vice City and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.

Fichtner also had a small role as the Gotham National Bank manager in the feature film The Dark Knight, and as Jurgen in Equilibrium; both action movies feature Christian Bale.

Personal life

Fichtner was born in East Meadow, New York, and raised in Cheektowaga, New York, where he graduated from Maryvale High School. He is the son of Patricia and William E. Fichtner. He has German ancestry. He has four sisters, one of whom is a Colonel in the US Air Force while his nephew was a member of the band Sleepaway. After graduating from [Farmingdale State College in 1976 with a associate degree in criminal justice, he attended [SUNY Brockport]] and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice in 1978, Fichtner decided to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Fichtner credits his Farmingdale State College admissions counselor, Don Harvey, with his decision to study acting. Harvey, who became a lifelong friend, took Fichtner to his first Broadway show. On 18 May 2008, Fichtner was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by his alma mater, Farmingdale State College.^{[citation needed]} He is an Anaheim Ducks fan and periodically blogs for NHL.com.

Career

Fichtner began his acting career as "Josh Snyder" in As the World Turns in 1987. Fichtner's film credits include Contact, Heat, Armageddon, Go, Equilibrium, Black Hawk Down, The Perfect Storm, The Longest Yard, Crash, Ultraviolet, and The Dark Knight. Mainly a character actor, one of Fichtner's few leading roles is in Passion of Mind, also starring Demi Moore and Stellan Skarsgard. For his role in Crash he won a Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance Award and a "Best Acting Ensemble" Award from Broadcast Film Critics Choice.

Credited as "Bill Fichtner", he lent his voice to the character Ken Rosenberg in the popular video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. From 2005-2006, Fichtner also starred in the science fiction drama series Invasion as Sheriff Tom Underlay. After Invasion was cancelled, Fichtner was chosen to play Agent Alexander Mahone in the second, third and fourth seasons (2006-2009) of Prison Break. Later that year, he also presented an award at the National Hockey League award show. He also appears in The West Wing episode, "The Supremes" as Christopher Mulready, a brilliant conservative judge nominated to the Supreme Court.

In June 2009, Fichtner signed on to guest star on Entourage playing TV producer Phil Yagoda, who is trying to remake his hit 1990s teen series.