List of The Mentalist characters

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 The characters from the American police procedural television series The Mentalist were

created by Bruno Heller. The Mentalist debuted on September 23, 2008, on CBS and
follows Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, an independent consultant for the California Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) based in Sacramento, California. He has a remarkable track record for
solving serious crimes by using his refined skills of observation. Jane also makes frequent use
of his mentalist abilities and his semi-celebrity past as a psychic medium using paranormal
abilities he now admits he feigned. He abandoned his pretense out of remorse when his
attention-seeking behavior attracted the attention of a seriaSimon Baker as consultant Patrick
Jane—the show's protagonist and the titular mentalist. Jane spent his childhood in traveling
carnivals with his mean-spirited con-man father who taught him to see all outsiders as marks.
After meeting his wife, Angela Ruskin, who was also a carny, the pair left carnival life. Honing
the skills his father taught him, Jane became a successful psychic and medium. After using his
'psychic' skills to demeaningly describe serial killer Red John on television, which resulted in the
murders of Angela and Charlotte Jane (Patrick's wife and daughter), Patrick works as a criminal
consultant for CBI and later (season 6) for the FBI. He has developed close friendships with his
colleagues, especially his boss, Senior Special Agent Teresa Lisbon. He is driven by
inconsolable remorse over the deaths of his wife and daughter, and while he usually presents a
jocular, teasing face, he shows his darker side when dealing with his nemesis. At those times,
Jane becomes intense, focused, and willing to go to great lengths to capture and even kill him.
He owns a classic French car, a robin's egg blue Citroën DS, and is an avid tea drinker. He
marries Teresa Lisbon in the series finale, "White Orchids".
 Robin Tunney as special agent in charge/special agent Teresa Lisbon—formerly Special
Agent In Charge with the CBI and leader of the Serious Crime Unit, now (as of season 6) a
Special Agent with the FBI. Though Jane often annoys her with his unusual behavior, she views
him as a valuable member of the team. Likewise, she is the only member of the team Jane
trusts with details of his past. Lisbon's mother was killed in a drunk driving accident, leaving her
to care for her brothers and her abusive, alcoholic father. Her team was responsible for the Red
John case, although the responsibility for catching Red John was taken over briefly by Sam
Bosco, her mentor when she was a junior agent, until he and his team were murdered by one of
Red John's operatives. She marries Patrick Jane in the series finale, "White Orchids" and it's
revealed they are expecting a baby.
 Tim Kang as special agent Kimball Cho—formerly a special agent with the CBI and a
member of Lisbon's Serious Crime Unit, now (as of season 6) a Special Agent with the FBI. Cho
has a dry, deadpan sense of humor and is good friends with his partner on Lisbon's team,
Special Agent Wayne Rigsby. He is often the one who sees through Patrick's parlor tricks.
Although he was secretly called Ernie by the Bosco team (who also refer to Rigsby as Bert), Cho
claims not to mind as "Ernie's the clever, handsome one". He was a member of a street gang,
the Avon Park Playboys, which garnered him a juvenile, though sealed, record and time
in juvenile hall. He enlisted in the Army, serving in Special Forces, before becoming a police
officer. Because of his difficult childhood, Cho often tries to befriend young people who have
committed crimes but are not yet lost causes. In Season 7, Cho is promoted to a Supervisory
Agent due to Abbott's transfer to Washington with his wife. In the following episode, he holds a
dying Vega in his arms as she dies from a bullet wound.
 Owain Yeoman as Special Agent Wayne Rigsby—formerly a special agent with the CBI
and a member of Lisbon's Serious Crime Unit, now (as of season 6) co-head of a private
security firm with Van Pelt. Rigsby serves as the team's arson specialist, leaning on his two
years as a San Diego arson investigator. Rigsby is good friends with his partner Cho and has
 developed romantic feelings for another team member, Grace Van Pelt. Although against
regulations, the two began seeing each other secretly. Although the pair later ended the
relationship, after it became public, to protect both of their careers, they remain close friends.
Rigsby has had to endure various professional and personal difficulties as a result of the actions
of his father, a former career criminal involved in a notorious biker gang. At the end of season 4
Rigsby has a baby boy, Benjamin, with ex-girlfriend Sarah Harrigan. In season 5, he reignites
his relationship with Van Pelt and marries her in season 6. He returns in the series finale to
attend Jane and Lisbon's wedding.
 Amanda Righetti as Special Agent Grace Van Pelt—formerly a special agent with the CBI
and a member of Lisbon's Serious Crime Unit, now (as of season 6) co-head of a private
security firm with Rigsby. She was Lisbon's team's newest member. She has a deep belief in
spirituality and mysticism, and will butt heads with Patrick when he dismisses supposedly
psychic phenomena or otherwise does or says something offensive or inappropriate. She
continues to be close to Rigsby despite their relationship coming to an end. She has a subdued
personality and is very organized, which leads Jane to deduce during the first season that this is
because she is hiding some deep emotional trauma. She was engaged to FBI Agent Craig
O'Laughlin, whom she was forced to kill after he was revealed to be a Red John operative intent
on killing Teresa Lisbon and Madeline Hightower. In season 5, she rekindles her relationship
with Rigsby and marries him in season 6. She returns in the series finale to witness Jane and
Lisbon's marriage.
 Rockmond Dunbar as Special Agent Dennis Abbott—a supervisory agent with the FBI in
the field office in Austin, Texas. He persuades Jane to join his FBI team in exchange for
dropping all charges against Jane for killing Red John. He initially has a strict, no-nonsense
attitude towards Jane, but later warms to him. Abbott's career is threatened in Season 7 when
his former boss, Bill Peterson, recovers evidence against Abbott during his Rio Bravo operation.
Jane formulates a plan to save Abbott and Peterson is arrested instead. He transfers to
Washington with his wife Lena.
 Emily Swallow as Special Agent Kim Fischer—a FBI special agent in the field office of
Austin, Texas. Driven and ambitious, she is Abbott's second-in-command. She goes undercover
to persuade Jane to return to America after two years abroad as a fugitive, and is given the task
of supervising Jane in the field. It was mentioned in the Season 7 premiere episode "Nothing But
Blue Skies" that she transferred to the Seattle FBI office to be with her mother who suffered a
stroke.
 Joe Adler as Jason Wylie—a young, quirky analyst at the FBI who quickly gains a name
within Abbott's team with his technological expertise. Wylie is an enthusiastic computer expert
for the team who usually handles tasks on the surveillance end, occasionally helping Jane with
small favors as well.
 Josie Loren as Agent Michelle Vega—a rookie FBI agent recently graduated in Quantico
and joined Abbott's team. She is killed in action in the Season 7 episode "Nothing Gold Can
Stay".

Recurring characters[edit]
 Xander Berkeley as Red John—the show's leading antagonist (real name Thomas
McAllister), a serial killer known to have murdered at least 28 people, including Patrick Jane's
wife and daughter. The character first appeared (as McAllister) in the second episode of Season
1. Red John appears to enjoy toying with and taunting Jane, but saved his life when Jane was
about to be killed by a Red John copycat. Although Red John's crimes and "associates" are
portrayed in every season of the series, the character was only seen on-screen twice (in the
Season 2 Finale, "Red Sky in the Morning" and Season 4 episode "Red Is the New Black"), in
disguise or with his face hidden, until the revelation of his true identity in the Season 6 episode
 "Red John". McAllister is the sheriff of Napa County and heads the Blake Association, a
clandestine criminal organization of corrupt California law enforcement officials. He is killed by
Jane in "Red John" Season 6, Episode 8.
 Gregory Itzin as Supervising Agent Virgil Minelli—the former special agent in charge of
the CBI until the Season 2 episode "His Red Right Hand". Minelli was an effective team leader,
but is exhausted by years of political battles with his subordinates and superiors. Minelli is finally
pushed to his breaking point following the murders of Bosco and his team by Rebecca, their
secretary and a member of Red John's network, as these were the first agents ever to die under
his command. Minelli then retired to a quiet life as a fisherman and was replaced by Madeleine
Hightower. In the Season 3 episode "Jolly Red Elf", Minelli agrees to help Jane investigate Red
John's network. Minelli returns in the 100th episode of the show, a flashback episode when he
was still the SAC of Lisbon's team.
 Aunjanue Ellis as Supervising Agent Madeleine Hightower—the former special agent in
charge of the CBI. In the Season 2 episode "The Red Box", Hightower arrives to take command,
replacing Virgil Minelli. Despite adopting a hard-nosed, by-the-book approach to managing both
the CBI and Jane, she maintains an efficient and friendly relationship with the team, particularly
with Jane, who is prodigious at closing cases. A divorcee, she has two children. In Season 3,
Hightower is among Agent J.J. LaRoche's five suspects in the Todd Johnson murder, and is
considered a prime suspect owing to her previous relationship with one of Johnson's victims.
After planted evidence is found at the murder scene of Johnson's accomplice, Hightower
becomes a wanted fugitive. After hiding her in the trunk of LaRoche's personal car and helping
her escape, Jane works throughout Season 3 to identify the true CBI mole. The season
culminates with FBI Agent O'Laughlin revealing himself as a Red John mole and being shot
dead by Hightower and Van Pelt after he shoots Teresa Lisbon. Hightower makes an
appearance in the season 6 episode "Red Listed", briefly coming out of hiding in order to help
Jane as he attempts to learn more about Bob Kirkland and his link to Red John.
 Pruitt Taylor Vince as Special Agent/Supervising Agent J.J. LaRoche—the head of CBI's
Internal Affairs. He arrives in the Season 3 episode "Jolly Red Elf" as the new head of the CBI's
Professional Standards Unit. Following the death of Todd Johnson, a member of Red John's
network, LaRoche is brought in to question Lisbon's team and quickly shown to be Jane's
intellectual equal in addition to being quirky, charmless, and socially awkward. Although initially
considering Jane as a prime suspect, LaRoche ultimately names Agent Hightower the killer and
is appointed to take over Hightower's duties as the team's supervisor after Hightower goes into
hiding. LaRoche quickly asserts command when he briefly removes Lisbon as team leader. In
Season 4, LaRoche leaves his temporary assignment and returns to Professional Services.
LaRoche returns in Season 5's "Blood Feud" to investigate Rigsby's shooting of the gang leader
who had caused the death of Rigsby's father. Although LaRoche officially reports Rigsby acted
in the line of duty, he privately makes it clear he believes Jane manipulated events so Rigsby
could avenge his father. In "Black Helicopters", he is killed by a booby-trapped shotgun while
helping Rigsby with an investigation. The murderer was later revealed to be a suspect from a
previous CBI case, Richard Haibach.
 Michael Rady as Supervising Agent Luther Wainwright—In the season 4 episode "Ring
Around the Rosie", Wainwright takes command of Lisbon's team. Quite young, he is intelligent,
but often seems to take a secondary role in Lisbon's cases. In the Season 4 finale, "The
Crimson Hat", he is the victim of one of Red John's plots, and is found bound and gagged in the
back seat of the car in which Lorelei Martins arrives when Jane falsely informs her he has killed
Lisbon. After a firefight, Wainwright is found shot and killed in the back seat; it is not clear if he
was shot dead by the FBI by mistake or was already dead in the back seat. After his death CBI
director Gale Bertram oversees Lisbon and her team directly.
 Michael Gaston as CBI Director Gale Bertram—CBI director who first appeared in the
Season 3 premiere, "Red Sky at Night". Bertram has been shown to be well aware of Lisbon's
team and her effectiveness at closing cases. In the Season 3 finale, it is revealed Bertram was
 among LaRoche's five suspects in the Todd Johnson murder. While initially the team believes
Bertram was Red John's plant and Johnson's killer, FBI Agent Craig O'Laughlin is later revealed
to be the Red John operative who killed Johnson. In Season 4, Bertram suspends Lisbon and
her team in retaliation for their suspicions. In the fifth season finale, he is revealed to be one of
the seven men to whose list Jane has narrowed his Red John suspects. Eventually he is
revealed to be a member of the Blake Association, and is killed on Red John's orders in "Red
John".
 Catherine Dent as FBI Agent Susan Darcy—the FBI agent assigned to the Panzer case in
season 4 episode "Blinking Red Light". In the episodes "Always Bet on Red" and "Cheap
Burgundy", she is suspicious of Jane's claim Red John is dead and tries to convince Jane to tell
her the truth. Although Red John is in fact alive, Jane doesn't want Darcy to find out, as Red
John would kill her for having such knowledge. Jane later admits to Darcy that Red John is alive
only to have her accuse Jane of being a Red John accomplice and vow to Wainwright she will
bring Jane down. Darcy, while seeking to deepen her familiarity with Jane and gain his
confidence, reveals (claims) she lost a sister to drowning, for which she claims to blame herself.
After Wainwright is killed during an operation she led to catch Red John (in "The Crimson Hat"),
she has a nervous breakdown.
 Rebecca Wisocky as Brenda Shettrick—the head of the CBI's Media Relations Unit. She
works with the media and leads outreach programs and other efforts to the public. In the Season
3 finale, Shettrick was one of the five suspects in the Todd Johnson murder. In the Season 5
episode, "Red and Itchy", she is exposed and arrested after being found to have been leaking
information on CBI operations to criminals, including Tommy Volker. She was blackmailing
LaRoche over the contents of the tupperware container which was stolen from his home, but the
viewer later learns the blackmailing charges will be dropped as long as she agrees not to reveal
what was in the tupperware container, which Jane never opens and stops Rigsby from opening
during the same episode. (Lisbon later learns what grisly item is actually likely to be in the
container.) Shettrick is not accused of being or considered to be a Red John operative.
 Kevin Corrigan as Bob Kirkland—a mysterious Homeland Security Agent who seems to be
as obsessed with Red John as Patrick Jane. His involvement in the Red John matter included
trying to find the now-deceased Lorelei Martins, and killing the comatose Red John operative
Jason Lennon. He made two other Homeland Security agents break into Jane's loft at CBI to
photograph and copy Jane's information on Red John. He reproduced a near-exact version of
Jane's old bulletin board, which was later revealed in the fourth episode of season six to be fake
information Jane planted. On the fifth season finale it was revealed that Kirkland was one of
Jane's seven final Red John suspects. Eventually, it was revealed that Kirkland was pursuing
Red John to avenge his twin brother, who was one of Red John's accomplices and was
presumed to have died at Red John's hands. Kirkland was killed by Reede Smith in the season
six episode "Red Listed".
 David Norona as DDA Osvaldo Ardiles—an ambitious Assistant District Attorney (ADA).
Ardiles comes into conflict with the CBI team when he tries to convict an innocent man of armed
robbery in an effort to get information on a powerful Mafia group. Furious after Cho proves the
man's innocence, Ardiles remains hostile to the entire team, especially Jane, and cuts off all
assistance from the D.A.'s office. In the Season 3 finale, it was revealed that Ardiles was among
Agent LaRoche's five suspects in the Todd Johnson murder. In the Season 4 premiere, Ardiles,
at Bertram's directive, charges Jane with killing Timothy Carter, but Jane is acquitted by a jury
he masterfully manipulates.
 Leslie Hope as Kristina Frye—a psychic who occasionally works with the CBI. Although
initially at odds, due to Jane's belief psychics do not exist, the two began to work well together.
As time goes by, Frye helps out with more murder cases, and romantic feelings spark between
her and Jane. In the Season 2 finale, Frye is put under protection by the CBI when she attempts
to reach out to Red John only to disappear from her heavily guarded home. In the Season 3
episode "Blood on His Hands", Frye is found alive but unresponsive four months after
 disappearing. Jane attempts to communicate with her in a séance, but she has no memory of
the events of her disappearance and can offer no information regarding Red John. She is, to
date, catatonic, and presumably institutionalized.
 Terry Kinney as Special Agent Sam Bosco—a senior special agent with the CBI and
another team leader. He was Lisbon's mentor when she was a junior agent, and despite being
married, he shared strong romantic feelings for her. When Bosco became an investigative team
leader in the new Serial Crimes Unit, Virgil Minelli gave Bosco the responsibility for catching Red
John. However, Jane did not trust Bosco to properly investigate the Red John case and Bosco
viewed Jane as untrustworthy and unreliable. In the Season 2 episode "His Red Right Hand",
Bosco's team was murdered by Rebecca, their secretary and a member of Red John's network.
Arriving at the hospital in critical condition, Bosco confesses his feelings for Lisbon and makes
his peace with Jane, who vows to eventually kill Red John. Bosco then dies.
 Eric Winter as FBI Special Agent Craig O'Laughlin—a special agent-in-charge who first
meets the CBI team while jointly investigating Visualize. The handsome O'Laughlin catches the
attention of Van Pelt and the two start a relationship. In the episode "Blood for Blood",
O'Laughlin asks Van Pelt to marry him and she agrees. It is revealed that he is a former National
Football League player who knew (and fondly remembers) Van Pelt's father as well as a learned
traveler of the Far East. In the Season 3 finale, it was revealed O'Laughlin is among Agent
LaRoche's five suspects in the Todd Johnson murder. In a showdown at Hightower's hideout,
O'Laughlin shoots Lisbon and reveals himself to be the true Red John plant/accomplice. After
Lisbon musters enough strength to distract O'Laughlin, Van Pelt and Hightower fatally shoot him
in tandem.
 Bradley Whitford as Fake Red John/Timothy Carter—a deviant, child abductor, and Red
John operative. In season 3's final episode "Strawberries and Cream", after O'Laughlin is killed
by Van Pelt and Hightower, Jane (who is in a food court in a Sacramento mall with Gale
Bertram, who leaves in a huff over what he says is a waste of his time before Jane takes out his
own gun) has Lisbon use the redial on O'Laughlin's phone and tell whoever answers O'Laughlin
is dead. Seeing Carter answer the phone, Jane approaches him and Carter hints he is Red
John. After revealing personal details of the murders of his wife and daughter, Jane kills him. We
later learn in the Season 4 premiere that Carter was not the true Red John after Jane tricks
Carter's wife into revealing that the Carters had actually abducted the young girl they had
publicly pretended to look for. Mrs. Carter later commits suicide in prison. In the Season 4
episode "Little Red Book", Jane enlists the help of Rosalind Harker, Red John's blind sometime
companion, who confirms (by touching Carter's face) that he was not Red John.
 Jillian Bach as ADA Sarah Harrigan—a public defender whom the team first meet in the
Season 3 episode "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". During the case, Harrigan and Rigsby began a
relationship which continues through Season 4 and in "My Bloody Valentine", she announces
she is pregnant, apparently by Rigsby. In "Black Cherry", it is revealed she has been hired as an
Assistant District Attorney (ADA). Eventually she and Rigsby break up.
 Samaire Armstrong as Summer Edgecombe—a prostitute recruited by Cho as a
confidential informant in Season 4. In "At First Blush", Cho admits to having feelings for her and
a romance develops. Edgecombe and Cho part ways in episode "So Long, and Thanks for All
the Red Snapper" when she decamps to her sister's home and enters rehab. In the fifth season,
she reappears, pregnant by her fiancé.
 Emmanuelle Chriqui as Lorelei Martins—Red John acolyte, posing as a cocktail waitress.
Red John sends her to meet and seduce Jane in "The Crimson Hat"; she is later captured alive
by the CBI at the end of Season 4. Though Jane and the CBI team are intent on interrogating
Martins, they are foiled by the FBI, who have her remanded to their custody. She is shown at the
beginning of the fifth season to be in a women's prison, still loyal to Red John, but resigned to
prison life, apparently. She escapes with the help of Jane (and Brett Stiles). Jane has
discovered evidence suggesting Red John and his operatives murdered her sister and manages
her escape so she can find out the truth and then return to help him find Red John, but she
 reneges on her promise to name Red John. She is killed by Red John in the end of "There Will
Be Blood".
 Malcolm McDowell as Bret Stiles—the leader of the Visualize Self-Realization Center
church (simply called "Visualize"). Stiles is a friendly and ambitious church leader who has
succeeded in deflecting numerous investigations and has hinted to Jane he has inside
knowledge about Red John. In Season 3, Stiles provides information that helps Jane and the
CBI find the catatonic Kristina Frye. Although Stiles leaves, purportedly to expand Visualize
to Jakarta, Indonesia, he returns in the Season 4 episode "His Thoughts Were Red Thoughts",
and is charged with murdering an anti-cult activist. Jane, however, helps prove Stiles' innocence.
Stiles repays the favor by helping Jane break Lorelei Martins out of prison. In the fifth season
finale, he is revealed to be one of the seven final Red John suspects. In the sixth season
episode "Fire and Brimstone," Jane gathers Bret and the other surviving suspects at a house.
Bret is killed in an explosion that allows Red John to escape.
 Pedro Pascal as Special Agent Marcus Pike—An agent in the FBI's art theft department
who develops a romance with Lisbon following the completing of their first case together. Pike
later offers Lisbon a chance to move with him to Washington D.C. in light of his new job offer, a
proposal Lisbon takes time to consider before finally accepting, as well a subsequent marriage
proposal. Pike is aware of slight friction between him, Lisbon and Jane, but is open-minded and
compassionate, and generally understanding. Lisbon accepts Pike's proposal after Jane
deceives her in order to delay her departure for Washington, but then breaks off the
engagement following Jane's confession that he loves Lisbon.
l killer, Red John, who murdered Jane's wife and daughter. [1][2]