This is a list of the characters that have appeared on 90210, an American teen drama. The series introduces Annie Wilson (Shenae Grimes) and her adopted brother Dixon (Tristan Wilds), who move from Kansas to Beverly Hills with their father Harry (Rob Estes) and mother Debbie (Lori Loughlin). The family relocated in order to care for Harry's mother Tabitha (Jessica Walter).
Casting The first actor to be cast for the TV series was Dustin Milligan on April 1, 2008, followed by AnnaLynne McCord on April 14. Sachs found Milligan to be "really funny", and changed Ethan to better represent his personality. McCord was cast because, according to Sachs, "she's someone who is worldly, and there's a sophistication to her that's interesting." The role of Annie was given to Shenae Grimes, who said she grew up watching the original series. Sachs and Judah had seen Grimes' work before and knew "she had the acting chops", and she was cast after acting a dramatic scene which she "just killed". Sachs stated, "she can act, she's beautiful, and she can give this sweet cuteness [that lets us see] through her eyes into this world."
Lori Loughlin auditioned for the role of Debbie and was given the part immediately. Sachs thought that Loughlin was too established to read for the part, but realized that she understood the role at once. The producers were fans of Jessica Walter after watching her film Play Misty for Me. Sachs found that Walter knew pieces of scenes and suggested "stuff that works". Sachs described Ryan Eggold, who portrayed Matthews, as "a sophisticated actor, and he's also very funny." Sachs believed that every time Eggold would be on screen, "people are going to go, 'Wow!'". The producers were looking for an actor who could portray Silver as a "quirky kid who moves to her own beat". Sachs explained that Jessica Stroup "came in dressed for the part, artsy and quirky, and she had her hair up and she had a bandana. She nailed it." The producers were fans of Tristan Wilds for his acting on The Wire, and hoped to hire him as Dixon from the start of casting. When asked about Michael Steger, who portrays Navid, Sachs said that "he's just great". Rob Estes, the last actor to join the series, was a previous cast member of the first Beverly Hills, 90210 spin-off, Melrose Place. Estes was sought by The CW to play Harry, but was contracted on the drama Women's Murder Club. When the series was cancelled, Sachs called Estes and explained the spin-off and motivated him to participate. Sachs promised that although he was playing a parent, he would not "be furniture...as in the seldom seen or heard parents who populate many youth-centric series, like the Walsh parents on the original 90210."
The CW confirmed that Jennie Garth, Shannen Doherty, Tori Spelling and Joe E. Tata would be returning in recurring roles as their original characters. Sachs was familiar with Garth, and talked to her about a possible role in the series. Garth agreed to star on the series without reading a script after conceptualizing ideas with Sachs.Itzkoff, Dave (August 31, 2008). "Gabe Sachs, executive producer, 90210". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-01. The producers offered Garth a role as a series regular, but she opted to sign on as a recurring character. Doherty decided to appear after talking with Sachs, but her appearance was moved to the second episode. Sachs described Tata's casting as an accident; a friend told Sachs that he had seen Tata in a store, which led to the offer of a recurring role in the series. Sachs said that Tata was ecstatic about the idea and agreed. After reading the script, Spelling expressed interest in returning, and the writers decided to give her character her own fashion line. Spelling was scheduled to appear in the premiere of the series, but for personal reasons including the birth of her daughter, she opted to appear later in the season.
Cast timeline Main cast Recurring guest star (3+ episodes) Guest star (1–2 episodes) Character Actor Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 Harry Wilson Rob Estes colspan="2" colspan="3" Annie Wilson Shenae Grimes colspan="5" Dixon Wilson Tristan Wilds colspan="5" Naomi Clark AnnaLynne McCord colspan="5" Ethan Ward Dustin Milligan colspan="1" colspan="4" Ryan Matthews Ryan Eggold colspan="3" colspan="2" Erin Silver Jessica Stroup colspan="5" Navid Shirazi Michael Steger colspan="5" Debbie Wilson Lori Loughlin colspan="3" Tabitha Wilson Jessica Walter colspan="1" colspan="4" Adrianna Tate-Duncan Jessica Lowndes colspan="5" Liam Court Matt Lanter colspan="4" Ivy Sullivan Gillian Zinser colspan="2" Teddy Montgomery Trevor Donovan colspan="2" Returning from Beverly Hills, 90210 Kelly Taylor Jennie Garth colspan="2" colspan="3" Nat Bussichio Joe E. Tata colspan="1" colspan="4" Brenda Walsh Shannen Doherty colspan="1" colspan="4" Jackie Taylor Ann Gillespie colspan="1" colspan="3" Donna Martin Tori Spelling colspan="4" Recurring cast members Tracy Clark Christina Moore colspan="1" colspan="3" Charles Clark James Patrick Stuart colspan="1" colspan="4" George Evans Kellan Lutz colspan="1" colspan="4" Ty Collins Adam Gregory colspan="1" colspan="3" Constance Tate-Duncan Maeve Quinlan colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="2" Kimberly MacIntyre Jessica Lucas colspan="1" colspan="4" Ozzie Cardoza Michael Trevino colspan="1" colspan="4" Omar Shirazi Shaun Duke colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" Atoosa Shirazi Fabiana Udenio colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Rhonda Kimble Aimee Teegarden colspan="1" colspan="4" Jen Clark Sara Foster colspan="4" colspan="1" Mark Driscoll Blake Hood colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="3" Jeffrey Sarkossian John Schneider colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="3" Gia Mannetti Rumer Willis colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="3" Colleen Sarkossian Sarah Danielle Madison colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" Sasha Mekia Cox colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Jasper Herman Zachary Ray Sherman colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" Lila Amber Wallace colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Laurel Cooper Kelly Lynch colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="2" Miles Cannon Hal Ozsan colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="2" Javier Luna Diego Boneta colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Oscar Blair Redford colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="2" Charlie Selby Evan Ross colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="2" Victor Luna Nestor Serrano colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="2" Ian Kyle Riabko colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="2" Emily Bradford Abbie Cobb colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" Max Miller Josh Zuckerman colspan="2" colspan="3" Marco Salazar Freddie Smith colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="2" Raj Kher Manish Dayal colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="1" Austin Talridge Justin Deeley colspan="2" colspan="1" Leila Shirazi Summer Bishil colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" Holly Stickler Megalyn Echikunwoke colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" Shane Ryan Rottman colspan="3" colspan="1" Marissa Harris-Young Brandy Norwood colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" Patrick Westhill Chris McKenna colspan="3" colspan="1" Greg Davis Niall Matter colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" Rachel Gray Michelle Hurd colspan="3" colspan="1" Vanessa Shaw Arielle Kebbel colspan="3" colspan="2" Preston Hillingsbrook Nick Zano colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" Diego Flores Yani Gellman colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" Caleb Walsh Robert Hoffman colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" Alec Martin Trai Byers colspan="4" colspan="1" Riley Wallace Riley Smith colspan="4" colspan="1" Megan Rose Jessica Parker Kennedy colspan="4" colspan="1" Campbell Price Grant Gustin colspan="4" colspan="1" Michaela Lyndon Smith colspan="4" colspan="1" Mark Holland Charlie Weber colspan="4" colspan="1" Jordan Welland Robbie Jones colspan="4" colspan="1" Elizabeth Royce Harwood Keke Palmer colspan="4" colspan="1"
Notes
Major characters Annie Wilson
Played by Shenae Grimes, Annie is introduced as an aspiring actress who moves from Wichita, Kansas, to Beverly Hills with her family. She is based in part on Brenda Walsh from the original series. She lives with her parents, Harry and Debbie, her adopted brother Dixon (whom she considers her best friend) and her grandmother Tabitha. She becomes friends with Silver over a Division Day sticker in the episode "We're Not In Kansas Anymore". She struggles to find her place in California and to maintain her sweet nature. She and Ethan had dated after he broke up with Naomi, but concealed it so that Naomi would not find out until they were ready to tell her. She does, however, find out when she sees their intimacy in an empty classroom. Jealous, Naomi uses this in favor to get back at her by kissing Annie's ex-boyfriend from Kansas at Annie's sixteenth birthday party. She also finds out that she shares a half-brother with Naomi from a previous high school relationship between her father Harry and Naomi's mother. She and Ethan later part ways and she gets back in Naomi's good books. In the season finale after prom, Annie is framed when Naomi's sister Jen ends up in bed with Liam. Jen had taken Annie's wrap earlier, to which Naomi finds the wrap and a half-naked Liam in her room, automatically believing Annie had slept with Liam, as she confronts her in front of the entire class. This leads to everyone turning on Annie and abusively shouting at her, resulting in Annie storming out and calling the police on Naomi, and then taking a bottle of vodka when she drives off. In the morning Annie is seen driving with the now half-empty bottle of vodka. She takes her eyes off the road and ends up running someone over and driving away out of fear.
In the second season, Annie breaks away from the group and becomes somewhat of a loner due to the secret she is hiding and the resentment Naomi has for her. At the beginning of Season 2, they are all at a beach party when she meets up with Mark, a senior. He gets her drunk and finds a way to get a cabana. Annie is not aware, however, that he had taken a naked photo of her topless. When that photo is sent throughout her school by Naomi, Annie has a resentment against Mark, but then forgives him. She later agrees to a date with him where there is a confrontation between her and Mark. Just as Mark is about to date-rape her, Jasper swoops in to save her from him, who she had previously turned down to hang out with earlier. She falls in love with Jasper, a drug dealer and the nephew of the man she killed. After her estranged friends confront her with news that her boyfriend is a drug dealer, she confronts him about it. He informs her he knows that she killed his uncle, and then blackmails her so they can continue dating. Annie later decides she does not care about Jasper blackmailing her and forgets about it. He continues to threaten her with pictures of the damaged vehicles, but she informs him that if he still wants a chance to be with her, he won't go to the police. As Annie starts to move on, Jasper watches from afar. Jasper calls Annie to tell her that if he can't be with her there is not a reason to live. Annie frantically goes to Jasper's house attempting to find him. She figures out he is at the Hollywood sign and goes to stop him. The two have a brief encounter before Jasper jumps off the sign. Annie visits Jasper in the hospital, where she tells him that their relationship was just based on lies. He tells her that he will always love her, and because of this, he won't tell anyone her secret that she ran over his uncle. Annie leaves the hospital smiling with relief, as she feels a huge weight has just been lifted off her shoulders and she does not need to worry about Jasper any more.