This is a list of characters from the television series Alphas, which premiered in 2011 on SyFy in the United States.
Main characters Dr. Lee Rosen (David Strathairn) – A doctor specializing in the study of people with super abilities that he has dubbed Alphas. He leads a government-sponsored team of Alphas to help identify and aid other Alphas or stop dangerous ones. Dr. Rosen is cultured and well traveled; he is fluent in such languages as Swahili, Chinese, and some obscure Hindi dialect. Currently, there is no confirmation on Dr. Rosen's status, or if he is presumed deceased, during the events of Season 2's cliffhanger. Gary Bell (Ryan Cartwright) – An autistic prodigious savant young man who lives with his mother and is socially functional to a degree. His ability of Transduction allows him to view, and interact with, natural electromagnetic radiation, man-made wireless communication, and process information faster than any computer. He states, however, that he is unable to process signals using a Nokia platform. Gary's ability can be used in a number of ways ranging from tracking people by hacking surveillance cameras, to decoding an entire language as seen in Season 1, Episode 4, "Rosetta". He's also been seen streaming videos, checking (or most times hacking) e-mails, and in Episode 5, "Never Let Go", even logged onto Twitter. Recently, events motivated Gary into creating the Anna Lives site. He is immune to Nina's "Push" ability, an ability Dr. Rosen attributed to Gary's autism, meaning he has unique cellular structure and neurochemistry. Cameron Hicks (Warren Christie) – A former U.S. Marine whose Alpha ability is hyperkinesis, which gives him superhuman balance, aim, and reflexes. He can also predict the trajectory of objects in motion. This makes him a perfect shot and allows him to dodge bullets or trip a running person to cause him to fall into a specific position. His hyperkinesis also allows him to retrace the path of a projectile from only the apparent end result. His ability is linked to his emotional state and is inconsistent when he is extremely stressed or agitated. Rachel Pirzad (Azita Ghanizada) – A former CIA linguist and highly sensitive person whose Alpha ability is to heighten her senses of sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch to extreme levels, any one of them at a time, at cost of sensory processing which can leave her vulnerable. (See: visual, auditory, tactile, olfaction, gustatory, vestibular, and proprioception). She can view things at a microscopic level or smell things by chemical composition. She also appears to have the ability to detect when people are lying, by judging microexpressions, increased sweat, pupil dilation, and increased heart rate. Rachel also seems to have extensive knowledge of chemicals, food ingredients, and fabrics. Dr. Rosen speculated that she's been aware of her Alpha abilities since birth. In the episode "Never Let Me Go", she confided that her family always wanted to "cure her" of her condition's "unusual side-effects" (such as sensory overload, selective sound sensitivity, and extreme sensitivity to germs) directly caused by her Alpha ability. She lived with Alpha teammate Nina Theroux for a while before moving back with her parents while Dr. Rosen was locked up for trying to reveal the existence of Alphas to the world. Her family are Afghan immigrants, where her father was a doctor but his medical license is not recognised in the United States. He is now the owner of a dry cleaning business for many years. A recurring plot line is Rachel's family trying to find her a husband. Her friendship with Nina is ruined when Nina, overwhelmed by her abilities, pushes Rachel to kiss her at a club, and took many episodes for her to forgive her. She can overcome exposure of someone if she has repetitive contact with them. John Bennett is currently trying to establish a relationship with her. Nina Theroux (Laura Mennell) – A carefree individual who has the Alpha ability to 'push' people into doing whatever she asks of them. This form of persuasive mind control requires her to not only provide verbal commands, but she must also have eye contact with the individual she is pushing. It is revealed that Nina cannot push everyone she pleases. As her abilities work like hypnosis, some individuals are more resistant to the influence of her suggestions. It is revealed that Alpha partner Gary is just such an individual. It is also revealed that she is not immune to the influence of other pushers. It is alluded to that out of all of the groups she has been with Dr. Rosen the longest. Because of her time with Rosen, Nina constantly expresses her fears of being the next to be institutionalized. She later reveals that she pushed her ex-boyfriend to suicide by accident during a time when she didn't fully comprehend her Alpha ability. Despite her carefree nature, Nina has shown a more sincere, caring side like when she offered Rachel a place to stay after being moving out of her parents’ house. A running gag is that Nina always has a different car that she "Borrows", implying that she pushes others to lend their keys to her. In the episode "When Push Comes To Shove", it is revealed Nina first used her ability on her father who wanted to leave, but she pushed him to stay; it was later shown that her father had been unable to leave for work because '... he couldn't leave' and required her to push him again to allow him to go to work. However, despite Nina's attempts to make her father stay, the stress of wanting to leave but never being allowed to by Nina caused her father to commit suicide. Her ability appears to be getting stronger with continual use; originally she could push for a few minutes, but can now make it last for over half a day. She takes a break from the team in season two, her abilities taking hold so she is soon pushing people regularly, including making an old boyfriend believe he's in love with her again. She tries to kill herself but is stopped by Hicks. Despite what she's done, Rosen chooses to bring her back to the team and continues to try to help her. Bill Harken (Malik Yoba) – A former FBI agent with the ability to activate his endocrinal 'fight or flight' response at will, resulting in increased durability and superstrength. He is also able to increase his running speed using this same manner, running nearly as fast as an escaping vehicle, and almost as fast as an Alpha running at ten times the normal human level. Extended periods of time in this heightened state (approx. 5 minutes) results in excessive strain on his heart which could lead to a heart attack. Due to the nature of his Alpha ability, Harken proves resistant to the influence of chemical manipulations in the brain (e.g. showing resistance to the pheromone–induced aggression). Kat (Erin Way) – A mysterious, free-spirited young loner whose Alpha ability allows her procedural memories to pick up any skill at a glance. The downside to her condition, which has plagued her entire life, is that her declarative memories are short-lived and her experiences fade away after a short amount of time (usually a month). Becoming a member of the team provides a purpose and direction for Kat and working with Dr. Rosen may help her reclaim her lost past.
Secondary characters
Recurring Federal Agent characters
Nathan Clay (Mahershala Ali) – The head of a tactical unit within the U.S. Department of Defense tasked with dealing with rogue Alphas. Does not trust Nina with her ability, and never gives her eye contact, without glasses on. Doesn't like working with Dr. Rosen and his team but helps to release Dr. Rosen in the beginning of the second season as he needs his help. Often threatens to put Dr. Rosen back in his cell. In season 2, he has been given a promotion as shown by John Bennett taking over as the head of the tactical unit for Rosen's team. Kathy Sullivan (Valerie Cruz) – Asks Nina not to give her eye contact in fear of being pushed. Doesn't have much respect for the alphas or Dr. Rosen. In the end of season one she refuses to listen to Dr. Rosen which ends with many unnecessary deaths, including Anna's. John Bennett (Steve Byers) – Is the new head of tactical analysis for Rosen's Team. His role is similar to Nathan Clay's in season 1. It is revealed that he has scars on his chest from when he was in war. Due to the scars he is reluctant to have a relationship with anyone but it doesn't stop Rachel and him from trying to have one. He is currently trying to establish a relationship with Rachel.
Recurring Red Flag characters
Stanton Parish (John Pyper-Ferguson) – Believed to be the founder and head of Red Flag. An immortal Alpha—well over 150 years old, having fought in the US Civil War—as he has outlived his known family, including 31 grandchildren, his last being a granddaughter. His ability involves accelerated cellular regeneration (or complete cellular control) as shown by how he survived getting shot in the head during the Civil War. He is working to foment a new civil war between the Alphas and regular humans. He appears to be close to Dr. Rosen's daughter in several episodes. He always seems to know where Dr. Rosen is, often appearing to talk with him out of the blue to give him cryptic messages. It is believed that he is losing some of his memory due to old age, which suggest his body repairing system only repair direct damage. Cornell Scipio (Elias Toufexis) – A sadistic Alpha who now works for Stanton Parish as his right-hand man. His ability, often activated when stressed or angry, produces a mix of chemical "sweat" through his skin to convert into a highly flammable substance and, when friction is added, cause combustion. He engineers the escape of many Alphas out of the prison in the end of Season One. He later gets his ability boosted through exposure to the August Medical device. It is revealed in the Season Two episode "Need to Know" that he burned his parents and his sister to death when he was a child by burning his family home on purpose. It is also revealed that only his hands are fireproof, meaning he can burn his own skin. Jeff Kowalka (aka 'Dumpy') (Jameson Kraemer) – An Alpha who works for Stanton Parish, he has abilities similar to Bill Harken, allowing himself to increase his adrenaline flow, granting him temporary strength and reflexes. He is extremely violent and when using firearms often burns through the ammo quickly which may be a side effect of his increased adrenaline levels.
Other recurring characters
Skylar Adams (Summer Glau) – An Alpha who is a former acquaintance of Dr. Rosen and Nina. She has an intuitive genius that allows her to understand complex devices and to construct new ones even from ordinary household appliances. In the Season 1 episode "Catch and Release", it is revealed that her daughter is also an Alpha, and Dr. Rosen arranges for them both to go into hiding. She makes a special cell phone for Gary to use if they need to contact her. Zoe 'Digit' Adams (Skyler Wexler) – The daughter of Skylar Adams, she is the first known "second generation" Alpha and is able to comprehend and compute mathematics at a level far beyond the capability of a normal human brain. Tyler Hicks (Gage Munroe) – The son of Cameron Hicks. Although it is unknown whether he has Alpha powers, this is suggested in the Series 2 episode "Fallen", when he nonchalantly tosses an empty drinks can so that it falls into the correct recycling bin after two bounces. Dr. Vanessa Calder (Lindsay Wagner) – A crossover character from Warehouse 13, who first appears in Alphas in the Season 2 episode "Never Let Me Go", establishing that the two shows (along with Eureka) share the same continuity.
List of other known Alphas