Nashville is an American musical drama television series. It was created by Academy Award winner Callie Khouri and produced by R. J. Cutler, Khouri, Steve Buchanan, Marshall Herskovitz, and Edward Zwick. The series stars Connie Britton as Rayna Jaymes, a legendary country music superstar whose stardom has begun to fade, and Hayden Panettiere as a rising younger star, Juliette Barnes. This is a list of cast members, as well as recurring and guest stars. A number of country musicians and celebrities also appear as themselves, including Brad Paisley, Conan O'Brien, Katie Couric, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Bryan, Maria Menounos and Michelle Obama.
Cast
Regular Actor Character First episode Final episode Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 Connie Britton Rayna Jaymes1.016.16 colspan="4" Hayden Panettiere Juliette Barnes1.016.16 colspan="6" Clare Bowen Scarlett O'Connor1.016.16 colspan="6" Eric Close Teddy Conrad1.016.16 colspan="3" colspan="3" Charles Esten Deacon Claybourne1.016.16 colspan="6" Jonathan Jackson Avery Barkley1.016.16 colspan="6" Sam Palladio Gunnar Scott1.016.16 colspan="6" Robert Wisdom Coleman Carlisle1.012.03 colspan="5" Powers Boothe Lamar Wyatt1.012.14 colspan="5" Chris Carmack Will Lexington1.166.16 colspan="5" Lennon StellaMaddie Conrad1.016.16 colspan="5" Maisy StellaDaphne Conrad1.016.16 colspan="5" Will ChaseLuke Wheeler2.056.16 colspan="2" colspan="2" Oliver HudsonJeff Fordham2.02 4.06 colspan="2" Aubrey PeeplesLayla Grant2.024.21 colspan="2" colspan="2" Cameron Scoggins Zach Welles5.016.16 colspan="4" Kaitlin Doubleday Jessie Caine5.146.16 colspan="4" colspan="2" Jeff Nordling Brad Maitland5.166.16 colspan="4" Notes:
Recurring Actor Character First episode Final episode Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 Judith Hoag Tandy Hampton1.016.16 colspan="2" colspan="4" Sylvia Jefferies Jolene Barnes 1.016.16 colspan="2" JD Souther Watty White1.015.10 colspan="3" Ed Amatrudo Glenn Goodman1.016.16 colspan="6" David Alford Bucky Dawes1.016.16 colspan="6" Kourtney Hansen Emily1.016.16 colspan="6" Melvin Kearney Bo1.016.16 colspan="4" colspan="2" J. Karen Thomas Audrey Carlisle1.011.19 colspan="5" Kimberly Williams-Paisley Peggy Kenter 1.042.10 colspan="2" colspan="4" Michiel Huisman Liam McGuinnis1.062.16 colspan="2" colspan="4" Rya KihlstedtMarilyn Rhodes1.061.16 colspan="5" Chloe Bennet Hailey1.041.16 colspan="5" Tilky Jones Sean Butler1.051.10 colspan="5" Wyclef JeanDominic King1.071.15 colspan="5" Jay HernandezDante Rivas1.141.20 colspan="5" Susan MisnerStacy1.151.19 colspan="5" Derek KrantzBrent McKinney1.212.17 colspan="4" Christina ChangMegan Vannoy2.012.18 colspan="4" Chaley RoseZoey Dalton2.014.04 colspan="2" colspan="2" Charlie BewleyCharles Wentworth2.032.19 colspan="4" Keean JohnsonColt Wheeler2.186.16 colspan="2" Laura BenantiSadie Stone3.023.17 colspan="2" colspan="3" Brette TaylorPam York3.033.07 colspan="2" colspan="3" Alexa PenaVegaKiley3.033.22 colspan="2" colspan="3" Moniqua PlanteNatasha3.063.19 colspan="2" colspan="3" Derek HoughNoah West3.034.20 colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" Nick JandlDr. Caleb Rand3.116.16 colspan="2" colspan="2" Andi Rayne and Nora GillCadence Barkley3.166.16 colspan="2" colspan="4" Christina AguileraJade St. John3.183.20 colspan="2" colspan="3" Kyle Dean MasseyKevin Bicks3.156.16 colspan="2" colspan="3" Scott ReevesNoel Laughlin3.094.21 colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" Riley Smith Markus Keen4.024.10colspan="3" colspan="2" Cynthia McWilliamsGabriella Manning4.024.10colspan="3" colspan="2" Scout Taylor-ComptonErin4.054.12colspan="3" colspan="2" Mark CollieFrankie Gray4.066.16colspan="3" Jessy SchramCash Gray4.104.21colspan="3" colspan="2" Alicia WittAutumn Chase4.136.16colspan="3" Mandy June TurpinCynthia Davis4.184.21colspan="3" colspan="2" Rhiannon GiddensHallie Jordan5.016.16colspan="4" Murray BartlettJakob Fine5.025.17colspan="4" Moses BlackPastor Lewis5.025.08colspan="4" Jordan Woods-RobinsonRandall St. Claire5.025.05colspan="4" Bridgit MendlerAshley Willerman5.035.03colspan="4" Joseph David-JonesClayton Carter5.036.16colspan="4" Linds EdwardsCarl Hockney5.035.08colspan="4" Jen RichardsAllyson Del Lago5.045.06colspan="4" Christian CoulsonDamien George5.045.15colspan="4" Ben TaylorFlynn Burnett5.066.03colspan="4" colspan="2" Odessa AdlonLiv5.125.15colspan="4" Rachel BilsonAlyssa Greene5.145.22colspan="4" Myles MooreJake Maitlaind5.226.16colspan="4" colspan="2" Katrina NormanPolly5.205.22colspan="4" Josh StambergDarius Enright6.016.16colspan="5" Nik LukenJonah Ford6.016.15colspan="5" Dylan ArnoldTwig Wysecki6.036.16colspan="5" Jake EtheridgeSean McPherson6.046.16colspan="5" Rainee BlakeAlannah Curtis6.056.16colspan="5" Ilse DeLangeIlse de Witt6.086.16colspan="5" Mia MaestroRosa6.116.15colspan="5" Ronny CoxGideon Claybourne6.126.16colspan="5"
Characters Main
Name Actor Starring seasons Recurring/guest seasons Status Rayna Jaymes Connie Britton 1–5 6 Deceased Rayna Jaymes is a nine-time Grammy Award–winner and fifteen-time CMA Award–nominee, the daughter of the late Virginia Wyatt and her husband, corrupt, politically connected Nashville businessman Lamar Wyatt. She grew up in a wealthy family where her father Lamar had years ago been mayor of Nashville. Her mom died when she was 12. She and her father have long been largely estranged. She loves country music, but her father never approved her involvement with it and kicked her out of the house at 16. She becomes the leading female star with major Nashville recording label Edgehill.
Early in her career she dated songwriter, guitar player and her longtime intermittent musical collaborator Deacon Claybourne, who is an alcoholic. Soon after Rayna had sent Deacon off to rehab (for what would be his last time), she married Teddy Conrad. The couple had two daughters, Maddie and Daphne. Teddy is aware that he is not Maddie's biological father (she was born very shortly after their marriage), and there are hints that this may be Deacon—which is revealed to be true later in season one. Her relationship with Teddy continues to deteriorate even as he is serving as mayor of Nashville (a position which he achieves largely due to Lamar's corrupt interference) and they eventually divorce.
Rayna's relationship with her longtime record label, Edgehill Records, is also completely broken and she leaves them to start her own label, Highway 65, despite threats from Edgehill's management that they will destroy her if she goes through with it. After several false starts and a serious relationship with another major figure in the Nashville country music scene, and a long solo drive across the entire country in an old convertible, she marries Deacon in season four. Fighting to maintain control of her label and her career, she begins working on a "boxed set" project consisting of a career retrospective centering around her longtime personal and professional relationship with Deacon. While this project is still in the works, she dies after a car accident in season five.
A flashback in the series finale shows Rayna promising Deacon that they are meant for each other no matter what forever and ever and will choose each other forever. Juliette Barnes Hayden PanettiereGenevieve Jones (child) 1–6 Alive Juliette Jolene Barnes, born July 31, 1989, originally from Alabama, was discovered singing at a country fair by the man who became her manager, Glenn Goodman, who believed he could turn her into one of America's biggest country stars. Juliette, being young, beautiful and ambitious, had no qualms about leaving her dysfunctional home life and her drug-addicted mother behind. She quickly rose to become Edgehill Republic Records biggest star, a pop-country sensation, with legions of young teenage fans and sellout tours. Despite Juliette's singing talent being questioned by several characters, including Rayna, she shows not only raw talent but has also proven herself to be a capable songwriter and works with talented musicians such as Deacon Clayborne and Avery Barkley. Juliette and Rayna, however, have two things in common, both of them had bad parents and both of them left home when they were 16 to escape bad home situations and went on to become famous country music stars.
Juliette is initially played as a demanding, arrogant diva, but there is another side to her, the main reason why she was the main protagonist/antagonist in the series. She is a girl who has fought for everything she has and was prepared to do anything to get to the top. However, her hard exterior shields a world of pain that she rarely lets people see. She has no real friends, no one she can truly turn to, and she has seen the worst of people growing up, which has left her unable to connect with people emotionally on a stable, long-term basis. As a result, she shows a desperate desire to be loved by anyone who shows her the slightest bit of affection, such as when she falls in love with her mother's drug counselor. It is very easy for her to attract the initial attention of men due to her great beauty. She becomes pregnant by Avery in season three and has a girl, Cadence. They marry, but their relationship remains intermittent and dysfunctional. (They eventually divorce, but remain in close contact due to their shared child.) After this she falls into postpartum depression and neglects her family until she inadvertently causes Jeff's death. After this she goes to treatment and is then there for her family for a time.
After surviving a plane crash, she is a wheelchair user and she finds God through the help of the woman who finds her in the wreckage, a talented gospel singer whom she encourages in commercializing her talent.
She becomes obsessed with self-improvement and especially the work of a bestselling self-help author, Darius. She joins his "movement", which is later revealed to be a mind-controlling cult. She soon becomes brainwashed by Darius' cult and begins neglecting her family to do the movement's work (and quits music). While in Bolivia, having been assigned by the movement to a remote compound there, Juliette discovers she is pregnant with another child, also by Avery. She meets another cult member whom she learns wants out but cannot risk leaving her son behind. Juliette realizes this will eventually be her own fate as well if she remains in Bolivia and gives birth there. With this woman's help she breaks out of the cult, despite their having confiscated her passport. Upon returning home, she attempts to take down the movement and announces that she is leaving the music business and retiring from the public eye and moves to a farm to raise Cadence, but promises Avery she's not running away. She hides the pregnancy from him for a few weeks after she tells him she loves him but she wants him to really want to be with her for the rest of their lives, not influenced by any pressure their new baby would exert on him emotionally.
A flashforward shows a visibly pregnant Juliette playing with Cadence, and Avery coming back to them, seemingly wanting to be with Juliette for the rest of their lives. Clare Bowen 1–6 Alive