Cast and characters
Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones: A former superhero with superhuman strength and limited flight suffering from PTSD who runs her own detective agency, Alias Investigations. Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg had Ritter on the top of her list for playing Jones, even when Rosenberg was developing the series for ABC. Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb noted that the character "has real problems with a number of things that she abuses! And we're not shying away from that." Ritter described the character as "very rough around the edges, and dry and sarcastic and a total asshole sometimes. But I think at her core she's a good person." She put on 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of muscle for the role. Elizabeth Cappuccino portrayed a young Jessica.
Mike Colter as Luke Cage: A man with superhuman strength and unbreakable skin, whom Jones encounters in the course of an investigation. Colter put on 30 pounds (14 kg) of muscle for the role, and described the character as "a darker, grittier, more tangible character than Iron Man or Thor. He likes to keep things close to his chest, operate on the hush-hush." Colter was pleased and surprised that the audience "got" the character, as Luke "was a man of few words and a lot of subtext," which was refreshing: "we were going for this character in a way that said little but spoke volumes [...] I felt people got the subtleties."
Rachael Taylor as Patricia "Trish" Walker: A former model and child star known as "Patsy", Jones' adoptive sister and best friend who now works as a radio host. Jones' best friend was going to be Carol Danvers when Rosenberg was developing the series at ABC but was changed to Walker due to the changing nature of the MCU and the fact that Danvers would be featured in her own film. Rosenberg ultimately found this to be "much more appropriate [...] it was better that [Jessica's] best friend was not someone with powers. It actually ends up being a really great mirror for her." Loeb said, "what's most important is the relationship between [Walker] and Jessica, and how these two women who are [sisters] could be that different, and yet believe in the same kinds of things." At the end of the second season, having become resentful of Jessica's abilities and subsequently killing her mother, Trish acquires powers of enhanced reflexes and agility and becomes a vigilante in the third season, ultimately serving as the season's main antagonist. Catherine Blades portrayed a young Trish.
Wil Traval as Will Simpson:An NYPD sergeant who is very serious about his job. Traval felt that Simpson sees everything in "black and white" and that "justice can be served easily," an opposite to Jessica, who "deals in a world of gray" that causes the two to have friction between them. Traval described the character as "reinvented" and "reshaped" for the series from the one in the comics, as the comic character was "a little bit too hard to handle. [H]e was just a psychotic crazy guy."
Erin Moriarty as Hope Shlottman: A student-athlete attending New York University who is a client of Alias Investigations. Moriarty called her character a "polar opposite" to Jessica Jones, describing Hope as "an all-American girl, [innocent and] really earnest." Over the course of the series, the two form a bond, and Jessica becomes protective of Hope due to a shared experience they have with Kilgrave.
Eka Darville as Malcolm Ducasse: Jones' neighbor who struggles with drug addiction, resulting in his personal journey intertwining with hers. Darville stated Malcolm was a new character for the series, though inspired by "seed characters" from the comics. He also felt playing the character with the drug addiction "was pretty intense and dark" and that Malcolm's relationship with Jessica "is like a flip-flop between victim and savior [...] much more [sibling-like] than anything else."
Carrie-Anne Moss as Jeri Hogarth: An attorney and potentially powerful ally to Jones, who hires Jones for cases. The character's gender was changed from male to female for the series, and the character was made a lesbian. Moss signed on to the series after reading the first two scripts, having been pitched the character by Loeb and Rosenberg. Moss described the character as fierce, strong, and powerful, and "she likes that power." She worked "a few days every episode", which allowed her to grow the character throughout the series, while not knowing what the character would become as she played each moment, which she noted was how real-life is.
David Tennant as Kilgrave: A man from Jones' past who can control minds. He was born Kevin Thompson and was experimented on as a young child, gaining his powers. Loeb called him "a terrible man who doesn't see himself as terrible" and compared him to Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk in Daredevil, saying, "there are going to be times [watching Daredevil] when you're uncomfortable because you're not quite rooting for Matt, you're kind of rooting for Wilson, and it's the same kind of thing you're going to find in Jessica. There's going to be moments where some of the things that she does is pretty questionable. And some of the things that, when you learn about Kilgrave's character and the way that David Tennant plays that character, it's really extraordinary." James Freedson-Jackson portrayed a young Kilgrave.
J. R. Ramirez as Oscar Arocho: A painter and the new superintendent in Jones' building. He is a single father to a young boy named Vido, and he and Jones engage in a relationship.
Terry Chen as Pryce Cheng: A rival private investigator to Jones.
Leah Gibson as Inez Green: A "street-wise" nurse.
Janet McTeer as Alisa Jones: Jessica's mother, who survived the car accident that killed Jessica's father and brother. She and Jessica were both treated at a private clinic specializing in gene editing, which granted both superhuman abilities. She was declared dead and treated in secret. The extent of her injuries and years of treatment affected her mental stability. The character was first portrayed by Miriam Shor in flashbacks during the first season, before McTeer took over the role as a series regular for the second season.
Benjamin Walker as Erik Gelden: A man with an enhanced empathic ability to sense the severity of evil in others. He has used his ability to blackmail various people, including Gregory Sallinger. A love interest for Jessica who is also trying to help his sister, Brianna.
Sarita Choudhury as Kith Lyonne: A concert cellist and Jeri's former flame
Jeremy Bobb as Gregory Sallinger: A ruthless, hyperintelligent serial killer who has targeted Jessica Jones to expose her as a "fraud" because he believes "supers" have cheated life with their abilities rather than earned things through hard work.
Tiffany Mack as Zaya Okonjo: A junior associate at Hogarth & Associates who Jeri comes to rely on. She is dating Malcolm.
