List of 30 Rock characters
This is a list of recurring minor characters on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock.
Major recurring characters
This section is for supporting characters who appear in almost every episode, but who do not receive star billing.
Jonathan
| Jonathan | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Pilot" |
| Created by | Tina Fey |
| Portrayed by | Maulik Pancholy |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Assistant to Jack Donaghy |
Jack's obedient assistant who is of Indian or Middle Eastern descent. It appears that Jonathan is in love with Jack, similar to The Simpsons' Waylon Smithers and Mr. Burns relationship. When Liz said Jack was a "bit of a stress eater" in "The Baby Show," Jonathan was very defensive of him, saying "he puts up with so much," presumably referring to Jack's overbearing mother. The show has yet to give Jonathan a last name or specify his ethnic background.
Grizz and Dot Com
| Grizz and Dot Com | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Pilot" |
| Created by | Tina Fey |
| Portrayed by | Grizz Chapman and Kevin Brown |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Tracy's entourage |
"Grizz" Griswold and "Dot Com" Slattery form Tracy's entourage. In "Pilot", Tracy's entourage was composed of four muscle-bound black men, but later episodes have pared it down to two. As revealed in "The Rural Juror" and "Hard Ball", Grizz is Tracy's money manager and in charge of sitting on him when he gets overstimulated while Dot Com is Tracy's driver and cook. It is also in "Hard Ball" that their last names are mentioned.
Grizz tends to make unexpectedly emotional observations about the show's proceedings, such as "this is a really special day!" and "it's like a rollercoaster ride of emotion in here!" Grizz was entrusted with keeping Tracy's finances in order, until he invested much of his money in WorldCom. According to Tracy he is "obsessed with telecommunications." Grizz has also been accused of teaching Tracy about anagrams.
Dot Com appears to be the more articulate and sensible member of the entourage. He suggests going to Las Vegas to "buy a bunch of sarcophagi" to celebrate the aid of a "de-throned prince of Nigeria," and refuses to join in on Tracy's irrational plan to escape Ridikolous in the episode "The Source Awards." He hopes to one day get an iPhone, because then "e'rybody gon' be jealous." After Jack tells him that his need to be the smartest person in any conversation is off-putting, Dot Com ruefully notes "that's probably why I'm still single."
In "Greenzo", we find out that for some reason they hope that nerdy show regular Josh will find them cool, after they cook up fake information about Kenneth Parcell's upcoming party. We also learn that Grizz and Dot Com are the biggest gossips at TGS. At the party, which becomes a wildly disturbing bacchanalia, Liz did something possibly involved with kissing Grizz that caused both Grizz and Dot Com to cry, and Grizz looks visibly upset the next day.
Lutz
| Lutz | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Pilot" "The Aftermath" (first speaking part) |
| Created by | Tina Fey |
| Portrayed by | John Lutz |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Staff writer on TGS |
J. D. Lutz is the most prominently featured of the writers after Liz, Frank, Josh, and Toofer. Lutz is portrayed as a lazy, overweight man who eats a great deal.
Lutz was the one who called Liz the title obscenity in "The C Word". Also in "The C Word", it is stated that he was originally from Alaska, where he hated it, and that his grandmother recently died. His first two initials were mentioned in "The Aftermath", where it was also stated that he has a thyroid problem. In "The Baby Show", Lutz says that he likes to get yelled at during sex.
In "MILF Island" he claims that he has had a makeover and even shops at American Eagle, but Frank tells him that he is still the dirtbag he's always been.
Occasional recurring characters
This section is for recurrent characters who do not not make regular appearances.
Celeste Cunningham
| Celeste Cunningham | |
|---|---|
| 30 Rock character | |
| First appearance | "Somebody to Love" |
| Last appearance | "Episode 210" |
| Created by | Tina Fey Kay Cannon |
| Portrayed by | Edie Falco Kristen Wiig |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Mr. Spoonatelli |
| Nickname | C.C. |
| Gender | Female |
| Title | D-Vermont |
| Occupation | Congresswoman |
Celeste "C.C." Cunningham is the Congresswoman for the state of Vermont. She is a Democrat.
C.C., as she is most commonly known, is first introduced in the episode "Somebody to Love" at a cocktail party honouring Robert Novak. At the party, she meets Jack Donaghy. Jack and C.C. end up sleeping together. Soon after, Jack discovers she is a Democratic Congresswoman from Vermont and she is also trying to sue NBC's fictitious parent company, "The Sheinhardt Wig Company", for apparently dumping some "Auburn Fantasy Dye Number 260" into the Chickatagua River which turned the children of Chickatagua orange.
Despite Jack and C.C.'s conflicting political beliefs, they decide to pursue a relationship, which is at first kept secret. Jack and C.C. reveal their relationship in Jack's executive dining room.
Due to job related commitments and the fact that Jack lives in New York and C.C. lives in Washington, D.C., they decide to break up.
Dennis Duffy
| Dennis Duffy | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Jack Meets Dennis" |
| Created by | Jack Burditt |
| Portrayed by | Dean Winters |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Title | "The Beeper King" |
| Occupation | Beeper salesman |
| Family | Teddy (cousin) |
Dennis Duffy was Liz's sleazeball boyfriend for three consecutive episodes in the early part of the show's first season. Dennis is the last remaining beeper salesman in New York City and has been known as "The Beeper King" since the original "Beeper King" committed suicide. Liz originally dated Dennis about a year before the first season, but they ended up breaking up. In the episode "Jack Meets Dennis", she takes Dennis back simply because he asked.
Although Liz did not enjoy dating him and, in fact, did not like being seen in public with him, she could not seem to end it with him despite Jack and Jenna's encouragements. In "Tracy Does Conan" he was seen doing the maze on the back of a cereal box and complaining about how easy it was. He is a very devoted fan of the New York Islanders, stating that he had no reason left to live when they lost a game.
Unfortunately his behavior and attitude would start getting to Liz after she took him back and allowed him to move in with her, when he began messing up her hair before she went to work by giving her noogies, used her computer to download a video game (Halo 2), called her constantly (even to ask her to call for Nickelback tickets while using her computer to download the aforementioned game), breaking the wall to make room for a TV, babysitting a Great Dane, despite knowing that Liz is allergic to dogs (he says allergies are all mental), and allowing his cousin Teddy to stay with them. He even visited her at work at unlikely times, peddling his wares, with Jack buying some of his beepers.
In the episode "The Break Up," Dennis's behavior pushes Liz to the breaking point. She finally dumps Dennis and orders him to leave ASAP. The following day, Dennis shows up with a good-bye note at her job with an apology, prompting everyone to feel sorry for Dennis, even Jack and Jenna. According to his apology, Liz's leaving him marked the first time he cried since the 1986 World Series. Dennis later privately explained to Jack how he manipulates Liz:
It's like my cousin Teddy's dog. Sometimes he just doesn't want to lick my feet, so what I do is I hide my feet from him for a couple of days and then when he sees them he goes bananas. So Jack, in this example, Liz is the dog and I am my feet.
Liz decides to write a series of pros and cons about what she likes about him, prompting her to realize that Dennis wasn't that bad after all. When Liz returns home, she finds her place back to normal with an apology note left by Dennis, who later stops by to see how she is doing with a gift for her and afterwards let him in to finish the take-out Chinese dinner she ordered. But as he goes into the kitchen she sits down to watch Dateline NBC, where she sees a hidden camera investigation that reveals Dennis is an online sexual predator, who was hoping to meet a sixteen-year-old, claiming he thought she was twenty-two. After Dennis sees Liz watching the program he tries to turn it off, but a fuming Liz throws him out, this time for good.
However, like a bad penny, Dennis turns up once again in Subway Hero when he saves a person who fell in front of a speeding train. Dennis acts like his old blowhard self and Liz isn't happy he's around, but is forced to deal with him because Jack wants Dennis featured on NBC's "Today" show. Jenna is aghast that Liz seems to be falling back into a relationship with Dennis, but Liz says she doesn't have to be nice, smart, or even hygienic around Dennis. A flashback shows they met when they were both in the audience watching The Hours and independently said the film "is more like THE WEEKS". Dennis proposes to Liz and she realizes that's a bad idea and refuses; Dennis' rude, stupid comments afterwards return him to pariah status (the fact that he managed to lose the Stanley Cup didnt' help), and Liz is furious after he tries to push her in front of another subway train to be a hero again. She tells him to get lost and walks away, but Dennis says "You'll be back, Dummy."
List of pros and cons on Dennis
In "The Break Up", Jenna suggests that Liz make a list of pros and cons about Dennis to help her to decide to break up with him or not. Her pros and cons on him were as follows:
|
† — This "con" is not shown on camera, but Liz is seen adding to the list after she sees Dennis on a "To Catch a Predator" episode of Dateline. |
Dr. Leo Spaceman
| Dr. Leo Spaceman | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Tracy Does Conan" |
| Created by | Tina Fey |
| Portrayed by | Chris Parnell |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Medical doctor |
Dr. Leo Spaceman (last name pronounced "Spi-CHEM-in," except by Tracy, who pronounces it phonetically) is Tracy Jordan's incompetent and unethical doctor who treats him with wildly experimental methods. In "The Rural Juror," it is revealed that Spaceman got his medical degree from the Ho Chi Minh City School of Medicine. During a phone call with Liz, Dr. Spaceman begins hitting on her and offers her drugs. Jack thinks that Dr. Spaceman is a fine doctor and also mentions that Spaceman is a "pretty good" dentist. Jack apparently uses Spaceman when he needs a doctor to endorse a product, he can be seen in a commercial for "Tracy Jordan's Meat Machine" claiming that his research on the effects of bread "eating away out your brain" cannot be completed because "the powerful bread lobby" keeps stopping his research. He has always believed that humans need more animal blood; it keeps the spine straight. He has stabbed at least one dog, although not necessarily to death.
In the episode "The Baby Show," Liz is seeking help with fertility and she calls the number under fertility in the Writers Guild health manual. Leo reveals that he is listed under fertility, meth addiction, and child psychology. He also reveals to Liz that he had a scuba diving accident that made it so that he can no longer impregnate.
In "Hiatus", it is revealed that Spaceman is also Jack Donaghy's doctor. In the episode, Spaceman gives Jack a physical and tries to get him to read his new sex book You're Doing It Wrong, which he says "guarantees male orgasm."
In "Jack Gets in the Game", Jenna visits Spaceman for assistance in losing weight. He told Jenna her weight gain at the start of Season 2 put her into "the disgusting range" and suggested she start using crystal meth to lose weight- but also asks "How important is teeth retention for you?" She instead asks if he has any "crazy surgical options," and he says that he does, pointing to a wall of photographs of celebrities who he has helped with such options (including Deidre Hall, ALF, John Ashcroft and the Unabomber).
In "Succession", Spaceman shows up to treat Don Geiss after he lapses into a diabetic coma. He once again shows his incompetence and idiocy when he A) injects the GE Chairman with a placebo, B) doesn't know where Geiss' heart is "because it's different for everybody", C) can't decide whether to call 411 or 911, and D) calls 411 to get information about "diabetes repair".
Don Geiss
| Don Geiss | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "The C Word" |
| Created by | Tina Fey |
| Portrayed by | Rip Torn |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | CEO of GE |
| Family | Kathy Geiss (daughter) Caitlin (granddaughter) |
Don Geiss (rhymes with "nice") is the chief executive officer of General Electric within the show's universe. In "Corporate Crush" he demoted Jack to "Vice President of East Coast Programming" and took away his "Microwave Oven Programming" duties after Jack's "Fireworks" special turned into a major fiasco and embarrassment for NBC. He has told Jack he is on the short list of contenders to succeed him as CEO. He also has a secret (second) family up in Canada. He promised Jack the CEO position in Succession, but after he went into a diabetic coma (accidentally induced by Liz), the reins of the company were handed over by his handpicked board to his daughter Cathy and her fiance Devon.
Greta Johansen
| Greta Johansen | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Pilot" |
| Last appearance | "The C Word" |
| Created by | Tina Fey |
| Portrayed by | Rachel Dratch |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Cat wrangler |
Legreta "Greta" Johansen is a cat wrangler who works on the show. In the episode "The Baby Show", she offers to carry the child that Liz wants and reveals that she owns a small ferret farm 60 miles north of New York City. Greta also hints towards an obsession with Liz, mentioning that she likes to watch Liz watching TV.
Angie Jordan
| Angie Jordan | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Jack the Writer" (played by Sharon Wilkins |
| Created by | Robert Carlock |
| Portrayed by | Sherri Shepherd (Sharon Wilkins in "Jack the Writer") |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | None known |
| Spouse | Tracy Jordan |
| Children | Two sons (Tracy Jr and George Foreman) |
Angie Jordan is Tracy Jordan's wife. Tracy and Angie frequently use rather odd forms of sexual roleplaying. Tracy implied in "Black Tie" that he and Angie have an open marriage, but in "The Collection" Angie is shown to be less than happy with her husband's extramarital sexcapades. She kicked Tracy out of their house in "Seinfeld Vision", but took him back in "Jack Gets in the Game". She seems to have a domineering, bombastic personality and is rather demanding of her husband, both financially and sexually.
In her initial appearance in the episode "Jack the Writer", which basically consisted of a non-speaking cameo, she was played by Sharon Wilkins. In all subsequent episodes, starting with "Up All Night", she is portrayed by Sherri Shepherd and is given a more substantial role. Angie has only appeared in a handful of episodes so far, but she is frequently mentioned by Tracy.
In the second season episode, "The Collection," it is shown that, like her husband, she always addresses Liz Lemon by her full name. She is rude to Liz and nearly attacks her after Liz stops trying to appease her and orders her off the set. She and her husband were apparently supporting the 2008 Presidential campaign of Dennis Kucinich, although in her absence Tracy has expressed interest in becoming a Republican and also filmed a PSA advising African-Americans to not vote at all.
Devon Banks
| Devon Banks | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Fireworks" |
| Created by | Dave Finkel & Brett Baer |
| Portrayed by | Will Arnett |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Vice President of West Coast News, Web Content, and Theme Park Talent Relations |
Devon Banks is NBC's Vice President of West Coast News, Web Content, and Theme Park Talent Relations. In his occasional appearances, he has served as the nemesis of the much older Jack Donaghy, at one point going so far as to attempt to cause Jack to have another heart attack so he would look weak in front of the head of NBC's parent company, General Electric.
Devon was introduced in the episode "Fireworks", when his surprise visit from Los Angeles lead Jack to believe that Devon was trying to take his job as Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming. After learning that Devon is homosexual and attracted to NBC page Kenneth, Jack sends Kenneth to seduce Devon in order to make him late for an important meeting. Devon sees through this plan and makes it to the meeting anyways. Like Jack, Devon speaks in a deep voice. He also has a very short robe which he "cut down himself", and he also made a ten-second internet sitcom called "Makin' It Happen".
Devon returned to the show in the episode "Jack Gets in the Game." In the episode, Jack and Devon competed once again, this time to be the successor of Don Geiss, who is the chief executive officer of General Electric, after they hear that Don is approaching retirement. Devon, in order to compete for the job, becomes engaged to Don's daughter Cathy, claiming to have been cured of his homosexuality by the Church of Practicology, a cult that was founded by "the alien king living inside of Stan Lee." This alleged curing was quickly proven to be untrue by Jack, however, as Devon continued to show homosexual tendencies.
In the episode Succession, Devon is having his bachelor party as Don Geiss crowns Jack the CEO, which he finds out about. He and Jack tell each other they "hate-respect" one another. However, Geiss goes into a diabetic coma, and Devon, ignoring Geiss' true wishes, convinces the board to turn over control of the company to Cathy, and therefore himself.
Colleen Donaghy
| Colleen Donaghy | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Hiatus" |
| Created by | Tina Fey |
| Portrayed by | Elaine Stritch |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
Colleen Donaghy neé Murphy is Jack Donaghy's overbearing mother, Jack generally wants nothing to do with her, even though it has been shown that deep down, he actually does love her. She is generally critical at best of Jack's abilities, and is highly hesitant of showing him any real affection. While in her first appearance she got along well with Liz Lemon, upon meeting her family in the episode "Ludichristmas," she set out to show Jack that the Lemon's seemingly perfect attitude was, in fact, a lie (which she succeeded at).
Reverend Gary
Kathy Geiss
Howard Jorensen
Former recurring characters
Bianca
| Bianca (Donaghy) | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Black Tie" |
| Last appearance | "Up All Night" |
| Created by | Kay Cannon and Tina Fey |
| Portrayed by | Isabella Rossellini |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
Bianca (Isabella Rossellini) is Jack Donaghy's ex-wife, whose years of marital bliss with the network exec weren't all that rosy, since she was never liked by Jack's mother from the beginning. Her appearance and how they ended up going their separate ways was featured in the episode "Black Tie." She mentions, in "Black Tie", that she is engaged to a man named Vincent Foley. Jack mentioned that she was too much of a woman for him which is why they divorced. Bianca also seems to have a jealous streak towards women who want to marry Jack, as evidenced by Liz pretending to be Jack's fiancée, which resulted in Bianca attacking her at the event.
Phoebe
| Phoebe | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Corporate Crush" |
| Last appearance | "Hiatus" (presumably) |
| Created by | John Riggi |
| Portrayed by | Emily Mortimer |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Art dealer and auctioneer at Christie's |
Phoebe is an art dealer and auctioneer who works at the Christie's branch in Rockefeller Center. She is supposedly English and claims to have something called "avian bone syndrome", which requires that no one touch her. She claims to additionally have vertigo in "Hiatus". In "Cleveland", she stated that her parents were poets.
In "Corporate Crush" she introduces herself to Liz (more than once, forgetting or ignoring her previous introductions and annoying Liz) and befriends Christie's client Jack, since she was responsible for selling some of Jack's artwork. After Liz told Jack to find his own "Floydster" (he tried to build a friendly relationship with Liz's boyfriend Floyd), Jack finally attracts Phoebe's attention and the two start dating. However, after Liz gave the two her blessing, Jack quickly asks Phoebe to marry him and she accepts, stunning Liz.
Liz is not happy about this sudden turn of events, even after Jack takes Phoebe to Paris, and would find out later on that Phoebe is actually a gold digger. In "Cleveland", Liz discovers Phoebe at a restaurant holding hands with an older man. When Phoebe sees her after being caught, she tells Liz that it is a former flame, but after Liz says that Phoebe can either tell Jack the truth or Liz will do it herself, they have an argument where Phoebe accidentally drops her British accent and reveals herself to be American. Phoebe tries to cover this up by picking up the accent again and using several Britisms, but Liz isn't fooled.
However, when Liz tells Jack about this, he refuses to believe her. Apparently, Phoebe had told him that Liz was making things up about her since it appears that Jack was being manipulated by Phoebe. When Jack's mother Colleen shows up in "Hiatus", she takes an instant dislike to Phoebe. After she visits Jack in the hospital in the episode, she discovers that Jack wasn't in love with Phoebe as his heart rate monitor becomes a polygraph. Jack and Phoebe's wedding was subsequently canceled.
Although Phoebe is revealed to not actually be English, it is never established whether or not her "avian bone syndrome" or vertigo were real. She has not returned in the show's second season.
Floyd
| Floyd | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Up All Night" |
| Last appearance | "Hiatus" |
| Created by | Tina Fey |
| Portrayed by | Jason Sudeikis |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | "Flower Guy" (how Liz referred to him before learning his name) "Floydster" (Jack's nickname for him) |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Floyd (Jason Sudeikis) is a lawyer (he prefers "law stylist") working in 30 Rock. In "Up All Night," Floyd accidentally sends flowers to Liz Lemon for Valentine's Day, intending to send them to his girlfriend Liz Lemler. Liz Lemon, who doesn't know his name, calls him "flower guy." Liz and Floyd share an awkward moment after this and she develops a crush on him. In the episode "The Fighting Irish," Jack asks Liz to fire some employees to save money, and Liz considers firing Floyd's girlfriend, Liz Lemler, so that she can get closer to Floyd. Against Pete's advice, Liz actually fires Liz Lemler and the rest of the accounting staff. However, Jack cleans up Liz's mess by rehiring the staff and transferring Liz Lemler to a job in another state. When the Other Liz gets transferred, she and Floyd break up.
In the episode "Fireworks," Liz follows Floyd into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in order to get close to him. She lies about being an alcoholic in order to hear Floyd openly talk about his secrets and to spend more time with him. When Floyd tells her that members of the same AA group cannot date, she confesses to him that she was never an alcoholic and just had a crush on him. Floyd feels betrayed by this because she heard him talk about his secrets, but Liz makes it up to him by telling Floyd all of her secrets. After this, Liz and Floyd begin dating. Floyd also mentions in the episode that when he was an alcoholic, he once appeared a man-on-the street ad for Tarzan on Ice in which he drunkenly raved about the show even though he had never seen it.
Despite seeming perfect for each other, Floyd and Liz seem to have broken up due to long-distance relationship-related stress since Floyd moved to Cleveland, and Floyd is seeing someone who Liz had an embarrassing phone call with when she tried to call him.
Jason Sudeikis is the real-life husband of Kay Cannon, who is a writer and sometimes actress on 30 Rock.
Other characters
- Lee (Tom Broecker) - the show's costume manager; appears in eleven episodes
- Stage manager (Teddy Coluca) - appears in six episodes
- Rachel Baze (Rachel Hamilton) - one of the writers on the show; in "The Aftermath", Jack mentions her last name and that she just got engaged; she has speaking parts in two episodes
- Anthony (Anthony Atamanuik) - one of the writers on the show
- Sue ("Girl Writer") (Sue Galloway) - one of the writers on the show; has speaking parts in two episodes
- Donald (Donald Glover) - A stagehand on the show; has a speaking part in one episode
- Matt (Matt Dickinson) - Jack's assistant in two season-one episodes in place of Jonathan
- Stage manager (Brendan Walsh) - shouts "shut it down!" at the end of each of the two episodes he appears in
References
