Character Relationship Map: Weeds

Characters

• Lee Umstetter (played by Nick Nolte) — protagonist

  Protagonist serving life without parole at San Quentin. He finds purpose through reading and staging prison plays, eventually gaining a theatre reviewer's support and gubernatorial clemency. He forms...

• Bagdad (played by Ernie Hudson) — protagonist

  One of the former convicts recruited by Lee into his acting troupe; after release he tours with the company in a camper and, with no money coming in, feels the pull to relapse into his old criminal be...

• Lillian Bingington (played by Rita Taggart) — supporting

  A San Francisco theatre reviewer who attends Lee's prison musical about penitentiary life, regards it highly, and persuades the governor to grant Lee's release.

• Dave (played by Mark Rolston) — supporting

  One of the former convicts recruited by Lee into his acting troupe; after release he tours with the company in a camper and, with no money coming in, feels the pull to relapse into his old criminal be...

• Bass Guitar (played by Cyro Baptista) — supporting
• Claude (played by Lane Smith) — supporting

  One of the former convicts recruited by Lee into his acting troupe; after release he tours with the company in a camper and, with no money coming in, feels the pull to relapse into his old criminal be...

• Kirsten (played by Kirsten Baker) — minor
• Bagdad's Girlfriend (played by Amanda Gronich) — minor
• Lazarus (played by J.J. Johnston) — minor
• Godot Player (played by Barton Heyman) — minor
• Mom Umstetter (played by Anne Ramsey) — minor
• Pop Umstetter (played by Ray Reinhardt) — minor
• Associate Warden (played by Felton Perry) — minor
• Navarro (played by John Toles-Bey) — supporting

  One of the former convicts recruited by Lee into his acting troupe; after release he tours with the company in a camper and, with no money coming in, feels the pull to relapse into his old criminal be...

• Burt the Booster (played by William Forsythe) — minor
• Carmine (played by Joe Mantegna) — supporting

  One of the former convicts recruited by Lee into his acting troupe; after release he tours with the company in a camper and, with no money coming in, feels the pull to relapse into his old criminal be...

• Vocalist (played by Essex Smith) — supporting

  A singer in the musical ensemble performing Lee's social-protest stage work about life in the penitentiary.

• Vocalist (played by Sam L. Waymon) — supporting
• Lead Guitar (played by Orville Stoeber) — supporting

  A guitarist in the musical ensemble performing Lee's social-protest stage work about life in the penitentiary.

Story Analysis

A prisoner's transformative journey through art, leading to freedom and the complex realities of post-release life.

Plot Progression

1. Confinement and Awakening
2. Creative Resurgence
3. Freedom and Formation
4. The Road Beyond