Dallas - The Characters - Descriptions

The Characters

J.R. Ewing
Larry Hagman

The infamous, scheming JR Ewing returns to SouthFork once more. After keeping off the radar in a nursing home for a few years, JR is back with a new plan to take back what is rightfully his and restore himself to power as the true heir to SouthFork. But with his scheming son John Ross out to prove himself, JR might need to step up his game and show his own son how it’s done. JR’s years of feuding with Sue Ellen made his relationship with John Ross virtually nonexistent, always using him as a tool to get back at his mother. JR knows the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree, and will enlist the help of John Ross to get SouthFork back to the rightful side of the Ewing family: His. After years of fighting over power and oil, JR’s relationship with Bobby is strained, despite Bobby’s best efforts to put their past behind them. JR still has oil in his blood and on his brain, and he will stop at nothing to take back power and seize control of SouthFork.


Bobby Ewing
Patrick Duffy

Bobby Ewing is the compassionate younger brother of JR Ewing. The current proprietor of SouthFork, Bobby is determined to protect the promise he made to his late mother Miss Ellie: to not let anyone drill for oil on SouthFork. But with his nephew John Ross bent on finding oil in places he shouldn’t, this promise proves more difficult to keep than he had thought. Bobby is thrilled to have his son Christopher back at SouthFork with his new fiancé Rebecca. He wants to ensure Christopher and John Ross’s relationship is not characterized by the same feuds and betrayal that dominated Bobby and JR’s relationship. Ann, his wife, is his rock and support system in the midst of the drama of Ewing family life. Bobby will do whatever it takes to protect his family and SouthFork, even if it means making significant sacrifices to see that happen.


Sue Ellen Ewing
Linda Gray

Sue Ellen Ewing is a survivor. The former wife of JR Ewing, Sue Ellen has seen it all and grown all the wiser for it. She is a powerful woman in Dallas, leading successful fundraising campaigns, taking on causes and making connections with influential Texans. Her success has led her to a possible run for governor, with campaign backers already lining up to support her. But despite this success, Sue Ellen harbors deep regret for her mistakes as a mother raising John Ross and will do anything to make things right for him. She resents JR for neglecting their son, but she also blames herself for giving John Ross such a tumultuous childhood. She knows that her drinking and feuding with JR left deep wounds in John Ross that she will never be able to heal. With her newfound power and influence, Sue Ellen offers herself as an ally to her son in his quest to find oil, making one last effort to try to right the wrongs of her past.


John Ross Ewing
Josh Henderson

John Ross Ewing is the ambitious son of JR and Sue Ellen Ewing. A chip off the old block, John Ross is determined to strike it rich in the oil industry and prove himself capable of stepping into his father’s shoes. Growing up, John Ross was enticed by promises that the Ewing Oil Empire would one day be his. With his parents feuding and using him to manipulate each other, John Ross lacked a stable childhood and divided his formative years between Dallas, Europe and boarding school. Even though he enjoyed the same privileges of growing up a Ewing as his cousin Christopher, he exploited his wealth and family’s power to get ahead with little personal effort, giving him a reputation of being a spoiled rich kid. John Ross never felt the love and emotional support he longed to receive from his parents growing up, so he turned to his compassionate and patient friend Elena who was always seeing the best in him. Now as an adult with a lot to prove, John Ross is determined to impress his father, despite their lack of a relationship, and he has his eyes set on SouthFork and the girl he’s loved since childhood, Elena.


Christopher Ewing
Jesse Metcalfe

Christopher Ewing is the adopted son of Bobby Ewing and his first wife Pam. Ever since childhood, Christopher was keenly aware that he was adopted, and his cousin John Ross was always eager to remind him that he wasn’t a “real Ewing.” Growing up, his was the softer temperament to that of John Ross, who frequently used Christopher as a scapegoat for his shenanigans. Together with Elena, the cousins were best friends during their formative years before John Ross left for Europe. Christopher worked hard and aimed to make the Ewing name great again, all while harboring insecurities about his place in the family. Christopher later fell deeply in love with Elena and proposed to her. But when Elena broke off their engagement the day of their wedding, a heartbroken Christopher fled to Asia to research alternative energies. While overseas, he fell in love with the beautiful Rebecca Sutter who was traveling after completing her law degree. Now, the pair are engaged and returning to SouthFork to plan their wedding, with Christopher determined to make a name for himself in the alternative fuel industry without the financial favors of his father. With his big break hopefully around the corner, Christopher is determined to put the family name back on the map and prove himself truly a Ewing.


Elena Ramos
Jordana Brewster

As the cook’s daughter, Elena Ramos grew up on SouthFork ranch with John Ross and Christopher Ewing. Elena moved to Dallas from Mexico with her parents when she was eight years old, where her mother Carmen was the beloved cook to the Ewing family. Growing up, John Ross, Christopher and Elena were as close as The Three Musketeers, and while Elena never played favorites between the cousins, it was always Christopher who secretly had her heart. Despite John Ross’ mischievous and rebellious ways, Elena always saw the good in him and supported him, which led to John Ross secretly caring for her his whole life. But it was Christopher who won her heart when they began dating in graduate school and eventually became engaged. When a misunderstanding led to calling off their wedding, Elena was heartbroken and fled to Mexico where John Ross found her and confessed his love. Elena had dreams of her own to make it big in the oil industry, so armed with her masters degree in energy resources and her new Ewing business partner, she has returned to Dallas ready to strike it big.


Ann Ewing
Brenda Strong

Ann Ewing is the third wife of Bobby Ewing. Introduced by mutual friend Sue Ellen, Bobby was instantly struck by Ann’s quiet strength and beauty. A consummate horse cutter, she fell in love with SouthFork Ranch. They quickly fell in love and married, and the pair settled in to SouthFork and began making it their own. A woman who can work a gun and ride a stallion, Ann fits right into the Ewing lineup of beautiful women who know their way around a ranch. Ann’s first marriage to big-time Texas transportation executive Harris Ryland, who is as sly as he is rich, continues to haunt Ann in her new life. But despite her past, she is a supportive wife to Bobby and has assumed her role as the new matriarch of SouthFork with dignity and grace.


Rebecca Sutter
Julie Gonzolo

Rebecca Sutter is the beautiful and intelligent fiancé of Christopher Ewing. The couple met on a train in Asia just days after Christopher’s engagement to Elena was broken off and he fled the country heartbroken. Despite his traumatic break up, Christopher was intrigued by the friendly American girl who was traveling Asia after completing law school. Rebecca is a self made woman, having lost her parents at a young age in a car accident, leaving her to grow up alone with her brother Tommy. She worked hard to put herself through law school with Tommy’s support. Meeting Christopher was the greatest thing to happen in her life, and for the first time in a long time, she feels truly safe and ready to lean on someone. Upon returning to SouthFork with Christopher, she is determined to have the wedding go off without a hitch and start their new life together. She quickly befriends Elena in the hopes of learning more about Christopher and finding her own place at SouthFork as the new Mrs. Ewing.

Source: TNT