Danny Ocean Danny Ocean (
George Clooney) is a fictional thief from
New York City, ringleader and idea man for the main crew that robs three casinos in
Ocean’s Eleven, a
Fabergé egg in
Ocean’s Twelve, and diamonds in
Ocean’s Thirteen. He is motivated to pull the Bellagio job in the first film as revenge for Terry Benedict dating his ex-wife, Tess. His success in this job and the notoriety it brings him is what incites the jealousy of Toulour and sets off the events of the second film. In the third film, he undertakes the con against Willy Bank to get revenge for Reuben. He is presumed to be dead by the events of ''Ocean's 8'', though his sister Debbie has expressed her doubts about his demise, hinting the possibility that he has merely faked his death and gone underground.
Rusty Ryan Robert Charles "Rusty” Ryan (
Brad Pitt) is Danny Ocean's right-hand man. Rusty's skills are used more in the planning phase of the heists. Rusty's ex-girlfriend Isabel is what gets the team in trouble in ''Ocean's Twelve'', despite condemning Danny's efforts to win back an ex-wife in ''Ocean's Eleven
. Rusty has a weakness for his hotel, which puts him in debt by Ocean's Twelve'' and has led him to constantly pull off jobs to keep his hotel financially stable by Ocean's
Thirteen.
Linus Caldwell The son of a legendary con artist, Bobby Caldwell, Linus (
Matt Damon) is one of two newcomers to Danny's crew, recruited by Danny in person. Having witnessed Linus's pickpocket skills grifting in Chicago, he offers him a key slot on his crew for one of the essential parts of the elaborate heist. Throughout the trilogy, Linus repeatedly attempts to live up to this family's reputation and gain respect within the crew. At various times, he seems to succeed: he backs up Danny in ''Ocean's Eleven
by bringing extra batteries for the remote explosive detonator, which turns out to be crucial, and in Ocean's
Twelve
gets a chance to run the con when half the crew ends up in prison. In Ocean's Thirteen'', Linus offers to seduce a casino staff member despite the team's doubts about his ability. He is eventually successful in his endeavor. Eager to prove himself, he frequently offers to tackle challenging parts of the con and assert himself as a leader within the team.
Reuben Tishkoff A flamboyant business kingpin, Reuben (
Elliott Gould) is an old-school business tycoon who gets muscled out of his Vegas hotel by Terry Benedict, leading him to finance the expensive casino caper. He appears to be pushed over again in ''Ocean's Thirteen'', when he is forced out of a partnership by Willy Bank, leading to a breakdown that ignites Ocean's revenge plot against Bank. His cunning business instinct is illustrated by the fact that he was the only one to make money out of his take in the Bellagio heist (on the stock market) rather than lose money through spending over the last three years. Danny and Rusty went so far as to imply that Reuben was a mentor to them. He appears in ''
Ocean's 8'' to pass on a message from the apparently-deceased Danny to his sister Debbie.
Saul Bloom Saul Bloom (
Carl Reiner) is an ulcerous old pro con-man who is brought out of retirement to play a crucial role in the casino-heist, playing “Lyman Zerga”, an arms dealer with a special delivery he needs to be located in the casino-vault. His presence ensures that a member of the team is watching the security cameras and getting the explosives into the vault. In
Twelve, Saul initially refuses to go along with the pan-European caper but ultimately shows up as a Swiss doctor in the Lookie-loo con. In
Thirteen, Saul plays “Kensington Chubb”, a British hotel reviewer.
Basher Tarr Basher Tarr (
Don Cheadle) is the
munitions expert of the team. Talking with a heavy cockney accent, often in rhyming slang, Basher is more in it for the thrills than for the money, even calling Rusty and Danny "proper villains" as opposed to the fools with whom he unsuccessfully tries to rob a bank in
Eleven. He is brought in to create the power blackout necessary for Danny and Linus to get down the elevator shaft in
Eleven, and simulates an earthquake with a drilling machine in
Thirteen.
Frank Catton An old acquaintance of Danny and Rusty, Frank Catton (
Bernie Mac) is an experienced card dealer who has left his mark in various Vegas casinos. He is the first to be recruited for the Bellagio-plan. He is shown to have an affinity for manicures, which even leads to his arrest in
Twelve. His lack of participation in
Twelve is made up for by his central role in the two casino-heists: first as the inside man at the Bellagio, later as a game host in Bank's casino. The simulated quarrel with Linus's
NGC-persona results in the latter pickpocketing the vault codes out of Benedict's jacket.
Livingston Dell Livingston Dell (
Eddie Jemison) is the tech-guy, a surveillance specialist who moonlights for the
FBI. While a genius with computers, and surveillance equipment, Livingston's anxiety threatens the success of the Bellagio heist. Despite his nervousness, he passes a
polygraph test in
Thirteen, although he fails to rig the card shuffling machines and secretly calls Roman Nagel for help.
The Malloy Brothers Living in
Provo, Utah, "the
Mormon twins" Virgil and Turk Malloy are fraternal twin brothers brought in by Rusty to aid in the scheme in
Eleven. Recruited as "drivers" in the first movie, both are used in many other parts of the schemes. They are shown to be talented mechanics as well as adept at disguises for many situations. Despite their relationship being an antagonistic one of constant arguing they are useful together and the arguing often helps when in disguise or creating distractions. Their knowledge of remote-controlled cars is used in
Eleven. During
Thirteen they each ended up disrupting the plan to rig the dice for The Bank at the manufacturers' by staging a strike for better working conditions, with Virgil starting the strike and Turk continuing it despite going there to get his brother back on track. In all three films, the brothers conduct surveillance while undercover. Virgil and Turk are portrayed by
Casey Affleck and
Scott Caan, respectively.
The Amazing Yen The Chinese acrobat Yen is the second of two newbies in the group, called a “grease man” by Danny and Rusty, brought in for his flexibility and short stature. He is the first to actually enter the heavily guarded and secured casino-vault, brought into the underground backstage tunnels while confined in a money-cart cunningly delivered by the Malloy brothers, while being watched by Saul's Lyman Zerga character. Once inside, Yen places the explosives from Zerga's briefcase on the vault door, waiting for Danny and Linus to trigger it from the outside. His newfound wealth after the heist results in him inhabiting a huge Florida mansion, dressing up with a lot of bling. His specific skills are much less necessary in the subsequent heists, though in
Thirteen he is responsible for climbing up an elevator shaft. He assists Debbie Ocean and Lou in stealing the Crown Jewels from the Met Gala in ''
Ocean's 8'', Lou smuggling him in under a food tray during a distraction caused by the theft of the main necklace and Debbie distracting the guards outside the jewel room while Yen and Lou switched the real diamonds for the fakes. Yen, played by real life acrobat
Qin Shaobo, only generally speaks in Mandarin, which almost everyone in the gang can understand, and can understand English. His only lines in the movies that are English are filled with curse words, such as in
Eleven when he shouts to Danny and Linus "Where the fuck you been?", and in
Thirteen, where the only word he says in English, repeated several times, is "Shit." ==Antagonists==