Nate Fisher

Played By Peter Krause

Nate is the firstborn of the Fisher siblings, and arguably the one whose life was most drastically changed by his father's death. Until then, he hadn't dedicated his life to much of anything - except, perhaps, keeping far away from his family. At the age of thirty-five he was a college dropout who hadn't had a romantic relationship that lasted longer than two months and the pinnacle of whose career was Assistant Manager of Organic Produce at Seattle's "highest-volume food co-op."

David Fisher

Played By Michael C. Hall

David, the middle Fisher sibling, refers to himself as "the stable one." He joined the family business at the age of twenty, lives in the same house where he grew up and is a life-long member of St. Bartholomew's Church. At the time of his father's death, David had been working at Fisher and Sons for eleven years - and was beginning to wonder whether he'd made the right choice.

Ruth Fisher

Played By Frances Conroy

Ruth, mother of Nate, David and Claire, has spent most of her life taking care of other people. For the majority of her teen years she cared for her grandmother, whose legs had been amputated. She got married at nineteen and spent the next thirty-odd years keeping house, raising her children and tending to the grieving people who passed through Fisher & Sons Funeral Home.

Claire Fisher

Played By Lauren Ambrose

The baby of the Fisher family, Claire struggled through a difficult childhood and adolescence. She grew up in a house constantly full of people who are either dead or grieving. Her father was killed in a hearse/bus collision one Christmas Eve and she had to drive herself to the hospital high on crystal meth.

Brenda Chenowith

Played By Rachel Griffiths

Brenda, once the great love of Nate's life, is highly intelligent, highly protective of her emotions and highly skeptical of the possibility of being happy. She comes by her misgivings honestly: at the age of six she was declared a genius and placed in the care of psychiatrists who manipulated and scrutinized her every move.

Federico Diaz

Played By Freddy Rodriguez

One of the best restorative artists around, Federico got his start at Fisher & Sons shortly after the death of his father, Mauricio Ricardo Diaz. Mr. Diaz had been severely disfigured in an accident, and when Nathaniel Fisher was able to restore the body for an open viewing, the young Federico was grateful and deeply impressed.

Nathaniel Fisher

Played By Richard Jenkins

The paterfamilias of the Fisher clan, Nathaniel Sr. had a fatal accident while driving a brand-new hearse and singing, "I'll Be Home for Christmas." And although he is no longer of this world, he shows up from time to time to kibitz with his widow and children.

Keith Charles

Played By Mathew St. Patrick

Keith Charles, the love of David's life, is charming, handsome and tough - for years he was a gay officer in the LAPD and didn't care who knew it. Being out is important to Keith, and when he and David were first dating it was a major source of conflict between them.