CHARACTERS on ORPHAN BLACK

Maslany plays several different characters convincingly, often interacting on the screen at the same time.

Sarah Manning

Sarah Manning is the central character and main protagonist introduced in Orphan Black. She is the first female clone introduced in the series and although Sarah was born in the UK, she and her foster brother Felix Dawkins were raised in Canada by their Irish foster mother Mrs. S.. At the beginning of the series, she was introduced as a con artist and thief on the run from her abusive ex-boyfriend Vic and to develop a better relationship with her eight-year-old biological daughter Kira. But she took on Beth Childs' identity upon witnessing Beth's death, originally as a scam to steal Beth's savings, but then got drawn into the hidden conspiracy of illegal human cloning.

Cosima Niehaus

Cosima Niehaus is a clone of American origin on Orphan Black. She befriended Sarah Manning whilst she was under the guise of Beth Childs shortly after the death of fellow clone, Katja Obinger. Since then, Cosima has aided Sarah in her pursuit of their true origin, alongside Alison Hendrix. After discovering that the individual whom she had become intimate with was also acting as her monitor, Cosima fled to Canada from the United States to join Sarah and Alison. Unfortunately, during this time, Cosima developed a respiratory illness which Katja had also been a victim of. Cosima was eventually able to uncover the fact that they are property of their creators.

Alison Hendrix

Alison Hendrix is a clone of Canadian origin on Orphan Black. Alison had already been in contact with Beth Childs when she was approached by Sarah Manning whilst she was under the guise of Beth following Katja Obinger's death. Alison and Cosima Niehaus explain Sarah's existence as a clone to her, ending with Sarah joining their pursuit of answers regarding their origins. As time goes by, paranoia sets in on Alison and she begins acting outside of her routine and going behind the backs of her husband, Donnie Hendrix, and her best friend, Aynsley Norris. Alison's life begins to fall apart, eventually leading her to signing a document created by Dr. Aldous Leekie. Without knowing it, Alison signed away her freedom in exchange for a skewed version of normality that Leekie had promised her.

Helena

Helena is a clone of Ukrainian-English origin on Orphan Black. Like her twin sister, Sarah, she was taken from the system and thus is unmonitored, unlike the others. She was the secondary antagonist for season 1 and the protagonist/anti-hero for season 2.

Rachel Duncan

Rachel Duncan is another clone introduced in Orphan Black. Unlike the others, though, Rachel grew up aware of who and what she is as she was, according to Amelia, "a child raised by Neolution" and is thereby dubbed as a "proclone" by Felix. Years into adulthood, she is still working with her creators and, upon discovering that some of her fellow clones have become self-aware, is even trying to get the other clones to work with them. She is the primary antagonist of Season 2.

Tony Sawicki

Tony Sawicki (formerly Antoinette Sawicki) is a clone introduced in Season 2. Having been in contact with Beth Childs, he was told by Beth that they were related, but was not informed of their exact relationship to each other. Sarah Manning informs Tony that he is a clone from her batch when they meet.

Beth Childs

Elizabeth "Beth" Childs was a clone of Canadian origin on Orphan Black. The first clone seen, discounting Sarah, she committed suicide moments after seeing Sarah. She becomes Sarah's entry point into the mystery of her suicide as well as the apparent clone conspiracy. Beth is revealed backwards from the moment of her death, as Sarah takes on her identity and reconstructs her last days. By literally becoming Beth, part of Sarah's journey lies in understanding her, and she comes to deeply respect the valiant, damaged cop she so rashly switched places with.

Katja Obinger

Katja Obinger was a clone of German origin on Orphan Black. She came to Beth for help for reasons unknown but was assassinated shortly upon her discovery that the "Beth" she had contacted was a fraud.