The Recruit season 2 cast and character guide: Get to know the new and returning stars of Netflix's spy series

Noah Centineo as Owen Hendricks

After cutting his teeth on The Fosters (2015–2018), Centineo decamped to Netflix, where he established himself as the streamer's go-to dream date. His floppy locks captured hearts in romantic comedies like Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (2018), The Perfect Date (2019), and, of course, the To All the Boys franchise (2018–2021). Along with his roles in Charlie's Angels (2019) and Black Adam (2022), The Recruit is helping the actor prove he's more than a pair of pretty eyes.

Centineo's Owen Hendricks is a baby-faced lawyer for the CIA who stumbles upon the case of an Eastern European prisoner threatening to expose intel about the agency. His involvement with Max (Laura Haddock) thrusts him on an international journey that puts him at odds with both Russian gangsters and his own colleagues in intelligence.

His decision to leave the CIA at the end of season 1 is interrupted by a kidnapping that's bound to spin him deeper into the spiderweb.

Teo Yoo as Jang Kyun

The most prominent addition to The Recruit season 2 is Yoo, the BAFTA-nominated actor who broke hearts (and mended them back together) in 2023's gorgeous Past Lives. Yoo has been performing since 2003, however, having appeared in films like Leto (2018), Pawn (2020), and Park Chan-wook's acclaimed Decision to Leave (2022).

Yoo plays Jang Kyun, "a clever and driven South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent" with "a subversive sense of humor." He'll be Owen's guide through South Korea's spy trade in the new season, which also finds him on the hunt for his kidnapped wife.

"It’s a tricky role, because it’s not a buddy comedy between Owen and Jang Kyun,” series creator Alexi Hawley told Tudum. “Somebody who will do anything for love is dangerous... But Owen and Jang Kyun have great energy together. There’s a push and a pull, which is just sort of organic to them.”

Maddie Hasson as Nichka Lashin

Maddie Hasson made our jaws drop when her mysterious Russian spy, Nichka, put a bullet in Max's chest at the end of season 1. And that was before the revelation that she's also Max's daughter, who was supposedly dead. Her motives remain murky, but her reign of terror doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon. Hawley describes Nichka as a "walking 'f— you.'"

Genre fans may recognize Hasson from horror flicks like We Summon the Darkness (2019) and James Wan's Malignant (2021). She also played the daughter of Brendan Gleeson's Bill Hodges in the TV adaptation of Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes trilogy (2017–2019).

“Nichka is much more of a blunt instrument," Hawley told Tudum. "She is very id, very much about ‘I want what’s mine, and that’s about it.’"

He continued, noting that Nichka shares many traits with Owen. “It’s actually more dangerous for Owen to be up against somebody who is like him, because Nichka is not necessarily trying to manipulate him. She’s just trying to win.” 

Angel Parker as Dawn Gilbane

In a bit of kismet, Angel Parker began her career on a 2000 episode of Angel. She went on to bounce between video game voice gigs (Everquest, Saints Row, Grand Theft Auto V) and TV work (American Crime Story, The Strain, Runaways). She arrived at The Recruit via The Rookie, another Hawley show in which she stars.

An untrustworthy figure in The Recruit (though aren't they all?), Parker's CIA field agent isn't afraid to yank a nail (or five) to get what she needs. She also, per Max, has been gaming the system to her benefit, creating fake operatives and pocketing the extra cash. A recurring character in season 1, Parker's Dawn was promoted to a series regular for this batch of episodes.

Fivel Stewart as Hannah Copeland

Fivel Stewart has been on screens since age 8, though she hit her stride recently with recurring roles on Netflix's Atypical (2018–2021) and Fox's Alert: Missing Persons Unit (2023–2024). Early in her career, she was also the lead singer of the bands My Allowance and 5L, having toured with the likes of Demi Lovato and Michael Musso.

Stewart plays Owen's former girlfriend and current roommate, a dynamic you don't see too often (for good reason). A strong bond still exists between the pair, though Hannah's parents don't approve of Owen. Season 1 ends with Hannah, concerned for Owen's safety, following him to Geneva. You know, as one does.

Vondie Curtis-Hall as Walter Nyland

Vondie Curtis-Hall has had a fruitful career, with early supporting roles in Coming to America (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990) giving way to scene-stealing turns in Falling Down (1993), Crooklyn (1994), and Romeo + Juliet (1996). In recent years, he appeared in Harriet (2019), The Night House (2020), and Justified: City Primeval (2023).

Curtis-Hall fulfills a crucial role in The Recruit as Walter Nyland, the general counsel of the CIA and Owen's frustrated yet well-meaning boss. Nyland is perhaps the most relatable character in the series since he'd love for the lawyer he hired to do lawyer things instead of, you know, global espionage.

Aarti Mann as Violet Ebner

Aarti Mann is best known for playing Priya Koothrappali, the younger sister of Kunal Nayyar's Raj on The Big Bang Theory (2010–2011). She's also guested on several popular series, including Heroes (2009), Suits (2013), Scandal (2013), Never Have I Ever (2020), and The Good Doctor (2022).

Mann's Violet is a CIA striver who is (somehow) unmoved by Owen's charm. In fact, she thinks he's actively trying to sabotage her, though it's due to a misunderstanding. Will she and that arm-ripping AI robot reunite in season 2? One can only dream.

Colton Dunn as Lester Kitchens

Colton Dunn is a comedy veteran, having appeared in everything from Key & Peele (2012–2015) and Comedy Bang! Bang! (2012–2015) to Steven Universe (2015–2017) and Solar Opposites (2021). He's best known, however, for appearing in more than 100 episodes of the TBS workplace comedy Superstore (2015–2021).

Dunn brings some levity to The Recruit as one of Owen's fellow CIA lawyers, but it's not all laughs. Like Violet, he sees Owen as a threat, and it takes Owen a lot of time (and effort) to win over his coworker.

Shin Do-hyun as Yoo Jin Lee

A veteran of South Korean TV, actress Shin Do-hyun has starred in series such as First Kiss (2018), The Banker (2019), Hospital Playlist (2020), and Doom at Your Service (2021).

A new addition to season 2, she plays Yoo Jin Lee, who's described by Netflix as a "free-spirited young woman with a childhood connection to Owen."

Nathan Fillion as Alton West

Nathan Fillion is a hero to nerds the world over for his turns on Firefly (2002) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2003), not to mention his voice work as DC's animated Green Lantern. He recently appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), in which he played Headpool. He's also leading Hawley's The Rookie (2018–present), which explains how he ended up as CIA Director Alton West.

“We needed a director of the CIA for those episodes, somebody [who could] walk in and immediately own the room," Hawley told Tudum. "Nathan is just such a larger-than-life figure and the nicest guy in the world, and so I’m like, ‘Will you do this?’ He said yes before I finished the question, which is really nice of him.”

Fillion's West was more or less a cameo in the first season, but, per the latest trailer, he's back in season 2 — and still not particularly sold on Owen.