Jack Twist
Jack Twist is one of the major characters in the film. Jack is a cowboy from a modest family who goes to Brokeback Mountain to try and find work. There, he meets Ennis del Mar. Jack Twist is portrayed in a completely different way from the way Ennis is. While Ennis is quiet and withdrawn, Jack is outspoken and not afraid to say what is on his mind. Jack tries to coax Ennis into opening up to him and when Ennis starts telling him more private detail about him, Jack is even more attracted to Ennis. Jack is the one who initiates the initial contact between him and Ennis and he is also the one who assures Ennis that having such feelings is fine. After Jack and Ennis come down from the mountain, they go their separate ways but Jack never forgets Ennis. After a year, Jack returns to Brokeback to see if Ennis came as well but is disappointed to see that he had not. Jack is the one who reaches out to Ennis and the two meet again and start a secret relationship. When Ennis agrees, Jack remains the one who is the most involved and he is always the one who wants to spend more time with Ennis. Despite having a family of his own and a child, Jack does not feel as if he is doing something wrong and he even tries to find other partners to spend his time with. Jack dies unfortunately after an accident and Ennis is left alone to realize how much Jack meant to him.
Ennis del Mar
Ennis del Mar is the other major character in the film. Just like Jack, Ennis is a cowboy searching for a job. He is shy at first and refuses to open up to Jack but when he does; he tells Jack how he ended where he was today. Ennis’s parents died in a car accident and so Ennis was raised by his siblings. When his siblings got married, Ennis realized that there is no place for him in their life so he began to earn a living by working on farms. The reason why Ennis went to Brokeback was to earn enough money to buy a house for him and the girl he wanted to marry. At first, Ennis tries to fight his feelings for Jack but he ends up giving in to his desires and they start a sexual relationship on the mountain. Ennis is less successful than Jack and he struggles financially all his life. He has two girls with his wife but his wife ends up filing for a divorce after she sees Ennis kissing Jack and Ennis is forced to pay child support. Even after Ennis and his wife get a divorce he is still reluctant to move in with Jack. The reason why he avoids taking the relationship to the next level is that Ennis once new a gay couple who was killed because they were open about their relationship. When Ennis hears that Jack has died, he realizes just how much Jack meant to him. At the end of the film, it is hinted that Ennis never forgot Jack and what happened on Brokeback Mountain and that he never stopped loving Jack.
Alma Beers Del Mar
Alma is the woman Ennis marries after he comes from Brokeback Mountain. Ennis and Alma were sweethearts even before Ennis went on the mountain and the reason why he wanted to go there was to earn more money and be able to buy a house for him and Alma. In the beginning, everything goes well between the two and they are happy despite struggling financially. Alma is lonely because they live outside the city and asks Ennis to find a better home for them. Alma remains pregnant almost immediately after the wedding and she has with Ennis two daughters. Alma finds however that her husband is cheating on her and files for divorce, wining the custody of their two daughters in the process. Alma remarries with another man and she remains pregnant again. Alma appears for the last time in the movie during a Thanksgiving dinner when she reveals that she knows the truth about Ennis and Jack.
Joe Aguirre
Joe Aguirre is a rich sheep owner who hires Ennis and Jack at the beginning of the film. Joe is a rather cruel man, who does not care much about his workers and is more interested in the well-being of his sheep. One day, Joe travels up the mountain to tell Jack that his uncle got sick. While there, he sees the two men being playful to one another, rolling on the ground and kissing. While at first he chooses to remain quiet, he is visible disturbed by the sight. When Jack returns a year later to look for work again, Joe tells him that he knows about his little secret and that he will no longer give them work.
Lureen Newsome
Lureen is the woman Jack Twist ends up marring a year after he and Ennis depart from Brokeback Mountain. Jack meets Lureen during a rodeo and they instantly feel a connection between them. Lureen is the daughter of a rich businessman who owns a business selling farming equipment and so she is keen on earning money as well. At one point, Jack admits that he doesn’t fully understand Lureen and her passion for numbers. Lureen and Jack have a son together and Lureen never suspects her husband on cheating on her with another man despite his frequent trips to the mountain with Ennis.
John Twist
John Twist appears only one time in the movie, towards the end of it when Ennis goes to their house to discuss about Jack’s ashes. John is Jack’s father who lives on a farm in the middle of nowhere and who despite his cold exterior cared about his son. John mentioned to Ennis that Jack told them about Ennis and that at some point he brought another man with him on the farm. While he never says it directly, it is hinted that John knew about his son’s homosexual tendencies.
Monroe
Monroe is a man working with Alma in the same shop. He is the one who tells Ennis where he can find his wife when he has to drop the girls one day suddenly.
Alma Jr.
Alma Jr. is Ennis and Alma’s first daughter. She appears on numerous times in the film and she is the one who tries to maintain a close relationship with her father despite the fact that she moved into another house with her mother and her new husband. A grown up version of Alma Jr. appears at the end of the film when Alma goes to Ennis to invite him to her wedding.
Jenny
Jenny is Ennis and Alma’s younger daughter. There is not much interaction between Jenny and her father and she is portrayed as being more withdrawn that her older sister Alma.
Randall Malone
Randall is a man Jack and Lureen meet during a party. Randall went to the party with his wife and the couples became friends quickly.
Lashawn Malone
Lashawn is Randall’s wife. She meets Lurren and Jack at a party and they become friends after.
Bobby
Bobby is the name given to Jack and Lurren’s son. He is quite spoiled by his grandparents who let him do whatever he wants.
The judge
When Alma and Ennis get a divorce, a judge appears briefly. He is the one who breaks the marriage between Alma and Ennis.
Cassie Cartwright
Cassie is a beautiful waitress Ennis meets in a bar. Cassie convinces Ennis to begin a relationship together but when Ennis disappears suddenly with Jack for an extended period of time the relationship declines. Ennis even introduces Cassie to Alma Jr. but his daughter is not pleased with her father’s choice.
L.D. Newsome
L.D. Newsome is Lureen’s father. He is quite stern and he does not like Jack for his daughter. At one point, he tries to go over Jack’s authority as a father when he tried to discipline Bobby but Jack stepped up and made L.D. realize that in his family, he is the figure of authority.
Fayette Newsome
Fayette is Lureen’s mother and L.D. Newsome’s wife. She is not as prejudiced against Jack as her husband.
