<Ul> <Li> George Clooney as Ulysses Everett McGill , a man who is imprisoned for practicing law without a license . He claims to have escaped from prison so he can find a stash of money he had hidden , though in reality it is so he can get back to his family before his wife remarries . He corresponds to Odysseus ( Ulysses ) in the Odyssey . </Li> <Li> John Turturro as Pete Hogwallop , a fellow criminal who reveals little about his past . He believes in being true to one 's kin , even when his cousin Washington B. Hogwallop betrays him . He dreams of moving out west and opening a fine restaurant , where he will be the maître d ' . He agreed to go along with the breakout , though he only had two weeks left on his sentence . </Li> <Li> Tim Blake Nelson as Delmar O'Donnell , a small - time crook imprisoned for robbing a Piggly Wiggly in Yazoo City ; he initially claims innocence but later admits he is guilty . Delmar says he will spend his share of Everett 's nonexistent money buying back his family farm , believing , `` You ai n't no kind of man if you ai n't got land . '' </Li> <Li> Chris Thomas King as Tommy Johnson , a skilled blues musician . He is the accompanying guitarist in the Soggy Bottom Boys . He claims he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his skill on the guitar . He shares his name and story with Tommy Johnson , a blues musician with a mysterious past , who is said to have sold his soul to the devil at the Crossroads ( a story more often attributed to Robert Johnson ) . </Li> <Li> Frank Collison as Washington B. `` Wash '' Hogwallop , Pete 's paternal cousin . He removes the escapees ' chains but later betrays the men to the police . </Li> <Li> John Goodman as Daniel `` Big Dan '' Teague , a one - eyed man who masquerades as a Bible salesman and mugs Everett and Delmar . He later reveals the identity of the trio when they are disguised at a Ku Klux Klan rally , but they kill him by cutting loose a burning cross , which falls on him and the Klansmen . He corresponds to the cyclops Polyphemus in the Odyssey . </Li> <Li> Holly Hunter as Penny , Everett 's ex-wife , who is fed up with Everett 's wheeling and dealing . She divorces him while he is in prison , telling their children he was hit by a Louisville & Nashville train . She is engaged to Vernon T. Waldrip until Everett wins her back . She corresponds to Penelope in the Odyssey . ( Penelope is an icon of the faithful wife , as she rejected her many suitors , stalling for time while awaiting Odysseus ' return . ) </Li> <Li> Charles Durning as Menelaus `` Pappy '' O'Daniel , the incumbent Governor of Mississippi . He is frequently seen berating his son and his campaign managers , who are depicted as simpletons . The character is based on Texas governor W. Lee `` Pappy '' O'Daniel . ( Flensted - Jensen elaborates on the connection between the fictional and the real Pappy O'Daniel . ) He shares a name with Menelaus , an Odyssey character , but corresponds with Zeus from the narrative . </Li> <Li> Daniel von Bargen as Sheriff Cooley , a ruthless rural sheriff who , with his bloodhound , pursues the trio for the duration of the film . It is implied several times that he is the devil incarnate , and Cooley fits Tommy Johnson 's description of Satan : Cooley 's sunglasses evoke Satan 's `` big empty eyes . '' He eventually ambushes the escapees after they have been pardoned by the governor . He intends to hang them nonetheless , but when the valley is flooded , he , his men , and his dog all drown . He corresponds to Poseidon in the Odyssey . He has been compared to Boss Godfrey in Cool Hand Luke . </Li> <Li> Wayne Duvall as Homer Stokes , the reform candidate in the upcoming election for Governor . He travels the countryside with a dwarf , who depicts the `` little man '' , and a broom , with which he promises to `` sweep this state clean . '' He is secretly an Imperial Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan . He falsely identifies Everett , Pete , and Delmar as people of color because they darkened their faces to remain unseen when freeing Tommy
<Ul> <Li> George Clooney as Ulysses Everett McGill , a man who is imprisoned for practicing law without a license . He claims to have escaped from prison so he can find a stash of money he had hidden , though in reality it is so he can get back to his family before his wife remarries . He corresponds to Odysseus ( Ulysses ) in the Odyssey . </Li> <Li> John Turturro as Pete Hogwallop , a fellow criminal who reveals little about his past . He believes in being true to one 's kin , even when his cousin Washington B. Hogwallop betrays him . He dreams of moving out west and opening a fine restaurant , where he will be the maître d ' . He agreed to go along with the breakout , though he only had two weeks left on his sentence . </Li> <Li> Tim Blake Nelson as Delmar O'Donnell , a small - time crook imprisoned for robbing a Piggly Wiggly in Yazoo City ; he initially claims innocence but later admits he is guilty . Delmar says he will spend his share of Everett 's nonexistent money buying back his family farm , believing , `` You ai n't no kind of man if you ai n't got land . '' </Li> <Li> Chris Thomas King as Tommy Johnson , a skilled blues musician . He is the accompanying guitarist in the Soggy Bottom Boys . He claims he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his skill on the guitar . He shares his name and story with Tommy Johnson , a blues musician with a mysterious past , who is said to have sold his soul to the devil at the Crossroads ( a story more often attributed to Robert Johnson ) . </Li> <Li> Frank Collison as Washington B. `` Wash '' Hogwallop , Pete 's paternal cousin . He removes the escapees ' chains but later betrays the men to the police . </Li> <Li> John Goodman as Daniel `` Big Dan '' Teague , a one - eyed man who masquerades as a Bible salesman and mugs Everett and Delmar . He later reveals the identity of the trio when they are disguised at a Ku Klux Klan rally , but they kill him by cutting loose a burning cross , which falls on him and the Klansmen . He corresponds to the cyclops Polyphemus in the Odyssey . </Li> <Li> Holly Hunter as Penny , Everett 's ex-wife , who is fed up with Everett 's wheeling and dealing . She divorces him while he is in prison , telling their children he was hit by a Louisville & Nashville train . She is engaged to Vernon T. Waldrip until Everett wins her back . She corresponds to Penelope in the Odyssey . ( Penelope is an icon of the faithful wife , as she rejected her many suitors , stalling for time while awaiting Odysseus ' return . ) </Li> <Li> Charles Durning as Menelaus `` Pappy '' O'Daniel , the incumbent Governor of Mississippi . He is frequently seen berating his son and his campaign managers , who are depicted as simpletons . The character is based on Texas governor W. Lee `` Pappy '' O'Daniel . ( Flensted - Jensen elaborates on the connection between the fictional and the real Pappy O'Daniel . ) He shares a name with Menelaus , an Odyssey character , but corresponds with Zeus from the narrative . </Li> <Li> Daniel von Bargen as Sheriff Cooley , a ruthless rural sheriff who , with his bloodhound , pursues the trio for the duration of the film . It is implied several times that he is the devil incarnate , and Cooley fits Tommy Johnson 's description of Satan : Cooley 's sunglasses evoke Satan 's `` big empty eyes . '' He eventually ambushes the escapees after they have been pardoned by the governor . He intends to hang them nonetheless , but when the valley is flooded , he , his men , and his dog all drown . He corresponds to Poseidon in the Odyssey . He has been compared to Boss Godfrey in Cool Hand Luke . </Li> <Li> Wayne Duvall as Homer Stokes , the reform candidate in the upcoming election for Governor . He travels the countryside with a dwarf , who depicts the `` little man '' , and a broom , with which he promises to `` sweep this state clean . '' He is secretly an Imperial Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan . He falsely identifies Everett , Pete , and Delmar as people of color because they darkened their faces to remain unseen when freeing Tommy
who plays the devil in o brother where art thou
who plays the devil in o brother where art thou
Daniel von Bargen
Daniel von Bargen