<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 corresponds to Menelaus in the Odyssey . </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>

Who played the governor in o brother where art thou