<Ul> <Li> Patricia Heaton as Frances "Frankie" Heck (née Spence), wife of Mike and mother of Axl, Sue, and Brick . Frankie is the central character in the show, as her voice is heard narrating at various points in every episode . She is a devoted wife and mother and sees family as the most important thing in her life . Her motto, "You do for family," guides her daily routine, despite the frustrations she encounters with her husband and three kids, as well as her older ailing relatives who often depend on her . Frankie attended college but did not finish . When the family goes on a trip, she always forgets "the blue bag" which has the food in it . She worked as a salesperson at Ehlert Motors, a job she took after losing her position as a dentist's receptionist when the office closed, only to lose her job at Ehlert Motors early in season 4 . She completes dental assisting school, and gets a new job at a dentist's office near the end of season 4 . Heaton wore a wig for seasons 1--4; from season 5 on, her real hair has been featured . </Li> <Li> Neil Flynn as Michael "Mike" Heck Jr., Frankie's husband, known for his straightforward manner and lack of emotion . Mike works at the local limestone quarry as the manager . He reached his 20 - year work anniversary at the quarry in the season 5 episode "The Award". Despite his no - nonsense approach to work and family, Mike is a devoted and understanding husband and father who always seems to come through for Frankie and the kids . It has been said on several occasions that Mike's favorite film is Reservoir Dogs and that he only asked Frankie out on a second date because she lied and said she also liked the film . Mike's reclusive, emotionally distant father, "Big Mike" (John Cullum), and Mike's well - meaning but unreliable brother Rusty (Norm Macdonald) both live in Orson . It is revealed in Season 8's "Clear and Present Danger" that Mike's mother died of lung cancer at age 42, and his father made him do his homework and go to school the next day instead of allowing Mike time to mourn . Mike loves all sports but is particularly passionate about seeing the Indianapolis Colts play in the Super Bowl . He and Rusty start a business in season 7, designing disposable diapers with sports team logos on them and naming their creations "Li'l Rivals ." </Li> <Li> Charlie McDermott as Axl Redford Heck, the oldest son of Frankie and Mike and who cannot be bothered to wear more than boxer shorts most of the time at home . As the elder brother, he is sarcastic, lazy, narcissistic, and selfish to his siblings . However, he has shown flashes of kindness to his family occasionally and is good at heart, which he shows when he deliberately loses a basketball game in an attempt to win back his ex-girlfriend, Morgan . He is frustrating to Frankie, who wishes he would be more open with her, as he was apparently a very loving "momma's boy" when he was a child, something Frankie seems to want to re-capture . Axl is much more popular and socially outgoing than his siblings, but is not as scholarly as they are . He plays the electric guitar, and it's presumed that he was named after Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose . It is revealed in season 3 that Axl is two years older than Sue as he starts his junior year at high school while Sue starts her freshman year . Mike has said that Axl is his favorite child . He has gone to prom twice with Weird Ashley (Katlin Mastandrea), an outcast at his school, both times accidentally inviting her . Axl gets another girlfriend in season 4 named Cassidy, who tutors him after Sue runs over his foot and breaks it while learning to drive . Axl and Cassidy later break up in "Hallelujah Hoedown". As a running back on his high school football team, he was recruited by a Division II state college in Indiana . After being a star player in high school, Axl was a bench warmer in college, causing him to take his pursuit of a business degree a bit more seriously . At the end of season 8, he begins dating Sue's roommate Lexie and graduates from college with a bachelor's degree in business . Between seasons 8 and 9, he travelled in Europe with Kenny to promote Kenny's upcoming apps . After briefly working as a bus driver and at Spudsy's early in season 9, Axl gets his first professional job as a sales rep for a plumbing fixture company in the episode "The 200th". </Li> <Li> Eden Sher as Sue Sue Heck, socially awkward middle daughter of Frankie and Mike whose genuine nature, bubbly personality, and persistent sunny optimism tend to make her an object of ridicule, especially by her older brother . Despite her best efforts, she is usually unrecognized by teachers and other students, and snubbed by her peers . Her best friends are Carly and Brad . She looks up to reverend Tim - Tom . When she doesn't know something she goes to kickingitteenstyle.com . Many of her plot lines involve her being overlooked, or trying to organize parties or events and receiving no help . In season 1, she is not pictured in the yearbook despite having her picture taken three times, and she finds her favorite teacher has no memory of her at all . (She is eventually placed in the yearbook, but in the section reserved for students who died, with the caption reading: "In Loving Memory of Sue Heck, Gone Too Soon .") She wears braces on her teeth, which were briefly removed in season 3, but it was determined that they over-corrected her condition . She had them removed at the beginning of season 6, needing only a retainer . She is also left - handed, apparently the only southpaw in her immediate family . She is two years behind Axl in school, graduating high school in the season 6 finale . She is known for trying out for almost everything but never actually getting picked, because she is always terrible . When she is lying she says "and so on and so forth and what have you". In season 2, she joins the no - cut cross country team by heroically going around the track five times on crutches because she was hit by a deer the day before . She becomes a "wrestlerette" in season 3 (which turns out to be a group of fellow misfits) and dates a wrestler named Matt for a short time . In season 4, she dates Axl's friend Darrin . She is engaged to Darrin for three days in season 6, before deciding she doesn't want to get married yet and ending their relationship . This marks a rare moment where Sue is not a pushover, explaining her situation to Darrin in an intelligent, articulate, and socially mature manner . The season 3 episode "Leap Year" reveals she was a leap day baby, but then she had her 16th birthday the following season (season 4, episode 17, "Wheels of Pain"). She gets accepted to the same college Axl is attending . He didn't want her to go, but Mike and Frankie tell him it isn't his decision, and Sue does later accept the offer to attend the college . In season 9, she is a junior in college and is majoring in hotel management . </Li> <Li> Atticus Shaffer as Brick Heck, youngest of Mike and Frankie's children . He loves to read and has a case of palilalia, which is demonstrated by his repeating words from previous sentences to himself in a whisper . In season 1 episode 5, it is revealed that he possesses an eidetic memory . He is smarter than most teenagers, having read Of Mice and Men, a book his elder brother is struggling with at the same time . He also loves the Planet Nowhere book series, which is native to the show, and the real - life Percy Jackson & the Olympians . He has referred to Diary of a Wimpy Kid as "the book that changed my life ." He is exceptionally intelligent but easily distracted, leading him to procrastinate on doing his homework assignments and projects (it is loosely implied that he may perhaps have Asperger's syndrome). Brick is a known gephyrophobiac and is fascinated with fonts . Due to his awkwardness, he struggles to make friends . In season 2, he befriends an equally awkward boy named Arlo, whom even Brick struggles to deal with . He is five years behind Sue in school, starting the eighth grade in the seventh season . In season 2 Episode 7, it is revealed that he was accidentally switched at birth with another baby due to Mike watching a football game and taking home a child that the nurse brought up next to Brick, and he spent a month with that child's family while the other baby was with the Hecks . While Sue gets overlooked by classmates and teachers, Brick is constantly overlooked by his own family . Frankie and Mike have forgotten his birthday multiple times . In Season 8, Brick makes it into the National Honor Society, a first for a Heck family member, but his parents did not know until Nancy Donahue told them . He has a girlfriend named Cindy . In Season 9, Brick is a Sophomore at Orson High School . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Patricia Heaton as Frances "Frankie" Heck (née Spence), wife of Mike and mother of Axl, Sue, and Brick . Frankie is the central character in the show, as her voice is heard narrating at various points in every episode . She is a devoted wife and mother and sees family as the most important thing in her life . Her motto, "You do for family," guides her daily routine, despite the frustrations she encounters with her husband and three kids, as well as her older ailing relatives who often depend on her . Frankie attended college but did not finish . When the family goes on a trip, she always forgets "the blue bag" which has the food in it . She worked as a salesperson at Ehlert Motors, a job she took after losing her position as a dentist's receptionist when the office closed, only to lose her job at Ehlert Motors early in season 4 . She completes dental assisting school, and gets a new job at a dentist's office near the end of season 4 . Heaton wore a wig for seasons 1--4; from season 5 on, her real hair has been featured . </Li> <Li> Neil Flynn as Michael "Mike" Heck Jr., Frankie's husband, known for his straightforward manner and lack of emotion . Mike works at the local limestone quarry as the manager . He reached his 20 - year work anniversary at the quarry in the season 5 episode "The Award". Despite his no - nonsense approach to work and family, Mike is a devoted and understanding husband and father who always seems to come through for Frankie and the kids . It has been said on several occasions that Mike's favorite film is Reservoir Dogs and that he only asked Frankie out on a second date because she lied and said she also liked the film . Mike's reclusive, emotionally distant father, "Big Mike" (John Cullum), and Mike's well - meaning but unreliable brother Rusty (Norm Macdonald) both live in Orson . It is revealed in Season 8's "Clear and Present Danger" that Mike's mother died of lung cancer at age 42, and his father made him do his homework and go to school the next day instead of allowing Mike time to mourn . Mike loves all sports but is particularly passionate about seeing the Indianapolis Colts play in the Super Bowl . He and Rusty start a business in season 7, designing disposable diapers with sports team logos on them and naming their creations "Li'l Rivals ." </Li> <Li> Charlie McDermott as Axl Redford Heck, the oldest son of Frankie and Mike and who cannot be bothered to wear more than boxer shorts most of the time at home . As the elder brother, he is sarcastic, lazy, narcissistic, and selfish to his siblings . However, he has shown flashes of kindness to his family occasionally and is good at heart, which he shows when he deliberately loses a basketball game in an attempt to win back his ex-girlfriend, Morgan . He is frustrating to Frankie, who wishes he would be more open with her, as he was apparently a very loving "momma's boy" when he was a child, something Frankie seems to want to re-capture . Axl is much more popular and socially outgoing than his siblings, but is not as scholarly as they are . He plays the electric guitar, and it's presumed that he was named after Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose . It is revealed in season 3 that Axl is two years older than Sue as he starts his junior year at high school while Sue starts her freshman year . Mike has said that Axl is his favorite child . He has gone to prom twice with Weird Ashley (Katlin Mastandrea), an outcast at his school, both times accidentally inviting her . Axl gets another girlfriend in season 4 named Cassidy, who tutors him after Sue runs over his foot and breaks it while learning to drive . Axl and Cassidy later break up in "Hallelujah Hoedown". As a running back on his high school football team, he was recruited by a Division II state college in Indiana . After being a star player in high school, Axl was a bench warmer in college, causing him to take his pursuit of a business degree a bit more seriously . At the end of season 8, he begins dating Sue's roommate Lexie and graduates from college with a bachelor's degree in business . Between seasons 8 and 9, he travelled in Europe with Kenny to promote Kenny's upcoming apps . After briefly working as a bus driver and at Spudsy's early in season 9, Axl gets his first professional job as a sales rep for a plumbing fixture company in the episode "The 200th". </Li>

Who plays cassidy ex boyfriend on the middle