Johnny Burns

Johnny Burns works the floor of the Bella Union as one of Cy Tolliver's men, running errands and dirty jobs without much taste for either. He's not sharp, not tough, and not entirely comfortable with the casino's crueler business — but he's loyal, eager to please Cy, and quietly protective of the girls under Tolliver's thumb.

Bridgers plays him as the rare figure in Deadwood's underworld who seems to have wandered into it by accident rather than appetite. Johnny's slowness and softness could read as comic relief, but the show keeps letting flickers of conscience surface through his obedience, making him oddly touching among sharper, harder men.