Call Me by Your Name characters

Appears from the start

A seventeen-year-old spending the summer with his parents at their villa on the Italian coast. Intellectually precocious and musically gifted, he is observant but uncertain about his own desires. The arrival of his father's new academic guest produces an attraction that he alternately encourages, disguises, and tries to redirect.

Appears from the start

A confident twenty-four-year-old American scholar who comes to stay with Elio's family for six weeks while revising a book manuscript. He is sociable, athletic, and seemingly at ease among the villa's guests and the nearby townspeople. Elio is fascinated by his reserve as much as by his charm.

Appears from the start

A professor who invites a young scholar to the family villa each summer. Cultivated, generous, and attentive to Elio without pressing him to explain himself, he welcomes Oliver into the household and encourages the two young men to spend time together.

Appears from the start

Elio's multilingual mother and a warm presence at the family's summer villa. She reads aloud, entertains the steady flow of visitors, and observes Elio and Oliver with tact rather than intrusion.

Appears from the start

A local girl close to Elio's age who shares an easy friendship and physical attraction with him. Elio turns toward her while trying to understand or suppress his feelings for Oliver, though she recognizes that part of him remains elsewhere.

Appears from the start

A young woman in the family's summer circle who is openly interested in Oliver and spends time swimming and socializing with him. Elio watches their apparent closeness with jealousy while pretending indifference.

Appears from the start

The Perlman household's capable cook and housekeeper. She manages meals, rooms, and the rhythms of the villa, including the yearly transfer of Elio's bedroom to the visiting scholar.

Appears from the start

The gardener and handyman at the Perlmans' villa, familiar with the grounds and the family. His work and presence form part of the settled summer world into which Oliver arrives.

Appears from the start

A gravely ill girl from a neighboring family who forms an affectionate friendship with Oliver. Exceptionally perceptive about the adults and older youths around her, she speaks to him with a directness that others often avoid.