Okwe
Okwe is the protagonist of the film, a cabbie and hotel porter in London. Back in Nigeria he was Dr Olusegan Olatokumbo Fadipe, but as an illegal immigrant, he is relegated to a marginal existence. He fled his country after being wrongly framed for murdering his wife, and had to leave his seven year old daughter behind to travel to London.
Okwe is sincere, hardworking, and holds firm to his ethical ideals. While other immigrants are willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead and find freedom, Okwe strongly disapproves of the organ market that Sneaky runs, and resists all of Sneaky's offers to help him. A man of few words, he tries to do the right thing at all times, often heroically putting himself in danger to help people around him. He shows great courage and presence of mind at the time of crisis, and he eventually is able to achieve freedom and return home to his daughter.
Senay
Senay Gelic is a Turkish Muslim who is Okwe's closest friend, and eventually a love interest. After a close call with the immigration officers at the hotel, she starts working in a sweatshop where she must endure horrible sexual coercion from her boss. She is innocent and pure-hearted, dreaming of a life in New York, a place she imagines to be a magical city. She loves Okwe and wants to make a life with him, but also is forced to part from him when she learns that he still has family waiting for him back in Nigeria.
Guo Yi
Guo Yi is Okwe’s closest friend, and works at a crematorium at a hospital. He is intellectual and practical, and often plays chess with Okwe, even though Okwe is the superior chess player. Guo Yi is Okwe's primary confidant throughout, and helps him escape to the airport after Okwe performs surgery on Sneaky. He is also the person to tell Okwe that Senay is in love with him.
Juliette
Juliette works as a sex worker in the Baltic hotel. She is generally happy and cheerful, in spite of her difficult existence and frequent mistreatment as a prostitute. She is outgoing, courageous, and bold, tipping Okwe off to the heart in the bathroom, and helping Senay after she has been raped by Sneaky.
Juan "Sneaky"
Juan, also known as "Sneaky," is the manager of the Baltic Hotel where Okwe works. He is the power-hungry and manipulative antagonist of the film, an opportunistic and morally bankrupt man. He sees his shoddy operation as an organ salesman as charitable, in spite of the fact that it often ends in death. He offers immigrants chances to escape, but always at a high price.
Ivan
The Russian doorman at the Baltic Hotel, he is a somewhat annoying but ultimately helpful friend to Okwe.
Mohommad and Punter
Mohommad and Punter are immigration officers who come to Senay's house after receiving a complaint about someone living with her. They put her case under review and raid her house to check for clues. Mohommad is a little calmer than Punter, who gets very aggressive on not finding anything. Then Punter finds a paper with the logo of the Baltic hotel and keeps it in his pocket without saying a word to alarm Senay.
