Elio Perlman
Elio Perlman is a 17-year-old Jewish-American boy. He is intellectual and artistic, spending a great deal of time playing piano, perfecting classical pieces as well as composing his own. He is sensitive and charming, but somewhat naive, unable to articulate all that he feels. He is the protagonist of the coming-of-age story, a teenager on the brink of manhood, passionate and libidinous, experiencing love for the first time.
Oliver
Oliver is a 24-year-old Jewish-American graduate student who is writing and researching with Elio's father in Italy. Oliver is a cheerful, breezy person, unpredictable and impulsive, which contrasts with Elio's personality. While he is intellectual and thoughtful, he is more confident and sociable, drinking, playing games, and seducing young women without a care. Where Elio is more hesitant and introverted, Oliver chooses to cope with his confusion about his own emotions by throwing himself at things impulsively. Unlike Elio, he did not have an accepting upbringing and experiences more shame and ambivalence about his homosexual feelings.
Mr. Perlman
Mr. Perlman is an archeology professor, and he is the one who invites Oliver to live with them over the summer. He is passionate and warm-hearted, smiling genially at nearly every opportunity, and encouraging his son's friendship and eventual affair with Oliver. Towards the end of the film, he expresses his approval for Elio and Oliver's relationship, suggesting that they had something very special, and urging Elio not to repress his feelings about their affair.
Mrs. Perlman
Mrs. Perlman is Elio's mother. She is warm and supportive as well, and while she can see that Elio is hurting and heartsick, she does not explicitly speak to him about his feelings for Oliver. She is also an intellectual and translates the story of the reticent knight for Elio, a story which gives him the confidence to confess his feelings to Oliver.
Marzia
Marzia is Elio's Italian girlfriend. She loves Elio and is very attracted to him, but is confused by his apparent ambivalence about her. While she never gets angry at him explicitly, she is clearly wounded by his indifference to her. When she realizes that he has been in love with Oliver all along, she tells him that she is not mad and offers her friendship. She has a tender and heartfelt relationship with Elio, and accepts the fact that it can never be actually romantic.
