The beginning of the film's ending credits states that "Most of the principal actors in Citizen Kane are new to motion pictures. The Mercury Theatre is proud to introduce them."[12] The cast is then listed in the following order, with Orson Welles' credit for playing Charles Foster Kane appearing last:[12]
- Joseph Cotten as Jedediah Leland, Kane's best friend and a reporter for The Inquirer. Cotten also appears (hidden in darkness) in the News on the March screening room.[13]
- Dorothy Comingore as Susan Alexander Kane, Kane's mistress and second wife.[13]
- Agnes Moorehead as Mary Kane, Kane's mother.[13]
- Ruth Warrick as Emily Monroe Norton Kane, Kane's first wife.[13]
- Ray Collins as Jim W. Gettys, Kane's political rival for the post of Governor of New York.[13]
- Erskine Sanford as Herbert Carter, editor of The Inquirer. Sanford also appears (hidden in darkness) in the News on the March screening room.[13]
- Everett Sloane as Mr. Bernstein, Kane's friend and employee at The Inquirer.[13]
- William Alland as Jerry Thompson, a reporter for News on the March. Alland also voices the narrator of the News on the March newsreel.[13]
- Paul Stewart as Raymond, Kane's butler.[13]
- George Coulouris as Walter Parks Thatcher, a banker who becomes Kane's legal guardian.[13]
- Fortunio Bonanova as Signor Matiste, vocal coach of Susan Alexander Kane.[13]
- Gus Schilling as John, headwaiter at the El Rancho nightclub. Schilling also appears (hidden in darkness) in the News on the March screening room.[13]
- Philip Van Zandt as Mr. Rawlston, News on the March open at the producer.[13]
- Georgia Backus as Bertha Anderson, attendant at the library of Walter Parks Thatcher.[13]
- Harry Shannon as Jim Kane, Kane's father.[13]
- Sonny Bupp as Charles Foster Kane III, Kane's son.[13]
- Buddy Swan as Charles Foster Kane, age eight.[13]
- Orson Welles as Charles Foster Kane, a wealthy newspaper publisher.[13]
Additionally, Charles Bennett appears as the entertainer at the head of the chorus line in the Inquirer party sequence,[14]: 40–41 and cinematographer Gregg Toland makes a cameo appearance as an interviewer depicted in part of the News on the March newsreel.[15][16] Actor Alan Ladd, still unknown at that time, makes a small appearance as a reporter smoking a pipe at the end of the film.[17]
