My 50 Favourite TV Characters – Part 2

40. Hiro Nakamura

Series: Heroes (NBC)
Portrayed by: Masi Oka

Hiro was both the comic relief of this superhero based drama, as well as the heart at the core of it all. He was pretty much the only one who legitimately wanted to be a super hero and his enthusiasm was always fun to watch.

39. Claire Bennet

Series: Heroes (NBC)
Portrayed by: Hayden Panettiere

This may seem like an odd choice, as I know fans became pretty annoyed with her in later seasons. But I only really cared about this show for the first season in which Claire plays a crucial role. Through her we see the real confusion and frustration which come with having these powers.

38. Tony Almeida

Series: 24 (FOX)
Portrayed by: Carlos Bernard

In a series where characters came and went faster than a CTU vehicle inexplicably making it across LA to the next destination in no time flat, Tony was a mainstay for quite a few years. He grew from some one we didn’t really trust to one of the only ones we trusted. I’m not sure I liked how his story was ultimately wrapped up, but he is still one of the coolest characters 24 has ever had.

37. Dwight Schrute

Series: The Office (NBC)
Portrayed by: Rainn Wilson

How many Schrute bucks did you bet that he was going to make this list somewhere? Dwight is one of the most outrageous characters on television. He is 100% confident in himself and usually oblivious to reality. And it is great fun watching Jim goof around with him.

36. Maj. Richard Winters

Series: Band of Brothers (HBO)
Portrayed by: Damian Lewis

Major Winters was the rock of this series, as he was the rock for the men under his command. He is a stoic man who earned the respect and admiration the men who served under him, just as Damian Lewis’ portrayal of him earned the respect and admiration of the audience.

35. Jim Halpert

Series: The Office (NBC)
Portrayed by: John Krasinski

Jim is the hero of the show and on of the few normal people working in the offices of Dunder Mifflin. Yet normal doesn’t mean boring, since Jim’s wit and his unique reactions of otherwise laughable situations always makes him fun to watch. Sure he may be getting rather smug in the show nowadays, but the fun-loving Jim from the older and better years of The Office are what lands him on this list.

34. Adm. William Adama

Series: Battlestar Galactica (SCI-FI)
Portrayed by: Edward James Olmos

One of the things which made the new Battlestar Galactica series was the deep, well-defined and interesting characters. Adama was not only the leader of the fleet, but also a man of strong morals and values. He was constantly faced with tough decisions and always tried to do what was right, despite the cost. Yet he was also a man who made mistakes, making him a very realistic character and one which was able to ground us in reality in a show which dealt with killer robots and space travel through unknown galaxies.

33. Johnny “Drama” Chase

Series: Entourage (HBO)
Portrayed by: Kevin Dillon

Johnny Drama certainly is a character. He is a man who pines for celebrity status and is his own enemy when it comes to brutal humiliation. Kevin Dillon is wonderfully animated as the ever-engaging Drama, and though we feel bad for him we can’t help but laugh at his self-induced misfortunes.

32. Hurley “Hugo” Reyes

Series: Lost (ABC)
Portrayed by: Jorge Garcia

Everybody loves Hurley. He was a character who was originally only going to have a supporting role on Lost, like Rose and Bernard, but the fans loved him so much his role grew to become one of the most important characters on the show. Most of Lost’s characters came with a lot of emotional and moral baggage, but Hurley was a genuinely good and kind person to his core and we all wanted to see him succeed.

31. C. Montgomery Burns

Series: The Simpsons (FOX)
Voiced by: Harry Shearer

I’ll be honest; I’ve decided to limit myself to only 3 Simpsons characters for this list. I didn’t want to overwhelm it with all the colourful characters of the greatest TV show ever. But when I thought about which characters I would add, Mr. Burns was the one which surprised me. But when you think about it, he is really a great villain; powerful and always there, much like Lex Luthor. And yet he’s incredibly funny in his malice; whether its a joke about his frailty or a mischievous scheme gone wrong. He is one of TV’s greatest villain and a comic character in his own right. Excellent.