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TV shows reach a whole new level when the casting is so perfect that it feels as if the character was created specifically for that actor. What anyone inevitably recalls when it comes to TV casting at its best are some of those sticky moments where an actor and a role fit so well together, it is like they were meant to be rather than found. This type of casting may not occur often, but when it does, it elevates everything else on the show. Whether it is the flawless antihero you simply couldn't resist falling in love with or the intelligent character who completely defied expectations against genre in the most subtle ways, these roles really show how casting decisions with foresight are the most timeless aspects of storytelling, and maybe a little good luck, too.
Walter White in the TV show: Breaking Bad
When it comes to defining the phrase: perfectly cast, I cannot imagine anyone else saying, "I am the one who knocks…I am the danger” more menacingly, in a more gruff voice than the Emmy winner Bryan Cranston in the TV show Breaking Bad. Vince Gilligan, producer and creator of Breaking Bad, insisted that Cranston play a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin in spite of studio hesitancy because he saw that Cranston had something he did not see in any other actor: that of a pathetic man who could also be a terror. Bryan Cranston played not only the major role of Walter White, a mild-mannered guy who recently found out he has cancer, but also the devious, daunting secondary role of Heisenberg, who cooks crystal meth. Cranston assisted in creating a highly collaborative personality for the character of Walter White: he bulked up, tailored his wardrobe (neutral greens/browns), and cultivated a precise mustache, as well as shaved his hair, it all showcasing so brilliantly how the character hits his midlife crisis and is slowly falling into oblivion when he suddenly takes charge of his life, going from a nobody to becoming the biggest meth dealer in town.
Michael Scott in the TV show: The Office
It is difficult to think of any casting choice in television quite as inevitably right as that of Steve Carell in the role of Michael Gary Scott in NBC’s TV show, The Office (U.S. version). The character, a socially tone-deaf, attention-addicted middle manager who can aggressively overstep boundaries all the time, could have gone sour in the hands of the wrong actor. Yet, Carell managed to find a perfect balance between awkwardness and relief: Michael can be maddening, humiliating, and wrong, and at the same time, in the most basic way, he is human. The alchemy that is The Office turned it, a shaky British rerun, into an American institution, and Scott into one of the people you still quote lines of, years after your binge-watching is over. It is not a hyperbole; it is literally one of those times where creative intent and casting magic come together.
Hannibal Lecter in the TV show: Hannibal
In 2013, when Hannibal hit the television screens, creator Bryan Fuller understood what would make or break the show: finding the right actor to portray the legendary Dr. Hannibal Lecter years before his capture. The thing was that he wanted an actor who could be charismatic, evil, and completely flirtatious all at the same time. Even though Silence of the Lambs proved successful, Fuller still chose not to recapture Anthony Hopkins’ silent malice and took the Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen with his taciturn and ice-clearing force to reinvent the role again on television. Unlike the film monster, who is shown to be encapsulated, Mikkelsen was a predator, calculative, and cultured in the streets. The impact was instantaneous: Mikkelson’s Hannibal was immediately proclaimed by the critics as an entity that was terrifying and also strangely alluring. He is a psychiatrist before a villain, a devil in tailored threads whose eyes tell something he would never utter with his lips. It is not just a match but one that is a miracle.
Tyrion Lannister in the TV show: Game of Thrones
Tyrion Lannister is easily singled out in the vast landscape of Game of Thrones, not only as a character, but also as one of the most smoothly, deliberately, and intelligently cast roles in modern-day TV shows. The synergy between Peter Dinklage and Tyrion was inevitable from day one, and fans, critics, and even developers of the show knew why it was so. Tyrion is no physical warrior, but his intellect is his sword. And Dinklage tilted all plotting looks and tart comebacks to indicate that Tyrion thinks, and thinking is his strength. It does not matter whether he is walking through the rubble in King's Landing or facing his own trial; Dinklage’s looks are enough to express what actors struggle to do through pages full of dialogue. Game of Thrones with Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister managed not only to find the most compelling character but also the emotional center of the show, and the viewers can wholeheartedly agree to that.
Captain Raymond Holt in the TV show: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
And when you hear the word stoic, no wonder you think of Captain Raymond Holt from the TV show Brooklyn Nine-Nine. In the conflicts and clashes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the precinct of slapstick chase and pop culture riffs, Holt is a thunderclapped anchor: determined, heartily conscience-driven, and always deadpan. What makes his casting so ideal is Andre Braugher, a classically trained actor and Emmy winner for the hardened TV show, Homicide: Life on the Street, who channels his experience in that dour role into a superb comic alchemy. Holt is a gay black police captain, which is uncommon in most of the mainstream comedy shows. His backstory of years of policing, imbued with all forms of discrimination, fills the manner in which he delivers his dialogues: absolute gravity descending into artfully timed absurdity. There was a risk that this character would degenerate into a deadpan cliche, but Braugher lifts it to the level of an emotional and cultural tour de force. Andre Braugher as Captain Holt proved that a good actor does not simply fit into a role; he becomes his soul.
Violet Crawley in the TV show: Downton Abbey
In a production overflowing with aristocrats, servants, and secrets, there was one personality to steal the spotlight with easy elegance, quicker wit, and undisputed gravitas, and that is Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Violet, played by Dame Maggie Smith, has been referred to as the emotional and comedic center of Downton Abbey. From the moment she said, "What is a weekend?” in a tone that was both patronizing and baffling, audiences were fascinated with the character. Violet would not have become such a relatable character had it not been for Maggie Smith, who acted as a catalyst, perhaps a collaborator, making the character immortal in our hearts. The outcome was the character and actress merged: each eyebrow raise and withering aside was so naturally Violet but so distinctively Maggie. Smith did not only act as Violet, but she embodied her and intensified her to such a degree that the character has become part of popular culture.
Dr. Gregory House in the TV show: House
When we look at television history, there are certain roles that just seem to have been tailor-made to fit a particular actress or actor, and Gregory House is certainly one of the most obvious cases we can cite. Hugh Laurie in the TV show: House perfected a Mid-Atlantic accent and made himself a cane out of an umbrella, and made everyone believe that he was the American that they were looking for. Dr. House is a man whose genius is inseparable from his suffering, whose lucidity treads on the heels of addiction. Almost twenty years later, House continues to set the standards of what can be done with antiheroes in modern TV shows. Audiences are also always quick to name the voice, sarcasm, and physicality of Laurie as peerless. He earned Golden Globes and SAG awards; he was up for an Emmy 6 times. His work is attributed to making House a success as a network procedural that had the feel of being as calculated as a prestige drama. Simply stated, Hugh Laurie is Dr. Gregory House, and no one can ever uncast that.
Chandler Bing in the TV show: Friends
During the golden era of sitcoms, there was no better character who proved to be self-deprecating and witty than Chandler Bing in the TV show Friends. In 1994, when Friends first aired, the role played by Chandler was so easy to be a cliche: the sarcastic character with commitment phobia and an unexplained corporate life. Matthew Perry brought on something more than was anticipated, however, and over the course of the series, Chandler has become one of the most popular characters on TV by the series' end in 2004. Chandler’s sarcastic armor is generally intelligent humor covering deeply insecure personal feelings as they were undertaken, not just performed by Perry. Today, Chandler Bing seems like a character specially created by the authors of the TV show to fit Matthew Perry and nobody much.
Tony Soprano in the TV show: The Sopranos
Tony Soprano looked like an interesting character on the page, but thanks to James Gandolfini, he became iconic on the screen as well in the TV show, The Sopranos. Tony became Gandolfini, and Gandolfini became the template of a new type of troubled antihero over the six seasons. He won three Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild ensemble award for the role. In a glare-and-flash world of tough guys, Gandolfini gave us a man who could be bored, scared, loving, or furious in a single take. Tony Soprano exists as a so-called TV canon, and he rightly should because an actor like Gandolfini was so perfect to play the role of Tony Soprano that it became electrifying.
Dwight Schrute in the TV show: The Office
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It was true that some of the characters seemed to be cloned out of the writer and injected into the body of an actor. And then there is Dwight Schrute, the rule-obsessed, beet-farming, crossbow-carrying weirdo who went on to become a pop culture icon. We can hardly imagine any other actor as Dwight, and it is not because of the wigs he had to emulate every other person in the office or his penchant for taking his pranks a little too far (like setting the whole office on fire), but because Rainn Wilson became Dwight in almost every aspect. From the first time Rainn Wilson showed himself as “Dwight Schrute, Assistant Regional Manager…. Assistant to the Regional Manager,” viewers did not know that they were in for a ride. Not only the jokes or props that made the casting just right, but also how Wilson embodies that very specific structure of sincerity, intimidation, and nerd-royalty that Dwight has. When Wilson first auditioned for The Office, he auditioned for the role of Michael Scott. But then the way he just made us fall in love with Dwight is beyond comparison.
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