Summary

TV display need corking actors if they are to have any chance of succeeder , but some show up rely entirely on their cast of characters . Some of the most memorable character in TV history probably would n’t have worked if a dissimilar player had been cast in the same persona . This can be because a particular doer is so outstanding that it ’s hard to imagine someone else in the role , but it ’s more often the case that an actor just clicks with a character , forming a deep connexion that help them disappear into the role .

Even in the years of prestige TV , player tend to get more respect in movies . There are spate of remarkable player figure out in TV who are assist to dislodge this normally concur belief , and there is also less of a word picture now between boob tube actors and photographic film actors . This all means that the standard of acting on TV has never been high . One major reward TV has over film , from the position of its performer , is that actors have longer to develop alongside a type . Ultimately , this can signify television actors make a character entirely their own , to the point that nobody else could attempt to mimic them .

In the Golden Age of television , great performances are fairly common . But who were the performing artist that built the foundation for act as we love it ?

Collage of the cast of Mad Men including Don Draper, Roger Sterling, and Joan Harris

10Don Draper (Mad Men)

Jon Hamm

From Jon Hamm to Elisabeth Moss to John Slattery , the cast of brainsick Men is full of wide praise worker , each play a complex case .

9Villanelle (Killing Eve)

Jodie Comer

As a highly - skilled assassin , Villanelle must be able to right away adjust to any situation . Jodie Comer ’s remarkable ambit allows her to transmute from one vista to the next , supply a chilling portrayal of a sociopathic shape - shifting contract killer . Her flawless repertoire of idiom is a Brobdingnagian incentive . Comer also has just as much cryptic allure as Villanelle , which is cardinal to selling Eve ’s obsession with her . Villanelle represent the paragon of everything that Eve does not . She ’s general , independent and elusive , in demarcation to Eve ’s passionless existence work for the British government .

8Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)

Dan Castellaneta

The " Golden Age " ofThe Simpsonshas some brilliant drollery writing , but the cast is just as important in make some of the show ’s good jokes memorable , even after so many years . Dan Castellaneta plays multiple roles onThe Wallis Warfield Windsor , including Abe Simpson , Krusty the Clown , Mayor Quimby and Barney . He apply each of his character fantastic moments , but none are as regularly hilarious as Homer . Castellaneta ’s voice for Homer is the perfect encapsulation of the character ’s empty - headed overconfidence , andhis note read make some of Homer ’s good inverted comma even well .

7Lenny Bruce (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)

Luke Kirby

Lenny Bruce is n’t the onlyMarvelous Mrs. Maiselcharacter based on real animation , but he stand out as the one who gets the most attention . Lenny is n’t just instigate by material hoi polloi in the same way that Midge or Susie are . He is a direct portrayal of the legendary counter - culture comedian . Looking at one-time clips of Lenny Bruce on stage register how accurate Luke Kirby ’s portrayal is , but Kirby also has to extrapolate his thought of Lenny Bruce to create an image of the comedian off - stage . Kirby ’s Lenny Bruce is suave and debonair , but with calamity deep within his soul .

6Selina Meyer (Veep)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

The cast ofVeepis tamp full of drollery gift , from Sam Richardson as the charming doofus Richard Splett to Hugh Laurie as the two - faced calling politician Tom James . However , for the show to exploit , it ’s important that Julia Louis - Dreyfus outshines them all in the key role . Having proven her stellar comedy credential onSeinfeld , Louis - Dreyfus arguably redeem an even well operation as Selina Meyer acrossseven seasons ofVeep . She handles Selina ’s erratic humor swings with aplomb . It does n’t hurt that she ’s also an artist when it total to abusive profanity .

5Frank Reynolds (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia)

Danny DeVito

Frank Reynolds is central to many ofIt ’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia ’s best episode , but sometimes he ’s just as screaming as a supporting character with no real investment in the bunch ’s schemes . This is down to Danny DeVito ’s scene - stealing ability , and the mode he so perfectly embodies Frank ’s unique marque of chaos . DeVito is responsible for most of the show ’s outrageous strong-arm witticism , like when he clambers , to the full bare , out of a leather couch . His brilliant comedic partnership with Charlie Day is the frost on the bar , but every part inIt ’s Always Sunnybenefited from his introduction in time of year 2 .

4Rebecca Welton (Ted Lasso)

Hannah Waddingham

An uber - rich sports team proprietor who uses the club as a means to enact her personal vendettas , Rebecca could easily have become a abhorrent baddie . In fact , at the starting time ofTed Lassoshe is swan as the primary adversary , butHannah Waddingham is capable to inject an sinful amount of pity . Ultimately , Rebecca ’s honesty and kindness redeem her . Her personal journeying is key to some ofTed Lasso ’s most aroused momentsthroughout the series , but it ’s tough to picture her quality becoming so popular without Waddingham ’s deeply moving performance .

3Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal)

Mads Mikkelsen

From Charlie Cox ’s much - loved enactment of Daredevil to Bryan Cranston be the role of Walter White , some characters are perfectly cast .

2Lucille Bluth (Arrested Development)

Jessica Walter

Lucille Bluth is the out - of - touch matriarch ofArrested Development ’s Bluth family . She is cruel , self - absorbed , and manipulative , but Jessica Walter makes sure she is also absolutely engrossing . Walter taps into Lucille ’s old - money boredom , depicting her as a blase and check character who will decimate her children ’s felicity for a bit of power . The key is that Walter knows just how repelling Lucille is , and this permit her to be in on the gag alongside the consultation . A less actor could easily have made the character reference little more than a flavourless villain .

1Fleabag (Fleabag)

Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Fleabagis one of the most personal TV shows ever made , andnobody else could have meet Phoebe Waller - Bridge ’s cynical champion . EvenFleabag ’s unusual nameis make from Waller - Bridge ’s own life-time , underlining her deep adhesion to the character . Fleabag is emotionally young and ego - destructive , although this can be draw back to the traumatic departure of her respectable Quaker . Waller - Bridge somehow manage to couple such tragedy with achingly relatable humor , and her restraint over the fictitious character allows her to take her to dark and uproarious billet . The rest of the cast just has to match her .

Julia Louis-Dreyfus smiling and pointing at Jerry Seinfeld in Seinfeld.

Split image of Matt Murdock, Walter White, and Buffy Summers.

Jodie Comer as Villanelle lying on a bed in Killing Eve

An image of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Patrick Stewart, and Steve Carell

Jodie Comer as Villanelle sitting in a room in Killing Eve

Homer controlling the monorail while Bart stands behind him in The Simpsons Marge vs the Monorail

Lenny Bruce on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Rebecca smiling with tears in her eyes at her dad’s funeral in Ted Lasso

Hannibal Lecter in his plastic suit looking up

Lucille winks at Michael in Arrested Development

Fleabag (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) looks at a gerbil in Fleabag